Supper with a Scholar

A Howard C. Scharfe Fellowship Endowment Speaker Series

Each year, Shadyside Presbyterian Church, through the Howard C. Scharfe Endowment, supports pastors in their post-graduate studies for the benefit of the Church and for the glory of God. Through this generous gift, pastors and churches for decades have been blessed to grow in new ways. This year, Shadyside Presbyterian Church has invited four recent recipients to share over dinner and through worship about their studies and how they are practicing what they learn in their congregations.

Please join us for dinner at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall, followed by vespers in the Chapel at 7:00 p.m., to see and hear about what God is up to in the church and in the world! Please contact the church office to RSVP.

On February 13, 2019, we welcome Rev. Scott Szabo as our speaker. Rev. Szabo has been serving as Transitional Pastor at the Oxford Presbyterian Church in Oxford, Pennsylvania, since March of 2018. His ecclesial interests include exploring how, in the midst of a rapidly changing world and a “reformed and always reforming Church,” we can best embody our identity as Presbyterians. He wonders how we can more richly celebrate the many feast days of the liturgical calendar, and so orient our perception of the world around the story of the Church in its midst.

Rev. Szabo is heading toward a Doctorate of Ministry in Proclamation and Worship from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He enjoys the study of how we make and interpret meaning through the use of symbols in Christian worship. Specifically, he is curious about how the symbols with which we surround ourselves, especially those familiar to the congregation, shape our self-perception, our understanding of the Church in the world, and our life together. When these symbols elicit remembrances of God’s faithfulness, times of joy, or valuable lessons learned, Scott is interested in how they may best be incorporated into our path of corporate discipleship. Conversely, when such symbols have lost their intended orientation, pointing us not toward an expectation of God’s continued faithfulness, but rather miring us in nostalgia, he is interested in how such symbols may be confronted and ultimately redeemed.

Also, save these dates and plan to join us for the other speaking engagements in this series: October 10, 2018; November 14, 2018; and January 23, 2019.