WILSON, N.C. — MARCH 27, 2019 — Barton College’s “Light of Life Series” provides occasions for learning and dialogue about matters vital to life within our communities as enriched by our faith perspectives. This spring, Barton is excited to expand the reach of this significant conversation as the College welcomes the Reverend Dr. Robert C. Saler, Associate Dean and Executive Director of the Center for Pastoral Excellence at Christian Theological Seminary, as the Light of Life Series’ featured speaker on Thursday, April 4.
The event will be held at 7 p.m. in Howard Chapel on the Barton campus. Dr. Saler’s presentation will focus on “Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Contested Legacy of Resistance.” Bonhoeffer, a 20th-century German pastor and theologian, was executed for participating in the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. The program is open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend.
“Dr. Saler thinks deeply and speaks engagingly about the ways in which theological conversations impact, and are impacted by, conversations happening in everyday places: not only in churches but in concert halls, on city streets, and through social media,” shares Barton Chaplain David Finnegan-Hosey. “I anticipate his talk being insightful, accessible, and relevant to the concerns of our community.”
“As Saler often tells his students, ‘Bonhoeffer’s participation in the plot to kill Hitler was probably the least interesting thing about his life,’” continues Finnegan-Hosey. “Does Bonhoeffer’s story, and his thinking, speak to our current, divided national climate, and if so, how?”
In addition to Dr. Saler’s leadership roles at Christian Theological Seminary, he also serves as the Director of the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Programs. He is an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and has published widely. His published works include “Between Magisterium and Marketplace” and “Theologia Crucis.” And, he has two upcoming volumes on what theology can learn from the music of the composer Arvo Pärt and the band Radiohead.
For additional information about this program, please contact Chaplain David Finnegan-Hosey, at 252-388-6368 or dfinneganhosey@barton.edu.
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