Speaker: The Rev. Dr. Mark Y. A. Davies

Rev. Dr. Mark Y. A. Davies is the Wimberly Professor of Social and Ecological Ethics, Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility, and Executive Director of the Leadership. Education, and Development Hub North America for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry) at Oklahoma City University where he has worked in both teaching and administration for 22 years. He is an ordained elder in the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church where he has served as Chair of the Board of Church and Society from 2015 to 2018.

In 2017, the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church selected Dr. Davies to serve as the convener of the writing team tasked with revising “The Natural World” section of the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church. This is the first time the Social Principles have undergone a thorough revision since their adoption by the denomination in 1972.

Mark engages in advocacy and activism in the areas of peace, social justice, and ecological sustainability. Locally this is expressed through his work with the Human Community Network, which works to create non-violent systemic change for a just and flourishing human and ecological community through collaboration, education, innovation, and action. See www.humancommunitynetwork.org.

He and his wife Kristin live in Edmond, OK in the United States, and they have two teenage daughters.

“To Know the Place for the First Time.”

THE MORNING PROGRAM:  https://redriveruu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/TMP-07-04-v.2.pdf To Know the Place for the First Time. Our First Sunday back in the Chapel at Church! The poet T.S. Eliot once famously wrote: “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” … Continue reading “To Know the Place for the First Time.”

Good Habits: Cultivating Virtue

“Good Habits: Cultivating Virtue” with the rev. Dr. Mark Y.A. Davies The Morning Program https://redriveruu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TMP-04-11-v2-DMS-study.pdf Sneak Peek:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QC5Mft4gY8 Of his remarks Dr. Davies writes,  “Aristotle believed that possessing good character is about cultivating moral and intellectual virtue, and this requires practicing good habits for the sake of human flourishing. What might we learn from Aristotle in … Continue reading Good Habits: Cultivating Virtue

Existentialism in a Time of Existentialist Threat

DOWNLOAD the morning program: Join us online Sunday @ 11:15 on our YouTube channel or our Facebook Page Online Coffee Hour:  Join is via Zoom, starting immediately following the Morning Assembly here Sneak Peek about his remarks: In this discourse I will explore the philosophical perspective known as existentialism which found popularity in the thought of thinkers like Simone de Beauvoir, … Continue reading Existentialism in a Time of Existentialist Threat

“What Is My Duty?”

DOWNLOAD the morning program: https://redriveruu.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/TMP-11-30.pdf What is my Duty? –  To whom do we owe obligations? What is the difference between direct and indirect duties? Do we have duties to non-human life? To future generations? To people we don’t even know?  Should we do our duty no matter what the consequences may be? Join us online … Continue reading “What Is My Duty?”

“The Land Ethic and the Importance of Soil”

the Rev. Dr. Mark Y.A. Davies, speaking Soil degradation is not on too many people’s radar screen, much less high on their list of most pressing ecological problems facing our world today, but that being said, soil degradation is still one of the most significant ecological challenges of the 21st Century whether we recognize it … Continue reading “The Land Ethic and the Importance of Soil”

Is Religion Good?

Join us Sunday @ 11:15 on our YouTube Channel or our Facebook page Here’s a 1 minute sneak peek from Dr. Davies regarding his upcoming remarks. Direct link to the morning assembly To what extent is religion a force for good in the world and why does it so often seem to be used in ways that contribute to so … Continue reading Is Religion Good?