Khalia J. Williams
Interim University Chaplain and Dean of Religious Life; Associate Dean of Worship and Spiritual Formation; Professor in the Practice of Worship; Co-Director of the Baptist Studies Program
Degrees
PhD, Graduate Theological Union, 2017
MA, Columbia Theological Seminary, 2011
MBA, Nova Southeastern University, 2003
BS, Florida Memorial University, 2001
Phone
(404) 727-6153
EMAILThe Rev. Dr. Khalia J. Williams began serving as Interim University Chaplain and Dean of Religious Life on August 11, 2026. She also works as Associate Dean of Worship and Spiritual Formation and Professor in the Practice of Worship at Emory’s Candler School of Theology.
Williams earned her MA in Theological Studies from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, and her PhD in Liturgical Studies, with a focus on theology and worship, from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She is an ordained minister with affiliation in both the Baptist tradition and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
A native of Los Angeles, Williams is a scholar, educator, and practitioner whose work explores the intersections of worship, spiritual formation, embodiment, and the sacred arts. She is the author and editor of several works in liturgical theology and worship and lectures widely on practices that cultivate meaningful spiritual life within congregations and communities. She also directs the Sacred Arts Collective, a Lilly Endowment-funded initiative exploring the role of the arts in nurturing the spiritual lives of children and their communities. Williams serves on the board of Disciples Home Missions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and as an associate minister at Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta.
BOOKS
Co-editor with Mark A. Lamport, Theological Foundations of Worship: Biblical, Systematic, and Practical Perspectives, Baker Academic, 2021
Co-author with Gerald C. Liu, A Worship Workbook A Practical Guide for Extraordinary Liturgy, Abingdon Press, 2021
CHAPTERS AND ARTICLES
“Love Your Flesh: The Power and Protest of Embodied Worship,” inLiturgy, vol. 35, no. 1, 2020
“Liturgical Undoing: Christ, Communion, and Commodified Bodies,” in Review & Expositor, vol. 115, no. 3, 2018
“Engaging Womanist Spirituality in African American Christian Worship,” in Proceedings, North American Academy of Liturgy, August 09, 2013
“Psalm 29,” “Psalm 36:5-10,” and “Psalm 19,” in Connections: A Lectionary Commentary For Preaching and Worship, Year C, Volume 1, Westminster John Knox Press, September 11, 2018
On Eagle’s Wings Award for Excellence in Teaching, Candler School of Theology, 2024
Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers, Sponsors, and Collegium of Scholars, Morehouse College, 2021
Becoming Reflective Pracitioners
Womanist/Feminist Spirituality and Worship in the United States
Cultivating Church
In the media
