19.05.2015
Author Lisa Sharon Harper to Speak on Corporate Confession and Forgiveness at Church’s Ministry of Healing Event
International speaker, author and activist Lisa Sharon Harper (pictured) will speak in Christ Church Cathedral on Saturday, 6 June 2015. The title of the talk is Forgive Us: Confessions of a Compromised Faith, taken from her most recent book of the same name. In Forgive Us, she and her co–authors call for a Nehemiah–style corporate confession of the ways the evangelical church in America has injured the very people it should have been serving. Although the book is written from an American perspective, bookseller Richard Ryan thinks it has something to say to an Irish audience, too, calling it ‘a brave, important, hard–hitting book which examines our failings and urges our forgiveness’.
Harper is the Senior Director of Mobilising for Sojourners, a Christian, nonpartisan organisation in the US committed to social justice. She has written extensively on tax reform, immigration reform, health–care reform, poverty, racial justice, and transformational civic engagement. Her faith–rooted approach to advocacy and organising has activated people across the U.S. and around the world to address structural and political injustice as an outward demonstration of their personal faith.
Beginning at 2.00 pm in the cathedral’s spacious Music Room, Harper will draw from Genesis 1, focusing on the significance of the image of God and God’s kind of governance, leading to ‘God’s kind of peace’.
Harper is speaking at the invitation of The Church’s Ministry of Healing: Ireland. ‘I’m very mindful that the difficult conversations surrounding the marriage referendum will still be fresh,’ said Ministry Coordinator Jessica Stone, ‘And I’m also thinking about the Homeless Jesus sculpture now on the grounds of the cathedral, drawing our attention to people it’s often more comfortable to ignore. I expect Lisa to challenge us—in what ways have we failed to honour the image of God in each other? And I expect she’ll inspire us also—how can we participate in God’s healing mercy? How can we further “God’s kind of peace”?’
Admission to the event is £15/€20, and there will be a reception following the talk. The Book Well will be making copies of Forgive Us along with some other selections available for purchase. Booking is essential and can be made by emailing hello@ministryofhealing.ie.
After the reception, participants are welcome to join in celebrating CMH: Ireland’s Annual Thanksgiving Service at 4.15 pm in the cathedral, a Service of Wholeness & Healing with Holy Communion.