Trinity Episcopal announces five speakers for Lenten series | Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Trinity Episcopal Church, 1130 First Ave., has announced its speakers for the annual Lenten Lunch Series beginning Feb. 22. It is every Monday for five weeks, 11:55 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Parish Hall. Cost is a suggested donation of $5.

Registration is not necessary.

The overall theme is "Life from the Ashes."

Week One: "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return: Feb. 22, the Rev. Ted Hackett , Acting Director of Anglican Studies and Associate Professor of the Practice of Church Ministries at The Candler School of Theology of Emory University. He was granted his Ph.D. at Emory University in 1974 following his M. Div. from Berkeley Divinity School of Yale University in 1964. He is the co-author of "Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary" (2007) as well as “The Lord Be With You: A Handbook for Presiding in Christian Worship" (1990).

Week Two: "The story of Creation,” March 1The Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan. Born in Vicksburg, Miss., and graduated from Mississippi State University in 1976.  He then went to the University of the South at Sewanee, Tenn., for seminary, graduating in 1981.  He served congregations in Olive Branch, West Point, and Grenada, all in Mississippi, before becoming the chaplain at the University of Mississippi. In 1993 he became the rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Huntsville, Ala., and was elected to be the Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Alabama in 2007.  He and his wife Tina have been married since 1987, and have two children: McKee, who is a junior at Sewanee, and Mary Nell, who is in the tenth grade in Birmingham. 

Week Three — "Valley of the Dry Bones," March 8Robert W. Radtke is President of Episcopal Relief and Development, with offices in New York. He joined the organization in July 2005. Under his leadership, ERD began a domestic emergency preparedness and response program and is expanding its work in the areas of hunger and disease prevention to more than 40 countries worldwide. Under Radtke’s leadership, ERD has launched a major malaria prevention partnership, NetsforLife, to reach more than 1 million people in 16 countries in Africa. Radtke advocates on behalf of people living in poverty. He received his bachelor's degree from Columbia University where he majored in East Asian Languages and Cultures, and his doctorate in Modern History from Oxford University. He and his wife, Mary Abraham, have one daughter. They attend St.Bartholomew’s Church in New York City.

Week Four — "Israel’s Deliverance,": March 15The Rt. Rev. G. Porter Taylor was consecrated bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina in 2004. He grew up in Asheville, N.C., and earned his B.A. degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his M.A. in English from the University of South Carolina and his Ph.D. in theology and literature from Emory. He received his M. Div. from The School of Theology at Sewanee. Before his election as bishop, he served seven years as rector of St. Gregory the Great Church in Athens, Ga. He is the author of "To Dream as God Dreams: Sermons of Hope, Conversion, and Community" and "From Anger to Zion: An Alphabet of Faith."

Week Five — "A New Heart/ New Spirit," March 22The Rev. Robert Certain was born in Savannah, Ga. He graduated from Emory with a degree in history and a commission in the U.S. Air Force. As an aviator, he flew over Southeast Asia in 1971 and 1972. He was shot down and captured in late 1972 and repatriated when the war ended. He attended the School of Theology in Sewanee, and was ordained in 1976. In 1990, he was awarded his D. Min. degree. As an Air Force chaplain, he served on active duty and in the reserves, retiring as Colonel. He has served several parishes, now serving as Rector of St. Peter & St. Paul Episcopal Church in Marietta, Ga. He published his autobiography, "Unchained Eagle: From Prisoner of War to Prisoner of Christ" in 2003. Another book, "The Spiritual Quest," came out in 2008. When former President Gerald R. Ford died in late 2006, Certain was chosen to lead the memorial services and to preside at his burial in Michigan.