TheoEd Talks Goes on the Road to Charlotte Feb. 27
A new round of TheoEd Talks is coming to Charlotte, North Carolina, featuring speakers Liz Clasen-Kelly, Otis Moss III, Yolanda Pierce, and Miroslav Volf. Sponsored by Candler’s public theological education initiative The Candler Foundry and First Presbyterian Church Charlotte, this in-person event will take place on Sunday, February 27 at 4:00 p.m. EST at Queens University of Charlotte’s Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement. There is a registration fee of $20. Register here.
An ecumenical speaker series where leaders in the church and the academy share “the talk of their lives” in 20 minutes or less, TheoEd Talks aims to spark conversations that change the way people think about God, religion, and the power of faith to change lives.
Learn more about the speakers:
Liz Clasen-Kelly serves as CEO of Roof Above, a comprehensive homeless services provider in Charlotte that resulted from the merger of Urban Ministry Center and Men’s Shelter of Charlotte. In the last year, Roof Above has expanded to meet community needs, adding significant emergency shelter capacity in light of the pandemic, and purchasing an existing apartment community and a hotel to convert to housing. Clasen-Kelly previously served as the executive director of the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, where she led the effort to renovate its shelter campuses with a focus on human dignity. Previously, as the associate director of Urban Ministry Center, she oversaw the community’s street outreach efforts and served as project manager for the community effort to end chronic homelessness. Clasen-Kelly is a graduate of Davidson College and received her Master of Public Policy from Duke University. She is a proud member of a blended family, with four kids ranging from 8 to 24.
Preacher, activist, author, and filmmaker Otis Moss III serves as senior pastor of Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ. Moss founded the Unashamed Media Group, a justice-centered faith-based agency committed to producing and curating stories to inspire the heart and challenge the mind. He is ordained in the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the United Church of Christ.
Yolanda Pierce is dean and professor of religion and literature and womanist theology at Howard University School of Divinity, the first woman to be appointed dean in the school’s 150-year history. In 2016, Pierce served as the founding director of the Center for African American Religious Life at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). She previously served for nine years as director of the Center for Black Church Studies and associate professor of religion and literature at Princeton Theological Seminary. Pierce holds a PhD and two MA degrees from Cornell University and undergraduate degrees from Princeton University.
Miroslav Volf is Henry B. Wright Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School and founding director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture at Yale University. A member of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Evangelical Church in Croatia, Volf has been involved in international ecumenical dialogues, including the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and interfaith dialogues, including serving on the executive board of C-1 World Dialogue. He is an active participant in the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Values. A native of Croatia, Volf regularly teaches and lectures in Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, and across North America. He is a fellow of Berkeley College.
Visit the TheoEd Talks website in the weeks following the event to view a recording.