Two October events will honor the legacy and contributions of black theologians at Candler School of Theology.

Grant S. ShockleyWednesday, October 15, 12:45 pm, RARB 252: Rev. Dr. Willie Jennings, associate professor of theology and Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School, will present the annual Howard Thurman lecture. Sponsored by Candler's Black Church Studies program, the lecture is part of Candler’s Centennial Celebration and focuses on the theme “In The Footsteps of Our Ancestors:  Revisiting, Renovating and Revolutionizing the Path.” Jennings teaches in the areas of systematic theology and black church and cultural studies. He is an ordained Baptist minister and has served as interim pastor of several North Carolina churches while continuing to be an active teaching and preaching minister in the local church. Free and open to the public.

Thursday, October 16: Candler will dedicate a classroom in honor of Grant S. Shockley, professor of Christian education and the first African American to serve full time on Candler’s faculty. After teaching at Candler from 1970 to 1976, Shockley became president of the Interdenominational Theological Center and, later, Philander Smith College, while becoming one of the eminent contributors to Christian education in the black church in the 20th century.