COLUMBIA — The South Carolina Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic and United Methodist Bishops’ Dialogue Fall 2004 Conference will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.
The topic of the conference will be “Who are Our New Neighbors? The Changing Religious Landscape in South Carolina and the Challenges for Communities of Faith.”
The featured speaker will be Carl D. Evans, Ph.D., chairman of the department of religious studies at the University of South Carolina. Evans has been a member of the USC faculty since 1974. He teaches and researches Old Testament and ancient Israelite history, religion and culture.
Evans has a masters and doctorate from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. His concentration is on the Bible and ancient Near East studies. He is the co-editor of “Scripture in Context: Essays on the Comparative Method,” and has also published a variety of articles, essays and book chapters. He is working on a book about the social history of ethnic and religious diversity in ancient Judah.
Evans has been the director since 1991 of Partners in Dialogue, an interfaith project promoting cooperation between the diverse faith groups in South Carolina including Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Muslims and Unitarian Universalists.
Other conference talks include “Religious Diversity and E Pluribus Unum” with Mohamad Alhomsi, Imam for the Islamic Society of Augusta, Ga., and “Interfaith Dialogue and Evangelization” with Rev. Philip Baker, associate professor of Missiology and Evangelism for the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.
The cost for the conference is $15 and includes lunch. Participants must register by Nov. 9.
Make checks payable to LARCUM Fall 2004 and mail to: Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs c/o Melissa Walker P.O. Box 247, Chapin, SC 29036.