Australian Centre for Wesleyan Research Conference. We would appreciate it if you could circulate this through your own contact networks.
The Conference will be held at Nazarene Theological College in Brisbane from Friday evening to Saturday evening, 12-13 August, 2016. This year’s theme is ‘Wesleyans at Worship’ and the keynote speaker will be the Rev Emeritus Professor Robert W. Gribben. Professor Gribben is a liturgist and ecumenist who has published widely in the area of worship including Uniting in Thanksgiving: The Great Prayers of Thanksgiving of the Uniting Church in Australia (Melbourne: Uniting Academic Press, 2008) and the entry on The Uniting Church in theOxford History of Christian Worship (Oxford University Press, 2006). He is Chair of the Standing Committee for Ecumenical Relations of the World Methodist Council and recently retired as Editor of The Australian Journal of Liturgy.
Churches in the Wesleyan tradition carry the DNA of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer yet have also been significantly shaped by a revivalist impulse that rejected formality in favour of spontaneity. When John Wesley gave an abridged Sunday Service to American Methodists one itinerant replied, ‘Our preachers prefer to pray with their eyes closed.’ Mainline Methodists and Uniting/United churches were at the centre of ecumenical liturgical renewal in the twentieth century but Wesleyan- Holiness churches have been less enthusiastic about embracing more formal liturgy. Some have simply capitulated to a generic Charismatic style with little sense of their own liturgical heritage. This Conference seeks to engage in thoughtful theological reflection on Wesleyan worship in all its forms. The ACWR welcomes scholarly papers from all disciplines on the chosen theme, including theological, biblical, historical, and social scientific approaches. Paper form outside of the chosen theme which fit within the interests of the ACWR are also welcomed. Please forward an abstract of no more than 300 words to the Secretary of the ACWR – glenaobrien@acwr.edu.au Post-Conference versions of the papers will be considered for publication in the peer reviewed journal Aldersgate Papers.
COSTS: $140.00 per person including a light meal on Friday evening, and lunch and dinner Saturday, but no breakfasts.
ACCOMMODATION: There is no accommodation on the NTC campus but rooms are available for $85.00 per night (including breakfast) at the nearby Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre, Ormiston http://www.santateresa.org.au/asp/index.asp Rooms are limited to ten so it is advised that you book early. Transport to and from the NTC campus will be provided for delegates.
To register for the Conference please visit the ACWR website – http://acwr.edu.au/ Payment can be made via the Payments pagehttp://acwr.edu.au/make-a-payment/ or by direct debit to Australasian Centre for Wesleyan Research BSB: 084004 Account No: 16-000-8239. If paying by direct debit please also email glenaobrien@acwr.edu.au so that we can trace the reason for the payment. You may also send a cheque in the name of ‘ACWR’ to 40 Woodlands Drive Thornlands QLD 4164 Australia, making clear that the payment is for Conference fees.
For further information please contact ACWR Director, Dr. Dean Smith – dsmith@ntc.edu.au
THEOLOGY@Brisbane 