01/10/2017

'What it means to be Lutheran: A Human Rights Attorney’s Perspective' March 30

Ralston Deffenbaugh, a human rights lawyer working for the church, will address what it means to be Lutheran in today’s multi-religious world during the 13th Annual Lecture on World Religions and Interreligious Relations, sponsored by the Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 7 pm, March 30, in the Gloria Dei Worship Center at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, 2199 East Main St., Columbus, Ohio.

Deffenbaugh’s presentation, “Liberated by God’s Grace: What It Means to Be Lutheran in Today’s Multi-religious World,” comes as the church in 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Deffenbaugh serves as Assistant General Secretary for International Affairs and Human Rights at The Lutheran World Federation, where he coordinates the LWF’s international affairs and human rights advocacy and policy development, advises the General Secretary, and serves as the LWF’s main representative to the United Nations offices in Geneva, Switzerland. For 18 years, he oversaw the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (the U.S. Lutheran churches’ agency for resettling refugees and working with asylum seekers, unaccompanied refugee children, and persons in immigration detention).  He also is a 1995 recipient of Trinity’s Sylvester C. Michelfelder Award for Christian Service.

The Theological Consortium of Greater Columbus is a collaborative effort of the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, Pontifical College Josephinum, and Trinity.

For information about the Consortium or the lecture series, contact Dr. Paul Numrich, professor in the Consortium, at 740-362-3443 or pnumrich@TLSohio.edu.