The William Penn University Worldview Forum is a bi-annual event designed to inspire critical thinking among students and guests. Experienced guest speakers tackle significant worldview and audience questions. Emphasizing civility and mutual respect, the forum encourages thoughtful dialogue over debate and hot takes.
Guest speakers will respond to the following:
• What is ultimate reality and how does ultimate reality inform your view on Pacifism & Just War?
• What is a human being and how does your understanding of a human being inform your view on Pacifism & Just War?
• What happens to a person when they die, how does your understanding death inform your view on Pacifism & Just War?
• How do we know what is right and wrong and how does this inform your view on Pacifism & Just War?
Brian Terrell has been a peace activist for almost 50 years, since 1975 when he joined the Catholic Worker movement in New York City at the age of 19. There he had the privilege to pray and work with Dorothy Day in the last years of her life and was an associate editor of The Catholic Worker newspaper. Since 1986, he and his wife Betsy have lived at Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker Farm in Maloy, Iowa, where they raised two children and support themselves by small scale agriculture and hand crafts. Over the years, Brian has participated in anti-nuclear, anti-war and human rights protests around the United States, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and Europe. In 2009, he took part in the first protest of drone assassinations at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada and from 2010 to 2018, he made annual visits to Afghanistan. Each year since 2019, he has travelled to Europe to take part in the campaign to end nuclear weapons “sharing” arrangements between the U.S. and NATO nations. He has spent more than 2 years in jails and prisons and has been expelled from four counties as a result of these protests. Brian is currently a coordinator for the Nevada Desert Experience. His writing has been published in The Catholic Worker, U.S. Catholic, The National Catholic Reporter. Counterpunch and other publications.
Tim Hadley serves as the Oelwein High School principal and also as the Chaplain for the 1-133 Infantry Battalion headquartered in Waterloo. Tim holds a Masters Degree of Educational Administration from Iowa State University and a Masters Degree of Divinity from Liberty University. He and his wife, Bethany, are middle school youth pastors at Prairie Lakes Church Independence and have hosted several Adult Small Groups in their home. They along with their two children, Selah (17) and Isaiah (13) live in Oelwein.
Dr. Manny Garcia has served as the General Superintendent of Iowa Yearly Meeting of Friends since 2021. Prior to that he was the lead pastor of Northridge Friends Church in Wichita, KS. Dr. Garcia is passionate about helping to equip churches to embody their created purpose of carrying the Gospel message to the areas of darkness and brokenness in our world. He is married to Jenalee and together they have four children, two of which are still at home. When he isn’t traveling for his job, he enjoys time at home with his family, caring for his lawn, and running on the roads and trails around Oskaloosa.
Audience Questions
If you have any questions for the speakers, please submit them here.
Live Stream
Spring 2024 Worldview Forum on AI – 3/20/24