Trinity Institute 2013: The Good News Now

The story of Jesus has spoken powerfully for two millennia. To do so, it has had to be re-experienced and freshly told in each generation. How do we tell the age-old story today, in a world informed by science, empowered by technology, rich in religious and cultural diversity, and yearning for meaning, connection, and wholeness?  

To do theology is to speak of God (theo, God; logos, word). Trinity Institute’s 43rd National Theological Conference will take up that challenge by gathering a diverse group of leading scholars and practitioners wrestling with how historic tenets of the faith address current realities in order to examine how our beliefs and practices shape our daily lives and to explore how to tell our story meaningfully today. 

The Institute’s motto is “Theology in Community.” This year we have invited speakers who come from a variety of perspectives: traditional and revisionist, mystical and scientific, academic and artistic. Individually and together they will reflect on key aspects of the Christian faith: the cross of Jesus and the abundant life Jesus brings. Participants will engage the same questions both in small groups and in plenary with the speakers, together creating a mutual learning community. Technology will connect those in New York and those at partner sites. 

The shared goal is neither to jettison the old nor simply to reassert it. Rather, it is to find the heart of the faith in the contingencies of our lives. In the words of the great 20th century theologian Paul Tillich: “Theology moves back and forth between two poles, the eternal truth of its foundations and the temporal situation in which the eternal truth must be received.” 

The experience of the conference will directly support the preaching, teaching, and other ministries of participants. In a larger sense, the goal is to help all Christians to become conscious and faithful participants in the evolution of the faith. 

“Only the living God who spans all times can relate to historically new circumstances as the future arrives. A tradition that cannot change cannot be preserved,” writes theologian Elizabeth Johnson, C.S.J., one of this year’s speakers. Trusting Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit will “guide [us] into all the truth” (John 16:13), we open ourselves to the future as a community of faith with a story to tell, timeless yet ever fresh, steadfast and constantly evolving. 

For more information please visit the website.