Tuesday 21 May : Evening Talk 1 Wesley and Christian Unity
Wednesday 22 May: Evening Talk 2 The Holy Spirit in the Church
Thursday 23 May: Evening Talk 3 The Renewal of the Church
Friday 24 May: Aldersgate Service The Church and Sanctifying Grace (Bilingual: Chinese/English)
Saturday 25 May: Wesley Hymn Festival
PLANS are being finalised for the Aldersgate Convention 2002 which will be held at Paya Lebar Methodist Church from May 21 to 25.
Sponsored by The Methodist Church in Singapore, the convention, which will be an annual event, will feature American theologian, Dr Thomas Oden (above).
The theme for the five-night event is “The Tradition of the Church from a Wesleyan perspective.”
Topics for the nightly talks have been confirmed. They include teachings on John Wesley, Christian unity, the Holy Spirit and the renewal of the Church.
A local church choir will be in attendance every evening.
The Methodist Book Room will set up a stall to sell books written by Dr Oden and books on John and Charles Wesley and the Wesleyan heritage as well as CD recordings of Charles Wesley’s hymns.
There will be a bilingual (English and Chinese) Aldersgate Service on the evening of May 24. Dr Oden will speak on “The Church and Sanctifying Grace”.
The grand finale of the convention will be a Wesleyan Hymn Festival on May 25. A Combined Choir, drawn from the various local churches, will lead the evening. There will be congregational participation.
Dr Oden, a retired scholar at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, has wide teaching and writing experience. An ordained United Methodist pastor since 1954, his expertise includes counselling, systematic and pastoral theology and church history.