J. Hubert Henderson Conference on Church and Ministry

On Fri., April 24, 2015, Ronald C. White Jr., professor emeritus of American religious history at San Francisco Theological Seminary, will speak on the theme, "Abraham Lincoln's Faith Journey and Our Ministry Stories," as our keynote presenter at this year's Henderson Conference.

From Ken Burns’ Civil War, to Stephen Spielberg’s Lincoln, to countless books, many windows give us a fleeting glance or long look at Abraham Lincoln. A neglected aspect in the Lincoln story is his faith journey. During these interactive presentations, we will explore how Lincoln’s faith is revealed in his greatest speeches and how his faith can inform and challenge our faith.

The conference will be held on the Seminary's campus and is free and open to the public.

  • 11:00 a.m. "A Task Before Me: Lincoln's Farewell Address at Springfield" Lincoln, on the morning he departed Springfield in 1861 to become the 16th president of the United States, in a mere 152 words, offered a heartfelt farewell. Admirers of Lincoln, in Chicago and Berlin, have recited these words to me from memory. With his encouragement to pray, this address is inscribed in the National Cathedral. Why does it speak so eloquently across the years?

  • 2:00 p.m. "270+2 Words: The Gettysburg Address" Abraham Lincoln’s speeches are a string of pearls. The Gettysburg Address can best be understood not standing starkly alone, but when compared to his other pearls. Only 272 words, in a profoundly political speech, Lincoln departed from his written text to add the words, “under God.” How did these two words change the meaning of the whole address? On the first remembrance of 9/11, the people of New York recited the Gettysburg Address. Why has the address stood the test of time?

  • 4:00 p.m. "Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address: A Public Voice of Faith" At 701 words, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural is the second shortest inaugural address ever offered. The next day a newspaper correspondent called it, “Lincoln’s Sermon on the Mount.” Lincoln mentions God 14 times, quotes the Bible four times, and invokes prayer three times. Why do you think Lincoln called it “my best effort?” In our multicultural society, Christians have sometimes retreated to espousing only a personal God. How can Lincoln’s Second Inaugural be a model for a public voice of faith in contemporary America?

Registration and CEUs

If you plan to attend the lectures, please register HERE. The lectures are free and open to the public but it is helpful for us to have an idea of anticipated attendance. Also, if you wish to receive CEUs for attending the lectures, you must register. Contact the Seminary’s Office of Continuing Education at 412-924-1345 or ConEd@pts.edu for more information.

Speaker Bio

Ronald C. White Jr. is the author of A. Lincoln: A Biography (2009), a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times bestseller. The book was honored as a best book of 2009 by the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, History Book Club, and Barnes & Noble. His Lincoln biography won the coveted Christopher Award in 2010 which salutes books “that affirm the highest values of the human spirit.” White is also the author of Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural (2002), honored as a New York Times Notable Book of 2002, and a Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, and The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words (2005), a Los Angeles Times bestseller, a selection of the History Book Club and the Book-of-the-Month Club. He is presently writing a comprehensive biography of Ulysses S. Grant — American Ulysses — which will be published in the spring of 2015 by Random House.

He has lectured at the White House and been interviewed on the PBS News Hour. Dr. White is a graduate of UCLA, Princeton Theological Seminary, with a Ph.D. in religion and history from Princeton University. He has studied at Lincoln Theological College in England. He has been honored with a D. H. L. [Doctor of Humane Letters] from Whitworth University. He has taught at UCLA, Princeton Theological Seminary, Whitworth University, Colorado College, Rider University, and San Francisco Theological Seminary. He is a fellow at the Huntington Library, visiting professor of history at UCLA, and a senior fellow of The Trinity Forum. He lives with his wife, Cynthia, in La Cañada, Calif.

About the J. Hubert Henderson Conference

The Rev. J. Hubert "Hub" Henderson was a member of the Board of Directors of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary for 27 years, serving as President of the Board for part of that time. A graduate of Muskingum College and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Dr. Henderson came to Green Tree, Pa. to begin his second pastorate in 1944. He remained at the Wallace Memorial Presbyterian Church until his retirement 35 years later, in 1979. He taught a deep commitment to the church to a steady flow of seminarians, who came to Wallace each year for their field education, as well as to the congregation that loved him. Congregations, colleagues in ministry, family, and friends have joined together to establish this memorial conference in memory of "Hub."

J. Hubert Henderson Conference on Church and Ministry

On Fri., April 24, 2015, Ronald C. White Jr., professor emeritus of American religious history at San Francisco Theological Seminary, will speak on the theme, "Abraham Lincoln's Faith Journey and Our Ministry Stories," as our keynote presenter at this year's Henderson Conference.

From Ken Burns’ Civil War, to Stephen Spielberg’s Lincoln, to countless books, many windows give us a fleeting glance or long look at Abraham Lincoln. A neglected aspect in the Lincoln story is his faith journey. During these interactive presentations, we will explore how Lincoln’s faith is revealed in his greatest speeches and how his faith can inform and challenge our faith.

The conference will be held on the Seminary's campus and is free and open to the public.

  • 11:00 a.m. "A Task Before Me: Lincoln's Farewell Address at Springfield" Lincoln, on the morning he departed Springfield in 1861 to become the 16th president of the United States, in a mere 152 words, offered a heartfelt farewell. Admirers of Lincoln, in Chicago and Berlin, have recited these words to me from memory. With his encouragement to pray, this address is inscribed in the National Cathedral. Why does it speak so eloquently across the years?

  • 2:00 p.m. "270+2 Words: The Gettysburg Address" Abraham Lincoln’s speeches are a string of pearls. The Gettysburg Address can best be understood not standing starkly alone, but when compared to his other pearls. Only 272 words, in a profoundly political speech, Lincoln departed from his written text to add the words, “under God.” How did these two words change the meaning of the whole address? On the first remembrance of 9/11, the people of New York recited the Gettysburg Address. Why has the address stood the test of time?

  • 4:00 p.m. "Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address: A Public Voice of Faith" At 701 words, Lincoln’s Second Inaugural is the second shortest inaugural address ever offered. The next day a newspaper correspondent called it, “Lincoln’s Sermon on the Mount.” Lincoln mentions God 14 times, quotes the Bible four times, and invokes prayer three times. Why do you think Lincoln called it “my best effort?” In our multicultural society, Christians have sometimes retreated to espousing only a personal God. How can Lincoln’s Second Inaugural be a model for a public voice of faith in contemporary America?

Registration and CEUs

If you plan to attend the lectures, please register HERE. The lectures are free and open to the public but it is helpful for us to have an idea of anticipated attendance. Also, if you wish to receive CEUs for attending the lectures, you must register. Contact the Seminary’s Office of Continuing Education at 412-924-1345 or for more information.

Speaker Bio

Ronald C. White Jr. is the author of A. Lincoln: A Biography (2009), a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times bestseller. The book was honored as a best book of 2009 by the Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, History Book Club, and Barnes & Noble. His Lincoln biography won the coveted Christopher Award in 2010 which salutes books “that affirm the highest values of the human spirit.” White is also the author of Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural (2002), honored as a New York Times Notable Book of 2002, and a Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, and The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words (2005), a Los Angeles Times bestseller, a selection of the History Book Club and the Book-of-the-Month Club. He is presently writing a comprehensive biography of Ulysses S. Grant — American Ulysses — which will be published in the spring of 2015 by Random House.

He has lectured at the White House and been interviewed on the PBS News Hour. Dr. White is a graduate of UCLA, Princeton Theological Seminary, with a Ph.D. in religion and history from Princeton University. He has studied at Lincoln Theological College in England. He has been honored with a D. H. L. [Doctor of Humane Letters] from Whitworth University. He has taught at UCLA, Princeton Theological Seminary, Whitworth University, Colorado College, Rider University, and San Francisco Theological Seminary. He is a fellow at the Huntington Library, visiting professor of history at UCLA, and a senior fellow of The Trinity Forum. He lives with his wife, Cynthia, in La Cañada, Calif.

About the J. Hubert Henderson Conference

The Rev. J. Hubert "Hub" Henderson was a member of the Board of Directors of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary for 27 years, serving as President of the Board for part of that time. A graduate of Muskingum College and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Dr. Henderson came to Green Tree, Pa. to begin his second pastorate in 1944. He remained at the Wallace Memorial Presbyterian Church until his retirement 35 years later, in 1979. He taught a deep commitment to the church to a steady flow of seminarians, who came to Wallace each year for their field education, as well as to the congregation that loved him. Congregations, colleagues in ministry, family, and friends have joined together to establish this memorial conference in memory of "Hub."