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Dr James Alison: Welcoming the Stranger

BLC’s fourth annual Fall Speaker culminates with Dr James Alison! Drawing on wisdom from his newest book, "You Can, If You Want To: Navigating Christian Faith, Conscience, and matters LGBTQ+," James will discuss foundations of Christianity that necessarily include the value and action of welcome. An expert in Girardian theology, he is known for explaining to beginners the concepts of scapegoating. In asking ourselves who is “other” for us as individuals and communities, James will help us consider how to not contribute to “us” turning against “them, and assist our process for moving beyond “othering” and into wide welcome. James is a Catholic theologian, priest and author. He has studied, lived and worked in Mexico, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Spain and the United States as well as his native England. James earned his doctorate in theology from the Jesuit Faculty in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1994 and is a systematic theologian by training. His principal claim to fame is as one of those who has done the most to bring the work of the great French thinker René Girard to a wider public. In addition, he is known for his firm, but patient insistence on truthfulness in matters gay as an ordinary part of basic Christianity, and for his pastoral outreach in the same sphere. James now works as an itinerant preacher, lecturer and retreat giver. He accompanies a wide variety of “others”, through a vast array of teaching opportunities. His books have been translated into Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. The theme for this year's Burlington Lutheran Fall Speaker Series is “Welcoming the Stranger: Yearning to Breathe Free.” All persons are made in the image of God, and yet it can be very difficult to have a welcoming posture toward people who are “other,” especially in a highly divisive culture. (The subtitle references the poem on the Statue of Liberty, which welcomes immigrants to this land, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me…”) This series explores compelling stories of welcome and un-welcome, our personal barriers and invitations to welcome, and the biblical basis for welcome. Each speaker is a deep well of experience, wisdom, and warmth. Attendees will be moved, challenged, and inspired. All talks are 7 - 8:30pm, and yes, all are welcome. All events are FREE! We will receive donations, all of which will go the speaker as a thank you for their time and effort.