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Renowned artists, theologians to gather on campus

By Bradley West '13
June 24, 2012

St. Olaf College will host the biennial Conference on Worship, Theology, and the Arts July 16–20. Titled "Confluence," the conference will gather — from a variety of denominations — nationally recognized musicians, artists, scholars, and theologians who will examine their work through lectures, seminars, and daily worship.

During the conference, worship services in Boe Memorial Chapel will be open to the public (Monday at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday at 8:15 a.m., Friday at 10:45 a.m.; evening worship will be held Monday at 8 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday at 8:30 p.m.). In addition, all worship services will be streamed live and archived online.

Throughout the week conference guests will attend in-depth seminars and special interest sessions led by renowned faculty members from around the country. Conference attendees will also have the chance to sing in choral ensembles conducted by famous musicians and worship leaders, including Anton Armstrong '78, St. Olaf professor of music and conductor of the St. Olaf Choir.

Among the faculty members for this year's conference is celebrated poet Christian Wiman, who has edited Poetry magazine since 2003 and written four books, most recently Every Riven Thing. Wiman's work often deals with questions of faith, the relationship between art and worship, and what it means to be a religious writer in the modern world.

During the conference Wiman will lead a seminar called "Poetry as a Way of Staying Alive, Professionally, Spiritually, and Literally." Participants in this workshop are even invited to share and discuss poems of their own. In the special interest sessions, Wiman will also read from his forthcoming book, My Bright Abyss: Meditation of a Modern Believer.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.