The Williams Institute welcomes Jacqui Lewis

Author, preacher and public theologian Jacqui Lewis, senior minister of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, will deliver two lectures at the Williams Institute, presented by Methodist Theological School in Ohio. Middle Church, which Lewis has led since 2005, describes itself as “a multicultural, multiethnic, intergenerational movement of Spirit and justice, powered by fierce, revolutionary Love, with room for all.”

Lewis’s first lecture, “Brick by Brick, Ubuntu: Building a Multiracial Community of Faith,” will take place at 7:15 p.m. Eastern Sept. 22. The second lecture, “Pitfalls & Promises: On Nurturing Interracial Communities of Faith,” begins at 10:15 a.m. Eastern Sept. 23.

Both lectures are in the Alford Centrum on the campus of MTSO, 3081 Columbus Pike in Delaware, Ohio. They are open to all. No registration is required.

The lectures will be best experienced in person. If you'll already be at MTSO for Alumni Day and would like to stay overnight on campus, rooms with shared bathrooms are available for $60 per night in Dewire Residence Hall. Email housing@mtso.edu to reserve a room.

For those unable to be present, they will be streamed live via Zoom. The link for the Sept. 22 lecture is here, and the Sept. 23 lecture link is here.

In addition to the lectures, Lewis will preach at MTSO’s weekly chapel at 1 p.m. Eastern Sept. 22 in the Alford Centrum. All are welcome.

Lewis uses her voice – through speaking, writing, teaching and her Love. Period. podcast – to inspire antiracism, gender- and sexuality-affirming faith, and social change that heals communities and empowers individuals.

"Every time I have heard Dr. Lewis speak, I have been inspired and forced to think more deeply about my own faith and witness. She is a very thoughtful theologian and pastor, and the fact that she gets to put her ideas into practice, improve them, or scrap them, makes her work even more valuable from my perspective," said MTSO Dean Valerie Bridgeman. "I also think that people who are leading multicultural and interracial congregations would do well to learn from her. She doesn't offer a "one size fits all" ideology, but rather she offers the kinds of questions and prayerful planning people need to do if they are going to lead."

Ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Lewis holds Ph.D. and Master of Philosophy degrees from Drew University, and a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Books she has authored include Ten Essential Strategies for Becoming a Multiracial Congregation and The Just Love Story Bible.

MTSO’s Williams Institute was begun in 1981 to honor the late Dr. 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.