Keenan Lecture
March 5 – 6:00 PM
Spalding University and the School of Liberal Arts is proud to welcome Reverend Dr. Wilson Dickinson, Director of the Doctor of Ministry and Continuing Education Programs at Lexington Theological Seminary, for the 41st Annual Keenan Lecture. Much of Dr. Wilson’s work has focused on social change and environmental justice as rooted in theology.
This Year’s Topic — Green Good News
Grassroots Christian Movements for Environmental Justice is a presentation that explores the mutually illuminating light that Jesus Christ and movements for environmental justice shed on one another. The stories of Christ provide both a practical path and hopeful vision for how to work for liberation in the midst of empire. Grassroots Christian movements for environmental justice, likewise, help us to root ancient stories in the soils of creation and everyday life. Together we will shed some new (green) light on some familiar passages from the Gospels and recount the prophetic memory of Fannie Lou Hamer and movements for agrarian reform in El Salvador. In doing so, we will reflect on the relevance of these practices and visions for our contexts in Kentucky to find green good news in the midst of our challenging times.
About the Speaker
Rev. Dr. Wilson Dickinson is “a theologian, organizer, and minister whose work takes place at the intersection of constructive theology, environmental justice, and social change. He approaches theology through traditions of liberative wisdom—integrating a wide range of disciplines from biblical studies, social history, practical theology, philosophy, social theory, and aesthetics and bringing them to bear on issues of everyday life, spiritual practice, community building, and cultivating movements for justice.”
— from wilsondickinson.com
About the Keenan Lecture
The Keenan Lecture was established in 1982 to honor the memory of Dr. Mary Emily Keenan, S.C.N. Her career in the fields of religious studies and classical languages was distinguished by fifty years of teaching at Spalding University, during twenty of which she served as chair of the Religious Studies Department. The Keenan Lecture is now sponsored by the Spalding University interdisciplinary School of Liberal Arts. The School of Liberal Arts is grateful to the friends and graduates of Spalding University, and in particular to those friends and students of Sister Mary Emily Keenan whose encouragement and support inspires and sustains this annual event.
Location
Past Lectures
1982 – The Mystery of Jesus, Human and Divine
1983 – On Burning Diplomas and Reading Books: Knowledge and Experience in the Growth of Faith
1984 – Confirmation on Trial
1985 – The Power of Imagination and Poetic Symbol in Spiritual Development
1986 – The Impact of Jewish Mysticism on Christian Spirituality: Reflections on the Work of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook
1987 – Loyalty and Dissent: Catholic Perspectives on Non-Infallible Teachings
1988 – The Multi-Faces of Family: Challenges to Catechetical and Pastoral Ministry
1989 – My Brother or My Enemy? The Question of Anti-Semitism in the Writings of St. Paul
1990 – Heritage and Horizons: Two Hundred Years of Catholic Church History in America
1991 – Catherine of Siena: Woman of Peace and Justice
1992 – Our Life in God: Learning to Accept Acceptance
1993 – When Can You Pull the Plug? Ethics, Law, and the Terminally Ill Patient
1994 – Biblical Roots of Love: Toward a Lasting Peace in the Middle East
1995 – The True Emancipation of Women in Church and Society
1996 – Jesus & Sexuality: What the New Testament Can Teach Us
1997 – Theology and Practice of Lay Ministry: Looking Toward the 21st Century
1998 – Biblical Faith and New Age Thinking: What Do They Have in Common?
1999 – The Women in John’s Gospel: A Feminist Perspective
2000 – Slaves in the Family: The Catholic Experience in Kentucky
2001 – Globalization: What’s Going On? What’s It Doing to Us?
2002 – Responses to Terrorism: Reflections for Christians
2003 – We Pray with Open Hands: The Experience of Christians in Iraq
2004 – Poverty Reduction: A Shared International Mission (Shalini Dsouza, SCN)
2005 – Global Water Scarcity: Its Causes and Its Effects on the Poor and the Ecosystems of the Earth (Phyllis Hannon, SCN)
2006 – Catherine Spalding: Pioneer Spirit in Kentucky’s Community (Mary Ellen Doyle, SCN)
2007 – Gender, Power, and the Divine: a Quantum Search for Justice (Lucy M. Freibert, SCN, Ph.D.)
2008 – Seeing in the Dark, Spiritual Resources on Justice and Peace for Troubled Times (Joe Grant)
2009 – Ecofeminism-A Feminist Response to the Oppression of the Earth and Its Inhabitants (Dr. Adeline Fehribach)
2010 – Wisdom’s Trajectories: Woman Wisdom in the Hebrew Bible (Rev. Dr. Johanna W. H. van Wijk-Bos)
2011 – Through My Eyes: The Rights of Women in Islam (Haleh Karimi)
2012 – Saving the American Dream: A New Vision for Race, Politics, and Difference in the Global Age (Dr. Johnny B. Hill)
2013 – Faith and Politics: Therapists Needed (Rev. Dr. Marian McClure Taylor)
2014 – The Bluegrass Pipeline: Working for Justice (Tom Fitzgerald, Sr. Kathy Wright, & Cara Cooper)
2015 – Organic Torah: Spirit, Systems & Sustainability (Natan Margalit)
2016 – Performing Religion (Yasmeen M. Siddiqui)
2017 – Yoga Across Borders: Politics, Rituals, and Myths in a Growing Global Industry (Dr. Andrea Jain)
2018 – Insights from the World’s Great Religious Traditions for an Alternative Social Logic (Dr. Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty)
2019 – Becoming Our True Selves at the Borders (Dr. Luther Smith)
2023 – The Hope Buss: Community Discussion (Rev. Stachelle Bussey)
2024 – Prophetic Activism in an Age of Christian Nationalism (Rev. Dr. Anthony Everett)
Register
For More Info
Damian Botner
Email: abotner@spalding.edu
Dr. Dori Miller Parmenter
Email: dparmenter@spalding.edu