2018 National Conference

Twenty-Eighth Annual National Conference

Robust and Receptive Ecumenism

Hope College, Holland, Michigan

October 12-14, 2018


The 28th National Conference, Robust and Receptive Ecumenism, will take place on the campus of Hope College in Holland, Michigan, October 12-14, 2018. 

The faculty, staff, and students at institutions in church-related higher education are increasingly more ecumenically diverse than the historical or present-day denominational affiliations of colleges and universities might suggest. The intent of robust and receptive ecumenism is to encourage people to speak willingly and openly from their particular Christian perspectives, ask for clarification when others’ ways of speaking need translation, and work at genuine understanding, which might include informed disagreement. Indeed, robust and receptive ecumenism does not assume that everyone must adopt a lowest common denominator stance with respect to differences. Rather, it proposes that, in order for authentic conversation to take place, people must honestly express deeply held views they hold as true.

Speakers include:

  • Lisa DeBoer, Professor of Art, Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California
  • Steven Harmon, Associate Professor of Historical Theology, Gardner-Webb University, Boiling Springs, North Carolina
  • Daniel Keating, Professor of Theology, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Michigan
You can still visit Hope College's conference website Here.

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The Current Lilly Network Update for November 2023 is now available. Click here.


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Lilly Network of Church- Related Colleges and Universities

If you are interested in learning more about membership in the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities, please contact us here.


New edition of Leading Lives that Matter released

In their second edition of Leading Lives That Matter, editors Mark Schwehn and Dorothy Bass compile a wide range of texts—from ancient and contemporary literature, social commentary, and philosophy—related to questions of vital interest for those who are trying to decide what to do with their lives and what kind of human beings they hope to become. Leading Lives that Matter has been an important text in many of our fellowship and grant programs, and it contains excellent resources. Click here for more information and an excerpt.