VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 1/3/18)—Mercer University’s Center for Theology and Public Life and McAfee School of Theology, in partnership with the Acadia Centre for Baptist and Anabaptist Studies (ACBAS) and the American Baptist Historical Society (ABHS), announce the program and registration details for an international scholarly conference in recognition of the centenary of Professor Walter Rauschenbusch’s death.
“The Legacy of Walter Rauschenbusch” will take place April 9-11, 2018, on Mercer University’s Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus in Atlanta. This same campus hosts the American Baptist Historical Society (ABHS), a premier religious historical society, which houses the most extensive collection of Rauschenbusch family papers. ABHS will host a reception and display on the first night of the conference.
The conference will begin with dinner on Monday, April 9, and end at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, April 11. Confirmed speakers include Bill Brackney (Acadia University), Heath Carter (Valparaiso University), Wendy Deichmann (United Theological Seminary), Ralf Dziewas (Theological Seminary, Elstal), Gary Dorrien (Union Seminary, NY), Christopher Evans (Boston University), Dominik Gauthier (University of Oldenburg), David Gushee (Mercer University), Roger Prentice (Acadia University), Andrea Strubind (University of Oldenburg), and Darryl Trimiew (past president, Society of Christian Ethics). A draft of the program is available, here.
Registration has been set for $125 US, with conference fees increasing by tiers until registration closes March 25. Registration includes meals. Registration fees are waived for students; however, students must register before March 15 in order to be included in the meal count. Full conference details and registration details are available here. After reviewing the information, if you have additional questions, contact Mercer University’s Edwina Cowgill cowgill_ee@mercer.edu.
In conjunction with the conference, Mercer University Press plans to release the first two volumes of a new three-volume critical edition of The Works of Walter Rauschenbusch, co-edited and with extensive historical, theological, and ethical introductions by Bill Brackney and David Gushee. A follow-up volume of conference papers will also be edited by Drs. Brackney and Gushee.
Walter Rauschenbusch was a Christian theologian and clergyman who is considered the father of the social gospel movement of the first two decades of the 20th century. A seventh-generation minister, he became pastor of the Second German Baptist Church in New York City, on the edge of the crime-ridden Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood. His work to bring about the Kingdom of God by “transforming the life on earth into the harmony of heaven” has inspired countless clergy and social reformers, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Desmond Tutu, and many others.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.