Rev. Dr. Matthew Ichihashi Potts on Forgiveness, Grief, and Re-Creation [06/09/24]

CMM Presents the Dr. Alice Kidder Memorial Lecture

Rev. Dr. Matthew Ichihashi Potts on Forgiveness, Grief, and Re-Creation

Sunday, June 9, 2024, 3:00 - 4:30pm

Eliot Church of Newton UCC

474 Centre St. Newton, MA 02458

Book talk & discussion in the sanctuary with a reception to follow in the chapel

Keynote Address:

Rev. Dr. Matthew Ichihashi Potts, MDiv '08, PhD '13, was appointed the Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church and the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals in 2021. Matt has served on the faculty at Harvard Divinity School since 2013, and has focused his teaching on sacramental and moral theology, ministry and pastoral theology, religion and literature, and preaching. He is the author of two books, Cormac McCarthy and the Signs of Sacrament: Literature, Theology, and the Moral of Stories (Bloomsbury, 2015) and Forgiveness: An Alternative Account (Yale University Press, 2022). He has also published scholarly essays in several leading journals and invited essay collections, and he sits on the editorial board of the journal Literature and Theology. He is also co-host of the podcast Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. Matt earned his BA from the University of Notre Dame, and both his MDiv and PhD degrees from Harvard. He served as both an officer in the United States Navy and as a college administrator before being ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. He has since ministered to several parishes in Massachusetts. Matt is originally from Michigan and now lives on the University campus in Sparks House with his wife Colette, their three children, and a whoodle named Suki.

Respondents include:

A bridge-builder, Rev. Andrew Kimble cares about sustaining collaborative partnerships between educational institutions and the wider public. An ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Andrew serves as Executive Minister at Grant AME Church in Boston. At Boston University School of Theology (STH), Rev. Andrew co-leads philanthropic and alumni engagement initiatives, helping to raise financial support for the school and keep STH's 4,000 alumni connected. At STH, he also directs the online lifelong learning program and co-directs the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. He's also an educational advisor for the Trauma-Responsive Congregations project at STH and a board member for Cambridge Forum. In his free time, Rev. Andrew enjoys listening to live jazz, running outdoors, visiting the used book section in local bookstores, and spending time with family and friends.

Maxine Lyons is a former CMM board member and co-chair of the Ruah Interfaith Spirituality and the Arts program. She currently serves on CMM’s advisory council, and is an active member of Temple Beth Zion, Brookline. Maxine contributes to the interfaith service weekly with homeless individuals via Chaplains on the Way, and has been mentoring inmates through spiritual accompaniment in Boston and in several places around the country. She lives in Newton with her husband, Len, and is the proud mother of two, as well as a grandmother.

Musical selections from vocalist Lina Marcela Sarmiento Tellez

Lina Sarmiento is a Colombian artist whose interests include music, drawing, and theater. In 2016, she was admitted to the EAFIT University music undergraduate program under the direction of Professor Sandra Caicedo, receiving her diploma in 2021. During the second semester of 2017, she took singing lessons with sopranos Nuray Karabay-Ammicht and Christine Wagner in Vienna. She also studied with Professor Gretchen Windt from the University of Kentucky. Lina Sarmiento was part of the Macondo choir and a member of the international category Cecilia Espinoza chamber choir. She was also a member of the “Madriguera” theater group at EAFIT University, with whom she debuted in many theaters in Medellin. The soprano has performed many solo roles in sacred music, including Schumann's "Requiem für Mignon," Faure’s "Pie Jesu" from his Requiem, and solos in Rutter’s Requiem. She has also sung solo roles in operas and zarzuelas such as Raquel in “La corte del faraón,” Coral in “La leyenda del beso,” and Suor Dolcina and Suor Genovieffa in “Suor Angelica.” Additionally, she has performed in musicals such as "Sondheim on Sondheim," interpreting songs originally sung by Leslie Kritzer. Lina holds a master’s degree in Vocal Performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College, where she studied under Professor Carol Mastrodomenico.

Following the remarks of the keynote and respondents, there will be time for small-group reflection and encounter, as well as Q&A.

Is there a place and role for any forgiveness in our current global conflicts? Does forgiveness have a public place as well as a personal one? How do we encounter and coexist with one another? Can forgiveness stop a war, or broker a peace? Is, or should forgiveness be unconditional? We must have the energy to explore together!

Pricing:

Individual Tickets:

$ 25 - General Admission Ticket
Free - Student Admission Ticket

Sponsorship Opportunities*

$1,000 – Community Innovator (20 tickets, Name in program booklet with sponsorship level)
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$100 - Supporter (4 tickets, name in program booklet with sponsorship level)

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Rev. Dr. Matthew Ichihashi Potts on Forgiveness, Grief, and Re-Creation

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