Event Announcement

Theological Conversations with Hartmut Rosa

The Center for Barth Studies is pleased to announce an upcoming hybrid conference titled “The Church, the Pastor, and Resonance in an Accelerated Age: Theological Conversations with Hartmut Rosa” at Princeton Theological Seminary on September 23–24. In partnership with Luther Seminary and funded by a Lilly Endowment grant, this conference will facilitate an exciting and new theological conversation through critical engagement with the work of renowned sociologist Hartmut Rosa.

A great cultural shift seems to be happening to Protestant congregational life and pastoral identity today. But recognizing what is actually changing can be difficult to name, and misdiagnosing the challenges we face can happen easily.

On September 23 and 24, we invite you to join us in a unique conversation between internationally-recognized practical and constructive theologians and Hartmut Rosa. Rosa is considered to be one of most important big-idea sociologists in the world. Rosa particularly names how the acceleration of human life has alienated us from the world, keeping us from social connection in our most important relations and fraying our social fabric. Over the two days of this conference, participants are invited into a conversation with Rosa about the future of congregational life and pastoral identity through critical theological engagement with his ideas and their implications for ministry in the present. We believe this event will hearten and inspire all those who care about the future of the church by clarifying the challenge before us, and directing our attention toward the ways God is leading in the here and now.

Plenary speakers include Hartmut Rosa, Gerardo Martí, Andrew Root, Rahel Siebald, John Swinton, Miroslav Volf, Claudia Welz, and Philip G. Ziegler with David Wood as moderator.

We hope you can join us either in-person or virtually this September!