Call for Papers – “Decolonizing Churches”
Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network's 14th Annual Conference
June 22-25, 2022
Universidad Interamericana de Puetro Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
in collaboration with Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico
Seminario Evangélico de Puerto Rico
The Union of Charismatic Orthodox Churches
For more information on the conference topic, "Decolonizing Churches," details on registration, and more, visit the Ecclesiological Investigations website. See the attached PDF announcement: 2022 EI Decolonizing Churches announcement and call for papers.
Ecclesiological Investigations Zoom Gathering, September 24th
Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network invites members, friends, & others to gather by Zoom on Friday September 24th, 2021 from 4-6pm (EST) to celebrate the Ecclesiological Investigations past and to look ahead to the Ecclesiological Investigations future.
Join the Zoom Meeting at
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89458834310?pwd=QnA4ckM1WUVEOC9YVEpwaDF1anIyQT09
Meeting ID: 894 5883 4310 - Passcode: 656520
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,89458834310#,,,,*656520#
Please join us on September 24, 2021, at 4 pm Eastern Time (USA) as we celebrate EI’s past (14 international conferences, sessions at both the American Academy of Religion and the European Academy of Religion, publication series, and a year of Zoom webinars), and as we look ahead to EI’s future.
• Share memories of your involvement in the EI Network events over the years
• See highlights of EI conferences over the years
• Hear about “Decolonizing Churches” to gather in person at the Universidad Interamericano de Puerto Rico (UIPR) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 22-25, 2022
• Meet some of the Planning Team for the San Juan Conference, and the leadership at UIPR, to hear more about this event, including the call for papers
• Offer ideas about where the EI Network might go in the future
Please share the Zoom link for Sept 24 with others in your networks interested in EI
This will be an open-access event - No prior registration is required
For questions or more information email Dale Irvin, Chair of EI, at dirvin1@gmail.com
Margaret Bendroth’s New Article
Visiting Researcher Margaret Bendroth recently published a new article in The Review of Faith & International Affairs.
Bendroth looks at how the legacy of the Pilgrims shaped religion in the United States up to the early twentieth century. To read the interesting article, check out “Who Owns the Pilgrim Fathers? American Protestants and a Contested Legacy,” in The Review of Faith & International Affairs 19, no. 3 (July 3, 2021): 46–54, https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2021.1954404
Dana Robert to Speak in Panel Discussion on “What is World Christianity?”
As a part of the Overseas Ministry Study Center's Online Study Program 2020-2021, Dr. Dana Robert will join a panel to discuss "What is World Christianity?". The event will take place on November 4, 9:30-11:00 am (EST). Dr. Robert will be a part of the panel with Afe Adogame, Alexander Chow, Jehu Hanciles, Brian Stanley, and Emma Wild-Wood.
To sign up and attend, see the OMSC info page here.
In Memory of Historian Wilbert R. Shenk
The CGCM remembers the life and legacy of Wilbert Shenk. He shaped the study of world Christianity in its early years and continued to be a mentor, model, and inspiration to many. His groundbreaking research and writing, particularly his work on historical figures and missiologists Henry Venn and Lesslie Newbigin, have been influential in the field. His presence at and participation in the American Society of Missiology was formative for colleagues and younger scholars. His extensive work on global Mennonite history, his own mission experience, extensive publications, and teaching career reflects his generous, engaged, and thoughtful presence as a friend, colleague, and missiologist.
To read more about Wilbert's life, visit Fuller Seminary's "In Memoriam" or Wilbert's obituary.
To listen to an interview with Wilbert full of stories of his missiological formation, click here.
Ruth Padilla DeBorst (’16) on the Legacy of John Stott
Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst ('16) was recently featured in a podcast series with Langham Partnership on the legacy of John Stott. Listen to her interview with Mark Meynell here!
Dr. Padilla DeBorst, a longtime leader with IFES and the Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana, is currently on the leadership board at the Comunidad de Estudios Teológicos Interdisciplinarios (CETI) and serves with the International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation (INFEMIT).
Michèle Sigg Receives Grant to Study the African Contribution to Global Anglicanism
Dr. Michèle Sigg, Executive Director of the Dictionary of African Christian Biography (DACB), has recently received a substantial Constable Grant from The Episcopal Church for a project entitled "The African Contribution to Global Anglicanism." The funding will support the project team in producing six educational videos on the history of the Christian church in Africa, focusing on key figures from both the ancient church and the post-Reformation period. By providing accessible videos on key aspects of African Christian history, the project team aims to enhance the global church's awareness and appreciation of the African church, given that today Africa is the continent with the most Christian inhabitants. The videos will be licensed by Creative Commons to enhance access, and they are scheduled to be available in May 2022.
China Historical Christian Database Receives Competitive NEH Grant
Drs. Daryl Ireland, Eugenio Menegon, and Alex Mayfield recently wrote a proposal to receive a Digital Humanities Advancement Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for continued development of the China Historical Christian Database. We are pleased to announce that their proposal was just accepted! The project was one of twenty projects chosen by the NEH to receive this generous funding. The project will further the digital mapping work of the Database, which charts Christian figures and institutions across China from 1550-1950, revealing the interconnection between missions, hospitals, schools, and other institutions, and illuminating the exchange of ideas and technologies between China and the West over four centuries.
Learn more about all the grant-winning projects at the NEH website, and more news about the Center's grant at the BUSTH website.
In Memory of Historian Andrew Walls
A great historian and pioneer of the study of world Christianity, Andrew Walls, has recently passed away. Walls spent his career as a teacher in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Scotland, where he established the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World at the University of Aberdeen (today the Centre for the Study of World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh). Prof. Walls was a dear friend and an intellectual inspiration to many scholars of mission and historians of Christianity. Many of these friends have written tributes to his legacy, which have been published in Christianity Today. You can read their words of thanks and appreciation, including a tribute from Dr. Dana Robert, here.
Daryl Ireland to Speak on Chinese Revivalist John Song
This fall, Dr. Daryl Ireland, CGCM associate director, will be giving a presentation about his recent book, John Song: Modern Chinese Christianity and the Making of a New Man (Baylor University Press, 2020). The event is part of the fall semester events being hosted by the Overseas Ministry Study Center at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Easten Law will host the conversation. Ireland's book was selected as one of "Ten Outstanding Books in Mission Studies, Intercultural Theology, and World Christianity" by the International Bulletin of Mission Research for 2020!
Event date: October 7, 9:30-11:00am.
You can register for the event here. For doctoral or postdoctoral students in world Christianity, mission studies, intercultural theology, and related fields, registration is free!