The Center for Hispanic Studies (CHS) at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, will host its fifth Annual Lecture in Hispanic/Latino Theology and Missions, to be held Thursday, March 18, at 7:00 p.m. in the Seminary’s Clara and Spencer Werner Auditorium. Dr. María Teresa Dávila, assistant professor of Christian ethics at Andover Newton Theological School, Newton, Mass., will be the guest speaker. All events during this week are free and open to the public.

The theme for this year’s lecture is “Unión, Reunión y Comunión: Latino/a Religious Diversity and the Wager of Ecumenical Communion.”

The annual lecture is designed to raise awareness about issues that affect Latino communities and to highlight the contributions of Latinos and others to the shape of the church’s task in such contexts. Admission is free and the lecture will be delivered in English.

A Spanish worship service will open the events on Monday, March 15, at 7:00 p.m. in the undercroft room of The Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus. The service will include the participation of CHS Seminary students and the San Pablo Mariachi group.

CHS will also host a Latino Movie Night (Noche de Cinema) on Wednesday, March 17, at 7:00 p.m. in Werner Auditorium. The featured film is “Innocent Voices,” the poignant tale of Chava, an eleven year-old boy who suddenly becomes the “man of the house” after his father abandons the family in the middle of a civil war. This film is based on a true story and mirrors current events, as more than 300,000 children presently serve in armies in more than 40 countries.

The public is invited to attend all CHS events. Dr. Leopoldo Sánchez M., assistant professor of systematic theology and the Werner R.H. Krause and Elizabeth Ringger Krause Endowed Chair for Hispanic Ministries, is the director for the Center for Hispanic Studies.

For more information, contact the Center for Hispanic Studies at 1-800-677-9833 or [email protected].