AN ONLINE EMBER DAY* EDUCATIONAL EVENT FOR ROSTERED MINISTERS.
Our Fall Ember Day is an opportunity to take a brief rest from trying to find our way through the pandemic to turn our attention to the main thing we have been called to, which is the ministry of the parish. Fr. Radu Bordeianu will lead us through an Orthodox and ecumenical examination of the parish and its ministry, expanding our familiar definitions of Church and describing what it means to be on the road together in our local communities of faith. For Lutherans, the local congregation, the parish, is the foundational building block of the Church. Our day of study seeks to affirm and refresh the essential work of the parish, which is the basis of all our various ministries.
Ember Days help us to rekindle a passion for gospel by dedicating periodic days of study and refreshment.
RSVP BY TUESDAY, September 14
$7 REGISTRATION FEE
Fr. Radu Bordeianu, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Theology, Duquesne University
Fr. Bordeianu's research focuses on ecumenical ecclesiologies, especially the dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic churches, the relationship between the Trinity and the Church, theology of creation, and environmental issues. His book, Dumitru Staniloae: An Ecumenical Ecclesiology has been published by Continuum (2011). His other works appeared in Pro Ecclesia, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Downside Review, Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies, Theological Studies, book chapters, etc. He has presented numerous academic papers and was invited guest lecturer nationally and internationally.
He also served as President of the Orthodox Theological Society in America (OTSA) and is a member of the North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation. He is also one of the co-conveners of the Jewish-Christian Dialogue in Pittsburgh, PA. Fr. Bordeianu is involved in various capacities with the most active ecumenical organization in the area, namely Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania.
* Unfamiliar with the tradition of Ember Days? Philip H. Pfatteicher sheds light on these observances in Journey into the Heart of God: Living the Liturgical Year:
"The turning of the four season of the natural world has been incorporated into the church's calendar. These are the Ember Days, the name derived from the German Quatember, a corruption of quattuor tempore, "the four times." ... Recognizing an increasing estrangement from the agricultural setting of the Church's calendar, [the Church] replaced the Ember Days with prayer for various needs set by regional conferences of Bishops... but eventually replaced by quarterly lectures and examinations in the catechism." (p.67)