13th Annual ACWR Conference
‘Reconciled Interrelationship’:
Wesleyan Perspectives on God, People, and the Land
Sydney College of Divinity, Norwest, NSW 2153
The relationship between God, the people, and the land is a theme that appears throughout the biblical narrative. Whether it is a garden, the wilderness, green pastures, or the New Jerusalem, the land speaks of this relationship. According to Howard Snyder,
‘God intends shalom, a harmonious, reconciled interrelationship between himself, his people, and the land.’
God’s intention for creation, according to the biblical narrative, has been disrupted and diseased by sin. The original harmony we read about in Genesis 1 and 2 has been distorted, causing tension, conflict, and pain. The rest of the biblical narrative, however, describes a God who seeks the restoration of all things, made possible through the person of Jesus Christ, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and the participation of the people of God.
The relationship between God, people, and the land remains in tension: housing crises, migration, stripping of natural resources, violent campaigns to acquire more land, environmental disasters, and the continued effects of colonising land. The reconciled interrelationship is yet to find its fulfilment, but the invitation of God to participate in the healing of all of creation remains.
This conference is a call to reflect on the relationship between God, people, and the land today.
Confirmed plenary speakers include:
Howard Snyder
Howard A. Snyder, now retired and pursuing research and writing, previously served as as Professor of Wesley Studies, at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was Professor of the History and Theology of Mission in the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, 1996-2006. He also taught at United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio, and pastored in Chicago, Detroit, and São Paulo, Brazil.
His recent publications include Salvation Means Creation Healed: The Ecology of Sin and Grace (Cascade, 2011) and The Problem of Wineskins: Church Structure in a Technological Age (Seedbed, 2017).
Ms Naomi Wolfe
Ms Wolfe is a Lecturer of Indigenous Studies at NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community, Sydney College of Divinity.
Naomi Wolfe is a trawloolway woman, and Lecturer of Indigenous Studies NAIITS: an Indigenous learning community. Naomi holds a Bachelor Arts and Bachelor of Teaching, Masters of Theological Studies and is finalising a Masters of Philosophy (Research) degree at Australian Catholic University, writing about the lives of the Hasmonean and Herodian women of the Late Second Temple Period.
Te Aroha Rountree
He uri no te hapu o Ngai Tuteauru, no te iwi o Nga Puhi. Ko Puhanga Tohora te maunga tapu, ko Mangatawa me Otaua nga awa e rere nei, ko Pukerata te marae e tu tika ai, ko Rahiri te matua tupuna. Tihei Mauriora!
Te Aroha Rountree is descended from the tribal groups of Ngai Tuteauru and Nga Puhi, Hokianga, Aotearoa. She is Senior Lecturer in Moana Studies at Trinity Methodist Theological College, Auckland. Her recent research focus has been on decolonizing theology and native wisdoms.
Her recent chapters in publications include:
Theologies from the Pacific (Palgrave, 2021) - Jesus Does a Haka Boogie, Tangata Whenua Theology.
Theology as Thresholds: Invitations from Aotearoa New Zealand (Lexington, 2022) - Once was Colonised, Jesus Christ.
Dissension and Tenacity, Doing theology with Nerves (Lexington, 2023) - Tūturu whiti whakamau, Kia tina, tina! Haumi e, Hui e! Taiki e! Defiance, Determination and Decolonisation!
Emerging Theologies from the Global South (Cascade, 2023) - Emerging Theologies from Oceania, Moana Theology.