McPherson Lecture Series

First Presbyterian Church invited you to participate in the annual McPherson Lecture on Sunday, March 23rd, and Saturday, March 24th. The speakers will be Dr. Robert Williamson, Jr., and Dr. Amy Cooper Robertson. Their theme will be “Loving Your Neighbor in a Fearful World.”

Together Drs. Williamson (Christian) and Robertson (Jewish) produce BibleWorm, a weekly podcast in which they consider a passage of biblical text from their respective faith traditions. The BibleWorm podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast apps. 

 

Sunday, March 23

9:45 am  “The Economics of Loving Your Neighbor” in the Faith and Community Class

11:00 am Sermon: “The Limits of Neighborliness” (Luke 10:25-37)

4:00 pm  “Trusting God, Trusting Neighbor: The Vulnerability of Interdependence” (please RSVP to the church office for childcare) 

 

Monday, March 24

9:00 am “Spiritual Leadership in a Fearful World” Clergy & Religious Leader Breakfast (please RSVP for breakfast)

More information on event speakers:

 

Amy Cooper Robertson, PhD, is Director of Lifelong Learning and Music at Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs, Georgia. She studied Jewish texts and language at Harvard Divinity School and later at Emory, where she earned a PhD in Religion/Hebrew Bible. In Atlanta and in Cambridge, MA, Dr. Robertson has taught Tanakh, Judaism, Biblical Hebrew, and critical thinking and writing to undergraduates and graduate students. She is the author of several articles, including "Kohelet Teaches Us to Live for Today: Unexpected Wisdom for the Real World from Ecclesiastes."

 

Robert (Bobby) Williamson, Jr., PhD, is Margaret Berry Hutton Odyssey Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church, USA, he was the founding pastor of Mercy Community Church and currently serves as Theologian in Residence at Canvas Community, both welcoming all people, especially those living on the streets, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He earned a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Emory, a post-graduate diploma in Jewish Studies from Oxford, a master's of divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, and a bachelor's degree from Clemson. He is the author of The Forgotten Books of the Bible: Recovering the Five Scrolls for Today (Fortress Press, 2018).