Symposium on World Christianity
- Monday: Study Lounge in library, Tuesday: Room 221K
- April 20th 2026, 10:00 – April 21st 2026, 15:00
Beth Elness-Hanson is currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow with a biblical-ecotheology project on creation care in Maasailand (Tanzania, East Africa). Primarily funded by the European Commission, her research is coordinated by and partially funded through VID Specialized University, and she partnered with Tumaini University Makumira, Tanzania, where she was located for two years of fieldwork (2023–2025). She is also on leave of absence from Wartburg Theological Seminary, USA, where she is Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible. Her PhD (VID, 2016) and continuing research engages the intersection of Old Testament and African biblical interpretations.
Eugene Baron is professor of Christian Studies at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His academic experience spans more than a decade (since 2010) of tutoring, facilitating, and teaching and supervising at various public and private higher education institutions. He obtained his Ph.D. at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), completing part of the research at the Katholieke University of Leuven in Belgium. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of HTS Theological Studies and Assistant Editor of Mission Studies. He was appointed as the first General Secretary of the African chapter of the International Association of Mission Studies (IAMS-Africa) in 2024.
Mika Vähäkangas, professor and director of Polin Institute of Åbo Akademi University, Finland, and extraordinary professor at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He is the leader of HERA-CHANSE research consortium RELIDEM which deals with Christian responses to the dual crises of war and democratic backsliding. He was formerly professor in mission studies and ecumenics at Lund University, Sweden, and lecturer of systematic theology at Makumira University College, Tanzania. He has served as the president of the International Association for Mission Studies and been an advisory member of the WCC Commission for World Mission and Evangelism.
Program
Monday April 20 Symposium on Missio Dei (VID Study lounge)
10:00-10:15 Welcome by Tomas Sundnes Drønen, Director of The Centre for the Study of World Christianity and Religion (CWCR), VID Specialized University
10:15 – 11:30 “Missio Dei and Reconciliation for a Covenant of Vocation» - Beth Elness-Hanson, VID Specialized University. Response by Anna Rebecca Solevåg, VID Specialized University. Q & A
11:45 – 13:15 ”Missio Dei – a Chameleon” – Eugene Baron (University of Johannesburg) & Mika Vähäkangas, Åbo Akademi. Response by Jonas Jørgensen, Interchurch Denmark/NIME. Q & A
13:15 – 14:15 Lunch
14:15 – 15:45 ”Can Missio Dei be redeemed?” – Mika Vähäkangas, Åbo Akademi & Eugene Baron, University of Johannesburg. Response by Kari Storstein Haug, VID Specialized University. Q & A
16:00 – 17:00 Panel discussion led by Retief Müller, VID Specialized University
18:00 TBC Social event after the program – Tungenes Lighthouse
Tuesday April 21 Paper Presentation Seminar (Room 221K or VID study lounge)
08:30 – 08:45 Welcome
08:45 – 09:15 Eugene Baron, University of Johannesburg: “My life as a scholar – Publishing”
09:15 – 09:45 Mika Vähäkangas, Åbo Akademi: “My life as a scholar – Networking”
10:00 – 11:00 Paper 1: Helge Ask – “Jude and the Rebellious Angels: Lewd Behaviour and Legal Regulations”. Prepared response by Beth Elness-Hanson and PhD peer. Q & A
11:00 – 12:15 Chapel and lunch
12:15 – 13:15 Paper 2: Blandin Emmanuel Nomenanahary – “Chapter 1 (Introduction): 'Reading Leviticus 17 from a Bara perspective'”. Prepared response by Mika Vähakangas and PhD peer. Q & A
13:30 – 14:30 Paper 3: Maria Karlsson – “We want peace but no 'Pente' preaching!: A Case Study of Pentecostal Peacebuilding in East Meskan/Mareko, Ethiopia”. Prepared response by Eugene Baron and PhD peer. Q & A
14:30 – 15:00 “What did we learn in school today?” Symposium sum-up, Eugene, Mika and Beth