April 7 – May 12, 2024
9:30 a.m. | Assembly Room
Audio recordings will be posted below each class description.
April 7 | Sena Feyissa Negassa
The Work of the Holy Spirit Among Believers
How can believers live a life God admires? This session will cover the role of the Holy Spirit in the spiritual growth of believers. In addition, it will highlight the work of the Holy Spirit among Ethiopian Churches.
Sena Feyissa Negassa is a theologian and theology Instructor at Mekane Yesus Seminary, which is the largest seminary of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Mekane Yesus. She teaches several courses including theological issues in context, synoptic gospels, Lutheran confession, and Ethiopian church history. In addition, Sena serves as the seminary’s assistant to the associate dean of theology and summer program coordinator. This year she is a resident scholar at the Overseas Ministry Study Center at Princeton Theological Center.
April 14 | Eric Sarwar
Psalms, Islam & Shalom
The book of Psalms, called Zabor in Arabic, is a common heritage of divine song that can be used as a point of connection for public witness between Muslims and Christians. Especially in the Pakistani context, Psalms carries vast potential, in terms of both text and musical expression, as a bridge to peacemaking and missional engagement. Yet the book of Psalms has never been a significant part of witness to the Muslim world. Sarwar believes that can change.
Eric Sarwar is a gifted musician, minister, and missiologist, currently in residence at the Overseas Ministry Study Center at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the Founding President of Tehillim School of Church Music & Worship, discovering in music and the Psalms a surprising language for transcending boundaries in global context. In addition to teaching, preaching, and writing, Eric continues to sing the Psalms, produce interfaith festivals, and serve as a catalyst and consultant for Muslim-Christian relationships in the world. Eric plays the Indian harmonium and is fluent in English, Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu.
Presbyterian Church (USA) Past, Present, and Future
A three-week series looking at the Presbyterian Church with a lens beyond Nassau Church. Dr. Heath Carter will lead off with a look back at some of the history of the PC(USA) and the significant occasions that shaped the denomination. In week two, our pastor, Dave Davis, currently serving at the national level of the PC(USA), will share some of the present challenges and opportunities for the church. Finally, students from Princeton Presbyterian Campus Ministry will talk about their hopes and dreams for the future of the PC(USA).
April 21| Heath Carter
PC(USA): The Past
Heath W. Carter is associate professor of American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he teaches and writes about the intersection of Christianity and American public life. He earned a BA in English and theology from Georgetown University in 2003, an MA from the University of Chicago Divinity School in 2005, and a PhD in history from the University of Notre Dame in 2012. He came to Princeton from Valparaiso University, where he was on faculty from 2012 to 2019.
April 28| Dave Davis
PC(USA): The Present
Dave Davis has been pastor and head-of-staff at Nassau since the fall of 2000. His PhD in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary focused on preaching as a corporate act and the active role of the listener in the preaching event. He has published two sermon collections, A Kingdom You Can Taste and Lord, Teach Us to Pray.
May 5| Princeton Presbyterians
PC(USA): The Future
May 12| Linjing Jiang
The Wittenberg Nightingale: Martin Luther, Hymnwriter, and Reflections on Modern Hymns
Following an overview of Martin Luther’s achievements as a hymn writer as well as his theological views on music, Dr. Jiang will lead a discussion of the essence of congregational hymn singing, including reflections on modern Chinese hymns.
Linjing Jiang, associate professor for Germanic Languages and Literatures at Fudan University in Shanghai, is currently a visiting scholar at Overseas Ministries Study Center at Princeton Theological Seminary. Her research interests include political theology and German literature, the interactive influence between classical music and literature, and German poetry in the 19th and 20th century.