Recordings from Be Not Afraid – Consider the Lilies Conference

By A Rocha Manitoba

Aug 29, 2023

From June 9-11, 2023 A Rocha Manitoba, together with St. Margaret’s Anglican Church, hosted Be Not Afraid Theological Consultation and Consider the Lilies Conference. If you weren’t able to attend, or missed out on a few of the lectures, here is your chance to catch up!

June 9 – Norman Wirzba – “God Loves the Lilies: What it Means & Why it Matters”

Keynote Lecture from Dr. Norman Wirzba

Raised on a farm near Lethbridge, AB, Norman Wirzba is the Gilbert T. Rowe Distinguished Professor of Christian Theology at Duke Divinity School and senior fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. He teaches at the intersection of philosophy, theology, ecology, and agrarian and environmental studies, and is the author and editor of sixteen books, including Agrarian Spirit and This Sacred Life: Humanity’s Place in a Wounded World, as well as many essays and articles.

June 10 – Panel Discussion – Is the World Cursed?

A panel discussion with Norman Wirzba, Trevor Herriot, Rachel Krause, and Deanna Zantingh. Moderated by Kurt Armstrong, St. Margaret’s Community Development Pastor.

Trevor Herriot is a prairie naturalist, activist, and award-winning author from Regina, SK. He is the author of six books, including Islands of Grass, Towards a Prairie Atonement, and The Road is How. His writing has appeared in Canadian Geographic, CBC’s Ideas, and The Globe and Mail, and he is a regular guest on CBC Radio Saskatchewan’s “Blue Sky.” His first novel, The Economy of Sparrows, will be published in September.

Dr. Rachel Krauss – Associate Professor of Biology at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Rachel’s teaching and research interests include parasitology, ecology, and global health. She has a B.Sc. in environmental sciences from the University of British Columbia, and a M.Sc. in Biology from Concordia University (Montreal). She holds a Ph.D. in Parasitology from McGill University, where she studied at McGill’s Institute of Parasitology and the McGill School of Environment.

Deanna Zantingh is a PhD student at St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. She is a Joseph-Armand Bombardier scholar. Her work explores connections between spirituality, eco-theology, and suicide prevention. Alongside a decade of experience in community-based partnerships with Indigenous children and youth work organizations across Manitoba and Northern Ontario, she has also worked with Indigenous elders and knowledge keepers at the Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre along the Brokenhead River in Manitoba. At CHSA, she provides coordinating leadership across all research partnerships and administrative management to the lab.