The Carver Project hosted a panel discussion titled “Communicating with Love,” featuring members of the third Newbigin Fellows cohort. This interdisciplinary panel of scholars reflected on the practice of communicating across difference in today’s cultural and institutional landscape. Panelists included Jonathan Bowman (Professor of Communication and Director of the Honors Program at the University of San Diego), Kyla Ebels-Duggan (Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University), and Sara VanderHaagen (Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), moderated by Abram Van Engen.

An inspiring evening with awarding-winning journalist Barbara Bradley Hagerty and Ben Spencer as they discussed Ben’s story, detailed in Barbara's new book, "Bringing Ben Home: A Murder, a Conviction, and the Fight to Redeem American Justice.” This is a powerful story of a man who maintained his innocence for a murder he didn’t commit, and how his plight became part of a paradigm shift in how the legal system thinks about innocence.

The event was co-hosted with the Legal Vocation Fellowship (an initiative of The Carver Project) and OneFamily Church.

You can watch the recording here:

On Oct 18th, The Carver Project and One Family Church joined together for an evening to consider what it means to live as faithful Christians and good citizens in the current political climate.

Vince Bacote (Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton University) and Michael Wear (Founder, President, and CEO of The Center for Christianity and Public Life) highlighted the importance of Christians engaging in politics, followed by a time for Q&A.

You can watch the video here:

On May 30th, we welcomed our St. Louis community to a conversation between Catherine Crouch, Jen Heemstra, and Kristin Van Engen.

Catherine is Professor and Chair of Physics at Swarthmore College and a Newbigin Fellow; Jen is the Charles Allen Thomas Professor and Chair of Chemistry at Washington University; and Kristin is Associate Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences and Linguistics at Washington University. Jen and Kristin are TCP faculty fellows. Kristin, Jen, and Catherine are leaders in their fields who thoughtfully integrate their faith with their calling as science educators, mentors, and researchers. Their panel covered topics such as how to pursue science as a Christian vocation, the importance of authentic mentorship and collaboration, and how Christian faculty can help restore wholeness to academia (and beyond).

You can watch the video here:

On Friday, December 8, we welcomed esteemed poets Marilyn Nelson and Christian Wiman to St. Louis for a conversation on poetry and faith, hosted by Abram Van Engen.

Watch the recording here:

The Carver Project’s Newbigin Fellows program joins with the Cordell Institute for Policy in Medicine & Law to welcome three members of the inaugural Newbigin class for a discussion on medicine and faith. Lydia Dugdale (Columbia University School of Medicine), Andrea Leep Hunderfund (Mayo Clinic) and Jennifer Frey (University of Tulsa) comprise a panel moderated by Carver Project founder John Inazu.

Reclaiming Relationship across University, Church, and Society

Featuring Andy Crouch, John Inazu, Tish Harrison Warren, and Michael Wear

June 9, 2022
7:00

The Gathering Church 2360 McCausland, St. Louis, MO

Virtual Forum: Healthcare, Coronavirus, and the Church

The coronavirus has presented an immense challenge to our medical and public health institutions. Not only has it revealed inequity and other failures in our healthcare system, it has also revealed deep seated problems in how we understand medicine, suffering, and illness. Where medicine reaches the limits of its power, faith communities often try to attend to the patient’s deeper needs. But what do we do when medical responses to the pandemic prevent meaningful spiritual care? How should the medical and the spiritual frameworks interact? Join us for a panel discussion with Elizabeth Dias (New York Times), Ryan Antiel (Washington University – St. Louis), and Daniel Hall (University of Pittsburgh) to discuss the answers to these questions.  

This event is co-sponsored by The Carver Project and The Theology, Medicine, and Culture Initiative at Duke Divinity School.

DATES, TIMES, & LOCATION

• Friday, Sep. 25 | noon – 1 p.m.

• This group will meet virtually via Zoom (please register below).

  • https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_L967QfVbSqOIXyEd7WHt-A

• Open to all.

• Please visit this page to understand the steps we’re taking to keep the Anselm House community safe during COVID.

More About Our Panelists

 Elizabeth Dias is National Faith and Values Correspondent at The New York Times. She has an undergraduate degree in theology from Wheaton College and a Master’s in divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. In recent years, she has won the American Academy of Religion’s top prize for the best in-depth reporting on religion, and the Renner Award for Excellence in Enterprise Reporting in Religion. For a recent example of Dias’s reporting on religion and coronavirus, click here. 

Ryan Antiel, MD, MSME is a pediatric surgery fellow at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His scholarship focuses on improving the lives of children and families confronted with difficult decisions such as surgical decision-making in the face of uncertainty and end-of-life issues. He has published widely in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, and Pediatrics.  Dr. Antiel earned his medical degree from Mayo Medical School and completed his general surgery training at Mayo. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in advanced medical ethics in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Daniel Hall (MD, MDiv, MHSc) is Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and Core Investigator at the VA Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion. Dr. Hall is a general surgeon with training in both moral philosophy and theology, and is interested in the ethics of surgery. Dr. Hall earned degrees in medicine and theology from Yale University before completing his surgical training at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church with interests in the theology of medicine.

Christian Pluralism: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference with John Inazu, Trillia Newbell, & Michael Wear

On Friday, June 12, 2020 The Trinity Forum along with The Carver Project welcomed John Inazu, Trillia Newbell, and Michael Wear to discuss a robust vision for Christian pluralism.

The painting is Newburyport Meadows by Martin Johnson Heade, 1881

John Inazu Website—https://www.jinazu.com/

Trillia Newbell Website—http://www.trillianewbell.com/

Michael Wear Website—http://michaelwear.com/

Uncommon Ground—https://www.thomasnelson.com/p/uncomm...

Trinity Forum Report on Pluralism—https://www.ttf.org/reports (Made possible by a grant from the Democracy Fund)

Trinity Forum Readings City of God, by Augustine—https://www.ttf.org/product/city-of-god/

Democracy in America, by Tocqueville—https://www.ttf.org/product/democracy...

Long Walk to Freedom, by Mandela—https://www.ttf.org/product/long-walk...

Trinity Forum Curriculum on The Great Experiment: https://www.ttf.org/product/the-great...

Compassion (&) Conviction, The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement—https://www.amazon.com/Compassion-Con...

Our society is more divided than ever. How can believers respectfully engage with others while staying true to the Gospel?

In 2016, Tim Keller and John Inazu posed that exact question in a thought-provoking article that laid the foundation for their book Uncommon Ground: Living Faithfully in a World of Difference (Thomas Nelson, 2020). Now they are partnering once more with Christianity Today to equip believers to walk in humility, patience, and tolerance as they engage with those whose beliefs are radically different from their own.

12 respected Christian thought-leaders, including Keller and Inazu, shared their powerful stories and perspectives on the most divisive issues of our day, including race, politics, peace-making, and so much more. The goal was to learn how to embrace the hope and confidence in the gospel while loving your neighbor in this anxious age.

More About the Featured Contributors:

• Tim Keller, founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City

• John Inazu, professor of law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri

• Tish Harrison Warren, writer, essayist, and Anglican priest at Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Lecrae, recording artist, songwriter, and record producer

• Sara Groves, singer and songwriter

• Trillia Newbell, director of community outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

• Claude Richard Alexander Jr, senior pastor of The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina

• Kristen Deede Johnson, professor of theology and Christian formation at Western Theological Seminary

• Tom Lin, president of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

• Shirley V. Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities

• Rudy Carrasco, program officer for the Murdock Charitable Trust and past board member of the Christian Community Development
  Association.

• Warren Kinghorn, professor of psychiatry and theology at Duke University

• John Hendrix (moderator), author/illustrator of children’s books and professor of art at Washington University in St. Louis

On November 4th, the Carver Project hosted public dialogue between author Jemar Tisby and John Inazu on Tisby’s acclaimed book The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism. Tisby’s book reveals the chilling connection between the church and racism throughout American history. A survey of the ways Christians of the past have reinforced theories of racial superiority and inferiority provides motivation for a series of bold actions Tisby asserts believers must take to forge a future of equity and justice.

Tisby serves as president of The Witness, a Black Christian Collective. He is also the co-host of the Pass The Mic podcast. He is currently completing his dissertation as part of the PhD program in history at the University of Mississippi. Prior to graduate school, Tisby served for seven years as a teacher and then principal of at KIPP Delta College Preparatory School.

Inazu is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion and holds a joint appointment in the Washington University School of Law and the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. Professor Inazu’s scholarship focuses on the First Amendment freedoms of speech, assembly, and religion, and related questions of legal and political theory.

The John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics was a cosponsor of this program presented by The Carver Project.

Photography by Kelly Park.

On March 29, 2019, The Carver Project co-hosted with Grace & Peace Fellowship a dialogue with Dr. Nathan Hatch. Dr. Hatch is the President of Wake Forest University and serves on The Carver Project’s academic advisory council. He is also an alumnus of Washington University and a founding member of Grace & Peace.

Dr. Hatch was interviewed by The Carver Project’s managing director, Dr. Shelley Milligan, and faculty fellow Dr. Mark Valeri, the Reverend Priscilla Wood Neaves Distinguished Professor of Religion and Politics at Washington University.

TCP Faculty Fellows Abram Van Engen and John Inazu participated in a public dialogue hosted by the Study Center at UNC-Chapel Hill.  Van Engen based his remarks on his recent article, “Fear, Anger, and Finding Another Way,” and Inazu offered reflections on his article, “Why I’m Still Confident About Confident Pluralism.”  The audience included faculty and students from Duke and UNC, as well as members of the community.

On November 7th, The Carver Project welcomed Kristina Arriaga of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.  At a morning breakfast, John Inazu interviewed Commissioner Arriaga about her role in negotiations for the release of Andrew Brunson from imprisonment in Turkey.  In the afternoon, Inazu and Arriaga joined Judge Lech Garlicki, formerly a member of the European Court of Human Rights, for a discussion on international religious freedom at Washington University’s School of Law. The event was co-hosted by The Carver Project, Christian Legal Fellowship, and the Jewish Law Society.