Download a copy of the print brochure here: Feb. 2017 (pdf)

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International Conflict Resolution Series

• Sundays, 9:15 am, in the Assembly Room, unless otherwise noted

As the globe gets smaller, we are drawn into or impacted by political conflicts around the world. As Christians, let’s explore these complicated and nuanced crises, and how what we learn might impact our understanding and our advocacy. Join us as diplomats and experts in conflict resolution share their first-hand experience in resolving conflict and abuse of human rights in Syria, Tajikistan, and other hot spot.

 

February 5

Syria in Crisis

Mazen Adi

• ​​Music Room

Come and explore the development of the Syrian Crisis from peaceful demonstrations calling for freedom and democracy to the conflict it is today. Examine some external factors that inflamed and perpetuated​ the fighting in Syria, including the role of the international and regional powers, sectarian and religious differences, and the spread of extremist groups, especially ISIS and Nursa front. ​We will pay special attention to the role of the United Nations in the Syrian Crisis, and the effect of this role on the image of the Security Council and the international order.

Mazen Adi is Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University. He joined the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1998. Between 2000 and 2005, he worked at the Syrian Embassy in Rome, also serving as an Alternate Permanent Representative to the United Nations agencies working in Rome, FAO, WFP and IFAD. Between 2007 and 2014, he was appointed to the Syrian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, where he worked as a Legal Advisor and Sixth Committee expert. Adi has degrees from Damascus University School of Law and St. John’s University Rome Campus (2004) and NY, and a Ph.D. in comparative law from Tor Vergata University (Roma 2) Italy.

 

February 12

The United Nations and Democracy: A Road to Peace?

Roland Rich

Throughout the Cold War years, the issue of democracy was avoided by the UN. In the post-Cold War, the UN became more proactive leading to the establishment in 2005 of the UN Democracy Fund. One justification for the UN’s involvement in promoting democracy is the belief in democratic peace theory. Come and explore this argument and discuss the work of the UN Democracy Fund.

Roland Rich was an Australian diplomat with postings in Paris, Rangoon, Manila and as Ambassador to Laos. At headquarters, he held the positions of Legal Advisor and Assistant Secretary for International Organizations. He was then Foundation Director of the Centre for Democratic Institutions at the Australian National University. In 2007 he was appointed as the Executive Head of the UN Democracy Fund. Dr. Rich now teaches in the UN and Global Policy Studies graduate program at Rutgers University.

 

February 19

The Path to Peace Accord in Tajikistan

Dilafruz Nazarova

In 1992, Tajikistan, a small Central Asian country that just gained its independence, was dragged into the devastating civil war that resulted in fifty thousand deaths and over a million residents seeking refuge. It was not until 1997 that the parties to the conflict, the Government and the United Tajik Opposition, agreed to sign a peace accord under the auspices of the United Nations and with active participation of regional actors such as Iran, Afghanistan and Russia, effectively ending the civil war. Take a closer look into the civil war and explore aspects of the negotiation process that made the settlement possible.  We will assess national reconciliation efforts in light of the current political situation in Tajikistan, including its human rights record.

Dilafruz Nazarova, a human rights lawyer from Tajikistan, is a PhD student in the Political Science Department of Rutgers University. She worked for her government and in a number of international organizations including the International Committee of the Red Cross, Penal Reform International, Rule of Law Initiative of the American Bar Association, British Institute for War and Peace Reporting and the UN Peace-Building Support Mission in Tajikistan. She teaches several courses including International Law, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Human Rights, and Introduction to the United Nations.

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In-Depth Bible Study

Ongoing through May 21

1st Corinthians

George Hunsinger

• 9:15 am
• Maclean House

George Hunsinger returns for the 20th year to lead this verse-by-verse examination of the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. Bibles are available for use during the class. Find them on the Deacon Desk by the church kitchen. Class meets next door in Maclean House (Garden Entrance).

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Special Focus on Mission

February 5

Guatemala Mission and Service Experience

Jonathan Holmquist, Charles Clark, Fredy Estrada, Mea Kaemmerlen, Janet and George Roman, Lorraine Sarhage, Nancy Wilson and Hana Kahn

• 9:15-10:15 a.m.
• Niles Chapel

Come and hear about the educational and service components of the 2016 summer trip to Guatemala. See the highlands area of Lake Atitlán and its surrounding Mayan villages and the Mayan archeological site and rain forest at Tikal National Park. Explore the highlands town of Parramos and the New Dawn Trilingual Education Center there. Then hear about the interactive work focusing on music and English with children of all grade levels, the hands-on painting and improvement to classroom lighting and work done in support of the school’s computer program, and the visits with the scholarship children supported by the Princeton/Parramos Partnership. All nine of this past year’s visitors to Guatemala and Parramos will be available to describe their experiences and encourage participation in a 2017 Guatemala mission and service trip.

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Violence in Art: Where is the Redemption? Series

Melissa Martin and Chikara Saito

• Sundays, 9:15 am, in Niles Chapel, unless otherwise noted

The Exodus and the Exile, the Cross and the Resurrection – Themes of violence and redemption are woven throughout the Christian story. Art provides us with a medium to explore these themes. Come and examine portrayals of violence in both film and photography, as we bring them into conversation with the biblical narrative.

Melissa Martin is a third-year student at Princeton Theological seminary. She also works in the church office as the Administrative Assistant for Pastoral Care. She loves to sneak in a good novel, because she finds that through them her big theological questions can be explored in refreshingly human ways.

Chikara Saito is a second year Master of Divinity student at Princeton Theological Seminary. Chikara grew up in Japan and had numerous opportunities to worship and work with Christians throughout East and Southeast Asia. He is very engaged by theology in film and literature.

 

February 12

Violence, Film, and Redemption

Film is the common language of the 21st century. It shapes and sculpts the way we imagine society, politics, and even faith. Together we will see how violence is a thorny theme that films treat with either respect or frivolity. Using Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino (2008), examine how this portrayal of violence clarifies what is at stake for us as Christians. Then bring this into conversation with biblical resources.

 

February 19

Violence, Poetry, and Redemption

Poetry reveals the tensions in our social imagination, our hopes and hurts. In particular, these creative pieces help us wrestle with the problem of violence in our midst. We see this displayed in modern poets, like Wilfred Owens, W.H. Auden, and Keith Douglas. This class will bring these poets into conversation with older poets, the Prophets of the Old Testament, helping us consider the relationship between art and violence.

 

February 26

Violence, Photography, and Redemption

• Assembly Room

Photographs define eras by burning their images into our collective conscience. From Nagasaki to Aleppo, Little Rock to Ferguson, photographs confront us with the realities of violence in the world. By examining various photographs and bringing them into conversation with the biblical narrative, consider the questions these photographs prompt us to ask, particularly as they pertain to the relationship between violence and redemption.

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Special Thursday Session

Thursday, February 23

The Secret Concentration Camp Diary of Odd Nansen

• 7:00 pm
• Sanctuary

Join Timothy Boyce for an evening talk and discussion of the World War II diary From Day to Day, a book hailed by the New Yorker as “among the most compelling documents to come out of the war.” From Day to Day is a World War II concentration camp diary—one of only a handful ever translated into English—secretly written by Odd Nansen, a Norwegian political prisoner.  Having founded an organization in Norway to help refugees fleeing the Nazis in 1936, Nansen was arrested in January 1942 and held captive for the duration of the war in various Nazi camps in Norway and Germany. Nansen’s diary entries detail his palpable longing for his wife and family, his constantly frustrated hopes for release, the quiet strength and sometimes ugly prejudices of his fellow prisoners, and his horror at the especially barbaric treatment reserved for the Jews. The diary brilliantly illuminates Nansen’s daily struggle, not only to survive, but to preserve his sanity and maintain his humanity in a world engulfed by fear and hate.

Timothy Boyce, a retired lawyer, devoted years to getting the book back into print with full annotations.

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