The third annual James Sawers Jr. Speaker Series
November 5, 2019
The third annual James Sawers Jr. Speaker Series presented by the Charleston Interreligious Council and Roper St. Francis Healthcare starts this Thursday
The third annual James Sawers Jr. Speaker Series presented by the Charleston Interreligious Council and Roper St. Francis Healthcare will be headlined by Wendy Cadge, Ph.D., a sociologist at Brandeis University and expert in contemporary American religious demographics. The series of presentations will focus on the intersections of religion and the sites of everyday lived experience, such as healthcare, higher education, and more. These free lectures and workshops are open to the public and will be held Nov. 7-9, 2019 at locations in and around Charleston.
Why: The 2019 speaker series, named for the late Dr. James Sawers Jr., who served as president for the Christian-Jewish Council of Greater Charleston, was created to explore issues in contemporary American religion.
Who: All events are free and open to the public. Those of all faiths and religious backgrounds are welcome to attend to be part of the conversation. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the role of sacred places, the work of chaplains and what scholars can learn about people and suffering, the many ways religion is a force for cooperation and conflict in the contemporary world, and several more topics.
Cadge has earned bachelor’s degrees in religion, sociology, and anthropology from Swarthmore College, as well as both a master’s degree and doctorate in sociology from Princeton University. Cadge is a member of the American Sociological Association (ASA), the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR), and the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). She currently serves as the co-chair of the Innovations in Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care Program Unit of the American Academy of Religion (AAR).
Where: The James Sawers Jr. Speaker Series includes four lectures:
- “Boston’s Hidden Sacred Places”
Thursday, November 7, 2019 at 4 p.m.
Arnold Hall, Jewish Studies Bldg., 1st Floor, 96
Wentworth St, (downtown) Charleston, SC 29424
This presentation will describe what can be learned about spirituality and religion in the contemporary American landscape by looking at sacred places that exist outside of congregations. In this lecture, Cadge will share how her research of more than 60 sacred spaces in and around greater Boston applies to other spaces with a spiritual mission within secular institutions.
- “Paging God: Religion in the Halls of Medicine”
Friday, November 8, 2019 at noon
Roper-St. Francis Hospital, Board Room, Cancer Center,
2085 Henry Tecklenburg Dr. (West Ashley), Charleston, SC 29414
This session explores how spirituality and religion are present in hospitals and how healthcare professionals, including chaplains, navigate the topics with patients and families.
- “A Case of Religious Acceptance”
Friday, November 8, 2019 at 3:30 p.m.
Alumni Center, School of Education, College of Charleston,
86 Wentworth St. (downtown), Charleston, SC 29424
(Enter through courtyard on St. Philip St)
A conversation based on the case study that researches the Buddhist and Jewish communities in western Massachusetts, New York and California. A story of a Jewish born mother who became a Buddhist priestess wants her son to have a bar mitzvah at a synagogue in Syracuse, New York. The rabbi will have to or need to decide (source: The Pluralism, Project, Harvard University).
- Keynote Lecture: “God Around the Edges: Moral Frameworks in Times of Crisis”
Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 7 p.m.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1519 Sam
Rittenberg Blvd. (West Ashley), Charleston, SC 29407
In her latest book with the same title, Cadge examines who chaplains are and what scholars can learn about how people make sense of suffering by analyzing their daily work. In this presentation, attendees will hear the analysis, explanations, and practices that chaplains have developed around suffering, resilience, hope, and other aspects of personal experiences. This research is based on several years of ethnographic and historical research in Boston.
Please visit www.cicouncil.org/events for more information. For questions about the speaker series, contact Ken Fox at 843-763-3150 or [email protected].
About Charleston Interreligious Council
Charleston Interreligious Council seeks to build bridges of understanding to promote sensitivity, tolerance, respect and fellowship among religious groups. It fulfills this mission by developing, presenting and/or sponsoring educational programs to promote intra- and inter-religious dialogue; conducting, sponsoring and/or supporting inter-religious events, service-oriented projects and activities; increasing public awareness of inter-religious issues and shared concerns. Formerly known as Christian-Jewish Council of Greater Charleston, Charleston Interreligious Council works to provide educational opportunities that reflect its mission and goals. For more information, visit www.cicouncil.org.
