It’s . . . it’s . . . it’s alive!
That’s right – Karam Forum returns!
We invite you to join the gathering of ON colleagues you know and love when Karam Forum gathers in Ft. Worth this November 18-19. Chris Brooks, Jennifer Powell McNutt, Gavin Ortlund, David French, Michael Wear and more will help us collaborate to build the future of theological education. We’ll also hold our first-ever sessions with original scholarly papers, as we work toward our vision of a new peer-reviewed journal.
We invite you either to gather with us live and in person, or join via Zoom from wherever you are!
We’ll start in the evening on Thursday, Nov. 18, and finish up by midday on Friday, Nov. 19. So if you’re attending the ETS meeting in Ft. Worth, you just have to extend your trip by a day to join with us. And if you’re heading to AAR in San Antonio, you’ll have plenty of time to get there.
Why the change from our traditional meeting time? We knew it was getting harder for you to maintain extra travel on your schedule, even before . . . well, you know.
Our hope is that by holding Karam Forum between ETS and AAR each year, we can make it much more convenient for you to join us. We’re here to serve you, after all. And since the two meetings are usually in the same city, in future years this approach will be even more convenient.
Please hold the date on your calendar: November 18-19 – live in Ft. Worth, or via digital!
Yes, we are aware that we already held a meeting called “Karam Forum 2021.” You can just call this meeting…
SON OF KARAM FORUM!
But we might also call it “Karam Forum 2021, Part II: This Time, It’s Personal.”
Because this time, it will indeed be personal, in the fullest sense!
You can join us in Ft. Worth live and in person, for that unique Karam Forum experience of fellowship and networking that you remember from the Before Times, the Long-Long-Ago. Just imagine gathering with your ON colleagues from schools across the land.
You’ll actually be able to shake their hands!
However, we know not everyone will be able to make Ft. Worth work. We’ll also have an option to attend digitally, including chat rooms, so you won’t miss out on the stimulating presentations and catalytic conversations. We were grateful for the opportunity to “gather” for Karam Forum via Zoom in January, and we plan to make “digital attendance” a regular part of Karam Forum from now on.
Have we got inspiring and edifying presentations lined up? You bet we do!
- Chris Brooks of Woodside Bible Church will help us rethink the role of the church as a voice for justice in a culture that’s deeply captive to various unjust, polarized and even violent ideologies. Chris gave one of our very first Economic Wisdom Project Talks, and was a session host at our first Karam Forum meeting in 2017. We’re thrilled to have him back! Vincent Bacote of Wheaton College will facilitate discussion.
- Speaking of Economic Wisdom Project Talks, our own era isn’t the first time the church has been summoned to speak for justice. We’ll hear stimulating presentations on Christian opposition to slavery in ancient Rome (Gavin Ortlund of First Baptist Church of Ojai), justice and social activism in the early Reformation (Jennifer Powell McNutt of Wheaton College) and the encounter between the Industrial Revolution and the Wesleyan movement (Jennifer Woodruff Tait of St. John’s Episcopal Church and Charlie Self of Assemblies of God Theological Seminary). These historical presentations will go into our growing video library of classroom resources.
- David French, author of Divided We Fall and senior editor of The Dispatch, and Michael Wear, author of Reclaiming Hope and co-founder of the AND Campaign, will join us digitally to help us think about the present situation in American politics, and how the church’s mission and social role can be better stewarded in these acutely difficult times.
- After an insightful Karam Forum Global Session this January, we’ll be putting together another opportunity to compare notes with theological educators joining us from other parts of the world. We’re planning to expand and include more regions this time, so you won’t want to miss this unique opportunity.
- For the first time, Karam Forum will include discussions of original scholarly papers in breakout groups. We’re still putting together plans for a peer-reviewed journal on theology for human flourishing, and annual paper sessions at Karam Forum will help us generate possible contributions. Our hope is that by 2022 we’ll be releasing open calls for papers at the Forum.
Watch this newsletter for more announcements on what we’ll be up to in Ft. Worth.
For now, mark your calendar today for November 18-19!
We look forward to seeing you, either live in Ft. Worth or via Zoom, at Karam Forum!
Image HTs: Poster, Once upon a Screen; movie stills, Foundations of Literary Studies and The Last Drive-In
