It takes a lot these days to get me even to consider stepping foot inside a church, but the headline, Harry at Highland: The Gospel According to Harry Potter did it for me. This Saturday, January 29-30th at Highland Baptist Church, guest speaker Professor Ed Shirley will lead a series of workshops bridging the world of theology to the world of magic and Voldemort.
All Muggles are welcome to each session (at the HBC Fellowship Hall) and childcare is provided for members of the church (I guess that’s one of perks of having a religion, I’ll make note of that).
Saturday’s (January 29 at 7:00 p.m.) session is entitled, “Christ Figures and Christ Symbols in Harry Potter: Why Can’t the Muggles See This?” and will be led by Shirley, a professor of religious studies at St. Edward’s University, where he’s taught for 25 years. Shirley has received numerous awards at St. Edward’s and is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Catholic Theological Society of America, and is the past secretary for the Society of Buddhist Christian Studies. He also enjoys Quidditch.
Sunday’s (January 30, 12 p.m.) session is “The Chamber of Conversation: A Roundtable Discussion and Trivia for the Serious Harry Potter Fan.” Intimidating, I know. Tickets for the serious Potter trivia are $5 and are available on Wednesdays and Sundays prior to the event. Later that evening, at 7:00 p.m., Shirley will lead “Christian Alchemy, Incarnation, and the Living Pashal Mystery” for those that understand what that means. Admission to this lecture is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit www.hbclouisville.org
Photo courtesy www.harrypotterwallpaper.org
