The Dogwood Center is replaying four of the most popular lectures from the 2012 January Series! Admission is free.
3:00 p.m. – Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy – Speaker: Eric Metaxas
In a decidedly eclectic career, Eric Metaxas has written for Veggie Tales, served as writer and editor for Chuck Colson’s Breakpoint, and written for the New York Times. He is a best-selling author whose biographies, children’s books, and works of popular apologetics have been translated into Albanian, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, and Macedonian. He is the founder and host of Socrates in the City: Conversations on the Examined Life, a monthly event of entertaining and thought-provoking discussions on “life, God, and other small topics” held in New York City. He is a frequent cultural commentator on CNN and the Fox News Channel and he has been featured on many radio programs, including NPR’s Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation and others. He is the author of two highly acclaimed biographies Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery and Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.
4:30 p.m. – Adventures of the Appalachian Trail – Speaker: Jennifer Pharr Davis
After graduating from college with a Classics degree, Jennifer wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her life. She is drawn to the Appalachian Trail, a 2175-mile footpath that stretches from Georgia to Maine. Though her friends think she’s crazy and her mom worries about her safety, she sets out alone to hike the trail, hoping it will give her time to think about what she wants to do next.
The next four months prove to be the most physically and emotionally challenging season of her life. She quickly discovers that thru-hiking is harder than she had imagined: coping with blisters and aching shoulders from the 30-pound pack she carries; sleeping on the hard wooden floors of trail shelters or trying to put up a tent in the dark; hiking through endless torrents of rain and even a blizzard.
With every step she takes, Jennifer transitions from an over-confident college graduate to a student of the trail. She learns that she is stronger than she thought she was as she braves situations she never imagined before her thru-hike. The trail is full of unexpected kindness, generosity, and humor. And when tragedy strikes, she learns that she can depend on other people to help her in times of need. Read more about her 2005 AT journey in her adventure memoir, Becoming Odyssa. It is a drama filled, laugh out loud, coming-of-age story that will be enjoyed by both hikers and non-hikers.
Jennifer has hiked over 11,000 miles of Long Distance Trails. She has trekked on 6 continents and currently holds endurance records on The Appalachian Trail, Long Trail and Bibbulmun Track.