CRCDS Fall and Spring Lecture Series
A key component of the CRCDS education and experience are the annual Fall and Spring Lectures. The Lectures connect nationally and internationally known scholars and leaders to CRCDS for a critical and engaging conversation on a range of topics related to the Black Church, women in ministry, LGBTQ+ issues, preaching, pastoral ministry, family ministry, children and adolescent health and spirituality, ethics, ecumenism, inter-faith studies, and Veterans’ issues. Each week of lectures includes worship services and opportunities to reflect on God’s call, both as individuals and as a community.
Fall 2022 Lecture Series
Fall Lecture Week Chapel Service
The virtual worship service will be for alumni/ae, students and friends of CRCDS and will start at 4:15 pm and will end at 5:15 pm (Eastern). Our speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Clarence E. Wright, CRCDS '20, and Senior Pastor at Love Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia, PA
Christian Faith LGBTQ+ Experience Lecture
Lecturer: Annabeth (AB) Roeschley, Executive Director, Brethren Mennonite Council, For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Interests
CFLE Lectureship Collective: Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY, Downtown United Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY, Lake Avenue Baptist Church, Rochester, NY
Lecture Description: This lecture has been regularly delivered twice a year since 1998, which means this is a tradition entering its 24th year. Its purpose is, first, to present a Christian word in a safe space to the LGBTQ+ community that represents Good News instead of condemnation, exclusion, and spiritual violence. Second, to educate students and the wider community about authentic LGBTQ+ perspectives on sacred texts, theology, pastoral care, and Christian faith. At CRCDS, the Christian Faith and LGBTQ+ Experience lecture is housed in the GSRJ program: Gender, Sexual, and Racial Justice. Formerly titled The Program for the Study of Women and Gender in Church and Society, the Gender, Sexual, and Racial Justice program grows out of the Divinity School’s decades-long history of officially recognizing women and gender studies as essential for a strong theological curriculum. The new title of the program puts two of the program’s longstanding commitments front and center. First: A commitment to the belief that paying quality attention to women and gender in theological education requires paying quality attention to sexuality and race. One cannot be done well without the others. Second: A commitment to providing the kind of education that equips students to intervene in contexts of social harm and develop strategies for building and strengthening community-based justice in gendered, sexual, and racial terms. The Christian Faith and LGBTQ+ Experience lecture is a vitally important part of the program.
Janice Lynn Cohen Symposium
Topic: The Role of Faith and Medicine in Violence Prevention & Peace: Creating a Healthy Community for Our Young People
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
8:00 am - URMC Grand Rounds - no need to register for this event. Virtual and In-Person option is available.
Presenters:
Michael A. Scharf, MD, Professor, Department of Psychiatry Chief, Division Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Psychiatrist-in-Chief of Golisano Children’s Hospital
Willie J. Lightfoot, Sr., City of Rochester, City Council-At-Large
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm, Eastern, Symposium. REGISTER HERE. Please note that this event is only virtual.
Moderators:
Michael A. Scharf, MD, Professor, Department of Psychiatry Chief, Division Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Psychiatrist-in-Chief of Golisano Children’s Hospital
Kishundra D. King, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Black Religious Thought and Life at CRCDS
Panelists:
Rev. Bryan McMullen, BCC, Supervisor of Spiritual Care and Education at RRH
LeKeyah N. Wilson, MD, Medical Director of Community Pediatrics and Wellness at RRH
Rev. James C. Simmons, Senior Pastor of Baber AME Church
Imam Hanif Abdul-Walid, community advocate
Lecture Description: The Janice Lynn Cohen Symposium is sponsored by CRCDS and the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and serves as an avenue of dialogue focused on bringing together medical professionals, clergy, pastoral leaders, policymakers, social workers, and members of the general community to discuss issues related to the medical and spiritual care of children and adolescents.
African American Legacy Lecture
Lecturer: Dr. Kyle Brooks, Assistant Professor of Homiletics, Worship, and Black Church and African Diasporic Studies at Methodist Theological School in Ohio.
Lecture Description: The African American Legacy Lectureship honors the life and legacy of Mordecai Wyatt Johnson (1890-1976), who graduated from Rochester Theological Seminary in 1916; Howard Thurman (1900-1981), who graduated from Rochester Theological Seminary in 1926; and Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), graduated Crozer Theological Seminary; and their contributions to the traditions and history of Black Church in society and the world. In 2012 the leadership of CRCDS chose to commensurate these three named lectures into a Spring and Fall Lectureship to acclaim our notable alums.
Spring 2023 Lecture Series
Gene E. Bartlett Chapel Service
Monday, March 6, 2023
Christian Faith and LGBTQ+ Experience Lecture
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Stanley I. Stuber Lecture – Doctor of Ministry Student Panel
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
African American Legacy Lecture
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Helen Barrett Montgomery Lecture
Friday, March 10, 2023