This interfaith conference will feature plenary speakers Amy Hollywood (Harvard Divinity School) and Mary Clark Moschella (Yale Divinity School) as well as a number of presentations from the GTU community speaking from their different traditions and disciplines on the place of joy in religious thought and practice. Register on Eventbrite to attend.
Spotlight on These Themes and Sessions:
- Plenary: “Novel Theology,” presented by Amy Hollywood, Harvard Divinity School – 1:00pm PT
- Panel: Joy and Justice: 1:30-2:55pm PT
- Rebecca Esterson – “Helen Keller on Optimism, Activism, and Her Swedenborgian Faith”
- Mahjabeen Dhala – “Joy in the Qur’an: Faith, Community, and Social Justice”
- Nancy Lin – “Qualities of Joy: Some Buddhist Examples”
The full-day schedule will be as follows:
Welcome & Introduction to Conference Theme: 9:00-9:10 am PT
- Jennifer Davidson – Welcome
- Deidre Green – Opening Remarks
Panel 1: Joy in Community and Tradition: 9:10 – 10:30 am PT
- Sam Shonkoff – “Joy as Self-Transcendence in Hasidism”
- John Klentos – “Joy from an Orthodox Christian Perspective: Byzantine Liturgical Hymn-Texts”
- Laurie Garrett-Cobbina – “Let’s Do What We Do”
10 minute break
Panel 2: The Transformative Power of Joy: 10:40-12 pm PT
- Jess Jones – “The Joy of the Saints: A Christological Approach to Joy From a Latter-day Saint Perspective”
- Elizabeth Peña – “Looking with Wonder: The Slow Art Movement”
- Valerie Miles-Tribble – “The Joy of Knowing Amid the Unknown”
Lunch Break 12:00-1:00 pm PT
Plenary 1: 1:00-1:35 pm PT
- Amy Hollywood, Harvard Divinity School – “Novel Theology”
Panel 3: Joy and Justice: 1:35-2:55 pm PT
- Rebecca Esterson – “Helen Keller on Optimism, Activism, and Her Swedenborgian Faith”
- Mahjabeen Dhala – “Joy in the Qur’an: Faith, Community, and Social Justice”
- Nancy Lin – “Qualities of Joy: Some Buddhist Examples”
10 minute break
Panel 4: Exploring the Mysteries of Joy: 3:05-4:25 pm PT
- Chris Hadley – “The Pain of the Cross and Trinitarian Joy: Reconstructing Balthasar’s Childbirth Metaphor”
- Arthur Holder – “’Likeness is the chief delight’: Meister Eckhart on Metaphysics of Joy”
- Rita Sherma – “Ananda: When the Name of God is ‘Joy’ – A Hindu Ecofeminist Perception of Existential Joy”
Plenary 2: 4:25-4:55 pm PT
- Mary Clark Moschella, Yale Divinity School – “Justice and Joy”
Closing Remarks: 4:55-5:00 pm PT
