Angela Gala with Robert Lawrence | December 15, 2021
WISDOM WEDNESDAY
with guest Father Robert Lawrence
DECEMBER 15 , 2021 | 12 PM | VIRTUAL EVENT
What is our worth in the world? How do we measure it? Where do we find significance and dignity? In a busy season of spending and giving, we often struggle with our value. What is the point of our lives and how should we live them?
Over the centuries our wisdom traditions have given us different answers, often through a conversation about glory and how we experience it as humans. In this month's Wisdom Wednesday we will trace that conversation through history and contemplate glory in its many forms and narratives.
The ancient Greeks spoke of Kleos or the renown of glory accomplished through great deeds. Jewish scholars speak of Kabod or the weighty and substantial presence or essence we each have. In the Christian traditions, glory is connected to being an image-bearer, reflecting the light of God. The Sufis teach us about Baraka, a flowing of grace that comes from heart-felt union with the divine.
What is our worth and significance dependent upon today? Is it in the possessions we own? In the celebrity that we have? In the deeds that we do? Is it something inherent in our natures?
Join us in contemplating and discussing these questions with scholar and Eastern Orthodox parish priest, Rev. Father Robert Lawrence of St. Luke Greek Orthodox Church in Mooresville, NC.
Father Robert spent a year traveling and studying in Greece while earning a degree in Classical Studies from Duke University and has lived in Japan and Bahrain while serving as an Intelligence Officer in the US Navy. He is fascinated by the power of stories to shape our lives as well as our understanding of what is good and noble and pure; he is particularly interested in the striking resonance within the differing mythologies of the world. Father Robert is currently finishing up his thesis "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" as he completes work toward a Doctorate in Ministry at Duke University. His thesis explores how the telling of stories impacts the way we experience the world and how we then find value and worth in our own lives.
Hosting the conversation is Jennifer Dow, founder and director of The Paideia Fellowship, an organization devoted to coaching educators on how to teach the classical liberal arts.
Wisdom Wednesdays is a lunch-time conversation series that explores deep insights about ourselves and the world. A mid-day break to enrich your thinking, life, and connections.
