Spring Conference Call for Papers Updated

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2024 ANNUAL CATA MEETING & CONFERENCE
Call for Papers: “Sustaining Shared Futures”

June 14, 2024: Public Lecture & Panel Discussion
(The Church of St. Mark and St. Peter, 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.)
June 15, 2024: Conference & Annual Meeting
(The Presbyterian College, McGill University)

The Executive of the Canadian-American Theological Association (CATA) welcomes
proposals for papers to be presented at our Annual Meeting to be held on June 15, 2024 The conference will be held at The Presbyterian College, McGill University,
Montreal, but it will be possible for some presenters to present remotely.

In addition, CATA will also host a Friday evening public lecture (7:30 – 9:30 p.m.) at The
Church of St. Mark and St. Peter in Montreal. Click here for more details.

This year, the CATA conference will be offered as a stand-alone conference, separate
from the Canadian Congress of the Humanities & Social Sciences, but offered at the
same time and location. Consequently, enrolling in the CATA conference does not
require enrollment in Congress.

CATA encourages submission of high-quality papers on any topic of theological
relevance to the church. Graduate students, post-docs, independent scholars, and pre-
tenured faculty are invited to submit papers for the CATA Student and Early Career
Paper Competition.
Special consideration will be given to papers that deal with the theme “Sustaining Shared Futures.” However, topics that fall outside of the specific theme will also
be given strong consideration. The main theme, “Sustaining Shared Futures,” lends
itself to several possible sub-themes, such as the following:

  • Theological reflection addressing the climate crisis / ecological concerns and issues
  • Theological reflection addressing cultural and political division and polarization
  • Theological reflection on the changing demographics of Canada (immigration, multiculturalism) impacting our shared future
  • Theological reflection on the changing religious composition of Canada (and the twin trends of secularization and religious pluralism via immigration)
  • Theological reflection on science-faith dialogue and integration

Papers for the CATA meeting should be scholarly but not highly specialized
presentations of 20–25 minutes, aimed at an audience of scholars from across the
spectrum of theological disciplines. We are interpreting “theological reflection” to
include: biblical studies; theological readings of Scripture; historical, systematic, philosophical, moral, and pastoral theology; and theology that engages culture, the church, and other academic disciplines. Proposals from graduate students are enthusiastically welcomed.

Proposals should be approximately 250 words in length. Please prepare them for blind review and submit as an email attachment, accompanied by a short CV in a separate file. To facilitate anonymous review of proposals, please include your name, institutional affiliation, contact information, and the title of your proposal in the body of your email.

In addition, graduate students, post-docs, independent scholars, and pre-tenured faculty are invited to indicate “Submission for Paper Competition” in their email. Of these, submissions that are accepted for presentation at the conference (according to the same criteria by which all papers are accepted) will be concurrently considered for the competition.

All proposals should be submitted electronically by January 31, 2024 to the address below in Word or PDF format. Please entitle your email “CATA 2024 Paper Proposal.” For those intending to enter the Student and Early Career paper competition, proposals are due on January 31, 2024 and then finalized, full-text papers must be submitted by March 31, 2024.

Papers chosen for participation will be notified by the end of March. The winning paper will be published in CATA’s journal, the Canadian-American Theological Review, and its author will receive a congratulatory monetary gift.

Email all conference paper proposals to: Dr. Patrick Franklin President, Canadian-American Theological Association pfranklin@tyndale.ca

Call for Papers: Spring 2024 Conference

2024 ANNUAL CATA MEETING & CONFERENCE
Call for Papers: “Sustaining Shared Futures”

The Executive of the Canadian-American Theological Association (CATA) welcomes
proposals for papers to be presented at our Annual Meeting to be held on June 15,
2024. The conference will be held at McGill University, Montreal but it will be possible
for some presenters to present remotely.

This year, the CATA conference will be offered as a stand-alone conference, separate
from the Canadian Congress of the Humanities & Social Sciences, but offered at the same time and location. Consequently, enrolling in the CATA conference does not
require enrollment in Congress.

CATA encourages submission of high-quality papers on any topic of theological
relevance to the church. Graduate students, post-docs, independent scholars, and pre-
tenured faculty are invited to submit papers for the CATA Student and Early Career
Paper Competition.

Special consideration will be given to papers that deal with the theme “Sustaining
Shared Futures.” However, topics that fall outside of the specific theme will also
be given strong consideration. The main theme, “Sustaining Shared Futures,” lends
itself to several possible sub-themes, such as the following:

  •  Theological reflection addressing the climate crisis / ecological concerns and
    issues
  • Theological reflection addressing cultural and political division and polarization
  • Theological reflection on the changing demographics of Canada (immigration,
    multiculturalism) impacting our shared future
  • Theological reflection on the changing religious composition of Canada (and the
    twin trends of secularization and religious pluralism via immigration)
  • Theological reflection on science-faith dialogue and integration

Papers for the CATA meeting should be scholarly but not highly specialized
presentations of 20–25 minutes, aimed at an audience of scholars from across the
spectrum of theological disciplines. We are interpreting “theological reflection” to
include: biblical studies; theological readings of Scripture; historical, systematic,
philosophical, moral, and pastoral theology; and theology that engages culture, the
church, and other academic disciplines. Proposals from graduate students are
enthusiastically welcomed.

Proposals should be approximately 250 words in length. Please prepare them for blind
review and submit as an email attachment, accompanied by a short CV in a separate
file. To facilitate anonymous review of proposals, please include your name, institutional
affiliation, contact information, and the title of your proposal in the body of your email.

In addition, graduate students, post-docs, independent scholars, and pre-tenured faculty are invited to indicate “Submission for Paper Competition” in their email. Of these, submissions that are accepted for presentation at the conference (according to the same criteria by which all papers are accepted) will be concurrently considered for the competition.

All proposals should be submitted electronically by January 31, 2024 to the address
below in Word or PDF format. Please entitle your email “CATA 2024 Paper Proposal.”
Papers chosen for participation will be notified by the end of March. The winning paper
will be published in CATA’s journal, the Canadian-American Theological Review, and its
author will receive a congratulatory monetary gift.

Email conference paper proposals to:
Dr. Patrick Franklin
President, Canadian-American Theological Association
pfranklin@tyndale.ca

Schedule for the 2023 Spring Congress

CATA Conference Schedule

May 28, 2023

Plenary Session (Remote Live) – 9:00–9:25 in Vanier College-VC 001
Welcome, introduction, prayer

Panel (Remote Live) – 9:30–11:30 in Vanier College-VC 001
“Reckoning with and Reimagining ‘the God of the Bible’: A Conversation about ‘Classical Theism’”
Moderator: Stephen W. Martin, The King’s University
Patrick Franklin, Tyndale University: “God is not a ‘Thing’ in our Universe! Rowan
Williams on the Classic Doctrine of Divine Simplicity.”
Charles Meeks, Northeastern Seminary: “The God of True Conversation: Robert W.
Jenson’s Narrative Metaphysics”
Joshua Harris, The King’s University: “Sub similitudine corporalium: Scripture,
metaphor, and the “classical” synthesis in Thomas Aquinas”
J. Richard Middleton, Northeastern Seminary: “Response”
Open Discussion

Lunch Break – 11:30–1:00

Plenary Session (Remote Live) – 1:00–1:25 in Vanier College-VC 001
CATA Business Session

Break – 1:25–1:45

Parallel Session One (Remote Live) – Preaching – 1:45–3:15 in Vanier College-VC 001
Moderator: Cynthia Westfall
Jeremy McClung, Wycliffe College: “Cultivating Gratitude in Preaching”
Hye Lim Yoon, Emmanuel College: “Other-wise Preachers: Preaching as the Other in
Cross-Racial and Multi-Ethnic Congregations”
Robert Dean, Providence Theological Seminary: “Re-imagining Ethical Preaching”


Parallel Session Two – Practical Theology & Ministry – 1:45–3:15 in Vanier College 115
Moderator: Patrick Franklin
Lee Beach, McMaster Divinity College, “Learning the Language of Exile”
J. Greg Sinclair, McMaster Divinity College, “Welcoming the Other at Willowdale
Christian Reformed Church”
Michael Anderson, Toronto School of Theology, “A Bridge Over Troubled Water:
Accommodating Diverse Baptismal Practices in a Catholic Church”

Parallel Session Three – Biblical Theology and Theology – 1:45–3:15 in Vanier College 116
Moderator: Dustin Burlet
J. Richard Middleton, Northeastern Seminary: “Herod as Pharaoh? Jesus as David?: A
Political Reading of the Prophets in Matthew’s Infancy Narrative.”
Jonathan N. Cleland, Knox College: “The Suffering of Christ in the Suffering of the Church: Peter Martyr Vermigli in Dialogue with Kōsuke Koyama”
Jeff Yaneff, Wycliffe College, “Optimism and Pessimism: The Theological Implications
of Overpopulation and Natural Resource Scarcity in Paul R. Ehrlich and Julian L.
Simon”


Break 3:15–3:30

Parallel Session One (Remote Live) – Theology and Culture – 3:30–5:00 in Vanier College-VC 001

Moderator: Robert Dean
Joshua L.W. Heath, Trinity College: “Cruciformity and Settler Colonialism: Orienting
Non-Indigenous Participation in Decolonization and Reconciliation in Canada”
Christian Clement-Schlimm, Wycliffe College: “‘Between Hopes and Fears’: Identity
and Argument in Olaudah Equiano’s Autobiography”
Dudley Brown, McMaster Divinity College, “On a Foundation of Faith: Andrew White
and Black Uplift”

Parallel Session Two- Practical Theology and Ministry – 3:30–4:30 in Vanier College 115
Moderator: Lee Beach
Andrew Barron, Wycliffe College: “Depression & Anxiety in the Intellectually Disabled:
God’s Response”

Michael Buttrey, Regis College, “Reckoning with the Protestant Abuse Apocalypse: Re-
imagining Church without Moral Externalism, Missional Exceptionalism, and Disembodied Logocentrism”

Parallel Session Three- Old Testament – 3:30–5:00 in Vanier College 116
Moderator: Richard Middleton
Josef Sykora, Northeastern Seminary: “Between the Dead and the Living: Numbers 16–
18 and the Role of Priesthood”
Sungshin Kim, McMaster Divinity College: “Translation Technique and Theology of the
OG-Jonah”
Dustin Burlet, Millar College of the Bible: “Waddya Mean it’s Just Hyperbole! You
Gotta Be Kidding Me! Zeph 1:2–3 and the Genesis Flood”