Chautauqua’s theme for Week Three is “What We Got Wrong: Learning from Our Mistakes.” If hindsight is 20/20, meaning that humans can look at the past more clearly than in the given moment, what tools are required to look at the past honestly and to learn how to move forward?
The Rev. Richard Kannwischer, who will serve as chaplain-in-residence for Week Three at Chautauqua, says candor, curiosity, reflective introspection and humility are the tools needed.
“We turn with both candor and curiosity to our past, pinpointing the moments and ideas we can now say emphatically and categorically were misguided, incorrect, or flawed,” he wrote in a statement to the Chautauqua Department of Religion about his sermons for the week, drawing directly from the week’s theme description for his inspiration.
“We look at the psychology of personal decision-making, and the reflective introspection and humility that happens when we change our minds,” he continued. “Finally, we take the same lens of hindsight and apply it to our present, considering a thought experiment: What will future generations say we’re getting wrong now? ”
Kannwischer will preach at the 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning worship service in the Amphitheater. His sermon title will be “What I Got Wrong About Faith.”
He will also preach at the 9:15 a.m. daily worship service Monday through Friday in the Amp. His sermon titles include: “What I Got Wrong About God,” “What I Got Wrong About Christmas,” “What I Got Wrong About Love,” “What I Got Wrong About Friendship,” and “What I Got Wrong About Heaven.”
The eighth senior pastor of the 7,000-member Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Kannwischer has been a pastor for 25 years and has served congregations in Texas, California and the New York City metropolitan area.
He studied business at Trinity University in San Antonio before completing his master’s from Princeton Theological Seminary and his doctorate from Fuller Theological Seminary, and has served as a member of the board of trustees for all three of his higher educational institutions. He is currently on the board of directors at the historic Fox Theatre in Atlanta.
Kannwischer met his wife, Kelly, in graduate school. They fell in love debating theology and eating ice cream as a reward after an evening in the library. She is the founder of OptUp consulting and is passionate about empowering momentum for organizations and noble causes.
