Christus Theological Institute to present “Just Liturgy: A Symposium” on Oct. 2

MOBILE – Spring Hill College’s Christus Theological Institute will present “Just Liturgy: A Symposium” from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2 at Our Savior Catholic Church, 1801 Cody Road South. Dr. Stephen B. Wilson, associate professor of theology at Spring Hill College; Gerald Darring, adjunct instructor of theology at Spring Hill College; and the Rev. David J. Tokarz, pastor of Our Savior Catholic Church, will be presenters at the symposium.

The symposium will address the challenge of Christian liturgy, the common worship of the Church, not only as an expression of praise but also as a challenge to live authentically as Body of Christ in the world. Wilson will consider how ritual can help shape both personal and social life, with a focus on celebration of the Eucharist. Darring will link each stage of the liturgy with Christ’s mission to the suffering and oppressed, culminating in the call to satisfy the hungers of the world. Tokarz will explore the impact of preaching on the experience of liturgy, the intersection of orthodoxy (right relationship to God) and orthopraxis (right relationship to one another). After a 20-minute presentation by each speaker, there will be open dialogue among all participants. 

Wilson earned a Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree at Duke University where he worked under Geoffrey Wainwright and Stanley Hauerwas. His research interests center on the intersections of liturgy and Christian morality. His most recent publication on this topic is “Liturgy and Ethics: Something Old, Something New,” Worship 81 (2007).

Darring taught theology for 19 years at McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. He is a leader in the Mobile Jewish-Christian Dialogue and is the author of “A Catechism of Catholic Social Teaching” and several religious education textbooks.

Tokarz has earned degrees in theology from the University of Notre Dame, Oxford University, and the Pontifical Gregorian University, and Pontifical Athenaeum Sant’ Anselmo, both in Rome.  He took part for five years in the “Pastor-Theologian Seminar,” an ecumenically based project sponsored by the Center of Theological Inquiry at Princeton University.

For more information or to become a Christus member, call the Spring Hill College Division of Philosophy and Theology at (251) 380-4660 or e-mail christus@shc.edu.