As 2018 draws to a close, we wanted to take a moment and pay tribute to one of the great leaders of the Northwest who left us recently. The passing of Dr. Eugene Peterson has taken one of our country’s greatest thinkers and wisest spiritual voices. Though you may not immediately be able to place his name, his influence has certainly touched us all in many ways.
Perhaps best known for his translation of The Bible known as The Message, Dr. Peterson’s writings and speaking on religion, culture, leadership development, spirituality and education have deeply moved countless voices and conversations in communities across the Northwest and the country. The Message is one of the best selling religious books of all time and is translated into dozens of languages after taking Dr. Peterson 30 years to complete.
Dr. Peterson shunned publicity and preferred to focus on teaching, writing and spending time with students and friends as he taught at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C. After concluding his illustrious career in the classroom, he retired to a home at Flathead Lake in Montana. Though he stepped away from educating in a traditional academic environment, he never lost his thirst for knowledge. An alumnus of Seattle Pacific University and several other institutions, Dr. Peterson continued to seek knowledge and insight in a variety of ways until his passing. N.T. Wright, University Professor at St. Andrews’ University in Scotland called him, “one of the towering intellectuals of our time and a wise, prophetic voice speaking to the spiritual hunger of the 21st century.”
As we remember Dr. Peterson’s legacy and look ahead to a new year, we renew our commitment to positively participating in discussions as to how faith and the faith-based community can help support and uplift our local region so that all individuals and families can flourish and thrive.
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