The Psalms have given words to our wordless prayers and praise for millennia. Each generation discovers fresh insights and resonances. But as culture changes, does a secular world still need the Psalms? Come listen to a poet, a musician, and a biblical scholar discuss the power of the Psalms and poetry for knowing God today. Speakers include Christine Perrin, MFA; the Rev. Dr. Travis Bott; and Dr. Geoffrey Williams. Learn more about our speakers below.
Dinner at 5:30 p.m., followed by the conversation.
Registration fee: $16 (dinner included with registration fee)
Childcare will be available for children ages 2-8, for an additional cost of $10 per child.
Christine Perrin, MFA, has taught literature and creative writing at Johns Hopkins University, with Gordon College’s Orvieto Program, through the Pennsylvania Arts Council to students of all ages, and at the local classical school her children attended. She is the author of Bright Mirror (2017) and The Art of Poetry (2009). She is a two-time recipient of the PA Arts Council Artists Fellowship and a Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference Fellowship. Her own work appears in various journals, including The New England Review, Image, TriQuarterly, Blackbird, Christianity and Literature, and The Cresset.
The Rev. Travis Bott, PhD, is Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. Fr. Bott’s research has focused on the interpretation of the Hebrew poetry of the Psalms with keen interest in understanding figurative language. His forthcoming book Reflections of Genesis in the Book of Ruth will be published with Baker Academic Press. In addition to his academic pursuits, Fr. Bott has been a youth minister to inner-city skateboarders and holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
Dr. Geoffrey Williams is Assistant Professor of Church Music and Director of St. Mary’s Chapel at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. He is founder and artistic director of the GRAMMY-nominated male classical vocal quartet New York Polyphony. In August 2016, New York Polyphony released Roma Æterna, a program highlighted by two masses of the High Renaissance by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Tomás Luis de Victoria. The album, their seventh overall and fourth on BIS Records, debuted at #4 on Billboard magazine’s Traditional Classical Album chart.
