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The Very Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D.
www.michaelbattle.com
Saturday, February 20 , 2010
Appetizers and sweets at 6:00 pm;
Lecture at 7:00 pm
Ubuntu—A Spirituality of Reconciliation
Sunday, October
21
Forum at 10:00 am
Why God Made You Gloriously Different!
McMichael Lecture Series at St. Paul’s
Parish Hall, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
224 N. East Avenue (at Dickson Street)
Fayetteville, Arkansas
479-442-7373
The Very Rev. Michael Battle, Ph.D.,
Canon Theologian of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, is the next speaker in the McMichael Lecture Series at St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, February 20-21.
Saturday, February 21, at 7:00 p.m., Battle will speak on
“Ubuntu—A Spirituality of Reconciliation.” Ordained in 1993 in South Africa—not long after the
end of apartheid—by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Battle participated with Tutu in both everyday and dramatic activities.
He attended church and dignitary functions, took part in the bishop’s rugby matches and walks, made pastoral calls,
listened to telephoned death threats, witnessed Tutu cast his first ballot and attended Nelson Mandela’s 1994 inauguration.
In a prelude to his service as keynote speaker at the 2009 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, Battle
wrote, “Ubuntu is a great gift because it deepens our spirituality. Ubuntu (pronounced m-boon-too) is a word from
the Bantu language of Africa, which roughly translated means “humanity.” It carries with it the concept that in
order to be fully human, one must be in community: “I am because we are.” No one can be human alone. In a Christian
worldview … this means that reconciliation is central to the concept because the world on its own tends toward division
and individualism.”
Sunday morning, February 21, he will lead the 10:00 Adult Forum at St. Paul’s,
on the theme “Why God Made You Gloriously Different.” He will also preach at the 8:45 and 11:00 a.m. services.
There is no admission charge to the lectures, both in the St. Paul's parish hall, 224 N. East Ave. (at Dickson
St.), Fayetteville. The Saturday evening lecture will be preceeded by a reception, prepared by St. Spatula’s
Guild, at 6:00. Childcare will be provided in the church’s nursery.
Battle is a prolific writer, having
authored seven books in addition to numerous scholarly articles and book chapters, reflecting his interests in Christian non-violence,
human spirituality, and African Church studies. He has held academic appointments and leadership positions at Virginia Theological
Seminary, Duke University and The University of the South (Sewanee). Currently, he is rector of the Church of Our Savior
in San Gabriel, California. He and his wife, Raquel, have three children.
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