Me and my hero

Me and my hero - Theological master class

The Remonstrant Church in the Netherlands, in cooperation with the HeartEdge network, the Centre for Contextual Biblical Interpretation and the Arminius Institute are inviting you to join this online live master class, around heroism and heroes from the past and in the present.

What is the difference between a hero and a saint? Rev. Sally Hitchiner, Associate Vicar at St. Martin in the Fields

Sally Hitchiner looks at the differences between heroes in modern secular culture and saints in the Christian tradition. Comparing illustrations from popular culture and international news as with the New Testament and the Christian tradition of saints, she will explore what it means that each of us is invited to live a life of significance in the middle of the everyday world with its ambiguities and hard questions.  She will look at how contemporary methods for teaching ethics often presuppose a secular model but how there is another training school available and reflects on the role of the local church. No capes required.

Reverend Sally Hitchiner is Associate Vicar for Ministry at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London, UK. Her role involves the reimagination of the local church in light of the Ecclesial Ethics tradition and she speaks regularly in the national media on issues of faith and secular culture.

Heroes Made Strange Again - Prof. Dr. Peter-Ben Smit, CCBI

Heroes are attractive because they offer opportunities for identification; at the same time, they challenge their admirers, as they embody high standards of, for instance, morality, sanctity, or success. Such familiarity can, however, also turn saints into rather two-dimensional figures. This talk explores the hero of the Christian tradition par excellence, Jesus of Nazareth, from the perspective of queer approaches to the New Testament, arguing that when Jesus is ‘made strange’ again, he can be an even more fascinating hero, precisely because he eludes the grasp of clear-cut categories and ideals.

Peter-Ben Smit is professor of Contextual Biblical Interpretation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Master class details

When:                   12 March 2021

Where:                  Zoom, free of charge

Time:                     8 PM - 9.30 PM

Registration:          Secretariate Arminius Institute, Vera Kok, v.l.m.kok@vu.nl, Master Class

More information: www.remonstranten.nl/masterclass 

Please register before March 5, 2021

Programme

• Introduction to the master class (Jan Berkvens) 5 min
• Lecture by Peter-Ben Smit 20/25 min
• Lecture by Sally Hitchener 20/25 min
• Discussion (Bert Dicou) 30 min
• Closing remarks (Jan Berkvens) 5 min