Published 15 Nov 2024
Readying ourselves for winter
Grab a sweater and let's talk
A blog post Women Scholars and Professionals
It’s hard to believe it, but winter is just around the corner. What might you do to embrace the quiet and depth of this season? Spiritual writer and professor Marilyn McEntyre joins us on the podcast to discuss her book Midwinter Light: Meditations for the Long Season. In our conversation, Marilyn shares her thoughts on creativity, slowing down, and hope as we discuss life in academia and the challenges of our world. Marilyn offers her own thoughtful wisdom on engaging with the news of the day, as well as some tips for incorporating play into your life. And if you listen to the end of the credits, you’ll hear an excerpt where Marilyn shares her best writing strategies for people in academia.
“I love the relational dimension of teaching, where you get to meet someone at the point of their curiosity or openness, right at their learning edge, and help them into a place of seeing something more complexly or shifting a perspective in such a way that it changes something, for them and for me. It feels magical to me. It still does, after so many years. I think teaching is a pastoral ministry.”
The onset of winter means the start of a new church year: Advent begins on December 1, 2024. We’re not trying to rush anything — there is plenty of time between now and then to enjoy your turkey and dig into some solid tasks of Ordinary Time. But if you’re thinking ahead, you might check out Tish Harrison Warren’s book on Advent which we featured in a podcast episode last year. We’ll be talking more about Advent in the coming weeks and offering ways to observe the season together, but if you’re thinking ahead about what to read, consider placing your order at ivpress.com — and use the code IVPWSAP25 for 25% off and free shipping.
“Advent turns our eyes away from [ourselves] toward this much bigger story of God’s salvation of all the cosmos.”
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Downloadable Pocket Prayer Card from Graduate Healthcare Ministries. Medical students at Brown asked for a small resource that would prompt them to pray throughout the day. Colleague Renee Nicholas created this card with psalms and short prayers to support them — and you’re invited to use it too! Thanks, Renee!
Exploring the Microcosmos: Advent Meets the Microscope — Science Communicators of Faith. The Science Communicators of faith group has its next event scheduled for November 19 at 2:00 pm (central). There will be a special demonstration of the foldscope microscope by an official Foldscope Instruments, Inc. representative, and some advent devotions led by theologian/pastor John van Sloten and Soil Scientist Beth Madison. All are welcome. If you register by the end of this week, you will be entered into a raffle to win a free foldscope microscope! Register here.
Calling All Scientists! The American Scientific Affiliation is hosting their Winter Symposium on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT. The topic is "AI & Christianity" and features speakers Joanna Ng and Rosalind Picard. Register for this online event here.
Save the Date: February 21-22, 2025 for Believers in Business. As the largest Christian MBA gathering in the country, the 2025 Believers in Business Conference is a key intersection of the Christian MBA and Christian professional communities. Mark your calendars to join them in New York this February!
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