Seminar Leader

The Rev. Dr. Pamela McCarroll

Pam is interested in the dynamics of hope in private and public life in North America.  Her work for her PhD dissertation focused on hope as a primal category for understanding Christian spirituality and practice as this has affected life in the North American context.  Presently Pam is the Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Director of Field Education at Knox College, Toronto.  She came to that position after serving in spiritual care within the hospital system. 

She is a Certified Teaching Supervisor in CASC, Canadian Association of Spiritual Care (formerly CAPPE), and minister in association at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Toronto.  She and her husband, Rev. Dr. Harris Athanasiadis, teach and research together on issues facing the church and society today.

Cost per person:  $30 per Session
$75 for all Sessions
(includes supper)

[If you will be attending only the lecture,

a donation would be appreciated]

Please note that arrangements for financial assistance can be made.

 Sessions begin with supper

starting at 5 p.m.

Presentations from 6:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.

The title for this series, “Lighten our Darkness,” is borrowed from the title of one of the early books of Douglas John Hall.  He draws it from a prayer within the Anglican prayer book of the last century.  It is a call to God to lighten our darkness within the context of a broken and beaten up world.  In this series we will explore the experience of hope as a primal means whereby the Spirit opens us to recognize God’s light in our midst.  The challenge, of course, is the pervasiveness of the ‘darkness’ of these days and how to begin to recognize God’s light anew.

How do we hope when the future of creation seems eclipsed by disaster of every sort?  How do we hope in the midst of the trials and tragedies of life both personal and collective?   How do we have a vision for life when we are bombarded with the bad news at every turn?

In this 3-part series we will look to the Scriptures and Christian traditions to retrieve new ways to hope in the face of the pervasive sense of despair in the North American context, both public and private.  After considering the ‘failure of hope’ in the 21st century we will explore ways to recognize the faces of hope in human life and experience.  How do contexts of uncertainty and adversity invite us to hope in new ways with resilience and vision that lightens the darkness and calls forth courage and trust?  Join us for an engaging journey to discern the many guises of hope for our days.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

We will set the stage for the series and consider popular understandings of hope in the North American context.  We will consider how these are played out in situations of adversity in both public and private life.  We will explore the experience of hope as optimism and the need for more resilient ways to live out our faith in daily life.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

In dialogue with scripture, theology and examples from life, we will continue our journey together and explore the faces of Hope as Change; Hope as Fight; Hope as Meaning-Making; Hope as Lament.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Finally, we will look at the faces of Hope as Being; Hope as Surrender.  We will consider ways the many different faces of hope invite us to move more deeply in our journey of faith, seeking out the divine presence and call amidst the very trials and tribulations of life.