Date: Thursday, December 4, 2025
Time: 12:30-1:30
Location: Athenaeum
The next Christian Faculty Forum meeting will be held on Thursday, December 4th, from 12:30 to 1:30 at the UGA Athenaeum (287 W. Broad St). Our speaker will be Dr. Mark Trump, pastor of Encounter Church in Athens. After earning his master’s in Biblical and Theological Studies, Mark earned his Ph.D. from Marquette University in Religious Studies with a concentration in New Testament. During this season of Thanksgiving, it is a great time to look at scripture and the role thanksgiving played in worship of both Israel and the early church. An abstract of Mark’s talk is below.
Abstract: In the early stages of Israelite worship, thanksgiving played a crucial role. The organization of the sacrificial system recorded in Leviticus, the records of the appointment of priests by name and category to oversee thanksgiving, and the early Jewish deyuna prayer reveal the importance of giving thanks as an integral part of Israelite worship. One way to illustrate this is through a consideration of one particular, and consistently repeated, refrain throughout the history of Israel which stands out as central to the practice of thanksgiving:
“Give thanks to the LORD, for the Lord is good and his love endures forever.”
In this presentation, we will spend time looking at thanksgiving and its importance not only in Israelite worship, but how one Jewish Christian, Paul, gives thanksgiving a central place in early Christian worship. Along the way, we will also explore the importance of thanksgiving for our own lives as well.
A light lunch will be provided to everyone who sends in their RSVP by 5 pm, Wednesday, December 3rd, by filling out the form below. If you plan to attend but don’t need a lunch provided, please RSVP and indicate that as well.