Award-winning lecture series comes to Shoreline

Doris Kearns Goodwin

The award-winning January Series of Calvin College is coming to Seattle. From January 4 through January 24, 2017, First Christian Reformed Church and Shoreline Christian School will be one of 50 remote webcast locations worldwide to broadcast one of the nation’s leading lecture and cultural arts series.

A few of the featured presenters in the series’ 30th anniversary year include Doris Kearns Goodwin, a world-renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist; Gary Haugen, CEO and founder of International Justice Mission, and Matthew Desmond, co-founder of the Justice and Poverty Project and the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” grant.

“It means a lot that we can share this with our community,” said Kristi Potter, director of the January Series. 

“We are so thrilled it’s been here for 30 years, and we are so grateful to our sponsors who have helped make this possible. Our desire is to keep bringing in these great speakers year after year so we can continue to have these important conversations.”

The experts will offer informed perspectives on a wide range of today’s most relevant topics, including global governance, human rights, race relations, healthcare reform and the gender gap in technology. A full list of speakers and topics here

Eugene Cho, founder and pastor of Quest Church

Potter says the speakers will not only give listeners a deeper understanding on various issues, but they will also provide their perspectives on how people can make a difference. With that in mind, Potter says having Eugene Cho, founder and pastor of Quest Church — an urban, multicultural, multigenerational church in Seattle — on the series lineup will provide an additional challenge to attendees.

“I am excited to have Eugene Cho on the series. So often we talk about how we can make a difference, but are we actually doing it?” asks Potter. 

“Cho will hold us accountable to take those steps to make a difference. In his book, he asks questions like ‘Are we in love with the idea of changing the world or actually changing the world?’ and ‘Do we just write a check or do we change our lifestyle to help change the world?’”

Matthew Desmond, co-founder of
the Justice and Poverty Project

The January Series lectures will be video streamed live at First Christian Reformed Church and Shoreline Christian School, 14555 25th Ave NE, Shoreline, from 9:30 to 10:30am Monday through Friday.

The lectures are free and open to the public.

Calvin College is a top-ranked liberal arts college that equips and empowers its nearly 4,000 students from 46 U.S. states, 55 countries and six Canadian provinces to think deeply, to act justly and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world.

Calvin is proud to offer 100+ majors and programs, with advanced courses that have often been compared to graduate-level experiences for their remarkable depth of learning.