Timothy Parker McConnell

Ph.D. Candidate and Presidential Fellow in the department of Religious Studies. My discipline is Historical Theology, studying the history and doctrine of the early Christian Church under the supervision of Robert Louis Wilken writing a dissertation on Basil of Caesarea: “In Divine Light: Illumination in Basil’s Doctrine of the Holy Spirit.”

Director of Graduate Ministries for the Center for Christian Study. The Center stands at the intersection of Church and University, “…to serve Jesus Christ by fostering the serious consideration in the university environment of a Biblical worldview, and by encouraging and facilitating wise discussion of the Truth in light of the challenges of contemporary culture,” and “…to provide opportunities and resources for corporate and individual investigation of the truths of the historic Christian faith in response to the questions raised by contemporary society.” I could not be more delighted that I have the opportunity to be a part of this ministry.

I can be reached by email: timothymcconnell@virginia.edu or tim@studycenter.net.

“I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books. But if he must read only the new or only the old, I would advise him to read the old.” --C. S. Lewis (full quote)

Upcoming Events:

August 31, 2008 Preaching at Providence Presbyterian Church, Gum Spring, VA.

October 12, 2008 Preaching at Meadows Presbyterian Church, Charlottesville, VA.

Publications and Past Projects:

TEACHING:

University of Virginia summer course (May 14 – June 8, 2007) entitled Behind the Da Vinci Code examining contemporary claims of ‘lost christianities’ and suppression of the ‘divine feminine’ in the early church by reading and studying the primary sources.

Meadows Presbyterian Church (May 12 – June 9, 2007) Adult Education course on “The Bible: Where does it come from and what does God use it for?”

WRITING:

March 7-9, 2008, Paper presentation at the Southeastern Commission for the Study of Religion (SECSOR; Regional AAR Meeting in Atlanta): "Basil of Caesarea: The Hospital as a Practice of Christian Piety."

XVth Quadrennial Conference on Patristic Studies at Oxford University (August 6-11, 2007) delivered two short communications: one on the martyr Ignatius of Antioch, “Death Wish or Last Request of a Condemned Man?” and one in response to the “Trinity: God’s Love Overflowing” statement of the 217^th General Assembly, “Presbyterian Church Liturgical Uses of Patristic Trinitarian Metaphor.”

I am a contributor to an online blog called Common Grounds Online. Watch for periodic articles, and you’ll enjoy the other contributions as well.

For my previous Common Grounds articles, click here: McConnell Archive

PREACHING: A few of the sermons I have preached over the years: Sermon Archive.

MISSION: Abigail and I co-directed a mission trip to Kenya. See details here: Kenya 2008; and here: www.meadows2kenya.blogspot.com. See photos here: www.meadowspc.smugmug.com.

CURRICULUM VITAE

PC(USA) PERSONAL INFORMATION FORM (PIF)

Links of Interest:

The Presbyterian Church (USA)

Presbyterian Global Fellowship

First Presbyterian Church, Moorestown, NJ

Meadows Presbyterian Church

Oxford University and Wycliffe Hall: A fun way to experience this beautiful, ancient town is to put on the local music classicfm.com and use the 360 degree tours at: seeoxford.com. Be sure to stop off at the pub, particularly the Eagle and Child, where C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien used to sit and practice the art of conversation. I would walk by this pub regularly on my way to read papers to Dr. Mark Edwards at Christ Church College. My true association at Oxford was Wycliffe Hall which was run by Alister McGrath at the time. The year was a tremendous blessing.

Princeton Theological Seminary: Princeton Theological Seminary The hearth that warmed my theological mind. The center of Barth studies in the English speaking world. Center for Barth Studies.

FOCUS Ministries: I owe much to this great ministry (FOCUS) in which I have participated on and off for sixteen years--particularly during the Simon Barnes years before he left to work for Geneva Global, and then as an executive vice president of the American Bible Society.

I served in the Army Reserve for twelve years. A Marriage Retreat I conducted for the United States Army Reserve was the subject of a news piece on Anderson Cooper 360. You can view the footage here: Anderson Cooper Clip. I was mobilized in the United States Army Reserve for stateside service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from June 2005 until August 2006. Northwestern University wrote an article about my service in the Alumni Magazine. I am pleased to report that I have been honorably discharged from the U. S. Army Reserve effective August 6, 2007, and returned to civilian status.

Thomas Forsyth Torrance: A life worth celebration and emulation. T. F. Torrance Theological Fellowship. T. F. Torrance passed away on Sunday morning, December 3, 2007. Torrance was a Scottish Presbyterian patristics scholar and theologian. His childhood was spent on mission with his parents who were missionaries to inland China. He spent his life in devotion to Christ, serving both Church and Academy and pursuing a number of ground-breaking ecumenical efforts (particularly with the Eastern Orthodox Churches). Torrance spent most of his academic career at Edinburgh. He was responsible for bringing the theology of Karl Barth into the English-speaking world, overseeing the translation of Church Dogmatics and founding the Scottish Journal of Theology. In 1978, he won the John Templeton Award for science and theology.

Alister McGrath debated Christopher Hitchens at Georgetown University on October 11, 2007. You can view it online at: www.eppc.org/Conferences/eventID.121/conf_detail.asp. It runs 100 minutes.

Search:

UVA VIRGO Library Google Amazon

Devotional:

Presbyterian Church (USA): Daily Lectionary.

Oswald Chambers: My Utmost for His Highest.

A calendar of Christian leaders to remember: Episcopal Lectionary Page.

Family:

My wife is an artist specializing in watercolor portraits of children: Abigail McConnell/watercolors

A sunny Sunday at Tabor Presbyterian Church. Spring, 2005.