Denver Seminary

One of the great joys that I have had in my participation in immigration matters is speaking in different venues both in and outside of Denver. I meet the most amazing people from across the spectrum of Christian denominations. Here are the most recent events:

• On October 2^nd I had the privilege of the 2012 Orlando and Rose Costas Lecture at Andover-Newton Theological School in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. The flier link can be accessed at http://www.ants.edu/calendar/event/2012-orlando-and-rose-costas-lecture/. The title of my presentation was “Reconciling Christian Faith and Immigration: Imperative, Discovery, and Challenge.” Orlando Costas, a Puerto Rican, was a significant missiologist of the 1970s and 1980s, who died too young (at age 45 in 1987). I had met Orlando in Tlayacápan, Mexico at a meeting of the Latin American Theological Fraternity. He was a prophet before his time, calling for holistic mission versus the bifurcation of social concern and the preaching of salvation, and he could foresee that minorities (in his view especially Hispanics) could be a voice from outside the established church to point it back to some fundamental truths of the gospel. The faculty and the rest of the audience that evening were welcoming and wonderfully engaging. It was an honor to meet Orland’s widow, Rose, before the talk. Andover-Newton is a mainline seminary.

• The next morning, October 3^rd, found me at another seminary in the greater Boston area: Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I spoke and interacted with about 25 faculty and students on the topic of immigration. The contact there was Dr. Alvin Padilla, also a Puerto Rican, who is a New Testament professor there. He has worked tirelessly to raise awareness on the main campus in Hamilton and the downtown campus about Hispanic realities. Here is a picture of his introducing me at that breakfast. 

• This last Friday and Saturday I spoke at a gathering of the area presbytery of the PCUSA church. This is the third “Encuentro” (“Encounter”) that the Hispanic part of that church has organized to facilitate understanding with Anglo leaders and congregations. I had a wonderful time. Jorge Barbarán, a pastor originally from Peru and one of the ones who was instrumental in our starting IDEAL at the seminary was the host for Saturday (Friday was at an Anglo church). I gave one workshop on Ruth as an immigrant (in English), another on the laws about foreigners in the Law (translating myself from Spanish to English) and then preached on the Good Samaritan (again translating myself from Spanish to English).

• I have some writing to get done in these days: a short piece on immigrant realities in metro-Denver for a publication by Mile-High Ministries, a revision of a chapter about teaching about immigration for an edited volume based on a conference I did in San Diego sometime ago, and an academic paper on some details on immigration from Deuteronomy for the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (in Chicago, the weekend before Thanksgiving).

A lot to do, but a fascinating journey! Your prayers are always appreciated.