Welcome
2017 Call For Papers Now Open!
Collegium is pleased to announce its 2017 conference on the theme of “Religion, Technology, and the State: Reformations & Transformations.”
At this annual gathering, we will explore the impact of invention and innovation on religion and state policy through the lenses of religious studies, ethics, theology, and history. In 2017, the year of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Theses and the year of the inauguration of Donald Trump, this theme provides an opportunity for creative, scholarly reflection on both the historic and present interactions between politics and theology, technology and spirituality, and God and national security.
Joining us as this year’s Distinguished Scholar will be the esteemed American religious historian, Dr. Sylvester Johnson, Associate Professor of African American Studies and Religious Studies at Northwestern University. He will present on the topics of “Spirit, Matter, and Machines: Religion and Humanity in a Technological Age” and “Religion and National Security.”
For details on the Call for Papers please click here.
Plan to join us October 19-21,2017 for our next meeting. We’ll be gathering in Chicago at the Cenacle retreat center. Learn more about the 2017 Annual Meeting under “Annual Gathering.”
Mission
The Unitarian Universalist Collegium is a membership association of ordained and lay scholars. Collegium offers religious scholars an opportunity to share their research and to develop collegial relationships. By design, it caters to the unique requirements of college students, doctoral and post-doctoral students, professors, scholar-ministers and independent scholars.
Community Building
Every year Collegium hosts an annual meeting to encourage in-depth conversations about theological, ethical, and historical topics of interest to Unitarian Universalists and other liberal religionists. Learning and sharing take place in plenary sessions featuring a guest speaker, presentations, Q&A sessions, worship services, communal meals, and social time. These academic and networking components foster community building and knowledge development.
Remembering Neil Gerdes
The Executive Committee of Collegium is sad to announce the death of the Reverend Dr. Neil Wayne Gerdes, a founding member of Collegium, Professor Emeritus and longtime Dean of the Wiggin Library at Meadville Lombard Theological School. The seminary’s president, Lee Barker, writes:
“Neil was Unitarian Universalism’s librarian extraordinaire, having served on the faculty of Meadville for 40 years prior to his retirement in 2013. He was a wonderful mentor to students, a lover of books and information, a passionate spokesperson for tradition and academic protocol, an erudite conversationalist, a man of very goofy humor, and a champion for liberal theological education. He gave much to our school and our students and to our movement. The school has lost one of its giants.
“Neil’s legacy will live on through our alums, but also in Meadville Lombard’s rare book collection, which is named after him. During his years as Dean of the Library and Associate Professor of Bibliography, he ensured that the Wiggin Library played a vital role in forming ministers and serving the wider Unitarian Universalist community. Neil adapted the library to serve a new educational model and shaped it to take full advantage of a new, state-of-the-art facility. Because of this stewardship, the library will be able to continue to adapt and to serve Meadville Lombard for years to come.”
Neil’s commitment to the intellectual life of Unitarian Universalism was signaled both by his presence at the founding meeting of Collegium in the 1975-76 academic year and his devotedly continuous service as secretary-treasurer of our “Association for Liberal Religious Studies” for the next thirty-seven years. We should not forget Neil’s gift for creating a warm, friendly social atmosphere during Collegium meetings: seeing to having snacks and libations, and reminding programmers not to shirk “conviviality time.” He helped dependably with ground transportation to and from meetings and airports, and generally taking good care of us by overseeing a myriad of logistical details. We honored that faithful dedication by naming Neil as our “Distinguished Scholar” for our 2014 meeting.
Neil himself provided an insightful closure of self-retrospection:
“For me my most meaningful and profound learning has come from the pages of books, often guided by great teachers. For me the most critical task of theological education is the spiritual formation of men and women into ministers. Thus my job of providing the best theological libraries I can and of teaching spiritual direction whenever possible has been one of my life’s primary pleasures and commitments.”
— Neil Wayne Gerdes
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