Back from Princeton


Horror of Horrors, I've been out of communication for too many days. But I'm back, at least for a moment, in sunny Santa Barbara. I did have a very enjoyable time in Princeton, NJ, where I participated in my first annual meeting/conference of the Academy of Parish Clergy. Our leader was Dr. Jack Stewart, emeritus professor of ministry and evangelism at Princeton. Jack did a great job having us consider the ways in which the gospel is embedded in the world around us, from theater to short stories, poetry to music. He invited Dr. Clifton Black, NT prof at Princeton, to share with us the "Gospel According to Johnny Cash," which was quite insightful.

We shared worship with the Princeton Seminary community on Choir Day, and oh was the music good. Singing in the company of gifted singers is always a blessing, and indeed I had a spiritual experience, as our voices filled Miller Chapel!

A highlight which I will focus more on later was the presentation of this year's Book of the Year to Diana Butler Bass. It was a joy to meet her again -- we met once years ago at a historians conference -- along with her husband, Richard. Diana shared her story of how she came to uncover vital mainline churches and gave us an encouraging word.

I'll share my story of the trip home in a separate post with a picture that'll give you a clue as to where I spent last evening due to a missed connection. But pictured here is Alexander Hall at Princeton, named after Archibald Alexander, founder of Princeton Theological Seminary.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi Bob! Good to meet you too.

Emma is now outfitted in orange, black, and white.

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