Speaking at Austin Theological Seminary

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Austin Theological Seminary, Invisible, MidWinter Lecturers, racism, Robert F. Jones Lecturer, sexism, theology, xenophobia

I am so honored to be invited to be the Robert F. Jones Lecturer at Austin Theological Seminary for their Mid-Winter Lectures. As an ordained PC (USA) minister, I am thrilled to be invited to speak at a Presbyterian Seminary. I will be speaking on my book, Invisible. Please do join me.

President José Irizarry has invited three innovative thinkers to share their ideas during our 2023 MidWinter Lectures series. With nearly forty books among them, these scholars have explored the warp and weft of issues of religion, society, race, climate justice, and theological education, and are eager to invite you into the conversation. Lectures and worship will be live-streamed, but the in-person experience—with lectures, Q&As, round-table conversations, meaningful worship, and fun and relaxing social times—has been crafted to offer a lively and engaging connection with the lecturers and other participants. Make your plans now to join us in January!

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Thomas White Currie Lecturer

Dr. Timothy K. Beal

Distinguished University Professor, Florence Harkness Professor of Religion, and Director of h.lab at Case Western Reserve University

Timothy Beal is a writer and scholar who explores matters of religion, media, and American culture. He has published sixteen books, including When Time Is Short: Finding Our Way in the Anthropocene (Beacon, 2022; podcast interview here) and The Book of Revelation: A Biography (Princeton University Press, 2018), for which he won a Public Scholar Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

He has written popular essays on religion, Bible, media, and culture for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN.com, The Christian Century, and The Chronicle of Higher Education, and CNN.com among others. He is editor in chief of The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and the Arts which was named the Best Print Reference in the Humanities (2015) by Library Journal.

Click here to learn more about Professor Beal.

The Thomas White Currie Lectures were first held in 1952. For many years the Tom Currie Bible Class of Highland Park Presbyterian Church of Dallas, Texas, sponsored this annual lectureship. In 2008 a generous gift from the Currie family established the Thomas White Currie Lectureship Endowed Fund which will underwrite them in perpetuity.

E.C. Westervelt Lecturer

Dr. Patrick B. Reyes

Senior Director for Learning Design, Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE)

Patrick Reyes is a Latinx practical theologian, educator, administrator, and institutional strategist. The author of The Purpose Gap (WJK, 2021) and his theological memoir, Nobody Cries when we Die (Chalice Press, 2016), which was named a Hispanic Theological Initiative Book of the Year and the first selection for the Children’s Defense Fund Book Club (2019).

Informed by his experience with gang-affiliated, marginalized Latinx farm-working communities, and administration in higher education and private industry, Reyes consults, speaks, and advises leaders on institutional capacity building for faith communities seeking to embody their vision of justice and peace. He has published research focusing on the intersection of religious practice, community capacity building, social action, and theological education.

He is the host of the Sound of the Genuine, the FTE’s podcast exploring meaning and purpose through the vocational journeys of spiritual and religious leaders.

Learn more about Dr. Reyes here.

The E. C. Westervelt Lectures were established in 1949 by Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Flato of Corpus Christi, Texas, in honor of the parents of Mrs. Flato.

Robert F. Jones Lecturer

Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim

Professor of Theology, Earlham School of Religion

Grace Ji-Sun Kim teaches and writes in the areas of Christian doctrine, ethics, gender justice, and the social and religious experiences of Korean women immigrants to North America.

The author of Invisible: Theology and the Experience of Asian American Women (Fortress 2021) and Hope in Disarray: Piecing our Lives Together in Faith (Pilgrim Press, 2020), Kim is a prolific and collaborative author of more than twenty books.

Kim is a member of the working group on Climate Change for the World Council of Churches. She has written for Faith and Leadership, The Christian Century, Sojourners, Wabash Center, Baptist News Global, Spirituality and Health Magazine and Feminist Studies in Religion (co-editor).

Access her website here.

The Robert F. Jones Lectures were established in 1949 by the Women of the Church of First Presbyterian Church, Fort Worth, Texas. They continue to fund the lecture in memory of their pastor of thirty-five years.

MidWinters
Preacher

The Reverend Natalie Webb

Pastor/Head of Staff, University Baptist Church, Austin, Texas

Natalie Webb (she/her) began her call as UBC’s eleventh Senior Pastor in March 2021. She was ordained to gospel ministry by Covenant Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas, and holds a Master of Divinity from George W. Truett Theological Seminary as well as a Master of Arts in Religion from Baylor University. Natalie is passionate about working for justice in the community and being a compassionate pastoral presence in the lives of her congregants. She is a fierce advocate for reproductive justice, LGBTQ+ rights, welcoming refugees and asylum-seekers, public education, and the separation of church and state. During the week, you may find her sermon-writing at a local coffee shop, visiting congregants in crisis, serving meals at God’s Family Dinner, or protesting at the Texas state capitol.

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