The Nature of Civic Responsibility

Joe Morrow
Associate Pastor
Fourth Presbyterian Church

Friday, October 25, 2024

1:00-2:00PM

Joe Morrow is associate pastor for evangelism and community engagement at Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago. Previously, he served as chair of the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and on the staff of Interfaith America. Joe holds degrees from North Park Theological Seminary and Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He is husband to Sung Yeon and father to two daughters Ella and Maya.

Join us in dialogue with Joe Morrow to discuss the nature of civic responsibility as we ponder these questions.

• What happens when the church, synagogue, temple or nonprofit down the street agrees about the nature of a problem, but feels its own tradition bars it from addressing the problem in the same ways you would?
• How do we respond when we see someone bringing salt and light into a neighborhood, when their ecclesiology differs from ours, restricting who fills what kinds of leadership roles? What theology allows us to cooperate with or work separately from such persons and communities?
• Is there ever a time to put down our discussions of religion or traditions in order to build viable coalitions that effectively tackle the problems of the world?
• Are there times when our faith needs to question or ask others to question political or economic claims that have essentially become articles of faith?
• What is the nature of forgiveness? Can it be achieved in this lifetime?