Patchogue, NY – January 11, 2006 – The Institute for the Study of Religion in Community Life at St. Joseph’s College is proud to offer its contribution to the current worldwide commemoration of the centennial of the birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Renowned Bonhoeffer scholar Dr. Geffrey Kelly will present a lecture on “The Life, Death and Meaning of Bonhoeffer” on Thursday, February 2, 2006 at 12:30 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. in the McGann Conference Center located in O’Connor Hall. A documentary film , featuring interviews with family members, friends, students and associates who personally knew Bonhoeffer will air on PBS on February 6, 2006 as part of the centennial celebration.
Born in February 1906, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a young, illustrious German theologian and pastor who, at a time when so many of his peers in the clergy maintained fearful silence in the face of encroaching evil, offered one of the first clear voices of resistance to Adolf Hitler by openly challenging his church to stand with the Jews in their time of need. In 1943, Bonhoeffer was arrested for his successful role in helping a number of Jews escape to Switzerland. He eventually joined his family in the plot and failed attempt to kill Hitler. Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged in a concentration camp at Flossenburg on April 9, 1945 just days before the Allied liberation of Germany. He was one of four members of his immediate family to die at the hands of the Nazi regime for their participation in the small Protestant resistance movement. Letters written by Bonhoeffer during the final two years of his life were posthumously published as Letters and Papers from Prison. His correspondence with his fiancé, Maria von Wedermeyer, has been published as Love Letters from Cell 92. His writings areconsidered classics in the world of religion and ethics.
An award-winning professor of systematic theology and Chairperson of the Department of Religion at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Dr. Geffrey Kelly is an internationally recognized theologian who has lectured and published widely in the fields of systematic theology, Christian spirituality, biomedical ethics, Christology, peace and justice issues, divine and human vulnerability, religious education and the theologies of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Rabner. He is past president of the International Bonhoeffer Society and is the author of “ A Testament to Freedom: The Essential Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer” and “ The Cost of Moral Leadership: The Spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer” among others. His next book, Is There a God in Health Care?: Toward a New Spirituality of Medicine , which is scheduled for publication in April 2006 and was co-authored by noted cardiologist, Dr. William F. Haynes, integrates Christian spirituality with the ministry of health care.
This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, please contact Dr. Paul Ginnetty at (631) 447-5864 or email pginnetty@sjcny.edu. Or, visit us online at www. sjcny.edu/religion.
St. Joseph’s College is located at 155 W. Roe Blvd. in Patchogue, and is accessible via the South Service Road of Sunrise Highway, just east of Exit 52 (Waverly Avenue).
About The Institute for the Study of Religion in Community Life
The Institute was founded to investigate and articulate the various roles religious institutions and individual people of faith can take to enhance community life. To this end, we sponsor research projects and educational seminars, develop cooperative programs with various religious organizations in the community and search out service opportunities in the community for our faculty and students.
About St. Joseph's College
St. Joseph’s College has been dedicated to providing a diverse population of students in the New York metropolitan area with an affordable education rooted in the liberal arts tradition since 1916. Independent and coeducational, the College provides a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, aiming to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility, and service. With campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn and in Patchogue, Long Island, the College offers degrees in over 21 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs through its School of Arts and Sciences and its School of Adult and Professional Education. Graduate degrees are also offered including an Executive MBA, a Master of Science in Management, a Master of Science Degree with a Major in Nursing, a Master of Arts in Literacy/Cognition and a Master of Arts in Infant/Toddler Early Childhood Special Education. |
