Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Thomas Merton

Evelyn Underhill

Henri Nouwen

Martin Luther King Jr.

Five Downtown Wilmington Churches
&
The Pastoral Summit
(Based at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington)
PRESENT...

Encounters with Extraordinary Men and Women

Five downtown Wilmington churches will host a "Spiritual Masters" series this fall. Mark your calendars now for this exciting series, which will feature presentations on five inspiring religious figures who each can uniquely speak to our lives today. Dinner will be included at no cost...a freewill offering will be taken. This series promises to be a great opportunity for education, inspiration, and fellowship for the entire family.
Find out more about the series at www.findagreatchurch.org

Tuesdays, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
September 25 - First Baptist Church, 5th and Market Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Presenter: Jayne Davis)
October 9 - St. Mary Catholic Parish, 5th and Ann Thomas Merton (Presenter: Paul Wilkes)
October 23 - Trinity United Methodist Church, 14th and Market Henri Nouwen (Presenter: David Brownlee)
November 6 - St. James Episcopal Church, 3rd and Market Evelyn Underhill (Presenter: Dr. C. Steven Teague)
November 13 - St. Luke A.M.E. Zion Church, 7th and Church Martin Luther King, Jr. (Presenter: Dr. Freddie I. Barnes)

OCTOBER 9: THOMAS MERTON was a Trappist monk and author of some 60 books. His range was wide, from his searingly honest autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, to many books on contemplation and prayer to his essays on such issues as war, race, and the human condition. Merton, who died in 1968, is perhaps the most widely published and read Catholic monk of all time...ST. MARY parish and school serve a diverse community of more than 1,100 families. The parish traces its history to the visits of Bishop England of Charleston in the early 1800s . St. Mary is committed to outreach and education through its social ministry programs and clinics as well as its K-8 elementary school and the strengthening of Christian formation programs for people of all ages...Presenter PAUL WILKES is a UNCW professor, author, WHQR commentator, Pastoral Summit director, and the director/writer of the PBS documentary, Merton: A Film Biography, which he will show and comment upon.

NOVEMBER 6: EVELYN UNDERHILL is one the most outstanding and prolific writers in the field of Christian spirituality in the 20th century. Her writings focus on contemplative prayer, teaching that the life of prayer is not just for monks and nuns, but is for any Christian willing to undertake the journey. Some of her better known works include Mysticism, The Mystic Way, and Worship...ST. JAMES PARISH was founded in 1729, and the current church building was completed in 1840. St. James is an active, working church, and its congregation is a vital part of the community. At St. James, people find a warm, welcoming atmosphere in the tradition of Episcopal life and worship...Presenter DR. C. STEVEN TEAGUE came to St. James in June, 2000, having served as a Baptist minister for about 25 years. During a study at Virginia Theological Seminary, he became acquainted with the spiritual retreats of Evelyn Underhill through Benedictine Spiritual Direction.

NOVEMBER 13: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. demonstrated how one’s relationship with God goes beyond the Sunday morning experience. He demonstrated the words of Christ. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.”... ST. LUKE A.M.E. ZION CHURCH was founded in 1865 when the Rev. James Walker Hood came to Wilmington and found 13 Blacks willing to sever their ties with the White Methodist church and become part of the church. Today, the church‘s mission is to “comfort the sorrowing, strengthen the weak, cheer the weary, heal the sick and redeem the lost.”... Presenter DR. FREDDIE I. BARNES, pastor of First African Baptist Church, Goldsboro, NC, was nurtured during his doctoral work by Dr. Otis Moss, a Martin Luther King scholar and friend.

SEPTEMBER 25: DIETRICH BONHOEFFER was a German pastor and theologian. Believing that only by living completely in this world can one learn to have faith, Bonhoeffer sought to discover the concrete presence of Jesus Christ in the world, especially in a world that was experiencing the rise of Nazism. He was eventually hanged by the Nazis…FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH lives out its witness for Jesus Christ in downtown Wilmington. With a growing membership of more than 1,500, this church draws deeply from a rich heritage of faith, courage, and vision and looks expectantly to the future with this same spirit...Presenter JAYNE DAVIS is director of Christian education at First Baptist. She is the former executive director of the New Hanover County Partnership for Children and the Smart Start initiative. A graduate of Columbia University, she is pursuing the Master of Divinity degree at Campbell University Divinity School.

OCTOBER 23: HENRI NOUWEN has been described as “one of the most beloved and important spiritual writers of the twentieth century.” Many of his books, including The Inner Voice of Love, The Wounded Healer, and The Return of the Prodigal Son, have become classics. His life work and witness are treasured by many as truly inspirational...TRINITY UNITED METHODIST is a church whose outreach goes far beyond that of downtown Wilmington. Trinity’s mission is “to all who are friendless and need love; to all who mourn and need comfort; to all who pray and to all who do not; to all who sin and need a Savior.”... Presenter DAVID BROWNLEE is the director of Wellspring Ministries for the North Carolina Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Brownlee has long been active in spiritual formation both personally and corporately through the Academy of Spiritual Formation, covenant discipleship groups and pastoral leadership.