Emory University News Release

Release date: Aug. 28, 2002
Contact: Elaine Justice, Associate Director, Media Relations,
at 404-727-0643 or ejustic@emory.edu

Emory Conference to Explore Theological Development of Youth

The theological development of youth – and the potential impact they can have on religious life – will be the subject of a conference for ministers and lay leaders working with youth Sept. 19 – 21 at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.

Titled "Engaging the Prophetic Voices of Youth," the conference is coordinated by Candler’s Youth Theological Initiative (YTI), a center for research and education that examines how youth think theologically. YTI also serves as an educational resource for teachers, churches and those who work with youth on a variety of levels.

Conference sessions will include presentations by Candler faculty, youth ministers and young people on topics such as mentoring relationships, honoring the questions of youth and exploring issues of gender and sexuality. Mary Elizabeth Moore, director of Candler’s Program of Women in Theology and Ministry and professor of religion and education, will deliver the conference’s keynote speech at 8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 19.

During the conference, YTI coordinators also will share some preliminary results of a recently completed a two-year analysis of the long-term impact of YTI’s annual Youth Summer Academy, and its focus on the theological education of youth. A centerpiece of YTI, the summer academy is a four-week, living-learning program that aims to cultivate "public theologians" with the potential to serve as the next leaders for churches and society. The program recently completed its 10th annual session with 54 teens representing 23 states.

One of the study’s initial findings, says Faith Hawkins, YTI director, is that "youth are capable of thinking theologically and putting their theology in practice."

The Youth Theological Initiative at Emory, begun in 1993 and supported with funds from Candler and the Lilly Endowment, is the first of what has blossomed into more than 50 spin-off theological programs for teens at universities and seminaries across the United States and Canada. For more information on the conference, call YTI at 404-712-9160.

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