The annual Festival of Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary will focus on the spiritual and theological dimensions of relationship addressed through the issues of gender and masculinity and the ethics of the Commandments. The 2002 Festival, which blends together scholarly inquiry and spiritual worship, will be held on the Seminary’s campus from March 4-6 and will celebrate the overall theme, “Food for the Mind, Food for the Soul.”

A line up of experts on these topics will present lectures and sermons during the four-day event:

Dr. Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen is this year’s Greenhoe lecturer, named for Dr. Theodore M. Greenhoe, a member of the LPTS class of 1934. In 1966, Greenhoe’s congregation, Memorial Presbyterian Church in Midland, Mich., established this lectureship in his honor. In three lectures, Van Leeuwen will address the theme My Brother’s Keeper: Rethinking Masculinity in a New Millennium —Masculinity Under Siege (Mar. 4, 11 a.m.), Men, Religion and the Distortion of the Cultural Mandate (Mar. 5, 11 a.m.) and An Agenda for Gender Reconciliation (Mar. 6, 11 a.m.).

Van Leeuwen is Professor of Psychology and Philosophy and Resident Scholar at the center for Christian Women in Leadership at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., the suburbs of Philadelphia. Born in London, Ontario, Canada, she earned degrees in the field of psychology (B.A.), in social psychology (M.A.) and a doctorate in social and cross-cultural psychology with a certificate in African studies. Van Leeuwen’s expertise in addressing psychology from a Christian perspective and in the field of women’s studies is evident in her publications: The Person in Psychology: A Contemporary Christian Appraisal (Eerdmans and InterVarsity Press), After Eden: Facing the Challenge of Gender Reconciliation (Eerdmans and Paternoster Press), Religion, Feminism and the Family and The Family Handbook (Both under Westminster/John Knox Press), the newly released Women and the Future of the Family (Baker Books) and Gender and Grace: Love, Work and Parenting in a Changing World (InterVarsity Press), which is in its fourth printing and has been translated into Korean, Arabic and Chinese.

Renowned Old Testament scholar Dr. Patrick D. Miller will deliver the Caldwell lecturers, which honor former Louisville Seminary President Frank H. Caldwell, who served from 1936 through 1964. Miller will address the topic, The Commandments, in three lectures: The Sufficiency and Insufficiency of the Commandments (Mar. 4, 2:30 p.m.), The Ethics of the Commandments (Mar. 5, 2:30 p.m.) and The Economics of the Straying Ox: Property and Possessions in Light (Mar. 5, 8 p.m.).

Miller is the Charles T. Haley Professor of Old Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary where he has taught since 1984. With a renowned teaching career that began in 1966, Miller also taught at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia, where he also served as dean of the faculty, and Harvard Divinity School as a visiting professor. He is well-published in the Old Testament field and has written numerous books widely used among clergy and seminarians, including The Divine Warrior in Early Israel (Harvard University Press), The Hand of the Lord (John Hopkins University Press) with J.J.M. Roberts, Sin and Judgment in the Prophets (Scholars Press), Interpreting the Psalms (Fortress Press), and The Religion of Ancient Israel (Westminster/John Knox Press) among others.

Dr. Tom Long, Bandy Professor of Preaching at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Georgia, will be the Festival preacher. He will bring two sermons based on the Gospel of Matthew to the daily worship services during the event: Left Behind (Matthew 24:36-44) on Mar. 4, at 10 a.m. and The God We Get (Matthew 25:14-30) on Mar. 5 at 10 a.m. Long is the author of Whispering the Lyrics: Sermons for Lent and Easter (C.S.S. Press), Matthew, Westminster Bible Companion Series (Westminster/John Knox Press) and Hebrews for the Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (John Knox Press). In addition to teaching at two Presbyterian seminaries, Long was the director of Congregational Resources and director of Geneva Press for the Presbyterian Publishing Corporation from 1997-2000.

A third worship service (Mar. 6, 10 a.m.), part of the Alumni/ae Reunion events, will include alumnus Rev. Stephen Hancock (MDiv ’81), who will deliver the sermon The Sacrament of Tears (Psalm 56). After graduating from LPTS, Hancock became the pastor of Dale Presbyterian Church in Indiana, where he served until 1983 before joining the Louisville Seminary staff as its Dean of Students. He returned to congregational leadership in 1991 as the pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tenn., where he served ten years. In 2001 he became the new pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, Ark. Hancock earned a B.A. at DePauw University and a Th.M at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. He has taught on the adjunct faculties of St. Meinrad School of Theology and Louisville Seminary and has been a frequent lecturer at Vanderbilt Divinity School while living in Tennessee.

During the Festival events, Rev. Dr. Jack Rogers, Moderator of the 213th General Assembly (2001) of the Presbyterian Church (USA), will deliver a state of church address at a dinner on Tuesday evening, Mar. 5, at 6 p.m. Rogers was elected moderator of the 213th General Assembly as a “bridge builder” in the midst of controversial issues and conflicts within the church. Since his election, he has traveled widely to encourage Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) bodies to resolve differences and work toward restoring unity.

All lectures and sermons will be presented in the Frank H. and Fannie W. Caldwell Chapel, located on the Seminary’s campus. There is no fee to attend worship or the lectures, and the public is invited. For more information contact the Office of Continuing and Lay Education at 1 800 264-1839, or 502 895-3411, ext. 450 or 372. Tickets for the Moderator’s Dinner are $17 and may be requested by calling Alumni/ae Relations at extension 461.