by Lew Harris

Three emeritus faculty of the Vanderbilt Divinity School will deliver the annual Cole Lectures and the Herman Norton Lecture that will highlight the Divinity School's Homecoming weekend Oct. 16-18.

The weekend has been moved to coincide with the University's Homecoming week festivities for the first time in the Divinity School's history.

The weekend will get under way Oct. 16 when H. Jackson Forstman delivers the Herman Norton Lecture in Preaching and Pastoral Care at 10 a.m. in Benton Chapel. His talk is titled "Preaching as a Moral Issue." Forstman retired in December after spending 32 years as a member of the Divinity School faculty, including a term as dean (1978-1989). He is the Charles G. Finney Professor of Theology, Emeritus.

Forstman is the author of five books and numerous articles. He received the Thomas Jefferson Award from Chancellor Joe B. Wyatt in 1993 for distinguished service and contributions to Vanderbilt. He is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Edward Farley and Donald F. Beisswenger will deliver the Cole Lectures. Farley will speak at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 16 in Benton Chapel. His speech is titled "Beauty as the Beast: The Uphill Path to a Theological Aesthetic."

Farley has written 11 books and is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. He received the Earl Sutherland Award for Excellence in Research while at Vanderbilt. Farley taught at the Divinity School from 1969 to his retirement in June. Farley is the Drucilla Moore Buffington Professor of Theology, Emeritus.

Beisswenger will lead his Cole Lecture seminar and workshop at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 17. His presentation is titled "From the Springs of Compassion: Wonder, Solidarity and Social Transformation."

He retired from the Divinity School faculty in 1996 after serving as director of field education since 1968. Beisswenger is co-editor of a five-volume series, "Theological Field Education: Key Resources." He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church.

The three retired faculty members will be the subjects of gentle roasts and remembrances by former students at the alumni Luncheon slated for noon Oct. 17 on the Benton Chapel Terrace.

Another highlight of the Homecoming weekend will be a talk by Professor Amy-Jill Levine at a community breakfast slated for 7:30 a.m. Oct. 17 in Tillett Lounge. The cost is $5.50; reservations Levine's presentation is titled "Building a House on Solid Rock." She is the director of the Carpenter Program in Religion, Gender and Sexuality and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies.