BEYOND THE CHURCH DOORS
THIS IS PART OF AN ONGOING SERIES OF COLUMNS ABOUT
THE ACTIVITIES OF OUR MINISTERS OUTSIDE OF ALL SOULS.
— by
Lois Chazen
DAVID ROBB
The Rev. David Robb, Scholar in Residence and Minister of Adult Education
at All Souls, is responsible for the speakers program except for the lectures
in the Lifelines Series. He lectures or leads seminars throughout the year
and takes suggestions from others on topics and speakers in which they
have an interest. He has just completed a seven part seminar on Reinhold
Niebuhr entitled “Theological and Social Reflections of Reinhold
Niebuhr.” In May he will do a series on Islam and the Middle East.
Recently, David
wrote an article on “Just War Theory,” an issue
contemplated and debated since Aristotle’s time. The article titled “Is
Just War Theory Too Malleable?” was written for Belief.net. The text
is available online at that address. The Belief.net website focuses on
religious and moral issues.
Rev. Robb also
lectures at the First Presbyterian Church on Madison Avenue, the First
Presbyterian Church in Greenwich Village and the Christ United
Methodist Church on Park Avenue. Much of his time when not at All Souls
is spent as a psychotherapist and providing conflict resolution and
long range planning for local parishes. He is a consultant and fellow of
the
Congregational Resource Center and is an Associate of Kenwood Psychological
Services in New York, the counseling service to which All Souls refers
individuals.
Another of David’s consuming interests is poetry. He has just given
a series of lectures at All Souls on W. H. Auden’s late writings
on Christianity and Protestant theology. Other favorite poets are Emily
Dickinson, John Donne, Robert Frost and Gerard Manley Hopkins. “Theology,
philosophy, poetry and psychology are disciplines which share a concern
with life’s major issues: creation, love, death, truth, the meaning
of life, ethics, and so forth,” David explained. “These areas
of study intertwine and elucidate each other and give focus to my work.”
The last few
summers, David has spent a week or two at the Berkshire Choral Festival
in Sheffield, Massachusetts, where intensive, total-immersion
rehearsals are held for one week culminating in a single performance.
Approximately
225 people gather for training by a well-known conductor associated
with a major orchestra. The last two years, David’s daughter
Sarah accompanied him. They sang Mozart’s “Requiem” at
Canterbury Cathedral in England and another year, the Dvorvak “Requiem” at
the Festival’s
home. Despite a mind-boggling workload, he still finds time to
attend theater and concerts in New York.
David has three
sons: Matthew, the oldest has just completed his PhD in Philosophy at the
New School University. He lectured at
All Souls
several
times last year on Martin Heidegger, the History of Ethical Theory
and the Tao Te Ching.
Nathan, the
middle son has just completed his M.A. in Philosophy and Public Policy
at the University of Chicago. Tim, a high-school
Junior,
is spending
his spring term on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas studying Marine
Biology. Sarah is at Simon’s Rock in North Barrington, Massachusetts, and
will spend next semester studying in France.
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