The Theologian in Residence Weekend is a new opportunity at St. Simons Presbyterian to visit with and learn from distinguished teachers and preachers of the Christian faith. This year, we will be welcoming Dr. Erskine Clarke - Professor Emeritus of American Religious History at Columbia Theological Seminary - as our theologian in residence. Dr. Clarke has spent a lifetime studying American religious history with a special focus on the rise of a distinctive African-American Christianity and Presbyterianism in coastal Georgia and the Carolinas. He will offer a free public lecture in the sanctuary on Friday evening, a guided trip to Midway and Dorchester on Saturday, and a joint Sunday school class that Sunday.
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Friday, February 9
Public Lecture 7 PM | Social Hall Nursery will be available. Join us for an informative and introductory lecture by Dr. Erskine Clarke that will provide a brief European prologue and then a review of the settlement of the SC and Georgia low-country by Puritans and French Huguenots, Scots and Scot-Irish. The rise of a distinctive African-American Christianity and Presbyterianism will be a major theme in preparation for the Saturday trip to Midway & Dorchester.
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Saturday, February 10
Guided Trip to Midway & Dorchester 8:30 AM - Mid Afternoon All Ages Welcome! $40/ person - Payment covers the cost of a chartered bus & lunch. Please make payment to the church office before the trip. Hop on a chartered bus with us to Midway and Dorchester as Dr. Erskine Clarke guides us through the Midway museum and church to learn about the important entry into an enormously influential Antebellum Calvinist community followed by a tour in Dorchester where we will learn wonderful insights into the history of the Gullah-Geechee people and the role of the church in their community. We will have lunch together in Darien at Skippers followed by a special performance by the The Geechee Gullah Ring Shouters! You will not want to miss this time of learning and fellowship with one another! Please meet at the church at 8:30 AM to load the bus!
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Sunday, February 11
Joint Sunday School Class 9:30 AM | Social Hall Dr. Clarke will focus on the life of Jane Bayard Wilson, born on Cumberland Island, granddaughter of Major General Lachlan McIntosh of Revolution fame. She and her husband, John Leighton Wilson-from Bob's family home territory in SC-were the most important US missionaries to West African in the first half of the 19th century. Because they freed their slaves and fought the international slave trade, but returned to the South in 1861, they make a particularly important study for understanding some of the issues before the nation today. They also point to the ways that the church today is growing rapidly in other parts of the world-esp. Africa & Asia.
Join us after worship on this day for our "Love One Another" Luncheon! All are welcome.
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