Princeton Theological Seminary

May 12, 2021 | Reunion 2021 Lecture: "Me and White Supremacy: Camera Angles, Questions, and Personal Awakenings" Speaker: Rev. Ryan Landino, lead presbyter for transformation, Great Rivers Presbytery PC(USA) in western and central Illinois; Alumni Association Executive Council Service Award Recipient To view the reunion website, visit https://https://reunion.ptsem.edu/.

May 10, 2021 | Reunion 2021 Session: Welcome and Opening Worship for Reunion 2021 Speaker: M. Craig Barnes, president, Princeton Theological Seminary To view the reunion website, visit https://https://reunion.ptsem.edu/.

May 11, 2021 | Reunion 2021 Session: Keynote Lecture Speaker: Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, senior pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois To view the reunion website, visit https://https://reunion.ptsem.edu/.

May 11, 2021 | Reunion 2021 Session: Distinguished Alumnae Award and Presentation Speaker: Rev. Najla Kassab, president, World Communion of Reformed Churches; ordained minister, the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon To view the reunion website, visit https://https://reunion.ptsem.edu/.

Miller Chapel Maundy Thursday John 13:1-14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 13:14 It is not a reassuring or comforting image to find our Lord and Teacher, who we worship, washing the dirt off of our feet. It disturbs our notions of holiness. But it also transforms them. We find holiness by reaching up but by reaching down. As disciples of a foot washer, we are never more than foot washer trainees.

Miller Chapel Lenten Series on the Road to Emmaus Scripture: Luke 24:32-35 Were not our hearts burning within us? 24:32 Renewed in the vision that the risen Christ was with them, the disciples are filled with passion and reverse their direction to return to Jerusalem. That which they had fled in discouragement now becomes their place of mission. A time comes to turn, or repent, from discouragement.

Miller Chapel Lenten Series on the Road to Emmaus Scripture: Luke 24: 28-31 Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. 24:31 The unseen visible presence of the Lord became the seen invisible presence. Faith is a way of seeing the Christ who has been with us before we recognized him. This transformation came to the disciples through the ordinary breaking of bread. All of life can be sacramental if we have eyes to see the holiness in it.

Miller Chapel Lenten Series on the Road to Emmaus Scripture: Luke 24:25-27 Oh how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe… 24:25 The risen Jesus has to interpret the scriptures these disciples knew but did not believe. In a theological community it is easy to confuse knowing about Jesus with knowing him. The scriptures as the Word of God are meant to open our eyes to the living Word who walks with us even in our deep disappointments.

Miller Chapel Lenten Series on the Road to Emmaus Scripture: Luke 24:22-24 …some women from our group astounded us. 24:22 The discouraged disciples only had the testimony of the women who heard from angels that Jesus was alive. But apparently that was not enough because we are told these disciples were "sad" and walking away from their dreams for what Jesus could do. We too only have the testimony of those who were a part of the Easter story. That’s not certainty. And that is what makes room for faith. Certainty is just one more thing to give up for Lent.

Miller Chapel Lenten Series on the Road to Emmaus Scripture: Luke 24:13-21 But we had hoped he was the one to redeem Israel 24:21 Cleopas and another disciple are on the road out of Jerusalem after the crucifixion of Jesus. They’re trying to walk away from their disappointments. Along the way “a stranger” joins them on the journey. We can’t really walk away from Jesus even when he disappoints us.

Miller Chapel Scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:23-30 All things are lawful, but not all things build up. 10:23 We are created to live with both desire and discontent. There is nothing unholy about either one. In fact, nothing good is accomplished without them. But they are powerful drives within us, and the challenge is not be consumed by them, which hurts us and the community around us. We worship in order to get desire and discontent tuned.

Miller Chapel Scripture: Philippians 4:4-7 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. 4:5 At a time of transition into the new semester, and transition into new national leadership, it is good to consider again what kind of people we want to be. Among the last words of the Apostle Paul to the church was the call to be known for its gentleness. Is that the reputation of the church or our seminary? Is it how people would describe you?

November 16, 2020 | Zoom Speaker: Eddie S. Glaude Jr., author of Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own; James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies, Princeton University Moderator: Keri Day, associate professor of constructive theology and African American religion, Princeton Theological Seminary

December 3, 2020 | Miller Chapel Scripture: Luke 1:39-45 Elizabeth was too old to be a mother. Mary was too young. But the Holy Spirit interrupted the socially conditioned expectations for their lives. And the first person each wanted to find was the other. This may be the first Christian community — two women whose lives were changed by hope when it came too late and too soon. John leaped up in Elizabeth’s womb when Mary approach with the Christ child already forming in her womb. Whenever we come together as the interrupted community, something still leaps up as Christ approaches.

November 19, 2020 | Miller Chapel Scripture: Mark 8:22-26 This is the only account in the four gospels when Jesus has to touch someone twice in order to provide healing. Why was this second touch necessary? Clearly not because Jesus, who raised the dead, had to try harder. All of the healings in the gospels were not about the healings, but they were signs. This healing of the blind man is a sign that we need more grace than we have already received in order to see clearly. It doesn’t matter how much you have learned or experienced, there is more to the grace of Jesus than you have yet received.

November 5, 2020 | Miller Chapel Scripture: Ruth 4:13-17 According to the text, Naomi, who we met as so bitter, takes the child Obed to her breast. This child was the grandfather of King David. So she was, in the end, able to embrace hope. It is significant that the same women who earlier absorbed Naomi’s bitterness now name the child who they call her redeemer. Obed means worshiper, which is how we find redemption. The story begins with Naomi’s despair and ends with her hope, which was found by embracing worship.

October 29, 2020 | Miller Chapel Scripture: Ruth 4:7-12 In ancient Hebrew society a pledge was made by the exchanging of sandals in front of witnesses. It was as binding as our signatures on contracts. Covenant community is not just a resource that we use to construct our lives. It is a collection of pledges to be shaped by our life together. Out of these commitments something new is born, like Boaz and Ruth’s child — the hope for redemption. But we have to give ourselves to the community to find this redemption.

October 8, 2020 | Miller Chapel Scripture: Ruth 3:6-13 Just as Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz all had plans for how to find redemption, so do we cooperate with the grace of God. Receiving grace is not a passive process, but it involves a lot of searching. Along the way, God redeems our flawed or questionable plans. Naomi and Ruth’s plan was to appeal to Boaz as their next of kin, which can also be translated as redeemer. Ruth appeals to his cloak to be the wings of God under which she will find shelter. This is not an act of submission, but of taking control of their situation. God uses this plan. So, we need to get beyond the notion that planning is not spiritual.

October 1, 2020 | Miller Chapel Scripture: Ruth 2:8-13 The community God builds always has room for those who think of themselves as outsiders, which ironically accounts for those who only appear to be insiders. Like Ruth the hungry Moabite, we all come in a desperate search for grace. Boaz presents his community as a shelter under God’s wings. We are thinking a lot about shelter these days, but one of the things from which we most need to be sheltered is our loneliness.

September 24, 2020 | Miller Chapel Scripture: Ruth 1:19-22 Sermon: What Is in a Name? When Naomi arrives in Bethlehem she tells her friends, “Call me no longer Naomi,” which means pleasant, “Call me Mara,” which means bitter. And her bitterness is with God. Interestingly, the story and her community keep calling her pleasant even when she wasn’t. Sometimes the community holds our identity for us.

September 17, 2020 | Miller Chapel Scripture: Ruth 1:1-8, 14-18 Naomi finds herself as a Jew in Moab as a widow whose sons have also died. She is discouraged and embittered. There is a famine in Moab so she returns to Judah with one of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, who clings to her even though Naomi doesn’t want her on the journey to her home. No matter how discouraged you are, someone needs you.

April 2, 2020 | Conversations with Christian Leaders on the COVID-19 Crisis: Part II Panelists: Eric Barreto, MDiv '04, Frederick and Margaret L. Weyerhaeuser Associate Professor of New Testament Sonia Waters, PhD '13, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology Heath Carter, Associate Professor of American Christianity Brian Rainey, Assistant Professor of Old Testament

March 26, 2020 | Conversations with Christian Leaders on the COVID-19 Crisis: Part I Panelists: Charlene Han Powell, MDiv '09, executive pastor, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (New York, NY) Don Lincoln, MDiv '80, lead pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church (West Chester, PA), Seminary Board member Ryan Timpte, MDiv/MACEF '10, director of children's ministry, Lafayette-Orinda Presbyterian Church (Lafayette, CA) Mia Chang, lead pastor, NextGen Church (West Windsor, NJ) Maureen Gerald, MDiv '06, executive pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church (Trenton, NJ); clinical social worker and spiritual director, Momentum Counseling, Coaching, and Consulting

March 5, 2020 | Mackay Campus Center Auditorium Scripture: Exodus 20:7-11 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God… Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. When we live as if God is present, all of life becomes holy. And if we live in denial of God’s presence all of life is made profane. This isn’t just about avoiding cursing and getting to church on Sunday. The point of these two commands is to learn how to journey through all of life with awe. The only alternative to turn all of life into a curse.

March 5, 2020 | The Reverend Alexander Thompson, D.D. Memorial Lecture Speaker: Dr. Juan Hernández, professor of biblical studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota Lecture: "Recovering Revelation’s Forgotten Textual History: Josef Schmid’s Magnum Opus for the Twenty-First Century"

February 27, 2020 | Mackay Campus Center Auditorium Scripture: Exodus 20:1-6 You shall have no other God before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. This homily introduces President Barnes' five-week series on the Ten Commandments and make the case that these commandments are a blessing because ironically it is God’s law that makes us free. The first two signposts to freedom call us to remain faithful to a mysterious God who will not be shaped by human imagination.

February 27, 2020 | Princeton Theological Seminary Speaker: Dr. Russell Jeung, professor and chair of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University Lecture: Lessons From 50 Years of Asian American Studies for Asian American Theology

February 25, 2020 | The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture Speaker: Dr. Tamura Lomax, author, scholar-activist, and cofounder of The Feminist Wire Lecture: “We Don’t Need a Black Messiah: The Crisis of Civilization and Aspirational Black Patriarchy”

February 11, 2020 | Dr. Mark S. Smith's inaugural lecture, “‘What Have Canaan and Babylon to Do with Israel?’: The Problem of Ancient Near Eastern Divinity in the Biblical Godhead” Lecturer: Dr. Mark S. Smith, Helena Professor of Old Testament Literature and Exegesis, Princeton Theological Seminary

January 28, 2020 | Mackay Campus Center Auditorium, Princeton Theological Seminary Address: “Wrestling with God and the World” Scripture Reading: Genesis 32:24-32 Preacher: Dr. Hanna Reichel, Associate Professor of Reformed Theology

December 11, 2019 | Miller Chapel The Carols of Many Nations service includes readings, choral anthems, and congregational carols led by the Princeton Seminary Choir and international students and staff of the Seminary.

November 16, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: Precision Agriculture and Right Relationship Speaker: Emily Wilkes, MDiv candidate, Princeton Theological Seminary

November 16, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: Virtual Reality, Virtual Identity, and Spiritual Identity Speaker: Daniel Gorenberg, MDiv '19, ThM candidate, Princeton Theological Seminary

November 16, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: Response to Anderson and Ulshoefer Speaker: Caroline Ainsworth Hughes, MDiv candidate, Princeton Theological Seminary

November 16, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: Going Home Speaker: Sarah Freisleben, MDiv candidate, Princeton Theological Seminary

November 15, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: "Exploring Freedom: A Conversation between Lutheran Theology and the Free Software Movement" Speaker: Benedikt Friedrich, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Lehrstuhl für Systematische Theologie, Ethik und Fundamentaltheologie, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum Read Benedikt Friedrich's research paper at https://cursor.pubpub.org/pub/friedrichflosstheology.

November 16, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: Response to Hemenway and van Oorschot Speaker: Alex Miller-Knaack, MDiv candidate, Princeton Theological Seminary

November 15, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: "The Porous Mask: A Theological Reflection on Concepts of Personhood and Personal Agency" Speaker: Dr. Florian Hoehne, Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Lehrstuhl für Systematische Theologie (Ethik und Hermeneutik), Theologische Fakultät der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Read Dr. Hoehne's research paper at https://cursor.pubpub.org/pub/uv2c6nd4.

November 15, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: "Digital Spiritual Embodiment: Power, Difference, and Interdependence" Speaker: Dr. Kate Ott, Associate Professor of Christian Social Ethics, University Scholar in Everyday Ethics, Drew University Read Dr. Ott's research paper at https://cursor.pubpub.org/pub/3lsdep9t.

November 16, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: “Bible as Interface: Reading Bible with Machines” Speaker: Dr. Michael Hemenway, Chief Information Officer, Iliff School of Theology Read Dr. Hemenway's research paper at https://cursor.pubpub.org/pub/hemenway-bible-interface.

November 15, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: "Digital Omniscience and Practices of Freedom" Speaker: Dr. Hanna Reichel, Associate Professor of Reformed Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary Read Dr. Reichel's research paper at https://cursor.pubpub.org/pub/reichel-omniscience-i and https://cursor.pubpub.org/pub/reichel-omniscience-ii.

November 16, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: “A New Hermeneutics of Suspicion? The Challenge of Deepfakes to Theological Epistemology” Speaker: Dr. Clifford Anderson, Vanderbilt University Read Dr. Anderson's research paper at https://cursor.pubpub.org/pub/andersondeepfakes.

November 15, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: "From Data Protection to Data Sovereignty: A Multidimensional Governance Approach for Shaping Informational Freedom in the ‘Onlife’-era" Speaker: Dr. Peter Dabrock, Professor für Systematische Theologie (Ethik), Fachbereich Theologie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Read Dr. Dabrock's research paper at https://cursor.pubpub.org/pub/dabrockdatasovereignty.

November 16, 2019 | Theologies of the Digital Presentation: “Scripture as Interface: A Hermeneutical Reflection on a Concept Based in Media Theory” Speaker: Frederike van Oorschot, Director of Department of Religion, Law & Culture, Forschungsstaette der Evangelischen Studiengemeinschaft, Heidelberg Read Dr. Frederike van Oorschot's research paper athttps://cursor.pubpub.org/pub/vonoorschot-bible-interface.

November 18, 2019 | 2019 Toyohiko Kagawa Lecture Lecture: The Adaptability of Christian Nationalism: American Protestants and Japanese Christianity, 1921-1941." Speaker: Dr. Anne Blankenship, associate professor of religious studies at North Dakota State University

November 7, 2019 | Miller Chapel Sermon: Hanging Up Your Weapons Scripture: Genesis 9:8-17 After seeing the destruction caused by the flood, God was done with judging humanity for its wickedness, and hung up the divine bow in the sky as a covenant to never do that again. So, God is no longer trying to punish us for our sins. The question is - Have we hung up our weapons?

November 4, 2019 | Princeton Theological Seminary Library Lecture: “Trust, Truth, and Trauma: Is Forgiveness Politically Possible?” Speaker: Nancy Gibbs, faculty director of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy, former editor in chief of Time

October 31, 2019 | Black Church Studies Alumni Lecture 2019 Lecture: “Black Matter(s): Revisiting the Problem of Alienation in Theological Education” Speaker: Dr. Cleve V. Tinsley, MDiv '07, post-doctoral research affiliate with the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning, visiting research associate in the Religion and Public Life Program at Rice University

October 25, 2019 | Women in Ministry Conference 2019 Keynote Lecture: “What We Have to Offer in a Time of Division and Fear” Speaker: Cynthia Rigby, professor at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, co-chair of the Reformed Theology and History Unit of the American Academy of Religion

October 24, 2019 | Women in Ministry Conference 2019 Keynote Lecture: “Embodied Leadership” Speaker: Emilie M. Townes, dean and Carpenter Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society at Vanderbilt University Divinity School