Bishop Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm - January 11th; Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma - January 25th

Creatio ex Amore and the Mission of the Church Now

The St. Paul Center for Theology and Prayer hosted these seminars in January 2025:

Creatio ex Amore and the Mission of the Church Now - An online seminar with Bishop Dr. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, Moderator of the World Council of Churches.

In this time of climate crisis, what difference does our faith make? How does our understanding of God, and the meaning of God's creating work, ground and equip us to pray, serve, and act in this time? This seminar will deepen our capacity to preach and teach our claim that "God creates out of love," and enliven us for working with our faith communities for God's purposes.

This seminar took place on Jan 11th.

On 25th January the Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma, Rector of Christ Church, Waltham, author and theologian, presented a follow-up seminar, expanding our grounding in this topic with wisdom from African Christian theology of creation.

You can watch both these presentations on our YouTube channel, at the following links:

Bishop Dr. Bedford-Strohm, Jan 11th

Rev. Dr. Kaoma, Jan 25th

Recommended Reading:

• For those without much time to prep: Bishop Bedford-Strohm's remarks on "The Doctrine of Creation," from the March 2024 Laudate Si Assisi Conference, especially the paragraphs on "The Protestant Tradition." Click here to access the document.

• For those with a bit more time to prep, add: Bishop Bedford-Strohm's article "Public Theology of Ecology and Civil Society." Click here to access the article. 

• For those with a desire and time to go further: Jurgen Moltmann -  God in Creation: A New Theology of Creation and the Spirit of God (This book can be ordered online, or from your local bookseller.)

About our Speakers: 

Bishop Dr. Bedford-Strohm is a leader in the international, ecumenical movement to establish a Feast of God the Creator in our liturgical calendars. He is an honorary professor for systematic theology and contemporary theological issues at the University of Bamberg, and an honorary professor at the University of Stellenbosch/South Africa. He was awarded the Albert Schweitzer Medal of the German Albert Schweitzer Center, the Augsburg Peace Prize, and the James I. McCord Award from the Center for Theological Inquiry at Princeton University for Outstanding Contributions to Ecumenical Scholarship, among many other honors. He was also awarded honorary citizenship of the city of Palermo for his commitment to the sea rescue of refugees.

Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma is a Zambian Anglican priest, Rector at Christ Church Waltham (MA), and an interdisciplinary scholar. In addition to academic articles and chapters on ecological ethics, ecotheology, and mission and ecology, Dr. Kaoma has authored and edited books including Creation Care in Christian Mission, The Creator’s Symphony, God’s Family, God’s Earth and Raised Hopes, Shattered Dreams. He has also written and spoken extensively about subjects in mission history, the Anglican communion, gender and African culture, and human rights. Most noted for his pro-LGBTQ+ activism in the face of repressive anti-gay legislation in Africa, and his work for uncovering organizational ties between American anti-gay hate groups and a notable increase in homophobia in African politics, Dr. Kaoma has received several honors including the 2014 International Human Rights Award of the Lesbian and Gay Association Mexico City.

Thanks to all who joined us for these presentations. If you’d like to be kept informed of future events with The St. Paul Center for Theology and Prayer, please sign up to receive our newsletter.