Transcript Staff
Dr. Mary Louise Bringle will speak at the Kuntz Lecture Series, given Sunday and Monday at Memorial Presbyterian Church, 601 24th Avenue SW.
Dr. Bringle, who will address the theme "Sing a New Song -- and Some Good Old Ones, Too," is the chair of the Humanities Division at Brevard College in Brevard, N.C. A writer of hymn texts and a Presbyterian elder, she is chairing the committee of the Presbyterian Church USA which is creating a new Presbyterian hymnal.
Her Sunday evening presentation, titled "Balm in Gilead," focuses on how hymns can address the pastoral care challenges of our generation, from AIDS to Alzheimer's. She will discuss the ways in which singing together cultivates physical, emotional and spiritual health.
The speech is 6 p.m., following a 5 p.m. potluck dinner.
She will present "Who Would Sing That in Church?" in the 9:30 a.m. service. She will give a panoramic view of shifts in church music in the past hundred years in the U.S., looking at the resistance that has greeted each new phenomenon, from spirituals to gospel, chant to holy hip hop.
Sunday morning worship will include a sermon by Bringle on "How Can We Keep from Singing?" She will put various "hymn" issues into the context of God's amazing grace to the people of the world.
This is the sixth year for the Kuntz lecture series, which Memorial Presbyterian pastor Jim Burns said is designed to bring interesting and dynamic speakers to the community.
The series was established by Memorial Presbyterian Church charter member Rose Kuntz in memory of her husband, Dr. Eugene Kuntz, who was an elder in the church and who served for many years on the University of Oklahoma law faculty, both as professor and as dean.
A nursery will be provided for all the Sunday events and upon request for Monday morning by calling 329-3640.
