Center for Faith & Culture at William Jewell College
Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral is one of the churches in the greater Kansas City area partnering with William Jewell College’s Center for Faith and Culture. We are excited to be a part of this program! We hope you will take advantage of this learning opportunity by signing up for one or more classes, whether at the Cathedral or at one of the other partner churches.
Below are the classes offered at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral. Read about all the classes offered through the Center for Faith and Culture here.
Christian Discussions about When Personhood Begins
Wednesdays, Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2, 9
6:30-7:45 p.m.
Dr. Gary Armstrong, Professor of Political Science at William Jewell College
The question of when we should say human personhood begins has long been important. We have seen startling technical changes in assisted human reproduction. We are all hearing important discussions about crucial legal changes since the end of Roe v. Wade. Missouri may vote on a constitutional amendment in November. This course will survey some important contemporary Christian thinking about personhood. It will use some of the same discussions from Gary Armstrong’s Core Curriculum Capstone “Birth By Any Means? The Ethics of Assisted Reproductive Technology” at Jewell. We will explore a seminal analysis from a Roman Catholic theologian who thinks we cannot say personhood begins at conception for scientific and theological reasons and examine an important response. We will follow a Protestant theologian wrestling with classic Scripture passages that bear on abortion while trying to develop a standard about whether Christians can ever cooperate in good conscience with abortion; we will consider applying the same standard to genetic screening of early embryos.
Gary Armstrong is Professor of Political Science at William Jewell College.
Heaven and Earth: Biblical Cosmology and the Human Being
Wednesdays, Oct. 23, 30, Nov. 6, 13
6:30-7:45 p.m.
Exploring the creation account of Genesis and other Biblical accounts of heaven and earth we will reconstruct the ancient Hebrew model for the cosmos and explore the significance of each element, the identity and role of human beings within it, and what ultimate purpose this cosmos serves. There will also be opportunity to compare this ancient account of the cosmos with our own modern understanding of the universe and consider how we might reconcile the two.
The Rev. W. James Yazell serves as Associate Priest at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City and is a Master of Sacred Theology student at the School of Theology, The University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee. He holds a Master of Divinity from the same institution, earned in 2019, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, completed in 2014. His research and teaching interests span across the areas of Systematic Theology, Moral Psychology, and Christian Spirituality.
Bridge Building Toward a Flourishing Life for All: Deepening Solidarity in the Quest for Social & Racial Justice
Wednesdays, Jan. 22, 29, Feb. 5, 12
6:30-7:45 p.m.
Does our faith in Jesus Christ have a role in the quest for social and racial justice? Can the church build bridges and deepen solidarity around crises such as poverty, violence, and equal rights for all? And if so, how do we do it? These questions are explored while examining the theological lenses and Biblical interpretive conclusions which shape our Christian witness and guide us in attempting to partner with God in creating a flourishing life for all.
Vernon Howard, Jr., is a Civil Rights leader, activist, lecturer and pastor ordained within the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc., (1992) and has served within the pastoral ministry for thirty 30 years in various church settings throughout Christendom.
A Kansas City native, Howard is a product of the Kansas City, Missouri, public schools, a graduate of William Jewell College, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, and earned the Doctor of Ministry degree from Virginia Union University within the Samuel D. Proctor School of Theology. He has taught as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Arizona and Central Baptist Theological Seminary, currently serving as adjunct instructor and Fellow within the Center for Faith and Culture at William Jewell College.
He is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City (SCLC-GKC), a legacy Civil Rights organization started by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., during the mid-20th century civil rights era. He also serves as the senior pastor of the Historic St. Mark Church in Kansas City.
Praying the Lenten Gospels: Embodying ourselves in the Wilderness
Wednesdays, March 12, 19, 26, April 2
6:30-7:45 p.m.
Dean Keyse will lead four Lenten mediations in which participants will listen to the corresponding Gospel for the upcoming Sunday, Year C, and begin to picture themselves within the story. Each meditation will utilize images and music associated with that particular Gospel. With the image before us, we will hear the reading and immerse ourselves within the wilderness of Lent. Time for reflection and discussion will follow. The four Gospels we will use are Luke 13:31-35; Luke 13:1-9; Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32; and John 12:1-8.
The Very Rev. Dr. Andy Keyse is the 9th dean of Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral and began his ministry there on Dec. 1, 2019. Prior to coming to Kansas City, he served as the Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Florence, Alabama (2007-2019), and as the Associate Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Hinsdale, Illinois (2002-2007). He received his Master of Divinity in 2002 and a Doctor of Ministry (Liturgy) in 2018, both from the School of Theology, The University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee. Keyse was ordained both Deacon and Priest in the Diocese of Chicago in 2002.