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Guest Speaker Series

Each fall, St. Paul congregation hosts a community-wide Guest Speaker Series, bringing persons of national stature to the Quad Cities for learning in the faith. This event reflects St. Paul’s mission to serve as a learning center for our people and the community.

2010 speaker Bill McKibben

Do you know Bill McKibben? Considered one of the world’s most compelling voices in environmental concerns, this best-selling author and internationally- respected activist is coming to the Quad Cities in October.

The St. Paul Guest Speaker Series, in partnership with Augustana College, will host McKibben in a community lecture on Sunday, Oct. 17, at 4 p.m. in the St. Paul Sanctuary. The event, which includes a question-and-answer period, is free and open to the public.

In his Quad-City visit, Bill McKibben will sound a cry for people to live more lightly on the earth. His topic at St. Paul is Moral Life on a Tough New Planet. On Monday, Oct. 18, he will lecture at Augustana College in Rock Island.

McKibben has taken the lead in the organization 350.org, a global movement to solve the climate crisis. The author of many books and countless articles on the environment, McKibben is perhaps best known for Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future. He was recently featured on the national radio program Speaking of Faith.

Mark your calendars. Tell people you know. McKibben’s voice sounds a wake-up call to get passionate about taking care of our planet.

Bill McKibben’s books are available in the St. Paul bookstore.

2011 speaker: Joan Chittister

Joan Chittister

For some time, our church has been hoping to book Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun and prolific author, for our fall lecture series. She’s coming in 16 months!

Anticipate Oct. 23, 2011, for an encounter with this Benedictine sister who has written more than 40 books and has been at the forefront of global peace movements.

Books authored by Sister Joan are available in the Book Corner.

An impressive line-up

Over the years, Quad-Citians have met renowned authors through St. Paul’s Guest Speaker Series:

1999: Martin E. Marty
2000: Lewis B. Smedes
2001: Dorothy Bass
2002: Tony Campolo
2003: Gerald Sittser
2004: Ann Weems
2005: Craig Barnes
2006: Greg Jones
2007: Tom Long
2008: Brad Hirschfield
2009: Mark Allan Powell

Listen to a lecture

In 2008, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield spoke on the theme of his important book: You Don’t Have to Be Wrong for Me to Be Right: Finding Faith without Fanaticism.

Listen to the lecture:

"A person with hope is alive to God... Hope keeps us on tiptoe, looking for the unexpected." ~Eugene Peterson, theologian