June 27-28, 2022—IWS Worship Seminar
Mediation and the Immediate God: Our Mutual Calling in the Church and in the World
This seminar will be taught by Dr. Edith Humphrey and will take place live and in person during our summer on-campus intensive. It is open to the public but requires registration.
Introducing Dr. Edith Humphrey
Edith Mary Humphrey is the William F. Orr Professor Emerita of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and a member of St. Nicholas Parish, McKees Rocks, Pittsburgh. Her earliest formation was in the Salvation Army, followed by 25 years in Anglicanism (with a brief sojourn in an independent Christian community), and then her entrance into Orthodoxy in 2009. Married to her husband Chris for 47 years, she is a mother of three (Orthodox) daughters and sons-in-law, and grandmother to (nearly) 21 grandchildren. Since her retirement in January 2021, she has continued to teach in various milieux, write, and speak frequently in Christian and academic contexts—Catholic, Baptist, Mennonite, Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Orthodox. A board member of Pro Ecclesia (Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology), she has authored numerous articles and nine books on topics as diverse as apocalypses, worship, Christian spirituality, human sexuality, and C. S. Lewis. You may access her blog and podcasts here.
Dr. Humphrey’s books include: Further Up and Further In: Orthodox Conversations with C. S. Lewis on Scripture and Theology (St. Vladimir’s Press, 2017), Scripture and Tradition: What the Bible Really Says (Baker Academic, 2013); Grand Entrance: Worship on Earth as in Heaven (Brazos, 2010); And I Turned to See the Voice: The Rhetoric of Vision in the New Testament (Baker Academic, 2007); Ecstasy and Intimacy: When the Holy Spirit Meets the Human Spirit (Eerdmans, 2005); the Sheffield Guide to Joseph and Aseneth (Continuum/Sheffield, 2000); The Ladies and the Cities: Transformation and Apocalyptic Identity in Joseph and Aseneth, 4 Ezra, the Apocalypse and The Shepherd of Hermas (Sheffield, 1995); Beyond the White Fence (Ancient Faith, 2021), and Mediation and the Immediate God: Scripture, the Church, and Knowing God (Darton, Longman and Todd, forthcoming 2022). Her most recent piece, Beyond the White Fence, is a novel for middle school children, in which six young people travel in time and space to meet the saints for which they are named. She has just completed a book entitled Mediation and the Immediate God, which will be published in late 2022 by Darton, Longman and Todd, and aims to be a conversation with Protestant friends.
She earned her bachelor’s (with honors) in English and Classics from Victoria University (University of Toronto) and received her Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins from McGill University, Montreal, where she was awarded the Governor General’s Gold Medal.
Bookstore Spotlight
Preview Dr. Humphrey’s books in the IWS Bookstore.
Seminar Description
Mediation and the Immediate God: Our Mutual Calling in the Church and in the World
In this seminar, which will be amplified in a forthcoming book, Mediation and the Immediate God: Scripture, the Church, and Knowing God (Darton, Longman, and Todd, October 2022), Edith M. Humphrey leads participants to pursue a long-standing debated question: how we can both say that God has a direct relationship with each Christian, and that He uses others in order to bring us to health and glory? If Jesus is the “only” Mediator (1 Tim 2:5), then is it simply wrongheaded to think that others play a role in our salvation? In a community that worships “in Spirit and truth” (John 4), is there a continued mediating role for physical objects in our worship? Guided by key scriptural passages, and key fathers’ understandings of this topic and these passages, we will probe the significance of intercessory prayer and our mutual dependence in the body of Christ. In the end, we will see how mediation is an essential mark of the Church: Christians are meant to be mediators, because we bear the image of Christ, the Great Mediator.
Register now online.
Seminar Schedule
| Monday, June 27 | |
|---|---|
| 7:30 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8:30 a.m. | Chapel |
| 9:15 a.m. | Session 1 Mediation, the “Immediate” God, and Our Great Mediator, Part 1 |
| 10:30 a.m. | Break |
| 10:45 a.m. | Session 2 Mediation, the “Immediate” God, and Our Great Mediator, Part 2 |
| 12:00 p.m. | Lunch (provided) |
| 1:15 p.m. | Session 3 Meant to be Mediators Inside and Outside the Church, Part 1 |
| 2:15 p.m. | Break |
| 2:30 p.m. | Session 4 Meant to be Mediators Inside and Outside the Church, Part 2 |
| 3:45 p.m. | Free |
| 5:30 p.m. | Dinner |
| 6:30 p.m. | Practicum Presentations: Scripture Presentation |
| Tuesday, June 28 | |
|---|---|
| 7:30 a.m. | Breakfast |
| 8:30 a.m. | Chapel |
| 9:15 a.m. | Session 5 Mediating Matriarchs, Angels, and the Material World , Part 1 |
| 10:30 am | Break |
| 10:45 am | Session 6 Mediating Matriarchs, Angels, and the Material World, Part 2 |
| 12:00 pm. | Lunch (provided) |
| 1:15 p.m. | Session 7 Mediation and the Mysterious Communion of Saints, Part 1 |
| 2:15 p.m. | Break |
| 2:30 p.m. | Session 8 Mediation and the Mysterious Communion of Saints, Part 2 |
| 3:45 p.m. | Free |
| 5:30 p.m. | Dinner |
| 6:30 p.m. | Healing Eucharist Service |
Session Descriptions
DAY ONE
Sessions 1 and 2: Mediation, the “Immediate” God, and Our Great Mediator
Our first two sessions will lay a common foundation by looking to the chief mediator between God and humanity, the Lord Jesus, and considering the controverted passage 1 Timothy 2:1-5.
Sessions 3 and 4: Meant to be Mediators Inside and Outside the Church
Sessions three and four explore our common mediation for each other, and for those outside the Church.
DAY TWO
Sessions 5 and 6: Mediating Matriarchs, Angels, and the Material World
Sessions five and six consider how the matriarchs in Matthew’s gospel provide a model for mediation, look to the mysterious exchange between angels and God’s people, and consider the significance of material things in our worship and service to each other.
Sessions 7 and 8: Mediation and the Mysterious Communion of Saints
Sessions seven and eight venture into the debated area of our prayers for those who are asleep in Christ, and their prayers for us who do not yet see face-to-face.
Make it a Spiritual Retreat
You are welcome to craft your own schedule to incorporate additional time on campus to take in chapel sessions, visit classes, read and research in the library, or spend time alone in quiet meditation. You may plan to come early and stay longer if you’d like. Contact the IWS office. Let us know how we can help.
Registration
Full Seminar Cost: $200 (Early registration by Apr 25: $175)
One Day Only Cost: $100
Lunch is included in the registration fee.