Join us for a day with internationally renowned Bonhoeffer scholars, Dr. Stephen Haynes and Dr. Reggie Williams. Stay for a second day, January 18th, to screen “The Cloud of Witnesses: Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Harlem 1930/31.”

Resisting Christian Nationalism and Building the Beloved Community with King and Bonhoeffer

On MLK weekend, we’ll learn about the intersecting legacies and lessons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King, Jr., while deepening our understanding of how people of faith can confront and resist the growing forces of authoritarianism and Christian nationalism in our own time. Being rooted in learning and worship, we’ll dream together about how to make a world to best live into our own calls to seek justice and peace.  

SPEAKERS

Dr. Stephen R. Haynes is Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College and the Director of the Rhodes Liberal Arts in Prison Program at West Tennessee State Penitentiary. He is a prominent scholar of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, having authored several significant works examining Bonhoeffer’s legacy and contemporary relevance, including  “The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits of a Protestant Saint” (2004), “The Bonhoeffer Legacy: Post-Holocaust Perspectives” (2006), “Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians” (co-authored with Lori Brandt Hale, 2009), and “The Battle for Bonhoeffer: Debating Discipleship in the Age of Trump” (2018). Dr. Haynes holds a Ph.D. in Religion and Literature from Emory University, the M. Div. from Columbia Theological Seminary. 

Dr. Reggie Williams is Associate Professor of Black Theology and African American Studies at St Louis University in St Louis, Missouri. He is the author of Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance, which was selected as a Choice Outstanding Title in theology, in 2014 (revised edition, 2021). The book examines the impact of exposure to theology in the Harlem Renaissance on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was killed by the Nazis in 1945 for his resistance. Dr. Williams is currently work includes a story of a complicated Christian response to fascism, and a study of ethics for better response to social injustice. Dr. Williams’ research interests include Black Theology, Black Studies, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Studies, and Christian ethics. Dr. Williams is a board member of the English Language section of the International Dietrich Bonhoeffer Society, former board member of the Society for the Study of Black Religion, and the Society for Christian Ethics. Dr. Williams and his wife Stacy are the parents of a son, Darion, and a daughter, Simone.

The Rev. Dr. Teresa Smallwood is the James Franklin Kelly and Hope Eyster Kelly Associate Professor of Public Theology and Dean and Vice-President of Academic Affairs for United Lutheran Seminary. Dr. Smallwood graduated from Howard University School of Divinity in 2010 with a Master of Divinity degree. In 2011, Dr. Smallwood pursued a Ph.D. from Chicago Theological Seminary, which she earned in 2017. Dr. Smallwood has held ministerial staff positions at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, Lewiston, NC, Israel Baptist Church, Washington, DC, and New Covenant Christian Church Disciples of Christ, Nashville, TN. She is currently on the ministerial staff of Saint John African Methodist Episcopal Church, Nashville, TN with Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. Lisa Hammonds. Dr. Smallwood has taught at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Religious Freedom Center in Washington, D.C., Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois, and Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Smallwood served as the Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate Director of the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative at Vanderbilt Divinity School from 2017 to 2021.

Antoine R. Cummins, born on the Island of Barbados, raised in Brooklyn, NY, currently serves as Program Director for Civil Rights Policy on the ELCA Witness in Society Team. Antoine has spent 15 years serving the ELCA in various capacities including Pacifica Synod as Assistant to the Bishop, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary on the Advisory Board, the ELCA on the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church and Waldorf University as Director of Campus Ministry. Prior to this, Antoine has spent time in Higher Education, as a Adjunct Math Professor, Licensed Tax Professional and Football Coach. His journey has been uncharted and the one thing that keeps him inspired? How much healing can be found in community; when we approach each other with a posture of humility and walk away from our interactions with a sense of awe and wonder!