Theological Symposium – Call for Papers

The Theological Symposium committee invites proposals for open sectionals for the 33rd Annual Theological Symposium, September 19-20, 2023, at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.

The title this year is “Church and Society: Living by Hope in a Secular Age.”

We live in a time in which the church’s place and voice are no longer valued by our American society. The political and cultural landscape often conflicts with the moral vision of Christianity, a vision increasingly deemed a threat to the public good. The fear, frustration, and disappointment that abounds in our polarized society have begun to inhabit and take root in the church as well. How can hope—our Christian hope in a future of our world healed and made new—better shape our engagement and witness in our society?

In this symposium, we will take up the perennial and urgent question of how the church faithfully engages with culture and society. Political disagreement, social ills, moral decay, and disillusionment all challenge the church to speak and act. How we can do so together, especially in our congregations, vocations, and public witness will be the subject of our plenary talks and sectional presentations.

A paragraph abstract should be submitted to Erika Bennett, Director of Continuing Education, via email ([email protected]) by June 5.

Once your proposal is approved you will receive an email from the Whova phone app requesting your presentation title, description, short bio, and headshot so our symposium guests can pre-register for all of the sessions in person.

Sectional presentations are 45 minutes long, allowing time for questions and discussion.

We also ask that you provide us with a pre-recording of your presentation so we can make it available after the symposium at https://scholar.csl.edu/.

We look forward to receiving your proposals.