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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, October 19, 2007
CONTACT Aubrey Streit, (785) 227-3311, ext. 8274
BETHANY COLLEGE FORUM TO DISCUSS “FAITH IN A PLURALISTIC WORLD”
LINDSBORG, Kan.—On Oct. 30, Bethany College will bring three experts in diverse religious topics together in dialogue.
Panelists will address the question, “How do people of faith live in a pluralistic world?” as part of a forum on interfaith dialogue.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will be at 7 p.m. at Lindquist Hall on the Bethany College campus.
“Through interreligious dialogue I have come to appreciate the saying that ‘the pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple’. This insight helps me realize that I am still on the way, still discovering what God is doing in my life and in the lives of others. It is my hope that the forum will help us realize the dilemma expressed in the words of Cardinal Newman: ‘O how we hate one another for the love of God,’” said the Rev. Dr. Hans Ucko, an internationally known Swedish theologian and expert in interfaith issues who will participate in the forum.
Other panelists will include Margaret Rausch, assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Kansas and scholar of Islam, and Rabbi Nissim Wernick of Ahavath Achim Hebrew Congregation in Wichita, Kan.
Ucko, program executive for Inter-religious Relations and Dialogue at the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, is the 2007 Pearson Distinguished Professor of Swedish Studies at Bethany College. The Pearson Distinguished Professor of Swedish Studies program is endowed by Gerald L. "Bud" Pearson of Okoboji, Iowa, a former member of the board of directors and longtime friend of Bethany College. Under the program, each year a key figure in Swedish culture, arts or scholarship assumes the professorship at Bethany College. The purpose is to discover ways in which contemporary Swedish culture and experience can illuminate and strengthen life in the United States.
Ucko was born in Sweden in 1946 and graduated from Lund University. Following his ordination as a minister for the Church of Sweden in 1971, he studied Jewish-Christian relations in Jerusalem at both the Swedish Theological Institute and David Hartman Institute. In 2000, he received his doctorate in theology at the Senate of Serampore College, Calcutta, India, where he wrote his thesis on the concepts of “people and people of God,” as integral to the Jewish tradition and to the Minjung and Dalit theologies in Korea and in India, respectively.
From 1971 to 1981, Ucko worked in parishes as a curate in Helsingborg and Burlov, Sweden, as well as in the Swedish Sofia Parish, Paris, France. From 1981 he lived in Uppsala, Sweden, where he worked with the Church of Sweden as executive secretary for Jewish-Christian relations and then East Asian relations. He was hired by the World Council of Churches in 1989.
Currently, Ucko is a board member of the European Buddhist-Christian Dialogue; an international consultant to the International Interfaith Centre in Oxford, England; and an official observer of the International Council of Christians and Jews. He is the editor of Current Dialogue, a biannual publication of the World Council of Churches Office on Inter-religious Relations and Dialogue.
He has authored and edited several books, including “Worlds of Memory and Wisdom: Encounters of Jews and African Christians” and “Common Roots, New Horizons: Learning About Christian Faith from Dialogue with Jews.” He also has written numerous articles and papers – covering issues such as interfaith dialogue, missiology and liturgy – in English, French, Swedish, German, Danish, Czech, Dutch and Italian.
Rausch teaches classes in Islam, Islamic literature, Islamic culture, Sufism and gender in Islam and society at the University of Kansas. She previously has served as a lecturer at Free University, Berlin, Germany, and taught at Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
An accomplished scholar, Rausch has published and presented extensively. Her books include “Bodies, Boundaries and Spirit Posession: Moroccan Women and the Revision of Tradition” and “Modern Literary Arabic,” an advanced level course book co-authored with Frederic Cadora. She has been awarded numerous fellowships, including a Fulbright-Hays Turkish Language Fellowship for study in Istanbul, Turkey, and an Arabic Language Fellowship for study in Cairo, Egypt. Currently, Rausch is a Hall Center for the Humanities Research Fellow at the University of Kansas.
She has language proficiency in Arabic, French, German, Persian and Turkish, and has taught a variety of languages and dialects in Germany and as a member of the Peace Corps in Kousseri, Cameroon.
Rausch holds a doctorate in Islamic studies from Free University. She earned her master’s in Middle Eastern history and bachelor’s in French language and literature from Ohio State University.
Wernick has served as rabbi and spiritual leader at Ahavath Achim Hebrew Congregation in Wichita since 2004. He previously has served at Beth Judah Temple, Wildwood, New Jersey; Rabbi Isaac Luria Synagogue, Miami Beach, Florida; Congregation Ohev Shalom, Johannesburg, South Africa; Congregation Shearith Israel, Dallas, Texas; and Congregation Shearith Israel, Atlanta, Georgia.
Wernick also has taught courses in Judaism and related topics at many universities, including Friends University, Wichita State University, the South African Jewish Theological Seminary and Southern Methodist University.
He has edited and authored a number of books, including translations, commentaries and prayers books. In 2006 he was elected to the Board of Directors of Inter-Faith Ministries in Wichita, Kan. He also currently serves as president of the Greater Wildwood Pastoral Association, a group dedicated to bringing together different faith groups.
In 1988, Wernick founded the Conservative Movement in Johannesburg, South Africa, and from 1990-1995 he chaired the Citizens Committee for Social Action there, which brought together different faith and racial groups in an effort to dismantle the regime of apartheid.
Wernick holds a doctorate degree from Brigham Young University. He earned his master’s in Hebrew literature and was ordained a rabbi at The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He also holds a bachelor of arts from Long Island University.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The mission of Bethany College is to nurture and challenge individuals in their search for truth and meaning as they lead lives of faith, learning and service. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.edu.
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