Dreaming for a better world

Speakers

Gregory Baum, OC (born 1923) is a Canadian Roman Catholic theologian.

Born in Berlin, Germany, he came to Canada from England in 1940. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and physics in 1946 from McMaster University, a Master of Arts degree in mathematics in 1947 from Ohio State University, and a Th.D. in 1956 from the University of Fribourg.

He was the Professor of theology and sociology at University of Saint Michael's College in the University of Toronto and subsequently professor of theological ethics at McGill University's Faculty of Religious Studies. He is currently associated with the Jesuit Centre justice et foi in Montreal.

During the church council Vatican II he was a peritus, or theological advisor, at the Ecumenical Secretariat, the commission responsible for three conciliar documents, On Religious Liberty, On Ecumenism, and On the Church's Relation to Non-Christian Religions.

Edward Jackson

Edward Jackson is Associate Professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University, where he is cross-appointed to the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and the Institute of African Studies.  His research and teaching interests include program management, program evaluation, regional development, social enterprise, civil-society financing and community-university partnerships.  From 2007 to 2010, he served as Associate Dean (Research, Graduate Affairs and Faculty Development) in the Faculty of Public Affairs, and chaired university working groups on partnership and community engagement.  Professor Jackson has also served as Chair of the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation, and co-founded the Carleton-World Bank International Program for Development Evaluation Training.  A frequent advisor to governments, foundations and development agencies, he is active in a wide range of research networks and centres, academic societies and professional associations.  His work has been recognized with the Canadian Evaluation Society Award for Contribution to Evaluation in Canada, the Faculty of Public Affairs Teaching Excellence Award, and the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship.

Dr. James Puglisi is the Associate Director of Campus Ministry at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, where he focuses upon the interfaith and ecumenical community. He received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL in the area of Practical Theology with a cross-cultural context. His doctoral writing was titled “Shalom: The Role of Truth Telling in Creating Communities of Racial Reconciliation within Institutions of Christian Higher Education.” He has presented at conferences on racial reconciliation, interfaith dialogue, and faith-based leadership. He also serves as an adjunct professor having taught courses in religious migrations, cultural foundations, legal & ethical issues in higher education and Christian morality. He partners closely in the Austin community with the Institute of Interfaith Dialog and the University Interfaith Council, promoting dialogue within the university setting. He is originally from Pittsburgh, PA.

Brice Balmer received his MDiv from Methodist Theological School in Ohio (1973), his MA in regional planning and resource development from University of Waterloo (1985), and his DMin through University of St. Michael’s College B Toronto School of Theology (1996). Balmer is chaplaincy director at the House of Friendship, has worked as chaplain at a senior’s residence, was co-pastor of First Mennonite Church (Kitchener) for 17 years, and works in a variety of ecumenical and multi-faith organizations. Much of Balmer’s work has been in the development of community organizations and ministries including: Independent Living Centre, St. John’s Kitchen, Core Area Ministry, Justice Information Centre, Interfaith Grand River, coalitions of community groups, various community ministries in local churches. Since 1985, he has supervised both graduate social work and seminary students in community ministry with economically and socially marginalized persons. “Reflection on experience” is one of Balmer’s main interests, especially when working with students and internship/practicum students. 

Whitney S. Bodman came to Austin Seminary in 2002 from Harvard Divinity School where he completed his Th.D. in Comparative Religion and Islamic Studies. During graduate school he served as interim at the Congregational Churches in Wrentham and Uxbridge, Massachusetts.  Bodman also taught at Harvard Divinity School as a teaching fellow and at Hellenic College in Brookline.

A 1977 MDiv graduate of Duke Divinity School, Dr. Bodman was ordained in the United Church of Christ. He has pastored several churches in the northeastern United States, and has been involved in interfaith organizations, including Ecumenical Clergy for the Middle East Crisis and the Massachusetts Conference of Churches Jewish-Christian and Muslim-Christian Dialogues.  His current research focuses on the Qur’an, modern Islam in the Middle East, and rituals of sacred space and pilgrimage.
 
He is currently chair of the Texas Conference of Churches Muslim-Christian Forum and meets with the TCC Jewish-Christian Forum.  He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Texas Impact.

Yetkin Yildirim

Yetkin Yıldırım, Ph.D., is a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin and the vice president and founding member of the Institute of Interfaith Dialog. He received his MA and PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include interfaith dialog, conflict resolution, Islam, and Sufism. He has organized several conferences including at the University of Texas at Austin and St. Edwards University including, "Preventing another September 11th", "Living Together through the Legacy of Abraham", and "Clash of Civilizations.". His "Islamic Perspectives on Spirituality in Childhood and Adolescence," appeared as a chapter in Nurturing Child and Adolescent Spirituality: Perspectives from the World's Religious Traditions.

The Rev. Dr. Peter Barnes is the Regional Coodinator of Bereavement Services for Eastern Health, in St. John’s, NL. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Human Sciences, Counselling and Spirituality Division, Saint Paul University and a member of the School of Graudate Studies, University of Ottawa. He is a certified pastoral counselor and a certified specialist in pastoral care, as well as a teaching supervisor in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). He has taught courses in spiritual care theory and practice and has presented numerous workshops at national and international conferences. He has a keen interest in interprofessional care and education and has team taught an interprofessional course with medical and nursing faculty at the University of Ottawa entitled “Death Made Visible,” as well as participating in the preparation of research proposals in interprofessional learning.

He has served on professional association committees with the Canadian Association for Spiritual Care, formerly the Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education, including chair of the National Ethics Committee, 2003-2005. He presently represents CASC on the Board of the Journal of Pastoral Care Publications and also on the Advisory Board of PlainViews.

He worked for eight years in Ottawa, ON, first with The Ottawa Hospital and then with St. Paul University, as a CPE teaching supervisor and an assistant professor. Also while in Ottawa he was active with the Canadian Institute for Intercultural Dialogue.

He has worked for twelve years in mental health spiritual care in the Mental Health Program of the Health Care Corporation of St. John’s. He is the winner of three group awards: the Interdisciplinary Research Prize, University of Ottawa, 2006, the Group Research Award, Canadian Association for Pastoral Practice and Education, 2009, and the Alan Blizzard Award, Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. He is a graduate of Acadia University, Wolfville, NS, with a Doctor of Ministry, and of Trinity College, Toronto, ON, Masters of Divinity. He is a priest in the Anglican Church of Canada and served in parishes in the Diocese of Western Newfoundland for seventeen years.

Dimitri Kitsikis

Dimitri Kitsikis was born in Athens in 1935. Professor emeritus of the University of Ottawa, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, historian and poet, he is a scholar of international stature.

He received his doctoral degree from the University of the Sorbonne (Paris) in 1962 and has since been teaching political ideologies and geopolitics. He is a specialist of Greek-Turkish relations, China, the Middle East and the History of international relations. His numerous books and articles have been published in many languages.

Professor Kitsikis is the founder of the concept of the “Intermediate Region” of civilization, extending from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River, between the Euro-American West and the Hindu-Chinese East.

In 2007, his book under the title, “A Comparative History of Greece and China from Antiquity to the Present” was published in Greek. This unique work shows the relationship between the two civilizations throughout their history spanning three millennia and focuses on two concepts: the Greek-Chinese civilization in a planetary context and its political expression during the last 2500 years, that is, the ecumenical empire as the ideal organizational model.

In September 2008, the Greek government formally established the Dimitri Kitsikis Public Foundation in Athens by way of presidential decree.