Thurber Conversation Archives

Welcoming the Stranger
Thursday 14 September in the Thurber Room – Meal at 19h; Presentation 19h45-21h15

Have You Ever Wondered What You Could Do To Alleviate The Refugee Crisis?

Come to the Thurber lecture given by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) France and find out how you may help, even if ever so modestly.

Every night thousands of asylum seekers sleep on the streets of Paris. Faced with this situation, JRS France has put into place its Welcome Program, the heart of which is defined as “reciprocal hospitality”. In the course of 10 years, JRS France has learned what works and has come up with a practical framework to closely guide families who accept to host an asylum seeker between 4 and 6 weeks. Get to meet other families in the Welcome network and share best practices. Above all, get to know an asylum seeker. If you want guidance on the spiritual benefit you may draw from such an experience that too is available to you.

You can’t host? Find out how you can participate.

Père Antoine Paumard, S.J., Director of JRS France and Marcela Villalobos Cid, Coordinator of Welcome in France will explain how the program works and what they have learned over the years. Nicola Craig will tell you about her experience hosting asylum seekers, her motivation for doing so, what it was like and why she decided to do it four times.

Thurber Lectures is an adult community gathering and growth time that is open to all.

Wednesday 17 May in the Thurber Room – Meal at 19h; Presentation 19h45-21h15
Shalom: Judaism and Peace

Rabbi Tom Cohen serves Kehilat Gesher, the only progressive, bilingual synagogue in the Paris region, offering all services in English, French, and Hebrew. Founded over twenty years ago, the congregation includes over 170 families and welcomes some 450 individuals for its annual High Holy Day services.

Rabbi Tom Cohen was born in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. He became interested in religious philosophy and Judaism while he was studying at Portland State University and pursued his studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Jewish Studies, he decided to become a rabbi. For the next six years, he continued his education in Los Angeles where he received another degree in Hebrew Literature, in Jerusalem, and finally, in New York City, where he completed his Master in Hebrew Literature. In 1991 he was ordained under the auspices of the Jewish Theological Seminary and has been Rabbi of Kehilat Gesher since 1993.

Thurber Lectures is an adult community gathering and growth time that is open to all.

The Disorienting and Prophetic Work of Improbable Friendships
Tuesday 17 January in the Thurber Room
– Dinner at 19h; Presentation 19h45-21h15

What does Shalom look like in friendships? What does Shalom look like in cities where there are significant barriers to racial reconciliation? Join us for our first Thurber Lecture of 2017 on Tuesday, January 17 at 19h00 with Rev. Cleve Tinsley IV and Rev. Matthew Russell to discuss their vision and work for shalom in Houston, Texas.

Rev. Cleve V. Tinsley IV is an ordained Baptist minister, scholar, and community activist based in Houston. Currently he serves as Theologian-in-Residence at St. John's United Methodist Church-Downtown in Houston. Rev. Tinsley is also a PhD candidate in the Department of Religion at Rice University where his academic research explores critical understandings of the wider social scientific and historical approaches to the study of religion in general and African-American religion in particular.

Rev. Dr. Matt Russell is currently on staff at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas as the Senior Associate and is the Executive Director of projectCURATE, which is a grassroots educational and social enterprise incubator.

Thurber Lectures is an adult community gathering and growth time that is open to all.

War, Suffering and Hope – 3 November
The Immigrant Experience – 10 November
Advent and Healing – 8 December

Our guest speaker is Dr. Linda Stratford, who will speak on Art and Theology.

• War, Suffering and Hope: 20th century French artist, Georges Rouault
• The Immigrant Experience: artist, Marc Chagall
• Advent and Healing: The Portinari Altarpiece, Florence

Dr. Stratford is director of Paris Semester, a semester of credits offered in Paris by Asbury University each fall (open to non-Asbury applicants). She received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York, Stony Brook with an emphasis on Art and Society in France.

Since 2005, when she was appointed Lilly Scholar at Asbury University, she has pursued research on the theological foundations of artistic expression, co-founding ASCHA and stimulating critique of modern and contemporary art as autonomous from religious purposes;

Light Buffet at 19h00; Presentation 19h45-21h15.

Thurber Lectures is an adult community gathering and growth time that is open to all.

War, Suffering and Hope – 3 November

The Immigrant Experience – 10 November

Advent and Healing: The Portinari Altarpiece, Florence – 8 December