Mark Van Steenwyk, a Minneapolis-based author and activist will discuss “The Kingdom of God and the American Dream” at 6:30 this evening at the Shalom Mennonite Church, 502 S. Farwell St.
Steenwyck is the executive director of the Center for Prophetic Imagination in Minneapolis. In 2004, he and his wife Amy founded the Mennonite Worker – an urban intentional community committed to Jesus’ way of hospitality, simplicity, prayer, peacemaking and resistance – where they still live.
A press release from the church said Steenwyk’s presentation will deal with the question of how “we (can) begin to disentangle Jesus’ message of the Kingdom of God from the so-called American Dream?”
It added: “Christianity has been twisted in this nation to legitimize conquest, subjugation, and oppression. And today, what many call the Gospel is actually an imperial myth.”
The free program is open to the public. A discussion, including a question and answer session, will follow Steenwyk’s presentation.
Steenwyk is the author of A Wolf at the Gate and two other books, and has contributed to several more. He has been published in Sojourners, Mennonite World Review, JesusRadicals.com and several other publications.
He has a B.S. degree in Ministry from the University of Northwestern and an M. Div. degree from Bethel Theological Seminary, where he also taught courses in applied ecclesiology and Christian radicalism as an adjunct instructor.