Seminary sets 96th convocation Judge Singal among speakers slated for Bangor celebration

BANGOR – United States District Court Judge George Z. Singal will present “Charity and the Art of Accordion Playing” Jan. 30 at the Bangor Theological Seminary’s 96th Convocation.

Convocation 2001, “A World Without Walls: Listening Faith to Faith,” will be held Monday through Wednesday, Jan. 29-31, at the Hammond Street Congregational church and BTS.

Those speaking include the Rev. Barbara K. Lundblad, professor of preaching at Union Theological Seminary; the Rev. Dr. Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary; Dr. Jane I. Smith, professor of Islamic studies and co-director of the MacDonald Center for Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford University; and the Rev. John H. Thomas, president of the United Church of Christ.

Music ministry will include William Friederich, director of the Wilson Center, University of Maine; Jeffery McIlwain, assistant minister at Green Memorial AME Zion Church; Paul Sullivan of Blue Hill, pianist and composer; and St. John’s Parish Choir, which is affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music and has conducted a musical tour of Great Britain.

Singal said this week that he was “surprised and pleased” to be asked by the seminary to speak. Last year, Gov. Angus King spoke at the convocation.

“It is a huge honor to be given so early in my career,” said Singal, who has only been on the bench for six months. Before that he was trial lawyer with an office in Bangor.

“It’s quite a weight to prepare to speak such a gathering,” he added. “It’s unusual for me to give a speech and not wait for a vote.”

He said that although he has never played the accordion, he will use the instrument as analogy on the influence of charity in society. The judge promised a surprise ending to his address.

“My hope for the future of interreligious dialogue is that we can grow together in understanding not only the faith of the other, but our own faith as well,” Smith says on her faculty page on the Hartford Seminary’s Web site.

Smith will speak about her work twice during the convocation.

“Christian-Muslim conversation needs to do more than simply provide information. If we are intellectually and personally honest with one another, the experience has the possibility of being transformative. This scares some people because it may mean change, but it is what motivates and excites me. That’s what I am passionate about.”

Brueggemann has said he is interested in interpretive issues that lie behind efforts at Old Testament theology. He has written or contributed to more than 60 books and published hundreds of articles. He is an ordained UCC minister.

“The symbol of Nike is more powerful than the cross or the star or the crescent,” Brueggemann has said. “The United States is the quintessential practitioner of the quintessential greed.” He will speak twice at Convocation 2001, presenting “Distortion of Scarcity Midst God’s Abundance” and “Covenant as Revolutionary Alternative.”

Thomas, 49, was a pastor for 17 years before becoming assistant to the president of the UCC for ecumenical concerns in 1992. He was co-chairman of negotiations that led in 1998 to full communion between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and three Reformed churches including the UCC. Thomas’ speech is titled ” A World Without Walls or Listening Across the Fence: Recognition in Ecumenical Movement.”

Before turning to teaching, Lundblad, an ordained minister in the ELCA, served 16 years as parish pastor in New York City, and as chaplain at Lehman College and New York University. His teaching interests include preaching in partnership with the congregation, preaching and social transformation, new forms of preaching and preaching as a part of worship.

She will preach on the opening and closing days of the three-day conference.

Music will be an important element of the event again this year. The choir of St. John’s Episcopal Church will present a choral Evensong before the annual alumni banquet. Sullivan will join the Rev. Friederich, a liturgical percussionist, for an evening of “Music for Neighbors” during a fund-raising dinner.

Registration is open to BTS alumni and students, and to clergy and lay members of the community. For information, call 800-287-6781.