Join us for a weekend with Dr.  Lori Brandt Hale, president of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section AND Amanda Tyler of Christians Against Christian Nationalism. Discover how people of faith can authentically and humbly act at the intersection of civic life and faith, in contrast and response to the forces of Christian nationalism, using the legacy and theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a guide. We are grateful to partner with United Lutheran Seminary’s Kindling Faith to offer this event.

NEW!!  Young adults and youth attending Saturday’s presentations are invited to join ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton for a private luncheon.  (Congregations bringing a group of three or more youth can receive a discount for youth tickets with the promo code YOUTHGROUP at registration. )

REGISTER FOR FRIDAY RECEPTION BY FEB. 28. BOXED LUNCHES ARE CLOSED FOR SATURDAY REGISTRATION. REGISTER TO ATTEND BY MARCH 6. 

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT ENDS FEB. 11! 

The historic cupola of the Seminary Ridge Museum. Used with permission.

Friday, March 7, 6:00 p.m. – Authors’ Reception and Dinner – $75

Meet Dr. Lori Brandt Hale, president of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section, and Amanda Tyler, lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism and executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. A reception at the Seminary Ridge Museum will allow visitors to talk with both authors and tour the museum that was used as a hospital for wounded from both sides at the Battle of Gettysburg. Tickets include an opportunity for attendees to visit the building’s historic cupola!  The dinner will feature a brief talk on the unfinished work of Reconstruction by the Rev. Dr. Teresa Smallwood, dean and vice president of student affairs at United Lutheran Seminary.

Saturday, March 8, Chapel of the Abiding Presence  – Public Lectures and Panel Discussion – $45; Optional Boxed Lunch – $20; Livestream – $20

Schedule

10 a.m. — Amanda Tyler will offer insights related to our current context and her new book How to End Christian Nationalism. This presentation defines what Christian nationalism is, explains how it works in our society (and beyond), interprets the movement in the light of the gospel, and offers suggestions for Christian response.

11 a.m. — Dr. Brandt Hale will give a public lecture on Bonhoeffer’s concept of “This-Worldly” Christianity, also known as “religionless” Christianity. Dr. Brandt Hale will illustrate how Bonhoeffer’s thinking evolves, and how ultimately, he believes that the Christian witness is most faithful and powerful when “viewed from below,” from the perspective of everyday people, especially the poor and oppressed.

Noon — Lunch — Order a boxed lunch when you register for the day or dine on your own in Gettysburg. Young adults and youth attending the lectures may sign up for a private luncheon with Bishop Eaton. Choose the boxed lunch when registering.

1:30 p.m. —  A panel discussion featuring Dr. Brandt Hale, Ms. Tyler, and the Rev. Amy Reumann will follow lunch to help participants understand the ways in which Bonhoeffer’s theology counters the ways in which Christian nationalist forces frame “faithful” participation in the public sphere. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of ways in which they can speak about their faith and public life and can take concrete action to counter the harmful narratives of Christian nationalism.

2:45 p.m. — We end our time by coming together around the Word and Sacrament, with preaching by the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  Rooting ourselves in worship reminds us of our connection to one another in concrete community and as part of the communion of saints throughout time and space. We are sent nourished and filled, ready for the work we are called to do.

Registration is open now! (Registrants will receive an email update with logistics and related information.) 

Register for Friday Reception

Register for Saturday Lectures and Panel Discussion

Register for Saturday Livestream

Find places to stay in Gettysburg

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Flyer + Bulletin Insert

Speakers

Amanda Tyler is executive director of BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty), leading the organization as it upholds the historic Baptist principle of religious liberty: defending the free exercise of religion and protecting against its establishment by government. In that capacity, she is also the lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism. The author of How to End Christian Nationalism (October 2024), Tyler is also the co-host of BJC’s Respecting Religion podcast. Tyler’s constitutional law analysis and advocacy for faith freedom for all have been featured by major news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CBS News, ABC News, CNN, and MSNBC, and she has testified before Congress on religious liberty and Christian nationalism. A graduate of Georgetown University and The University of Texas School of Law, she lives in Dallas with her husband and son.

Dr. Lori Brandt Hale is Professor of Religion in Department of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. She is the President of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section and a Westar Institute Scholar. Brandt Hale is co-editor of and contributor to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theology, and Political Resistance (June 2020), the second volume in a new series on faith and political theology by Lexington Books. Her chapter in this book, a constructive read of Bonhoeffer’s work, is titled, “The Interfaith Imperative: How Bonhoeffer Compels Interfaith Action.” She is also the co-author of Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians (Westminster John Knox, 2009) and has written numerous articles and book chapters on Bonhoeffer’s political resistance, understanding of vocation, and relevance in contemporary times – including the now perennial question, “Is this a Bonhoeffer moment?”

The Rev. Dr. Teresa Smallwood is the James Franklin Kelly and Hope Eyster Kelly Associate Professor of Public Theology and Dean and Vice-President of Academic Affairs for United Lutheran Seminary. Dr. Smallwood graduated from Howard University School of Divinity in 2010 with a Master of Divinity degree. In 2011, Dr. Smallwood pursued a Ph.D. from Chicago Theological Seminary, which she earned in 2017. Dr. Smallwood has held ministerial staff positions at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, Lewiston, NC, Israel Baptist Church, Washington, DC, and New Covenant Christian Church Disciples of Christ, Nashville, TN. She is currently on the ministerial staff of Saint John African Methodist Episcopal Church, Nashville, TN with Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. Lisa Hammonds. Dr. Smallwood has taught at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Religious Freedom Center in Washington, D.C., Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois, and Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Smallwood served as the Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate Director of the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative at Vanderbilt Divinity School from 2017 to 2021.

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton was reelected to serve a second six-year term as ELCA presiding bishop at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Eaton is the ELCA’s fourth presiding bishop and was first elected at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

Eaton earned a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the College of Wooster.

Eaton was ordained in 1981 and served three different congregations in Ohio before being elected bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod in 2006. She was reelected synod bishop in May 2013, shortly before her election as ELCA presiding bishop.

Eaton’s four emphases for the ELCA are: We are church; We are Lutheran; We are church together; We are church for the sake of the world. These four emphases are fundamental to identifying who the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is.

In 2015, under Eaton’s leadership, the ELCA underwent an extensive vision process to help this church journey faithfully and effectively together in the years ahead. The process resulted in Future Directions 2025, a strategic framework that helps shared leadership across the ELCA realize common aspirations and better face the challenges of this church.

In addition, with Eaton’s guidance, the ELCA launched Bishop Eaton’s Leadership Initiative, which encourages all ELCA members to seek out and inspire gifted people in our congregations and communities to consider a call to the ministry of the gospel.

As chief ecumenical officer of the ELCA, she represents this church in a wide range of ecumenical and inter-religious settings. She is the chair of the governing board of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and on the Religions for Peace USA Council of Presidents.

As presiding bishop, Eaton travels extensively, representing the ELCA in a variety of capacities. This has included participating in the ordination of the first woman pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land; addressing the eighth modern convening of The Parliament of the World’s Religions; and leading the ELCA delegation to the thirteen Lutheran World Federation Assembly in Krakow, Poland.

Eaton’s husband is the Rev. T. Conrad Selnick, an Episcopal priest. They are parents of two adult children, Rebeckah and Susannah.

The Rev. Amy E. Reumann serves as ELCA Senior Director for Witness in Society in Washington, D.C. Her leadership directs staff and church advocacy in federal public policy, through the ELCA-affiliated state public policy office (sppo) network, at the United Nations through Lutheran Office for World Community representation, and with the ELCA Corporate Social Responsibility program. She was born in Philadelphia and has served as a parish pastor, Assistant to the Bishop in Milwaukee, Wis., director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania and is a former intern at the Lutheran Office for World Community. Reumann is a graduate of Muhlenberg College, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (M.Div) and the General Theological Seminary, New York City (STM in Spiritual Direction). She was awarded a GreenFaith Fellowship in religious-environmental leadership and a Louisville Institute Pastoral Studies Grant on “Public Testimony as a Faith Practice.” Reumann is a Master Gardener, manager at an urban farm and loves to garden, quilt, hike and read mysteries.