Monday, September 16, 2002

WILMINGTON – The second annual “Spiritual Masters” series, hosted at five Wilmington houses of worship, will highlight the spiritual lives of some of history’s greatest religious role models.

“Our hope is that these inspiring figures can, each in his or her own way, speak to our lives and the life of this community,” said Paul Wilkes, project director of the Pastoral Summit.

The Pastoral Summit, based at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, will launch the series on Oct. 1. The series runs through Nov. 19 with presentations given on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. This year’s Spiritual Masters lineup features presentations on C.S. Lewis (Oct. 1) whose famous books on spirituality include “The Screwtape Letters,” the astute theologian, Paul Tillich (Oct. 8), Baal Shem Tov who founded the Hassidic movement (Oct. 22), Prophet Mohammad of the Islamic faith (Nov. 5) and Howard Thurman, mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. (Nov. 19). Each host church will provide a free dinner prior to the presentation where an expert will talk about the life and thought of one of the spiritual masters.

“Churches are powerful forces — sometimes tapped and sometimes untapped — and the Pastoral Summit wants to do everything possible to encourage and applaud them,” said Wilkes, a popular religious writer and documentary filmmaker who teaches in the UNCW English Department. “Here we have five houses of worship – of vastly different traditions – who are opening their doors to all seekers. They are truly reaching beyond their walls to the larger community.”

Last year, the series attracted an average of over 300 people at each house of worship, and brought people together from all walks of faith.

“The greatest impact of last year’s series, was seeing people from so many different congregations coming together around issues of spirituality, and learning from people who have made a difference in the world and in the life of the spirit,” said Rev. Steven Teague, assistant rector at St. James Parish, one of last year’s host churches. “It was a group of seekers going from one location to another to absorb something that was important to them. Crossing denominational and religious lines to share in that larger experience of spiritual life.”

. The Pastoral Summit, whose mission is “to find, help create and spread models of local church excellence,” is an outgrowth of a UNCW-based national study of church excellence, which was funded by the Lilly Endowment. The Pastoral Summit will hold three national conferences in 2003 bringing together both Catholic and Protestant churches from throughout the United States. These conferences, in San Antonio, Indianapolis and Boston, will feature a variety of workshops, keynote addresses, and small-group gatherings, all focused on both finding and maintaining church excellence. See their website www.pastoralsummit.org

Spiritual Masters Series Schedule

Tuesdays, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Oct. 1

St. Matthew Lutheran, 612 South College Road

Presents C.S. Lewis

Presenter: Frank Howard

Oct. 8

St. Andrews-Covenant Presbyterian, 1416 Market St.

Presents Paul Tillich

Presenters: Ann Jahnes and Tom Lubbers

Oct. 22

B’nai Israel Synagogue, 2601 Chestnut St.

Presents Baal Shem Tov

Presenter: Rabbi Miles Krassen

Nov. 5

Tauheed Islamic Center, St. James Episcopal Church, Perry Hall: 3rd and Market St.

Presents Prophet Mohammad

Presenter: Imam Talib Shareef

Nov. 19

St. Luke A.M.E. Zion Church

709 Church St.

Presents

Howard Thurman

Presenter: Freddie I. Barnes

For further information, contact the Pastoral Summit office:

Miles Daniels, project associate

Phone: 910-962-7225

Fax: 910-962-7491

Email: staff@pastoralsummit.org