Join Candler School of Theology at Emory University for a slate of public events featuring a range of speakers and topics relevant to theology and the world today. A mix of online and in-person offerings is available. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the format for each event is subject to change based on public health conditions.

Featured Event

Howard Thurman Conference: “The Unfinished Search for Common Ground”
April 8–9
Online or in person

Noted scholar and Candler Dean’s Professor Walter Earl Fluker has designed this major conference on Howard Thurman to consider how the 20th century theologian and civil rights leader’s life and work continue to resonate today. The program features keynotes and panel responses by such luminaries as Barbara Brown Taylor, Luther E. Smith Jr., Gregory C. Ellison II, Peter Eisenstadt, Marla Frederick and others. Scholars, social activists, religious leaders, and students will have the opportunity to gather in groups to discuss how Thurman’s understanding of community can speak to challenges of diversity and inclusion we continue to struggle with today. Available in online and in-person formats.

All Events

Webinar: “Youth Ministry as Peace Education”
February 9 • 12:00 p.m.
Online • Free; registration required

Candler’s Justice, Peacebuilding, and Conflict Transformation (JPACT) concentration presents Associate Professor in the Practice of Youth Education and Peacebuilding Elizabeth Corrie in conversation with Professor of Christian Ethics and Conflict Transformation Ellen Ott Marshall about Corrie’s recent book Youth Ministry as Peace Education: Overcoming Silence, Transforming Violence (Fortress Press, 2021).

Black Church Studies Worship Service
February 22 • 11:30 a.m.
Online • Free

This service is presented by Candler’s Black Church Studies program. Racquel Gill, Jack & Jane Presseau Associate Chaplain at Presbyterian College, will preach on “Preparing Today for Tomorrow’s Questions,” based on Joshua 4: 20-24.

Lecture: “The Intersection of Academics and Public Life”
February 28 • 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Online • Free; registration required

Candler’s Women, Theology, and Ministry program presents scholar and Episcopal priest Danielle Tumminio Hansen, assistant professor of practical theology and spiritual care at Candler. This event is part of the program’s online spring series “Women in Academia, Church, and Public Life.”

Lecture: “Surprise and Diversity: A Woman’s Place in Reform Yesterday and Today”
March 2 • 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Online • Free; registration required 

Candler’s Pitts Theology Library presents guest speaker Elsie Anne McKee, Archibald Alexander Professor Emerita of Reformation Studies and the History of Worship at Princeton Theological Seminary. This lecture is part of Pitts’ Kessler Conversations, a series of online interviews with leading church historians and theologians addressing the relevance of the Protestant Reformation for contemporary communities. This semester’s conversations are centered around “Women of the Reformation: Reclaiming the Forgotten Contributions of Women to Church Renewal.”

Anna Julia Cooper Lecture: “‘Sketches from a Teacher’s Notebook’: Black Religion, Education and Radical Social Change”
March 3 • 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Online • Free; registration required

Candler’s Black Church Studies program presents Almeda M. Wright, associate professor of religious education at Yale Divinity School.

Community Course: “Echoes of Scripture in the New Testament”
Sundays, March 6, 13, 20, 27; April 3, 10 • 7:00–8:15 p.m.
Northside United Methodist Church • $49; registration required

Taught by Ryan Bonfiglio, assistant professor in the practice of Old Testament at Candler and director of The Candler Foundry. Northside UMC is located at 2799 Northside Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30305.

Major Catholic Speaker Lecture: “America’s Real Sister Act: Why the Stories of U.S. Black Catholic Nuns Matter”
March 15 • 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Online • Free; registration required

Candler’s Aquinas Center of Theology presents guest speaker Shannen Dee Williams, associate professor of history at the University of Dayton.

Dean’s Lecture: “The Christian God as the Primordial Migrant”
March 23 • 11:00 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
Online and in person at Candler School of Theology • Free; registration required

Candler’s World Christianity and Catholic Studies programs present Peter C. Phan, Ignacio Ellacuria, S.J. Chair of Catholic Social Thought at Georgetown University. Learn more and register by visiting Candler’s online events index and navigating to March 23.

Lecture: “Women and Public Theology”
March 28 • 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Online • Free; registration required

Candler’s Women, Theology, and Ministry program presents Candler alumna and Quaker minister Ashley M. Wilcox, bestselling author of The Women’s Lectionary: Preaching the Women of the Bible throughout the Year. This event is part of the program’s online spring series “Women in Academia, Church, and Public Life.”

Exhibition: “To Make the Voice Heard: Howard Thurman’s Prophetic Mysticism and Recordings During the Long Sixties”
Opens April 2
Online and in person at Pitts Theology Library at Candler • Free; reservation required for in-person viewing

Pitts Theology Library’s spring exhibition features Pitts’ Howard Thurman Archive, containing hundreds of Thurman’s audio tapes, on display with the Sue Bailey Thurman Collection from Emory University’s Rose Library, through interactive digital and in-person exhibits. Learn more at pitts.emory.edu.

Lecture: “Women Leaders of the Reformation: Profiles, Contexts, and Texts”
April 6 • 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Online • Free; registration required 

Candler’s Pitts Theology Library presents guest speaker Kirsi Sterjna, First Lutheran, Los Angeles, and Southwest Synod Professor of Lutheran History and Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (Berkeley) of California Lutheran University. This lecture is part of Pitts’ Kessler Conversations, a series of online interviews with leading church historians and theologians addressing the relevance of the Protestant Reformation for contemporary communities. This semester’s conversations are centered around “Women of the Reformation: Reclaiming the Forgotten Contributions of Women to Church Renewal.”

Howard Thurman Conference: “The Unfinished Search for Common Ground”
April 8–9 • Online or in-person at Candler School of Theology

Noted scholar and Candler Dean’s Professor Walter Earl Fluker has designed this major conference on Howard Thurman to consider how the 20th century theologian and civil rights leader’s life and work continue to resonate today. The program features keynotes and panel responses by such luminaries as Barbara Brown Taylor, Luther E. Smith Jr., Gregory C. Ellison II, Peter Eisenstadt, Marla Frederick and others. Scholars, social activists, religious leaders, and students will have the opportunity to gather in groups to discuss ways in which Thurman’s understanding of community can address challenges of diversity and inclusion that we continue to struggle with today. Available in online and in-person formats.

Community Course: “Christianity in Asian American History”
Mondays, April 18 and 25; May 2, 9, 16, and 23 • 7:00–8:30 p.m.
Online • $65; registration required

Taught by Timothy Tseng, Pacific Area Director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries.

Catherine of Siena Lecture: “Seeking Wholeness in an Age of Fragments”
April 21 • 7:30–9:00 p.m.
Cannon Chapel • Suggested donation: $25; registration required

Candler’s Aquinas Center of Theology presents guest speaker Ilia Delio, Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University. Cannon Chapel is located on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta.

Community Course: “Women in the New Testament”
Sundays, April 24; May 1, 8, 15, 22 • 7:00–8:30 p.m.
Online • $49; registration required

Taught by Susan Hylen, associate professor of New Testament at Candler School of Theology.

Lecture: “Women, Academia, and the Church”
April 25 • 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Online • Free; registration required

Candler’s Women, Theology, and Ministry program presents scholar, pastor, preacher, and activist Wil Gafney, The Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School. This event is part of the program’s online spring series “Women in Academia, Church, and Public Life.”

Community Event: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
May 5 • 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation • Free; registration required

Sponsored by Candler’s Aquinas Center of Theology and its Catholic-Orthodox Initiative, this will be your opportunity to meet your neighbors around the corner—including trivia, food, refreshments, and fun.