Westminster Professor to Lecture in New York City

Dr. Bryan Rennie, the Vira I. Heinz Professor of Religion at Westminster College, has been invited to lecture at the Open Center in New York City March 9.

The New York Open Center is a non-profit, holistic learning center offering evening lectures, workshops, classes, and graduate degrees. It has been open since 1984 and pursues a vision of creating a single forum for ideas and experiences at the forefront of the shift in awareness that many aspects of life are not separate but profoundly connected. This holistic consciousness looks primarily to the search for inner, spiritual values and this search remains the baseline to which their speakers constantly return. Lectures concentrate on five major areas: Contemplative and Spiritual Traditions; Health and Wellness; Psychology; Society and Ecology; and Creativity and the Arts. More than 10,000 people attend the Open Center annually.

"It was a surprise and an honor to be invited," Rennie said. "I jumped at the chance, particularly since the lecture is during our mid-term break and will not disrupt my teaching in any way."

This is the centenary of the birth of Mircea Eliade, on whom Rennie has published three books, and the Open Center invited him to speak on this occasion. "I am giving a two-hour talk on The Life & Work of Mircea Eliade,' but I am concentrating on one of his major themes, which is Perceiving the Sacred in the Everyday World.' It is a very exciting prospect, and I hope to enter into a very open and active discussion with the New York audience," Rennie added.

Rennie, who has been with Westminster College since 1994, is also the Vira I. Heinz Chair in Religion. He earned his undergraduate degree, master's and Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Rennie has written four books and several articles about Eliade.

Contact Rennie at (724) 946-7151 or e-mail mailto:brennie@westminster.edu for more information. .

Dr. Bryan Rennie