"Somewhere over the Rainbow": Diversity, the Lifeline of all Earthlings and Beyond - A Salimist Manifesto

(Chung) Hyun Kyung, Korean eco-feminist theologian, argues that without diversity, our very survival on the planet is impossible. In a multi-media presentation, she calls us beyond the politics of differences to a rainbow coalition of all living beings. She shares a deeper meaning of diversity from her ancient Salim (lifegiving) tradition of women's wisdom.

Since 1996 Hyun Kyung has taught ecumenical theology at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She has lectured worldwide on spirituality, religious pluralism, ecology and women's rights. Her newest books are In the End, the Beauty Will Save Us All and A Letter from Future: Goddess-Spell according to Hyun Kyung. She recently dropped her father's last name, Chung, to support Korean women in abolishing patrilinial household law. Hyun Kyung means "dark mirror." When suffering women ask, "Who's the fairest of them all," she wants to be the mirror that says, "It is you."

Friday, 7 PM

Enhancing Democracy: The Key to Religious Reform

James Carroll concludes his best-selling 2001 book, Constantine's Sword: the Church and the Jews, with a 50-page "Call for Vatican III." He lays out a bold agenda for a new Reformation in the Church, one which radically redistributes power, and embraces "the holiness of democracy." He brings these themes to CTA.

Carroll was a Paulist priest-chaplain at Boston University in the 1970s, then left the priesthood to become a writer. He has written nine novels, including the bestsellers Mortal Friends (1978), Family Trade (1982), and Prince of Peace (1984). The City Below was a New York Times Notable Book of 1994. His memoir, An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War That Came Between Us, received the 1996 National Book Award for non-fiction. Constantine's Sword inspired symposia at Harvard and Brandeis Universities, and interfaith dialogues across the U.S. and Canada. Carroll writes an op-ed page weekly column in the Boston Globe. He lectures widely on Jewish-Christian reconciliation, and on questions of war and peace. He is a regular participant in ongoing Jewish-Christian-Muslim encounters at the Shalom Harman Institute in Jerusalem. Carroll lives in Boston with his wife, the novelist Alexandra Marshall. They have two grown children.

Saturday, 10:30 AM

The Easy Conscience of America's Churches

James H. Cone reflects on the church's struggle for justice and reconciliation among people, especially regarding race. In 1903, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote, "The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line." Will his prophetic message also define the 21st century? Cone works in the hope that the church's call for justice will better succeed this time around.

A professor of theology at Union Theological Seminary, Dr. Cone is considered the founder of black liberation theology. He is author of a dozen books. Among them are A Black Theology of Liberation, Black Theology and Black Power, Risks of Faith, and the two-volume Black Theology: A Documentary History. Other titles are The Spirituals and the Blues, God of the Oppressed, My Soul Looks Back, For My People, and Martin & Malcolm & America: A Dream or a Nightmare?

Kim and Reggie Harris, African American folksingers, will provide a musical introduction to Dr. Cone and his theme.

Sunday, 9 AM.