United Theological Seminary hosts four on-campus lecture series. Lectures are held in the Bigelow Chapel. All lectures are open to the public, and there is no charge or preregistration.

Susan Draper White Lectures in Women’s Studies
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MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012, 7:30 PM
TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2012, 11:30 AM
Bigelow Chapel

Dr. Beverly Roberts Gaventa Helen H.P. Manson Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis Princeton Theological Seminary March 12 - “Listening to Phoebe Read Romans” March 13 - “Listening to Romans with Junia and Her Sisters”

Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Princeton Theological Seminary's Helen H.P. Manson professor of New Testament literature and exegesis, specializes in the interpretation of the Pauline epistles and Luke-Acts. Her numerous publications include "Our Mother Saint Paul" and "Mary: Glimpses of the Mother of Jesus." In her lectures, Gaventa will bring her feminist theological scholarship to the reading of Romans.

Read more about Dr. Gaventa.

This endowed lectureship was established by Priscilla Braun ’83 in memory of her grandmother, Susan Draper White, for the presentation of two annual lectures in the area of women in religion, theology, and ministry. It is the major public event offered through the seminary’s Women’s Studies program.

Lecturers have included Mary Farrell Bednarowski, Jane Demspey Douglass, Nancy L. Eiesland, Marie M. Fortune, Rita Gross, Beverly Harrison, Mary Hunt, Ada Isasi-Diaz, Karen Lebacqz, Barbara K. Lundblad, Joretta L. Marshall, Joyce Mercer, Mary Elizabeth Mullino Moore, Damayanthi Niles, Judith Plaskow, Marjorie Procter-Smith, Letty M. Russell, Marjorie H. Suchocki, Emilie M. Townes, and Renita J. Weems.

Multicultural Lectures

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2012, 7:30 PM
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012, 11:00 AM
Bigelow Chapel

Bishop Yvette Flunder

“Church as Usual or Church Unusual? Answering the Prophetic Call”

Yvette Flunder, preacher, educator, singer and author, founded San Francisco's City of Refuge United Church of Christ to unite a gospel ministry with a social ministry. She is also the presiding bishop of The Fellowship, a multi-denominational fellowship of 110 primarily African-American Christian leaders and laity. Her ministry includes gospel music, teaching at her alma mater, Pacific School of Religion, and creating facilities to provide housing and care for men and women with HIV/AIDS. In these lectures, Flunder will bring her perspective of "radical inclusion" to United.

Read more about Bishop Flunder

Lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Margaree Levy, 651.255.6118.

The goal of the annual Multicultural Lectures is to continue developing strong, meaningful relationships with communities outside the cultural mainstream to enhance recruitment, provide mentoring services, and develop resources.

Speakers from past years include Charles Amjad-Ali, Owais Bayunus, Martin Brokenleg, Melva Wilson Costen, Yvonne Delk, Warren L. Dennis, Justo González, Matthew V. Johnson, Jin S. Kim, Kosuke Koyama, Jacqueline Lewis, and Kim Mammedaty.

Gustafson Lectures in Biblical Studies
Dr. William P. Brown
Professor of Old Testament Language, Literature, and Exegesis
Columbia Theological Seminary

MONDAY, APRIL 16, 7:30 PM
"Wonder and Wisdom in Creation"
Bigelow Chapel

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 11:00 AM
"Wonder and Hope in the New Creation"
Steckel Learning Center

Bill Brown is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Besides his current position at Columbia Theological Seminary, he has also taught at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond and at Emory University. He is the author of several books and numerous essays on biblical interpretation and theology, including The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder (Oxford University); Seeing the Psalms: A Theology of Metaphor (WJK); and Ecclesiastes (WJK), as well as editor of Engaging Biblical Authority (WJK). Bill is an avid Sunday School teacher and a founding member of Earth Covenant Ministry, an emerging organization of Presbyterian churches in the Atlanta area dedicated to creation care. Gail and Bill have two daughters, Ella and Hannah.

CV or Resume: Brown_William 2010.pdf

Free and open to the public. No preregistration is required. For more information contact Deb Olsen, 651.255.6168.

The Gustafson Lectures are an endowed lectureship that brings to campus an internationally recognized scholar in biblical studies for the presentation of two original lectures. The lectureship is made possible by an endowment established with gifts from Nancy and Andris Baltins, Philip and Carol Duff, and generous alums in honor of emeritus professor Henry A. Gustafson for his contributions to the academic life of United as a teacher and scholar of New Testament studies.

Lecturers have included Brian K. Blount, John Dominic Crossan, Cain Hope Felder, Terence Fretheim, Erhard S. Gerstenberger, Norman K. Gottwald, Bernard M. Levinson, Dale B. Martin, Sharon Ringe, Calvin J. Roetzel, Katherine Doob Sakenfeld, James Sanders, Luise Schottroff, Krister Stendahl, Marvin Sweeney, and Mary Ann Tolbert.

Picard Lectures in Environmental Theology and Ethics

WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2011, 11:00 AM
THURSDAY, MAY 5, 2011, 11:00 AM
Bigelow Chapel

Loving God’s Creation: Stewardship, Advocacy, & Sustainability

May 4 - “Thinking Beyond Empire”

May 5 - “Durable and Respectable Economics”

Winona LaDuke is a Native American activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer. She received a degree in rural economic development from Harvard and a M.A. in community economic development from Antioch University. She has worked as a high school principal and activist and ran for Vice President as the nominee of the Green party in 1996 and 2000.

LaDuke is currently executive director of Honor the Earth, an organization she co-founded with the Indigo Girls; the mission of the Native-led organization is “…to create awareness and support for Native environmental issues and to develop needed financial and political resources for the survival of sustainable Native communities. Honor the Earth develops these resources by using music, the arts, the media, and Indigenous wisdom to ask people to recognize our joint dependency on the Earth and be a voice for those not heard.

LaDuke is also the author of several books, including Last Standing Woman, All our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life, and Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming.

TO REGISTER: This year United is pleased to center our annual Spring Convocation around the Picard Lectures. Please register for the lectures using the registration form on our Spring Convocation Web page.

Parking is free. For more information contact Deb Olsen, 651.255.6168.

The Picard Lectures in Environmental Theology and Ethics are supported by an endowment made possible through the generosity of United alumnus The Rev. Frank Picard and members of the Picard family. The purpose of the lectureship is to explore questions and issues concerning the state of the creation from theological and ethical perspectives. The lectureship seeks to raise questions such as the relation between our spiritual life and the state of the natural world and the response of religious leadership to the decline of the planet. In establishing the endowment, the Picard family especially wishes to remember the deep appreciation for God’s creation they shared with the late David and Roland Picard.

Lecturers have included Larry Rasmussen and Judith Scoville.

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Contact Information
Cindi Beth Johnson
651.255.6137