John W. de Gruchy, Emeritus Robert Selby Taylor Professor of Christian Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, will give a lecture entitled, “Led into Mystery: Seeking Answers in Life and Death” on Tuesday, November 19 at 5:00 p.m. in the lounge of St. Paul’s Memorial Church across from the Rotunda.

John de Gruchy has authored or edited more than thirty books on Dietrich Bonhoeffer; the church in South Africa; contextual, public and Reformed theology; social history; Christianity and the arts; reconciliation and justice; and Christian humanism. He served two congregations and the South African Council of Churches as an ordained minister in the United Congregational Church before he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Cape Town in 1973. De Gruchy retired in 2003, but continues to be active in research, publishing, and mentoring at the University of Cape Town and the University of Stellenbosch. With his wife Isobel, de Gruchy is now a resident member of the Volmoed Community for Reconciliation and Healing near Hermanus where he writes, gives seminars and makes furniture.

De Gruchy’s most recent book, Led into Mystery: Faith Seeking Answers in Life and Death, will also be the subject of his lecture. Led into Mystery is an unanticipated sequel to his book, Being Human: Confessions of a Christian Humanist. It was prompted by the untimely and tragic death of his eldest son, Steve, in February 2010, and the questions this posed about the meaning of life and death from the perspective of Christian faith.