Faculty convocations are regular events at which WTC Faculty can engage with one another on a topic of ecumenical or social significance. Below are some recent examples of faculty convocations. For information on upcoming Faculty Convocations, check our events page for updates.
View previous years’ information or videos (where available) by clicking the year: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012
2023: “Theological Formation and Leadership”
Theological formation includes the cultivation of healthy personalities and a disposition to serve others. Leadership in the pulpit, at the table, and in community work involves multiple dimensions: strong theological foundations, the ability to work alongside others, emotional maturity, and a heart of self-giving without self-exhaustion. Whether in the classroom, at the common table, or in the field, theological faculties face the question, “how does holistic human formation cultivate effective leadership?”
For our 51st Annual Faculties’ Convocation in October 2023, a faculty panel from multiple disciplines (historical theology, philosophy, religious education, and practical theology) addressed multiple aspects of formation for leadership, including:
- The formation and exercise of theological virtues–Aquinas and others
- The art of accompaniment as clergy and laity work together
- The formation and exercise of emotional intelligence
- Leadership as a form of self-sacrifice that is life-giving
Panelists:
Dr. John Lee, Academic Dean, John Leland Center (Moderator).
Dr. Guy Erwin, President, Historical Theology, United Lutheran Seminary.
Fr. Andrew Hofer, O.P., Patristics, PFIC at the Dominican House of Studies.
Dr. Andrey Shirin, Director of Transformational Leadership, John Leland Center.
Dr. Susan Timoney, Associate Dean, Ministerial Degrees and Practical Theology, Catholic University of America.
Dr. Nathaniel West, Christian Education, Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology.
Lectures
Panel Discussion
2022: “Religious Liberty: Which Religion, Whose Liberty?”
Panelists:
Atty. Holly Hollman, General Counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty
Dr. William Barbieri, Professor of Ethics and of Religion and Culture, The Catholic University of America
Dr. Teresa Smallwood, Associate Professor of Public Theology, United Lutheran Seminary
Dr. Rick Elgendy, Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology, Wesley Theological Seminary
2021: “Theological Education as Justice Formation”
Dr. Willie Jennings, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School
Introduction by Dr. Cheryl Sanders, Howard University School of Divinity
Response by Dr. David Cloutier, The Catholic University of America
2020: “Toward Anti-Racist Theology and Practice: Transforming our Teaching”
Dr. Eric Lewis Williams, Curator of Religion, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Respondent: Dr. Denise Janssen, Associate Professor of Christian Education, Virginia Union University
2018:Inside Our Awakening Universe: Spiritual Life and the New Cosmic Story
Dr. John Haught, Distinguished Research Professor, Georgetown University
Responses from
- Dr. Connie Bertka, Wesley Theological Seminary
- Dr. David Cloutier, The Catholic University of America
2017:No Longer Strangers and Foreigners: The Intersection of Christian Identity, Mission and the Ethics of Immigration
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C.
Presenter: Dr. Peter Phan
Panel Discussion:
2016:Theology and Reconciliation in a Polarized Society
Wesley Theological Seminary
September 29, 2016
Panel of Faculty Representatives:
Moderator: Dr. Elizabeth Kimball, Virginia Theological Seminary
Fr. James Brent, OP, PhD, PFIC at the Dominican House
Dr. Dean Trulear, Howard University School of Divinity
Dr. Rick Elgendy, Wesley Theological Seminary
2015: Marriage, Family, and Sexuality: Theological, Moral, and Pastoral Implications
Virginia Theological Seminary
September 28, 2015
Panel of Faculty Representatives:
Moderator: Kristin Johnston-Largen, Gettysburg Seminary
Dr. Alton B. Pollard III, Howard University School of Divinity
Dr. John Grabowski, Catholic University of America
Dr. Sondra Wheeler, Wesley Theological Seminary
Dr. Timothy Sedgwick, Virginia Theological Seminary
Dr. Jeffrey Willetts, John Leland Center for Theological Studies
Kimberly Eskridge, John Leland graduate
2014: Reframing Theological Anthropology for an Ecological Age
Catholic University of America
September 29, 2014
Presentation by Dr. Jame Schaefer, Marquette University
2013: Reframing the Civil War: Religion, Race and Culture
with Gettysburg and Howard Faculty at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg and new Seminary Ridge Museum
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Faculties Convocation 2013 Photos
2012: Theology in the Public Sphere
The John Leland Center, September 2012
Drs. Garry Dorrien and Shaun Casey