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Union Presbyterian Seminary to offer Sprunt Lecture Series May 1-3

Renowned African American scholars and authors will deliver talks both in person and online

by Union Presbyterian Seminary | Special to Presbyterian News Service

Dr. Keri L. Day

Union Presbyterian Seminary’s annual Sprunt Lecture Series will be held at the seminary’s Richmond campus May 1-3. Scores of alumni and guests will gather at historic Watts Chapel and online to hear Dr. Keri Day from Princeton Theological Seminary and Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert from the Howard University School of Divinity. Lectures led by Day and worship led by Gilbert are free and open to the public. Registration is required and can be done here.

Day, a nationally recognized scholar, political commentator, and teacher, has a background in Afro-Pentecostalism. She is a fourth-generation preacher in the Church of God in Christ and a prolific author. Her lecture theme is “Undomesticated Faith: A Decolonial Theology of Spirit.”

“What I am after in these lectures,” Day said, “is staking the claim that discourses on the Spirit are treated as an addendum, but the theology of the Spirit should be understood as the beginning point of theology.”

Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert

Gilbert is an author and authority on African American preaching. For the worship services, he foresees a message that addresses today’s racial and political climate, divisions in society and environmental concerns.

On Tuesday, May 2, the alumni luncheon speaker is Dr. Ted Wardlaw, past president of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. On Wednesday, May 3, the Black Alumni Association will present its Trailblazer Award to Dr. Hoffman Brown, and Dr. Dawn Devries will present the Distinguished Alumni Award to Dr. Rosalyn Murphy.

Dr. Ted Wardlaw

The Sprunt Lecture Series began in 1911, suspended only in 1918-1919 due to the influenza epidemic. They have been held every year since, through wars and a pandemic.

Click here for a complete schedule of lectures and receptions. Go here to register for the Sprunt Lecture Series and/or the alumni luncheon. Learn more about the Sprunt Lecture speakers and events here.


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