2007 - 2008

Anglican priest Lucy Reid and Sociology professor Fred Evers have collaborated to create a book on spirituality in the workplace. Working with Spirit:  “Engaging Spirituality to Meet the Challenges of the Workplace” is written from a Christian perspective, and includes stories of people who are seeking balance, integrity and community in their work.

The authors describe the shift from an agrarian society to an industrialized one, with the accompanying fragmentation and compartmentalization of work, faith and family life.  They describe some of the challenges of the modern workplace, from overwork and burn-out to conflict and consumerism.  Arguing that spirituality brings a perspective that can address these challenges, the authors offer practical resources for connecting the human spirit with the world of work. 

The presentation will cover various aspect of the book, highlight issues and problems in today’s workplace and the ways that spirituality can help alleviate those problems. 

Fred Evers is a Professor of Sociology and Director of the Educational Research and Development Unit (ERDU) at the University of Guelph.  He teaches courses in the sociology of organizations, leadership, research methods, quantitative analysis techniques and statistics, and capstone courses.  Dr. Evers has received several teaching awards, including the prestigious 3M Teaching Fellowship in 2001.  His publications include journal articles, chapters in books, papers in conference proceedings, and the book:  The Bases of Competence:  Skills for Life long Learning and Employability (Jossey- Bash, Inc., Publishers, 1998. In 2004 Lucy Reid and Fred published the book:  Working with Spirit:  Engaging Spiruitality to Meet the Challenges of the Workplace. 

Through media and film Dr. Fahy will address the often tenuous relationship shared between the followers of the three great Abrahamic faiths. How should medieval Christendom’s response to Judaism and to Islam be understood today?  How might we understand each other in a world torn by violence and discord?  Answering some of these questions will provide the audience the foundations for how to work for mutual tolerance, coexistence and even prosperity.

In a recent letter to the Minister of the Environment, the president of the Canadian Religious Conference which represents 22,000 members of Religious Congregations across Canada stated, “We care about our world.  We are more than willing to do our part as Canadian citizens to reduce the negative impact of greenhouse gas emissions.  We also want our Canadian government to enact policies which reflect the best of who awe are as global citizens.”

In this evening the Ursuline Sisters and the Sisters of St. Joseph will share both the ethical/spiritual aspects of choosing to build “green” buildings as well as the practical implications.  They will be joined by other panelists who were involved in the planning and construction of their projects.

What motivated a 16^th century pope to force the Jews of Rome to live behind ghetto walls?  Was such a move consistent with Christian attitudes in preceding centuries?  What effect did the ghettoization of Roman Jews have on Christians – in Rome, in the Papal States and beyond?  The Roman ghetto continued to exist into modern times.  What does that reality have to say to us as Christians today?

“Conversations with Dorothy Day” depicts Dorothy stopping by to share a cup of coffee and to visit with friends while she talks about her life.  The setting is the present time and the “powers that be” have given Dorothy permission to be gone from the heavenly realm for a very short time.  During the visit Dorothy reads form her journals, her books, and other writings as she shares the story of her conversion and the founding of The Catholic Worker.  “Conversations with Dorothy Day” is approximately 45 to 60 minutes in length and is followed by a conversation with Sharon Halsey-Hoover during a question and answer period.

John Paul ll’s famous encyclical on labour was written in 1981 at a time when he supported the struggle for greater justice of the Polish labour union Solidarnosc.  His stress on the importance of labour unions, his critique of liberal capitalism and his teaching on the conditional character of private property seemed radical to reader in North America.  John Paul was inspired by a bold Catholic social theory called Solidarism worked out by German authors at the beginning of the 20^th century.  After the collapse of communism in Poland in 1989, John Paul advocated by Solidarnosc, Poland turned uncritically to the principles of the unregulated mark system.

St.Cecilia Singers, Don Wright Faculty of Music, UWO

Our gifts are blessings which we share with the human family.  In sharing our gifts, we share in the tasks of the Creator and thus our works are an expression of our dignity and creativity.  Work is for the person, not the person for work. St. Cecilia Singers will present songs to nourish the heart and spirit, to rejuvenate and restore all givers who contribute their gifts generously.

In 1996 South African embarked on a monumental process known as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Itwas a government mandated process to help South Africa transition from apartheid to democracy, one in which Christianity played a prominent role. The TRC helped shape the post-conflict reconstruction stage of South Africa’s transition through an emphasis on truth-telling and reconciliation, despite certain limitations when it came to generating justice. Indeed 10 years after the TRC commenced its work the greatest criticism that remains is the issue of justice, particularly economic disparities. The lack of meaningful work, coupled with historical racism and other structural injustices, has created a post-apartheid tension regarding the prospects for long-term justice in SA. This lecture will examine on the role Christianity played in the TRC and the role it continues to play in working to create a culture of social justice in South Africa.