Stories this week at Wake Forest

Haiti’s Secret Voodoo Societies

Wade Davis, author of “The Serpent and the Rainbow” will discuss his experiences with Haitian voodoo culture in a public lecture at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30. Davis, who earned his doctorate in ethnobiology at Harvard, will speak in Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium. Davis, who co-wrote and hosted “Earthguide” on the Discovery Channel, has also been a logger, surveyor, park ranger, photographer and lecturer. He has also explored Central America’s rain forests.

Zen Buddhist to be Resident Scholar

Buddhist monk Abbot Hyon Gak Sunim will be Wake Forest’s Year of Religion resident scholar Sept. 29-Oct. 2. Throughout the academic year, the resident scholar program will bring representatives from several different faiths to campus to participate in lectures, classes and discussions. While at Wake Forest, Gak Sunim will present two free public lectures, “What Are You?: Zen Is Understanding Yourself?” 4 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 30, and “Zen Way, Jesus Way,” 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 2. Both lectures will be in Brendle Recital Hall. Gak Sunim will also teach public classes on how to meditate 7 p.m., Monday, Sept. 29, 4 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 1, and 4 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 2 in the Balcony Room of Wait Chapel. In addition to his work at the Providence Zen Center, Gak Sunim was editor of the books, “The Whole World is a Single Flower” and “The Compass of Zen.”

A Promise Kept?

While meeting the spiritual longing of many men and their need for affirmation amid the redefining of male roles, the Promise Keepers have also inadvertently defined a new fault line in religious debate, says Wake Forest religion professor Stephen Boyd. Author of the 1995 book, “The Men We Long to Be: Beyond Domination to a New Christian Understanding of Manhood,” Boyd says the Promise Keepers promote racial reconciliation but not gender reconciliation — favoring the traditional, patriarchal male role in marriage. “The greatest tensions threatening the unity of many denominations are no longer doctrinal issues but differences concerning gender roles and human sexuality that threaten to divide denominations internally.” Hundreds of thousands of men are expected to attend the Promise Keepers’ “Stand in the Gap” rally Oct. 4 in Washington, D.C.

Run with the Deacs

About 200 runners will join Wake Forest’s men’s and women’s basketball teams for the annual 5K Run With the Deacs on Friday, Sept. 26. A fundraiser for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund, the 4 p.m. event starts at the water tower field near the University Parkway entrance to campus. Registration is $10. Prizes will be awarded. Sponsors include Wake Forest Athletics, Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, Nike, Runner’s World and Rock 92.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Campus Life, Community, Events