Off Campus Seminars

47 Family Systems Perspectives for Clergy and Laity

Fr. John Rushofsky, pastor, St. Sebastian Parish, Ross Twp., Pittsburgh, Pa. and Western Pennsylvania Family Center faculty / Participants in this class will enjoy a hands-on approach to develop a fuller knowledge of Family Systems Theory and how it can help them understand their relationships with members of their congregation. No previous study of Family Systems is necessary. Text to read will be determined at the first meeting. There will be “real life” presentations by group members. The course is open to clergy and laity of any denomination and is co-sponsored with the Western Pennsylvania Family Center. / September and October 2009 (Second and fourth Wednesdays); November 2009– May 2010 (Second Wednesdays); 12:00-2:00 p.m. / $180 / 2.4 CEUs/ Held at Western Pennsylvania Family Center, 733 N. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206 

Brochure

48 Christian Theology and Undoing Violence: Strategies for Peace that Work!

Ron Peters, Director of the Metro-Urban Institute at PTS and Professor of Urban Ministry / More than 1.6 million people die annually due to some violent act – from bullying among school-age children, domestic violence, child abuse, video games, punk rock, gangsta rap, and hazing on college campuses, to reckless or illegal use of guns, suicidal bombings, and acts of war. Violence harms both individuals and communities. This course will consider Martin Luther King, Jr.'s ideas about nonviolence as a strategy for undoing violence and its harmful effects in society, and it will provide suggestions for what Christians can do in their churches and communities to promote justice and peace. / Wednesday evenings, Oct. 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2009 / $45 / 0.6 CEU / WHEELING, W.Va.: Vance Presbyterian Church / BAKERSTOWN, Pa.: First Presbyterian Church 

49 Main Themes in Orthodoxy: How an Ancient Tradition Illumines our World

Edith Humphrey, Professor of New Testament, PTS / How do a Salvation Army lassie, a Jesus freak, and a disillusioned Mormon all find themselves In the Eastern Orthodox Church? What are the riches of Orthodoxy that so many of different backgrounds have found compelling, even in the 21st century Western world? Professor Humphrey, born fourth-generation Salvationist, became Orthodox by way of Anglicanism. Keeping In mind that "orthodoxy" means both "right doctrine" and "right worship," she will lead us to consider questions of the Bible and tradition, worship and spirituality, and mystery and spiritual disciplines. / Wednesday evenings, Jan.13, 20, and 27, 2010, 7:00-8:30 p.m. / $35 / 0.5 CEU / WHEELING, W.Va.: Vance Presbyterian Church / BAKERSTOWN, Pa.: First Presbyterian Church  

50 Youngstown, Ohio / The Schaff Lecture in Youngstown

Each year the Seminary's annual Schaff Lecturer spens a day in Youngstown, the Schaff family home. The program is coordinated by the First Presbyterian Church and the Mahoning Valley Association of Churches / Daniel Aleshire, executive director of The Association of Theological Schools  / Mon., March 23, 2010 / 4:00 p.m. gathering for pastors (reservations and dinner cost required), 7:00 p.m. public lecture (free and open to the public) / Held at First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown