Calvin Theological Seminary

January Term 2024
2024-01-04 - 2024-01-24
3 weeks of classes – exact schedule varies by course

Stob Lecture Colloquium 2024 Speaker - Dr. Lydia Dugdale
2024-01-23 15:30 - 17:00 (America/Detroit) | Chapel
Stob Lecture Colloquium 2024 Speaker – Dr. Lydia Dugdale

Dr. Lydia Dugdale is known around the world for her work as a medical ethicist. She also practices internal medicine and teaches at Columbia University where she serves as director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics.
Dr. Dugdale is a Christian and a scholar in end-of-life issues, medical ethics, and the doctor-patient relationship. Her new book, The Lost Art of Dying, offers insight and thoughtful guidance on how to die well. Dr. Dugdale also authored Dying in the 21st Century. She previously served Yale University as the associate director of the Program for Biomedical Ethics and founding co-director of the Program for Medicine, Spirituality, and Religion.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Dugdale for the 2024 Stob Lecture and Stob Lecture Colloquium.

Stob Lecture Colloquium 2024
Featuring Dr. Lydia Dugdale
Moderated by Dr. Ronald Feenstra, Professor of Systematic Theology
When: January 23, 2024 at 3:30 p.m.
Where: Calvin Theological Seminary Chapel
3233 Burton St. SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49546

Stob Lecture History

Originally called the “Stob Lectureship”, the Stob Lecture Series was signed into being in 1985 as a collaboration between Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary. The annual Stob Lectureship was designed to bring to the campus, in either the fall or spring semester of each year, an established or promising scholar for the delivery of two “Stob Lectures” to a campus audience consisting of professors, students and other interested persons. The chosen lecturer would have a notable academic reputation in the fields of philosophy, ethics, and/or theology; resonate with the Reformed and Christian perspectives embodied by the life and work of Dr. Henry Stob; and have the ability to communicate effectively to a general audience.

January 23, 2024, 3:30 p.m. EST — Attend in person or live-stream the 2024 Stob Lecture Colloquium with Dr. Lydia Dugdale.

Presentation on John Calvin and the Bible
2024-01-25 15:30 - 16:30 | H. Henry Meeter Center, 1855 Knollcrest Circle Southeast, Grand Rapids, MI, 49546, United States
The Meeter Center welcomes students, faculty, staff and emeriti to our upcoming presentation on John Calvin and the Bible, on Thursday, January 25, starting at 3:30 PM in the Meeter Center, Hekman Library fourth floor.
Our speaker is Thomas Alexander (Virginia Theological Seminary). He will be presenting based on the research he carried out as a Meeter Center student research fellowship recipient in 2023 and 2024. His topic is “‘Constantly Kept Before Their Eyes’: John Calvin on Scripture as Text”

First day of classes
2024-01-29

Student Council Meetings
2024-02-05 19:30 - 21:30, 2024-03-04 19:30 - 21:30, 2024-04-01 19:30 - 21:30 | Room 146

Healthy Dialogue Series
2024-02-08 12:00 - 13:30 | Student Center
Mark Yarhouse at CTS – Feb. 8
Mark Yarhouse, author of Emerging Gender Identities will be at Calvin Seminary for a Seminary/Clergy Conversation on Thursday, February 8, at noon in the Student Center. RSVP here so we can provide lunch and so you will receive a short article and podcast link to help frame the conversation.
Yarhouse is a clinical psychologist who specializes in conflicts tied to religious identity and sexual and gender identity. He assists people who are navigating the complex relationship between their sexual or gender identity and Christian faith. He is the Dr. Arthur P. and Mrs. Jean May Rech Chair in Psychology at Wheaton College, where he runs the Sexual and Gender Identity (SGI) Institute.
Yarhouse will also be lecturing on Wednesday, February 7, at 4:00pm in the Calvin University Alumni Board Room. This event is co-sponsored with the Office of the Provost and the Sexuality Series of Calvin University.

Friends Around the World Kick-Off
2024-02-12 12:30 - 13:30 | Student Center
Friends Around the World is an RSAT-run program that provides an opportunity for CTS students from different parts of the world to build friendships and learn about cultures that are different from their own.
What these meetings look like and how often you meet is up to each individual pairing. Maybe it’s coffee at Peet’s or lunch at Chick Fil-A; a weekly Zoom call or a walk around the Calvin Nature Preserve; or perhaps you’re more of a choose your own adventure type?! Regardless, our goal is to help promote community and expose students to new cultures through lasting friendships.
Please sign up today by clicking HERE and then plan to attend a FREE kickoff lunch in the Student Center on Monday, February 12 from 12:30-1:30pm. Signups will close on Tuesday evening, February 6.
If you have any questions, please contact Leah Jolly (ljol236@calvinseminary.edu).

Monthly Mini Colloquium
2024-02-22 12:30 - 13:15 | Student Center
The Monthly Mini Colloquium is back. You are cordially invited to a gathering of students, staff, and faculty where we learn from each other. This month Prof. Daniel Daley will talk about his most recent research topic: “Heirs with Christ: Inheritance in Paul’s Letters and the Ancient World.”
The mini colloquium will be held on Thursday, February 22, at 12:30 – 1:15 PM in the Student Center. Please contact Dr. Yudha Thianto (yudha.thianto@calvinseminary.edu) if you plan to attend. Light lunch will be provided. Everyone is welcomed.

Vocal Recital - "Home"
2024-02-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Chapel
Joshua Shoemaker will be giving a vocal recital. This recital will focus on the theme “home.” Admission is free but a freewill offering will be given to benefit the Idema Food Pantry. Please come to support vocalist Joshua Shoemaker, pianist Larysa Mykhneych, and more friends in their musical journey for home.

Distance Learning Intensives and Residential Reading Week
2024-02-26 - 2024-03-01

Distance Learning Students for Chapel Worship
2024-02-27 12:40 - 13:40 | Chapel
Passage: Isaiah 40:1-11
Title: Comfort, Comfort.
Speaker: MDiv student Kelsey Bruinwood

Tuesday: MDiv student Kelsey Bruinwood will be speaking on Isaiah 40:1-11, “Comfort, Comfort.” We will celebrate the Lord’s Supper together, followed by lunch in the Student Center, sponsored by the Student Life Office.

Distance Learning Students for Chapel Worship
2024-03-01 12:40 - 13:40 | Chapel
Passage: Psalm 90
Speaker: MDiv student Grant Mensonides
Friday: MDiv student Grant Mensonides will be speaking on Psalm 90. A lunch will follow chapel worship for you to enjoy in the Student Center or to take with you if you need to catch a flight or head home after.

Distance Learning Reading Week
2024-03-04 - 2024-03-08

Public Reading of Scripture
2024-03-05 12:00 - 13:00 | Student Center
Event Series: Chapel

Our Tuesday rhythm of Public Reading of Scripture (PRS) continues this semester – Tuesdays at noon, in the Student Center as we continue listening together to God’s Word from Luke/Acts. We’ll listen together and then enjoy the lunch that is provided.

The goal of this spiritual practice is to:

Build community among students, faculty, and staff
Create space for spiritual formation of students, staff, and faculty
Provide experience with PRS for students who can then implement PRS in congregations, ministries, and non-profit organizations
Provide experience, training, and coaching for student leaders on the leadership team

Medenblik Stick
2024-03-09 11:00 - 13:00 | Eagles Ice Center, 2600 Village Drive, Grand Rapids, MI, 49506, United States
Saturday, March 9, 11:00am-1:00pm – The annual Medenblik Stick event will be held at the Eagles Ice Center, 2600 Village Drive, Grand Rapids, MI 49506.
From 11:00am to noon there will be open skating for faculty, staff, students, family, and friends. From noon-1:00pm we will play broomball. Brooms, balls, goals, and helmets are all provided for free. All skill levels are welcome! Free hot chocolate! Come for fun, fellowship, skating, and hot chocolate! See you there!

Oral Comprehensive Exams
2024-03-12 - 2024-03-15

Advising Week
2024-03-18 - 2024-03-22
During Advising Week, class schedules continue as normal

Monthly Mini Colloquium
2024-03-25 12:30 - 13:20 | Student Center
Dr. Ronald Feenstra will speak on “Reformed and Catholic Views of Baptism: Theological Differences over a Unifying Rite.” All students, faculties, and staff are invited. Please RSVP to Dr. Thianto so he can plan accordingly for lunch.

Healthy Dialogue Series with Megan DeFranza
2024-03-27 12:30 - 13:30 | Student Center
Join us for a Seminary / Clergy Conversation with Megan DeFranza, author of Sex Difference in Christian Theology: Male, Female, and Intersex in the Image of God. Please RSVP so we can plan accordingly for food and pass along materials for you to read and listen to prior to the event!

Seminary Closed: Good Friday
2024-03-29

Spring Break
2024-04-01 - 2024-04-05
The Seminary will remain open during Spring Break

2024 Kuyper Conference
2024-04-02 14:00 - 2024-04-04 12:00 | Prince Conference Center and Hotel, 1800 E Beltline Ave SE, Grand Rapids, 49546, United States
Calvin University and Calvin Theological Seminary will host the 2024 Kuyper Conference at the Prince Conference Center on the Calvin University campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan (USA) from April 2-4, 2024. The general theme for the conference plenary sessions is “Stewardship in the Kingdom: Business, Academy, and Society.”
In addition to the advancement of scholarship, this conference aims to foster personal and professional networks of scholars, pastors, ministry professionals, civic leaders, and practitioners with interests in Kuyper and neocalvinism as well as Reformed theology and public life.
Please click this link for more information.

Meeter Center Spring Lecture on Religious Revival
2024-04-03 16:00 - 17:00 | H. Henry Meeter Center, 1855 Knollcrest Circle Southeast, Grand Rapids, MI, 49546, United States
Come hear from Dr. Otto Selles (French Department at Calvin University) about a fascinating episode of religious revival among French Protestants in Montpellier in the early 18th century. The Meeter Center Spring Public Lecture takes place on Wednesday, April 3, at 4 PM in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall, off the Library Lobby. His presentation is titled “Prophetic Calvinism and a Huguenot ‘Awakening’ in Montpellier, France (1720-1723)” Don’t miss it!

Calvin Studies Society Colloquium
2024-04-04 00:00 - 2024-04-06 23:59 | Calvin Theological Seminary, 3233 Burton ST SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49519, United States
Calvin Studies Society 2024 Colloquium is on 4-6 April 2024.
Please click this link for more information.

Lecture: “Hyo” and The Public Sphere: An Asian American Public Theology of Family
2024-04-09 16:00 - 17:30 | Meeter Center Lecture Hall
Korean theologian Sung Bum Yun contrasts Western and Eastern approaches to ethics; the Western locates reason as the source of universal values and emphasizes individual duty, the Eastern underscores principles governing interpersonal relationships. Yun then identifies family as the starting point for Christian ethics, specifically focusing on the father-son relationship in Confucian thought, and the notion of filial piety (hyo in Korean) which provides a sense of public order and parallels the relationship between God the Father with his only-begotten. While the German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg is not a Confucian thinker, and his preference for “freedom, love, and equality” over “humility, order, and peace,” is more Western than Eastern, the speaker will argue that the filial hyo the Son shows to the Father may have constitutive significance for Pannenberg’s understanding of the Trinity. Confucian filial piety, similar to the Father-Son relationship in Pannenberg’s immanent and economic trinities, assumes that the father cannot be the father without the son and the son cannot be the son without the father. Following this, the father-son relationship becomes the foundation for public ethics. Drawing on the concepts of Trinity and Hyo, this lecture will discuss an Asian American public theology of the family, noting the formative significance of the Asian American family, and the new family of the Asian American body of Christ. This public theology centered around the Trinitarian hyo will also note feminist critiques of patriarchy, universal reason. The lecture will also discuss another (possibly alternative) familial concept, Jeong (love), offering insights for public-minded Asian Americans located in liminal spaces navigating their Western and Eastern sensibilities.
About the Speaker: Jae Yang is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in the Religion Department at Calvin University. He is the author of many articles around topics of systematic theology, the theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg, Asian American theology, and public theology. He is the author of the book, Christianity Outside the Church: Pannenberg’s Public Theology in Dialogue with Max Stackhouse.

Awakening Worship Night
2024-04-14 19:50 - 21:00 | Chapel
Join Awakening for worship at our worship night, which will be on April 14, 7:50 PM in the Seminary Chapel! Forgiveness as a way that God shows love for His creation is the theme for this semester’s worship night! Let’s find freedom from sin in God’s mercy and show this overflowing love by blooming in praise. If you have any questions, contact Kang Heo (kheo226@calvinseminary.edu).

Women of the Seminary
2024-04-16 18:00 | Watermark Country Club
Event Name: Women of the Seminary
Date: Tuesday, April 16
Time: 6 pm
Location: Watermark Country Club
RSVP Deadline: April 10

Game Night
2024-04-19 17:00 - 21:00 | Student Center
Join RSAT for a pizza dinner and an evening of games and fun! Families are welcome – childcare and activities for children will be provided. No RSVP required! Contact RSAT with any questions (rsat@calvinseminary.edu).
