First Wednesday Speaker Series
An intelligent mind acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge. –Proverbs 18:15

Wednesday, October 4, 6:30–8:00pm
Fireside Room

Come to Bethel for dinner and a video on An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story, Niebuhr was one of the most influential American theologians of the 20^th century. He was extremely well known and respected in his day. He is best remembered for “The Serenity Prayer” that Alcoholics Anonymous uses today yet this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the work that he did. He was a friend of Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the rabbi and scholar Abraham Heschel. Come and learn about this incredible man and his life.

Niebuhr rose from a small Midwest church pulpit to become the nation’s moral voice—an American conscience—during some of the most defining moments in recent history. His books, Moral Man and Immoral Society (1932), The Nature and Destiny of Man (1941–43) and The Irony of American History (1952), continue to influence theological and political thinking. An American original, his unique insights into human nature and its relationship to political movements and social justice propelled him to speak openly, and often critically, to an America consumed by moral certainty. For Niebuhr the priority was always justice, his guiding principle was hope in a redeemer God, and his weapon was an extraordinary gift for clarity of thought that made him a leading voice of conscience for his time.

Dinner is Chinese from P.F. Chang’s. A freewill offering of $15 helps us cover costs.

If you plan to come, we really need to know. Please RSVP here.