RELATED EVENTS
The Kelly Miller Smith Institute on Black Church Studies
Vanderbilt Divinity School
and the
African American Pulpit Journal
Present the
African American Lectionary
Saturday Intensive on Preaching, Worship, & Culture
Then and Now: Preaching God, Justice, and Hope
October 31, 2009
Location: Vanderbilt University Divinity School
(Click here to view the flyer)
Intensive Rationale:
This intensive on “Then and Now: Preaching God, Justice, and Hope” is a collaborative project between the African American Pulpit Journal and Vanderbilt’s Kelly Miller Smith Institute on the Black Church. This project is supported by a three-year grant from the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, Inc. for the development of a non-denominational, culturally and theologically relevant online lectionary designed to resource black Protestant churches in areas of homiletics, liturgics, sacred music, theological knowledge and enhance biblical exegetical skills for social crisis preaching. The first online lectionary for the African American Pulpit was launched January 1, 2008. Since its website appearance, the response to the African American Lectionary has increasingly gained national and global interest.
This intensive is a continuation of a series of symposiums that were launched in 2008 bringing together scholars and practitioners to create a network for interactive engagement and dialogue between the academy and black church leaders. The purpose of this exchange is to inspire a discourse around black preaching, worship, and culture that engages issues related to our communities and families in the 21st century.
Theological commitments have been historically significant in the worship practices of communities that address issues of social and community crisis and allow its community members to do the same. Thus the goal of this symposium is:
- To discuss social crisis preaching within African American preaching traditions on a historical continuum
- To highlight the theological convictions that have informed and determined the actions and practices in African American prophetic preaching traditions
- To re-imagine the implications of history and theology for addressing the present issues of African American communities and families
- To assist church leaders in their role as practitioner/theologian and social justice advocate
- To lay the ground work for a national forum on preaching, worship, and culture in December 2010.
Intensive Schedule
Saturday, Oct 31, 2009 Location
Vanderbilt University Divinity School- Classrooms – Ground Floor
9:00 am - 9:30 am
Greetings and Introductions Rm – G 23
Forrest E. Harris Sr., Director of the Kelly Miller Smith Institute
9:30 am - 10:15 pm
We Have Spoken: The History of Prophetic Preaching Rm – G 23
Juan M. Floyd-Thomas, Vanderbilt University
10:30 am - 11:15am
Because We Believe We Speak: The Theology of Prophetic Preaching Rm – G 23
Debra J. Mumford, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
11:30 am - 12:15pm
Now, How Shall We Speak?: Prophetic Preaching For Today Rm – G 23
Michael Brandon McCormack, Vanderbilt University
12:30 pm - 1:45 pm Lunch Break
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Rm – G 23
Panel Discussion
Michael Brandon McCormack, Vanderbilt University
Debra J. Mumford, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Juan M. Floyd-Thomas, Vanderbilt University
Facilitator: Forrest E. Harris Sr., Director of the Kelly Miller Smith Institute
3:00 pm Closing Remarks
Conference Location
Vanderbilt University Divinity School
411 21st Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37240
For More Information Contact:
(615) 936-8453
Kelly Miller Smith Institute
The Conference is free and open to the public.
