Newsletter
Newsletter of the Australasian Theological Forum The newsletter is published about twice per year, and it provided free to members of the ATF. For those who may be considering the benefits of membership, here is a sample, our first edition. | |
In this edition:
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From the Chairperson | |
May 1998 | Dear Colleagues, It is with great delight that the Australian Theological Forum announces the arrival of the first edition of our newsletter Nexus. The newsletter will appear twice yearly in May and October coinciding with the release of our journal, Interface. The newsletter will enable you to network at least part of the theological community on interdisciplinary issues. The ATF has had a struggling beginning but has, I believe, an exciting future. ln the eight months since we announced and began taking members we are, at the beginning of May, close to reaching our conservative target of 100 members by the end of 1998. The number of projects we are involved in this year and have planned for 1999, together with our publishing commitments, means the Forum is moving steadily towards achieving its aims. While the Forum is not an educational body offering courses (it has no buildings or library or paid staff), and is a national body with no physical home as such, it is a catalyst in the engagement of theology and Australian culture. The Forum continues to seek ways of extending its role as catalyst by networking across disciplines and bringing people from different fields together. As an independent, and not-for-profit, body we rely on memberships and donations from individuals and organisations, as well as grants, for our future. I thank you for your support and encouragement. We have a responsibility to you, our members, to offer a variety of opportunities for the promised aims and engagement, as set out in our Statement of Intent. I encourage you to continue the support you have given us thus far as we grow by renewing your membership each year, telling others of our work and encouraging them to become members as well. You may also consider making a tax-deductible donation to the Literary Trust Fund which supports our work through publications and other literary endeavours, including the web site on the ATF Home Page. Yours sincerely, Rev'd Rod Horsfield |
New postal address | |
| Please note that due to a large increase in amount of ATF mail, we now have a new mailing address. All mail is to be sent to this new address rather than c/o Otira College. The new postal address is: Australian Theological Forum |
Ballarat Colloquium | |
16-18 April 1998 | More Things on Heaven and Earth - how 'thin' can moral philosophy afford to be? The ATF together with Australian Catholic University ran a very successful colloquium at the Aquinas Campus of ACU in Ballarat. The topic and idea behind the gathering were the initiative of Professor Raimond Gaita of Australian Catholic University. Forty philosophers from Universities around the country engaged on a range of topics in moral philosophy over 4 days in the beautiful ACU Campus. The planning Committee comprised, Raimond Gaita, Gabrielle McMullen and Hilary Regan. The ATF wishes to thank those who assisted financially in running this event, particularly Archbishop George Pell of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. |
Visit by Professor Jean Porter | |
April 1998 | Professor of Christian Ethics/Moral Theology, Dr Jean Porter was a participant and speaker at the Ballarat Colloquium on Moral Philosophy. After participating in this gathering, Dr Porter then went to Adelaide and lectured at the gathering held at the Adelaide College of Divinity at an event jointly organised by the ACD and the ATF. In Melbourne the ATF worked with the ACU and United Theological Hall. She conducted a lunch time seminar with ethicists from various denominations at United Theological Hall, in Parkville, and then lectured at Australian Catholic University, Ascot Vale Campus. From Melbourne Dr Porter went to Canberra where she gave an afternoon post graduate seminar at Australian Catholic University, and an evening public lecture. The events in Canberra were organised by the ATF, ACU and St Mark's National Theological Centre. It was the first time that the ATF had been involved in working with other theological centres around the country in organising such a lecture tour and was a very useful exercise in networking and fulfilling a number of our aims as an organisation. We thank the staff of those institutions involved. While Jean was in the country she was also interviewed for a number of ABC radio programs on topics such as Moral Philosophy, Media Ethics and Christian Ethics. We hope that it is not the last time we will have Jean engage with us in Australia. We look forward to another visit and to her contribution to a forthcoming edition of the ATF journal, Interface. |
Book/Journal Launches | |
May-June 1998 | In May and June the Australian Theological Forum will launch a new book, The Task of Theology Today: Doctrines and Dogmas, edited by Victor Pfitzner and Hilary Regan; and a new journal, Interface: a Forum for Theology in the World. The first edition of the journal, entitled Reconciliation and Responsibility, is edited by Veronica Brady IBVM and Hilary Regan. The ATF is the publisher of both volumes. The following is the list of launches and venues:
The journal is free to members. For extra copies [please order with the order form in the Journal section of this website.] |
Forthcoming Events | |
1998-1999 | The ATF is working is association with a number of other bodies in organising events over the next 12 months. [There is a more current listing of coming events available on this website.] Forthcoming Visits and Conferences |
New Treasurer - Mr Richard Goss | |
February 1998 | At the first Board meeting of 1998 a new Treasurer was appointed, Mr Richard Goss, who replaces Rev Anthony Walsh OP, who has been the Forum's Treasurer since the beginning in 1994. The Board, at its February meeting, thanked Anthony for his hard work over the last 4 years in steering the finances, and appointed Richard as Board member and Treasurer. Richard is a Certified Practising Treasurer, and comes to the ATF having had senior management experience with the Bank of Melbourne and Macquarie Bank. He brings, therefore, a wealth of experience to the task of keeping the Forum's financial concerns under control. With an increasing number of activities (some of which are organised in collaboration with other bodies), as well as maintaining the Literary Trust, the management of the Forum's finances is becoming an increasingly complex matter. We welcome Richard and thank him for the expertise and experience he is bringing to us, and thank Anthony for his work over the previous four years. |