News of the extended network of faculty, alumni, students, visiting researchers, and mission partners is regularly updated, and some of the big ideas or major events in Global Christianity are covered in the CGCM News.
Bartolome de Las Casas
On October 7-8, 2016, a conference on “Bartolomé de Las Casas: History, Philosophy, & Theology in the Age of European Expansion” was held at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. The event was organized by Dr. David Orique of Providence College and BU Associate Professor Rady Roldán-Figueroa to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Order of Preachers, the 100th anniversary of Providence College, and the 500th anniversary of the first conversion of Bartolomé de las Casas (2014). Papers reflected on themes of contact, conversion, conquest, and colonization and were presented in English or in Spanish. Dr. Roldán presented a paper entitled “The Episcopal Office and the Defense of Humanity: Bartolomé de las Casas’s Theory of the Power of the Bishops.” Presenters came from the U.S. as well as Europe and Latin America and included several doctoral students.
Finding Religion
September CGCM Events
In September, CGCM had three seminars on various topics. On September 14th, Pius Tih, the Director of health services for the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Board (CBCHB), met over breakfast with students and spoke about the role of Faith-Based Organizations in global health care. On September 22nd, Jeff Pugh, the executive director of the Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict (CEMPROC) based in Quito, Ecuador, shared his experience building bridges of peace, conflict transformation, and development in both Latin America and the U.S. On September 27th, Elena Huegel shared from her rich experiences as both a child of a missionary family and her adult life in mission throughout Latin America. She discussed the opportunities and challenges emerging from the partnership in which she has participated between the United Church of Christ and the Pentecostal Church of Chile. Of particular focus was her work related to recovery from trauma--personal trauma, communal trauma, and environmental trauma--with such work taking place in local congregations and most notably in the Shalom Center in the foothills of the Andes.
Mission and Transnational Adoption
Soojin Chung, CGCM student affiliate, recently published an article “Transnational Adoption: A Noble Cause? Female Missionaries as Pioneers of Transnational Adoption, 1945-1965” in Evangelical Missions Quarterly (October 2016). This article reviews biblical and theological grounds for international adoption, followed by a case study of two prominent female missionaries who spearheaded the transnational adoption movement in Korea. In examining these two figures, the author argues that the historical context in which adoption was born was vastly different from the contemporary evangelical adoption boom, which is parent-focused rather than child-centered. The article can be found here.
ASM Graduate Student Paper Award
The deadline for submission is September 1, 2017. Submitted paper should be sent to arun.w.jone@emory.edu and participants should expect an email reply confirming their submission. The prize will be awarded at the 2018 annual meeting and it is anticipated that the recipient be present to receive the award at this time.
Conversions and Transformations: The 14th Meeting of the International Association for Mission Studies
Mission Studies revolves around change. Conversion animates the entire field: religious, institutional, and cultural transformations are the object and, sometimes, the objective of missiological studies. For that reason, Mika Vähäkangas observed that it was odd that the International Association for Mission Studies had waited until its 14th Quadrennial meeting before it finally addressed the issue of “Conversions and Transformations.” In his opening remarks of August 11, 2016 in Seoul, Korea, the IAMS President wondered aloud, “Was conversion too close and therefore too controversial a subject to raise at an earlier date?”
The week-long conference was an extended answer to his question, showcasing through plenary sessions and study groups that conversion is a challenging topic. Scholars from Oceania, Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and North America presented papers that collectively demonstrated that conversions and transformations look different, depending on the time and place. There is no normative conversion, even if conversion is the norm.
Boston University had solid representation at the meeting. Daryl Ireland (’15), Younghwa Kim (’16), Daewon Moon (current student), and Titus Presler (’94) all attended, three of whom presented papers on the theme.
East African Revival
Daewon Moon, PhD candidate and CGCM student affiliate, was recently awarded a research grant from the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church for his dissertation research on the East African Revival in the 1930s and 1940s. Through his project, Daewon seeks to examine how indigenous movements like the Revival in the Anglican Church of Uganda contributed to creating the Anglican Communion as a global community with a common faith. The grant will support his research trip to Uganda in October to consult primary sources at Makerere University in Kampala and Uganda Christian University (formerly Bishop Tucker Theological College) in Mukono.
Managing Difficult Conversations- Race, Ethnicity, and Religion
University of Massachusetts-Boston is offering a free workshop on managing difficult conversations around identity issues of race, religion, and ethnicity on campuses and communities. The workshop is on October 22, 2016 at the U Mass Boston Campus Center. More information on the event can be found here.
Sabbath, Sunday, and Renewal
Chinese Buddhist Charity
