Prophets, Saints, and Kings
January 17 @ 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
Resisting Christian Nationalism and Building the Beloved Community with King and Bonhoeffer
Join us for a day with internationally renowned Bonhoeffer scholars, Dr. Stephen Haynes and Dr. Reggie Williams.
On MLK weekend, we’ll learn about the intersecting legacies and lessons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King, Jr., while deepening our understanding of how people of faith can confront and resist the growing forces of authoritarianism and Christian nationalism in our own time. Being rooted in learning and worship, we’ll dream together about how to make a world to best live into our own calls to seek justice and peace.
Kindling Faith: Prophets, Saints, and Kings – YouTube
NOTE: For those who were able to gather in spite of the weather, thank you for the conversation and shared encouragement! For those who were unable to make it, we missed you and hope we see you soon. (Mark your calendars for Lutheran Day in the Capitol, LAMPa’s annual day of learning and advocacy, on April 20. Details and registration coming soon!) We hope you will find this recording of Saturday’s event useful for your own discernment and for informing communal discernment in your context. While we are delighted to offer this resource as a gift to you, events like this require significant time, funding, and effort to make possible. We invite you to support LAMPa with a donation so we can continue providing meaningful programs like this in the future. You can find out more about donating here.
SCHEDULE
Saturday, January 17
10 a.m. — A talk given by Dr. Reggie Williams: When cruelty is elevated to state policy and loyalty to the nation is confused with loyalty to Christ, it is little wonder that Christians have so frequently found themselves on the wrong side of history. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King Jr. were both pastors and theologians who wrestled with the meaning of Christ-centered faithfulness for their time. They were advocates of social justice and human rights who defied contemporary laws and cultural norms, and they faced opposition to their work from many of their fellow Christians. We may learn from their prophetic witness for Christian faithfulness in our contexts by paying attention to their respective interpretations of the way of Jesus.
11 a.m. — A talk given by Dr. Stephen R. Haynes: What does resistance look like in our time and place? As we search for models, there is a natural tendency to look to the life and legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “hero of the anti-Nazi resistance.” But what part of Bonhoeffer’s resistance is most relevant for us? His writing? His speaking? His part in an assassination plot? This presentation will explore the totality of Bonhoeffer’s “resistance to the Nazis,” from 1933 to his death in 1945.
Noon — Lunch — Order a boxed lunch when you register for the day or dine on your own in Gettysburg.
1:30 p.m. — A panel discussion featuring Antoine Cummins, Dr. Smallwood, Dr. Williams and Dr. Haynes 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. Dr. Teresa Smallwood. 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.
SPEAKERS
Dr. Reggie Williams is Associate Professor of Black Theology and African American Studies at St Louis University in St Louis, Missouri. He is the author of Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance, which was selected as a Choice Outstanding Title in theology, in 2014 (revised edition, 2021). The book examines the impact of exposure to theology in the Harlem Renaissance on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was killed by the Nazis in 1945 for his resistance. Dr. Williams is currently work includes a story of a complicated Christian response to fascism, and a study of ethics for better response to social injustice. Dr. Williams’ research interests include Black Theology, Black Studies, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Studies, and Christian ethics. Dr. Williams is a board member of the English Language section of the International Dietrich Bonhoeffer Society, former board member of the Society for the Study of Black Religion, and the Society for Christian Ethics. Dr. Williams and his wife Stacy are the parents of a son, Darion, and a daughter, Simone.
Dr. Stephen R. Haynes is Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College and the Director of the Rhodes Liberal Arts in Prison Program at West Tennessee State Penitentiary. He is a prominent scholar of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, having authored several significant works examining Bonhoeffer’s legacy and contemporary relevance, including “The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits of a Protestant Saint” (2004), “The Bonhoeffer Legacy: Post-Holocaust Perspectives” (2006), “Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians” (co-authored with Lori Brandt Hale, 2009), and “The Battle for Bonhoeffer: Debating Discipleship in the Age of Trump” (2018). Dr. Haynes holds a Ph.D. in Religion and Literature from Emory University, the M. Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary.
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.
Antoine R. Cummins, born on the Island of Barbados, raised in Brooklyn, NY, currently serves as Program Director for Civil Rights Policy on the ELCA Witness in Society Team. Antoine has spent 15 years serving the ELCA in various capacities including Pacifica Synod as Assistant to the Bishop, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary on the Advisory Board, the ELCA on the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church and Waldorf University as Director of Campus Ministry. Prior to this, Antoine has spent time in Higher Education, as a Adjunct Math Professor, Licensed Tax Professional and Football Coach. His journey has been uncharted and the one thing that keeps him inspired? How much healing can be found in community; when we approach each other with a posture of humility and walk away from our interactions with a sense of awe and wonder!
