Dear friends,
We have some outstanding worship opportunities coming up in this week's session of the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. You are warmly invited to attend all of these services. These events are open to the public and offer rich occasions for worship and continuing education.
Opening Convocation
IWS is hosting a festive Opening Convocation service on Wednesday, June 8 at 6:30 PM. This worship service marks the start of the school's June session and will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, 245 Kingsley Ave. in Orange Park.
The Rev'd Dr. Jack Van Marion, Senior Pastor of Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Minneapolis, MN, and a professor at IWS, will be the preacher.
This communion service will feature music led by faculty, alumni and students and local friends of the IWS community. Nationally renowned organist Dr. Judy Congdon of Houghton College will be the featured organist. The service is free and open to the public.
Commencement
You are invited to attend the IWS Commencement on Sunday, June 12 at 6 PM. This ceremony is a service of worship including a celebration of the Lord's Table. Dr. Robert Stamps will be the guest preacher. Dr. Stamps holds a Ph.D. from Saint John's College/University of Nottingham, England and is ordained in the United Methodist Church. He has served as a university chaplain and as pastor of congregations across the United States. He is the author of, The Sacrament of the Word Made Flesh: The Eucharistic Theology of Thomas F. Torrance, published by Rutherford House, Scotland. Dr. Stamps is also the author of a number of published hymns. Presently, he teaches theology at Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology/Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia, and, beginning this fall, will serve as Dean of the Chapel and interim Professor of Worship at Asbury Theological Seminary.
Worship Seminar
IWS is hosting a worship seminar on Monday and Tuesday, June 13-14, featuring noted theologian, hymn writer and author Dr. Robert Stamps. (See bio above.)
The seminar, "A Sacramental Journey: Remembering Jesus Christ Risen from the Dead," focuses on the Lord's Supper, with the goal of providing an informed and experiential understanding of what transpires at the Lord's Table. Bob Stamps will describe his personal journey that led from youthful inquiry about the Lord's Supper to teaching Sacramental Theology at a seminary.
Stamps' wife, Ellen deKroon Stamps, will also be participating in the seminar. She is the former traveling companion, nurse and secretary to Corrie ten Boom.
Registration for the seminar is $140. More information can be found by clicking here:
http://www.iws.edu/alumni/seminar.html
