Scholar, author and activist Pamela Lightsey will deliver MTSO’s Williams Institute lectures November 5.
The first lecture, “Dying Towards Life: A Queer Womanist Theology of Hope,” begins at 1 p.m. The second, “Soul Tending Amidst Body Snatchers,” begins at 7 p.m. Both lectures will be held in the Alford Centrum on the MTSO campus, 3081 Columbus Pike in Delaware. They are free and open to the public. No registration is required.
The author of Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology, Lightsey serves as associate professor of constructive theology at Meadville Lombard Theological School. Throughout her vocational life, she has been a leading social justice activist, working with local, national and international organizations focusing primarily on the causes of peacemaking, racial justice and LGBTQ rights.
Lightsey brings a special mix of life experience and professional proficiency to her vocation. Following service in the U.S. Army and work as a civil servant, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Columbus State University, a Master of Divinity from Gammon Seminary of the Interdenominational Theological Center and a doctorate from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, she served in parish ministry before beginning her work in higher education.
MTSO began the Williams Institute in 1981 to honor the late Ronald L. Williams, professor of theology from 1971 until his death in 1981. The institute has featured speakers from many backgrounds, including theologians, ethicists, poets, biblical scholars, historians, pastoral psychologists and Christian educators.
