This workshop is designed for persons who wish to expand their ethical awareness, ministry capacity, and personal sensitivity to diversity and equity. Participants will be invited and guided in ways that both press beyond rigid binaries and dominant normativity and envision a more just future. Grounded in critical awareness of systems of hetero- and cis-normativity that shape Christian communities, participants will be invited to expand their knowledge of queer history, theology, and ministry and to develop practical skills for serving communities of faith with attention to sexual and gender inclusivity and equity.
Led by two scholars and academic deans who are also ordained ministers, Rev. Dr. Pamela Lightsey and Rev. Dr. Jennifer Harvey, this workshop will engage theory and practice grounded in real-world life experiences and commitment to and passion for ministries of justice and wholeness of life.
Registrants are encouraged to engage these pre-workshop materials to shape our conversations.
Jordan, “On Bisexuality and Cultural Pluralism”
L. Schneider, “What Race Is Your Sex?”
Second Sunday podcast: “You Are Not An Outcast, God Loves You”
Format: Participants can register to attend in-person on Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary’s campus (2121 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL) or they may attend virtually.
Deadline to Register: 6 p.m. on December 5th, 2023
Online link will be sent to registrants by 8 a.m. (CST) on December 6th. There will be no on-site registration on the days of the workshop.
Professional Development: 10 hours or 1 CEU
For more information about the workshop, please contact the Styberg Preaching Institute at styberg@garrett.edu or the director of the Styberg Preaching Institute at gennifer.brooks@garrett.edu.
Dr. Lightsey has been a cutting-edge church and academic leader in many ways. She is currently the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and Associate Professor of Constructive Theology at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago. She is also the pastor at Urban Village Church – Hyde Park Woodlawn site. A committed community organizer, she currently serves on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Council. Dr. Lightsey’s publications include the book, Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology (Wipf and Stock), “Blinking Red: The Escalation of a Militarized Police Force and Its Challenges to Black Communities,” in Feminist Praxis Against U.S. Militarism (New York: Lexington Books, 2019), “He Is Black and We are Queer” in Albert Cleage Jr and the Black Madonna and Child (New York: Palgrave Macmillan), and “If There Should Come a Word” in Black United Methodists Preach! (Abingdon Press). Throughout her vocational life, she has been a leading social justice activist, working with local, national, and international organizations focusing primarily on the causes of peacemaking, racial justice, and LGBTQ rights.
Rev. Dr. Jennifer Harvey is Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Harvey is a writer and educator long engaged in racial justice and white antiracism. Her books include the NYT bestseller Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in Racially Unjust America (Abingdon Press, 2019) and Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation (Wm. D. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020). Her next book, Antiracism as Daily Practice: Refuse Shame, Change White Communities and Help Create a Just World (St. Martin’s Press), will be out in summer 2024. She has written for the New York Times and CNN, appeared on CNN’s Town Hall on racism with Sesame Street, and been heard on NPR’s All Things Considered and It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders. She served for nearly 20 years at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, first as Visiting Professor in the university’s religion department, eventually achieving full professor status, and then as Associate Provost for Campus Equity and Inclusion for the past three years. She is ordained in the American Baptist Churches (USA). She and her co-parent, Chris, are raising two teenagers—Harper and Emery—who, according to Harvey, “teach her something important every single day.”
Registration open/Breakfast
Welcome, Introduction of Workshop Leaders, and Opening Prayer
Session 1 – The Leaders—Who We Are: Our Lived Reality
Break
Session 2 – How We Got Here: A Historical Overview of the Queer Movement
Break
Session 3 – What We Say or Should Say: Critical Definitions in the Queer Landscape
Lunch (provided)
Session 4 – Biblical Considerations: The Bible in a Queer World
Break
Session 5 — Philosophical and Theological Dimensions: Beyond the Binaries
Session 6 – Skill Building: Creating the Space Where You Are
Wrap Up and Closing Prayer
Gathering/Breakfast
Announcements, Continuing Education Credit, Opening Prayer
Session 7 — Panel Conversation: Engaging a Multi-Lingual Community
Session 8 — Skills Building Practices: Proclamation with Queer Consciousness
Break
Session 9 — To Do No Harm: Handling Conflict, Shame, Grace, Accountability
Wrap Up and Closing Prayer
Lunch Boxes will be available for on-site participants.
The Ernest and Bernice Styberg Preaching Institute resolves to assist Christian leaders in the development of theological and practical disciplines necessary to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ faithfully to contemporary cultures. It represents the seminary’s partnership with the church by preparing persons for vital, effective Christian preaching.
