President Abraham Lincoln’s greatest speech wasn’t the Gettysburg Address, it was his Sermon on the Mount. That’s the belief of Ronald C. White, professor at San Francisco Theological Seminary. White will discuss the topic as part of Westmont’s Erasmus Lecture series, Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 3:30 p.m. at Hieronymus Lounge. The lecture is titled, “Abraham Lincoln’s Sermon on the Mount: The Second Inaugural Address.”
Patty Martin of Woodside, Calif., has been installed as the newest member of the Westmont College Board of Trustees. Martin, 56, is a certified spiritual director and teaches classes at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in spiritual formation.
“I think Westmont has a great balance of encouraging critical Christian thinking without being legalistic,” she says, “and looking at the whole person in terms of growing to become God-like within whatever realm God calls you to.”
The Westmont theater season opens next week, Friday, Nov. 4, with Shakespeare’s achingly beautiful history play “King Richard II” at Santa Barbara Trinity Episcopal Church. It is the first in a yearlong season of events that centers on contemporary, international approaches to Shakespeare’s plays.
Politics and religion will mix at a lecture in downtown Santa Barbara next week. The Westmont Downtown Conversation will include several local community leaders of different faiths and focus on the interactions and conflicts between faith and politics in our community. It will be held, Thursday, Nov. 3, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m, at the University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara St.
Three local high school choirs will join voices with singers from Westmont later this month for the Fall Choral Festival Concert. The concert is Friday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State St. Adams Professor of Music and Worship Michael Shasberger will direct guest choirs from San Marcos, Paso Robles, and San Luis Obispo High Schools. The concert will also feature the Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers. The evening will include a cameo appearance by the guest high school choirs and will conclude in a mass choir presentation.