Clockwise from top left: Wason, Boggan, Pippin, Gerrard, Teague, Campbell
Candler will host three public events in September focused on the collection, preservation, and sharing of queer history in The United Methodist Church. A chapel service, panel discussion, and lecture will take place September 22-23 both on campus and online, co-sponsored by the school’s Office of Methodist Studies and Pitts Theology Library.
All events are free and open to the public, with advanced registration required for the panel and lecture.
Register here to attend the September 22 panel discussion in person or online.
Register here to attend the September 23 dean’s lecture in person or online.
The events will feature Ashley Boggan, general secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church and author of Wesleyan Vile-tality: Reclaiming the Heart of Methodist Identity (Abingdon Press, 2025). Boggan will serve as guest preacher during Candler’s September 22 chapel service. On September 23, she’ll present the lecture “Reclaiming the Heart and Method of Methodism.”
In her lecture, Boggan will focus on what she calls the concept of “Wesleyan Vile-tality,” based on a quote from Methodism’s founder who “submitted to be more vile” in spreading God’s love to all.
“‘Wesleyan Vile-tality’ is a willingness to look beyond today’s acceptable practices, standards, and norms, and bend the rules in order to ensure that more and more persons can be included within the kindom of God,” Boggan said in a 2025 episode of the United Methodist Church podcast Get Your Spirit in Shape. “And that all persons, no matter who they are, how they identify, whom they love or how they live, can know and experience the love of God, can know their own self-worth and can grow to love themselves so that they can love others.”
“Dr. Boggan’s work has been critical in both preserving and sharing Methodist voices that shaped the tradition,” says Assistant Dean of Methodist Studies Brett Opalinski. “This is especially true in relation to LGBTQIA Methodists. Her faithful work gives account of the movement of the Holy Spirit through this important part of our Methodist story.”
Boggan will also take part in an afternoon panel discussion on September 22 that will feature archivists, scholars, and pastors as they address the significance of “Queer and Community Archival Practices” and educate attendees on how to collect and share the stories of their own communities.
The panelist lineup includes Associate Professor in the Practice of Ethics and Society Letitia Campbell, who notes that Candler is hosting this conversation at a critical moment in the midst of the country’s ongoing political and religious division.
“So often, queer histories have been hidden or cloaked in secrecy, especially within religious institutions,” Campbell says. “We now have an opportunity to listen closely, gather, and preserve the stories of LGBTQ+ people and their lives of faith in and beyond the church,” she says. “These histories are a gift and a resource as we seek to understand the church more fully and prepare to lead in this pivotal time.”
Event details are below.
Tuesday, September 22
11:05 a.m.: Service of Word and Table
Cannon Chapel Sanctuary and online
Preacher: Ashley Boggan, general secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church
Presider: Brett Opalinski, assistant dean of Methodist Studies
3:00–4:30 p.m.: Panel Discussion: “Queer and Community Archival Practices”
Room 252 of Candler’s Rita Anne Rollins Building and online
Moderator: Brandon Wason 09T 17G, head of special collections at Pitts Theology Library
Panelists:
Ashley Boggan, general secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History of The United Methodist Church
Letitia Campbell 17G, associate professor in the practice of ethics and society at Candler
Morna Gerrard, Women and Gender Collections archivist, Georgia State University Library
Tina Pippin 80T, Wallace M. Alston Professor of Bible and Religion, Agnes Scott College
Duncan Teague 11T, lead minister, Abundant Love Unitarian Universalist Congregation
How do communities, and especially queer communities, preserve their histories for future generations? Panelists will consider the vital role of queer and community archives in preserving histories, identities, and lived experiences that have often been overlooked or excluded from traditional institutions. The conversation will examine the ethical and practical challenges of collecting, preserving, and providing access to community-created materials while centering the voices of those represented. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn about how to collect and share the stories, experiences, and memories of their own communities.
Wednesday, September 23
11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.: Dean’s Lecture: “Reclaiming the Heart and Method of Methodism” with Ashley Boggan
A boxed lunch will be provided for those who register to attend in person by September 15.
What if the heart of Methodist identity is not found primarily in doctrine, polity, or tradition, but in a way of living the gospel that is both deeply rooted and boldly engaged?
This lecture explores the relationship between Wesleyan Vile-tality—the courageous willingness to go wherever God calls for the sake of the gospel—and the Wesleyan Practical Quadrilateral, a framework that emphasizes field preaching, micro-communities, social engagement, and leadership activation as the enduring practices of Methodist renewal.
Drawing from the lives of John Wesley and generations of Methodist witnesses, participants will discover how these complementary concepts offer a practical roadmap for revitalizing the church in the twenty-first century. Rather than preserving Methodism as a historical tradition, this session invites the church to reclaim it as a living movement.