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January 13, 2003 ELCA News Service
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Lutheran Lecture Series Explores the Impact of King's Dream

Chicago (ELCA)-FI — An array of six prominent speakers will present the 2003 Hein-Fry Lecture Series on the campuses of the eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and at the Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta. "I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Future of Multicultural America" will explore the impact King's dream has had on political discourse and the church's self-understanding in the past 40 years. Hein-Fry lecturers will also verbalize their dreams for the future.

King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech Aug. 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The featured Hein-Fry lecturers are Dr. Robert M. Franklin Jr., scholar, educator and author, Atlanta; the Rev. James A. Forbes Jr., senior minister, Riverside Church, New York; Dr. Justo L. Gonzalez, professor of church history, Decatur, Ga.; Dr. Dwight N. Hopkins, associate professor of theology, University of Chicago; Dr. Peter J. Paris, professor of Christian social ethics, Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, N.J.; and Dr. Emilie M. Townes, professor of Christian ethics, Union Theological Seminary, New York.

"If the ELCA is to be faithful to its mission in an increasingly multicultural context, its leaders -- both lay and ordained -- need to reflect together on the best current thinking on what can and ought to be the future of multicultural America," said the Rev. Jonathan P. Strandjord, director for theological education, ELCA Division for Ministry.

"This lecture series is much more than a commemoration," Strandjord added. "It is a significant opportunity to look ahead."

February 6
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS), Columbia, S.C.
+ Gonzalez and Townes with the Rev. Daniel M. Bell Jr., assistant professor of theological ethics, LTSS

February 18
Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio
+ Forbes and Paris with an Interfaith "I Have a Dream" panel

February 25
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP)
+ Gonzalez and Paris with the Rev. Katie Day, professor for church and society, LTSP

February 28
Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif.
+ Gonzalez and Hopkins with the Rev. Julius Carroll, director for African American ministries, ELCA Commission for Multicultural Ministries

March 7
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC)
+ Forbes and Paris with Dr. Linda E. Thomas, associate professor of theology and anthropology, LSTC

March 13
Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn.
+ Franklin and Townes with Dr. Charles Amjad-Ali, Martin Luther King Jr. professor for justice and Christian community, Luther Seminary

March 20
Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa
+ Franklin and Townes with a Namibia Concerns Network Lecture

April 5
Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG), Pa.
+ Franklin and Hopkins with Dr. Nelson T. Strobert, professor of Christian education, LTSG

April 15
Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta
+ Forbes and Hopkins with Dr. Marsha Snulligan Haney, associate professor, missiology and religions of the world, Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta

The Hein-Fry Lecture Series predates the ELCA which was formed in 1988. The endowed theological lecture series fosters original scholarship and enriches theological dialogue throughout the church. It combines the Dr. Carl Christian Hein Memorial Seminary Lectures of the former American Lutheran Church and the Franklin Clark Fry Theological Lectures of the former Lutheran Church in America.

Information about the lecture series is available on the web.