July Classes
For a look at Adult Education offerings (June-August), download the brochure: Summer2018
Please note: there will be no Adult Education Classes on July 1
July 8
“O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” A Hymn for the Ages
Paul Rorem
11:15 a.m.
Assembly Room
With loose attribution to Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), “O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” has become a hymn for the ages – through the Lutheran Reformation to J.S. Bach to James Alexander of Princeton. Originally written in Latin, the text is comprised of seven parts that outline the body of Christ: feet, knees, hands, sides, heart and head. This hymn was later translated into German and, during the Thirty-Years War, became a profound source of comfort for those affected. James Alexander of Princeton translated this hymn into English, and this piece has remained a prominent fixture in worship services ever since.
Paul E. Rorem is Princeton Theological Seminary’s Benjamin B. Warfield Professor of Medieval Church History. An ordained Lutheran minister, he is interested in medieval church history. His courses cover the confessions and influence of St. Augustine, the Christian mystical tradition, medieval Christianity, and the spiritual and theological legacy of the Pseudo-Dionysian writings.
July 15
Momentous Moment: Ethical Reflections on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017-2018 Term
Larry Stratton
11:15 a.m.
Assembly Room
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told Georgetown University law students just before the Supreme Court’s 2017-2018 term began, “There is only one prediction that is entirely safe about the upcoming term, and that is: It will be momentous.” Come and focus on several of the U.S. Supreme Court’s “momentous” decisions involving bakers and wedding cakes at gay weddings, political gerrymandering of legislative districts, immigration travel bans, and the taking of private property for burial ground access. Assess the judicial opinions in a wide-ranging discussion which will raise issues of constitutional interpretation, Christian ethical engagement, and the Separation of Powers.
Lawrence M. Stratton, Director of Waynesburg University’s Stover Center for Constitutional Studies and Moral Leadership, and Associate Professor of Ethics and Constitutional Law has both religion and law degrees. As a field education intern at Nassau during his Princeton seminary M.Div. studies, Larry began an ongoing exploration of American constitutional law in relation to insights from the Christian faith during many sessions at Nassau Presbyterian Church beginning in the fall of 2001.
July 22
Universities and Free Speech
Keith E. Whittington
11:15 a.m.
Assembly Room
Universities have a distinctive and important mission in American society. They assemble and nurture an open and diverse community of scholars, teachers and students dedicated to the production and dissemination of knowledge. The robust protection of free speech and civil discourse is essential to that mission. Better understanding the relationship between the critical functions of the university and the principles of free speech can help guide us in resolving the difficult challenges that confront the members of modern universities.
Keith E. Whittington is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Politics at Princeton University. He writes about American constitutional law, politics and history and American political thought. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Texas School of Law, is a member of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, and is currently a fellow with the National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement. His most recent books include Speak Freely: Why Universities Must Defend Free Speech and Repugnant Laws: Judicial Review of Acts of Congress from the Founding to the Present.
July 29
Pay Up or Die!
Eric Barreto
11:15 a.m.
Assembly Room
It’s hard enough to imagine that we would, like the earliest believers in Acts, choose to sell our possessions and trust the church to take care of our every need. Harder still is making sense of the strange story of Ananias and Sapphira whose deceptions and deaths don’t exactly seem to function as a lesson for us today. Come and read these puzzling texts together.
Eric Barreto is Weyerhaeuser Associate Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, an ordained Baptist minister, and a Nassau parent.