Princeton Theological Seminary

May 17, 2023 Christy Lang Hearlson (PhD 16, MDiv 05), Associate Professor of Religious and Theological Education at Villanova University, offers the Rian Lecture entitled, “There is no Away: Rediscovering Wonder on an Imperiled Planet”.

May 16, 2023 President Jonathan Lee Walton offers a keynote address, “Tradition and Innovation: The Enduring Contours of Theological Education at Princeton Seminary”.

May 15, 2023 Hear The Rev. Ruth Faith Santana-Grace, the 2023 Recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award, and The Rev. Sabrina Slater, recipient of the Alumni Association Executive Council Service Award, share their stories of faith and ministry.

May 16, 2023 Princeton Seminary Professors, Professors Dale Alison, Lisa Bowens, K.C. Choi, Jay-Paul Hinds, Amelia Kennedy, and Kimberly Wagner, each offer an introductory presentation on recent research and publications.

Martin is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Chair and Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Previously, he was a member of the faculty in the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics and Director of American Culture Studies at Washington University in Saint Louis. Martin is the author of the award-winning Preaching on Wax: The Phonograph and the Making of Modern African American Religion (New York University Press, 2014). The book received the 2015 first book award by the American Society of Church History. In support of his research, Martin has received a number of nationally recognized fellowships, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, The American Council of Learned Societies, The Institute for Citizens and Scholars (formerly The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation), The Teagle Foundation, Templeton Religion Trust, the Louisville Institute for the Study of Americ

Pre-Recorded on March 31, 2023 Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, Interim General Secretary and President of the National Council of Churches, discusses hopes for the future of mainline Protestantism in an era of historic disaffiliation from Christian churches; as well as whether it is possible to build bridges across lines of difference even while staking out prophetic stands on urgent questions of justice.

March 28, 2023 | Wright Library The Sang Hyun Lee Lecture on Asian American Theology and Ministry Lecturer: Rev. Dr. Janette Ok

January 11, 2023 | Safe Harbor: Ministering in the Midst of Storms Keynote: “Navigating the Storm and Cultivating Safe Harbors: Preaching and Ministry amid Trauma” Lecturer: The Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner

January 10, 2023 | Safe Harbor: Ministering in the Midst of Storms Keynote: “New Moods and Methods for Ministering in the Midst of Storms” Lecturer: The Rev. Martha Simmons, Esq.

December 7, 2022 | Seminary Chapel The Carols of Many Nations service includes readings, choral anthems, and congregational carols led by the Princeton Seminary Choir and international students and staff of the Seminary. Text for readings and songs in other languages can be found in the Carols of Many Nations program. Visit ptsem.edu/carolsprogram2022 to view the program. "The Great Arrival" by Bette Dickinson from Making Room in Advent © 2022 by Bette Dickinson and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA. www.ivpress.com.

Seminary Chapel Scripture: Ephesians 2:1-10 Homily: "But God..." In the second chapter of Ephesians, Paul offers the testimony of Christian community. “You were dead…” he begins. And in spite of our tendency to crawl back in the tombs, God has made us fully alive in Christ, and will never settle for anything less than a fully alive Church.

Seminary Chapel Scripture: John 6:1-14 The most striking thing about John’s account of the feeding of the 5,000 is that Jesus took the five loaves of bread, which seemed so meager compared to thousands of hungry people before him, and he gave thanks for what he held. Then the miracle could begin. While our resources are always so meager in the face of the challenges we confront, we are never going to see anything miraculous unless with begin with thanksgiving.

October 26, 2022 | Theron Room, Wright Library The 2022 Geddes W. Hanson Lecture: “In the Name of Jesus: Reclaiming and Reframing 'Christian'" Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, MDiv '92, author, activist, preacher, and public theologian; senior pastor, Middle Collegiate Church

October 13, 2022 The Future of American Democracy: The Challenge of Polarization Where Americans once saw neighbors, they now see enemies. Increasingly, Republicans and Democrats alike see members of the other party as not just wrong on key issues, but — according to the Pew Research Center — as immoral, dishonest, closed-minded, and a threat to the nation’s well-being. The reverberations of extreme polarization are felt far from the realm of formal politics, in schools and churches and local communities where some seem ready to give up entirely on the age-old art of persuasion. How did we get so divided? And where do we go from here? This panel was moderated by Heath Carter, associate professor of American Christianity at Princeton Seminary, featuring panelists Jane Coaston, columnist for The New York Times and host of The Argument; Peter Meijer, Republican congressman representing Michigan’s 3rd district since 2021; and Symone D. Sanders-Townsend, former chief spokesperson for the Vice President of the

Seminary Chapel Scripture: Acts 9:10-19 This follows the story of the conversion of Saul with the story of the conversion of the church, which was hiding in fear of Saul the persecutor. It was time for the church to stop living in fear and reach out in ministry to thing that made it most afraid. Hiding is a sin, and some have suggested that since the time of Adam and Even we hide in order to sin and separate ourselves from God. To whom do you need to reach out and say, “Brother Saul’?

Seminary Chapel Scripture: Acts 9:1-9 This is the story of the conversion of Saul, who was so certain that he knew God and was engaged in a righteous mission before Jesus was revealed to him. So he was wrong about God. We are not able to serve the mission of Christ until we acknowledge that is more to God than we know. This discovery is so overwhelming that it changes everything. We might as well get a new name, as Paul did.

Seminary Chapel Jesus and Our Insatiable Thirst The purpose of this brief series of homilies on the Woman at the Well is to help us move beyond thinking about Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman who had a difficult time with relationships, to consider our own deep thirst for something more. This is striking because we’re supposed to know the Jesus is the living water, and yet we continue to search for something more… Scripture: John 4:27-30, 39-42 The way John writes the gospel, “Just then” the disciples return to encounter this amazingly profound declaration about Jesus as the Messiah, and their response is to be concerned that he is talking to a woman. (??!!??) Like the worship wars this preoccupation with social norms helps us stay distracted from God’s argument with us – that we keep trying to satisfy our thirst with things other than the Messiah who knows us. The core of the woman’s testimony to Jesus' messianic status was that he told her everything she had done. We can only be saved by the onl

Seminary Chapel Jesus and Our Insatiable Thirst The purpose of this brief series of homilies on the Woman at the Well is to help us move beyond thinking about Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman who had a difficult time with relationships, to consider our own deep thirst for something more. This is striking because we’re supposed to know the Jesus is the living water, and yet we continue to search for something more… Scripture: John 4:19-26 When Jesus gets too close to the thirsty woman’s soul, she quickly changes the subject by bringing up what is the equivalent of the ancient worship wars. Jesus stays with this distraction and uses it as an opportunity to provide profound theology about worshiping in spirit and truth. And then returns to presenting himself as Messiah. Worshiping in spirit and truth can only be understood in the context of living water for our insatiable thirst.

August 31, 2022 | Seminary Chapel, Princeton Theological Seminary Address: "A Word to the Wise" Scripture Readings: Wisdom, 9:1-11 Luke 12:22-34 Convocation Speaker: Dr. Elaine James, associate professor of Old Testament, Princeton Theological Seminary

Seminary Chapel Jesus and Our Insatiable Thirst The purpose of this brief series of homilies on the Woman at the Well is to help us move beyond thinking about Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan woman who had a difficult time with relationships, to consider our own deep thirst for something more. This is striking because we’re supposed to know the Jesus is the living water, and yet we continue to search for something more… Scripture: John 4:1-6 It is striking that Jesus leaves Judea and heads to Galilee because the word is out that he is responsible for more baptisms than John the Baptist. Most of us don’t leave our work because we are just too successful at it. But Jesus refused to allow others to set his mission. (See vs. 34.) It is also striking that on the way back to Galilee he “had to” pass through Samaria, where the righteous Jews avoided going. But going to the unrighteous is the work of the Righteous One. It is also striking that Jesus stops at a well because he is tired. Can the Savior get tired?