Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2007-08-15

"Walking with the Saints" is the theme of this fall's weekly worship services held by Samford University's Beeson Divinity School.

The series will highlight the lives and legacies of people who have influenced the Christian church, according to Beeson dean Timothy George.

The services are held in Samford's A. Gerow Hodges Chapel at 11 a.m. on most Tuesdays during the fall semester. The public is invited free of charge.

"The New Testament declares that all believers are called to be saints,'" said George, who opens the schedule with a sermon on missionary St. Patrick of Ireland on Aug. 28.

Other dates, saints to be featured and speakers are:

Sept. 4, missionary to India William Carey, Frank Page, president, Southern Baptist Convention.

Sept. 11, preacher Charles H. Spurgeon, Beeson professor Robert Smith.

Sept. 18, martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, Hodges Chapel curator Bridget Rose.

Sept. 25, theologian Thomas Aquinas, Neville Callam, general secretary, Baptist World Alliance.

Oct. 2, missionary to China Lottie Moon, Gordon Fort, vice president, overseas operations, International Mission Board.

Oct. 9, reformer/martyr Jan Hus, Gregory A. Thornbury, dean, School of Christian Studies, Union University.

Oct. 16, missionary E. Stanley Jones, Stephen A. Graham, political science professor, University of Indianapolis and recipient of the 2007 John Pollock Award.

Oct. 23, bishop of Alexandria Athanasius, Beeson professor Carl Beckwith.

Oct. 30-Nov. 1 (Reformation Heritage lectures), theologian/reformer John Calvin, Gwenfair Walters Adams, church history professor, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Nov. 6, preacher and Bishop of Constantinople John Chrysostom, Beeson professor Douglas Webster.

Nov. 13, former slave/abolitionist Sojourner Truth, Beeson Professor Wilton Bunch.

Nov. 27, preacher/theologian Jonathan Edwards, Beeson student preacher (to be announced).

Dec. 4, Bishop of Hippo Augustine, Frank Limehouse, dean, Cathedral Church of the Advent, Birmingham.

Many of the saints to be featured are depicted in ceiling artwork or pulpit carvings in Hodges Chapel. The 2007-08 academic year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of Beeson Divinity School.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.