On Thursday, Oct. 17, Vancouver School of Theology is hosting the 2024 Somerville Lecture at Epiphany Chapel. LaKeesha Walrond, president of New York Theological Seminary, is this year’s keynote speaker. Walrond is a prominent charismatic preacher and seminary leader who has also pastored in Harlem, taught in public schools in North Carolina and advocated for women and girls across the US and beyond.
Walrond’s lecture, titled An Invitation to Stretch: Reconstructing Our Theological Assumptions is intended to carve out a sacred space where attendees have permission to ask difficult questions — as our forebears in faith asked difficult questions!
Walrond will focus on beliefs about God, the Sabbath and the faith community in an effort to reconstruct a more accessible and inclusive faith narrative that stretches theological assumptions and expands our invisible yet fortified borders.
In true Christian spirit, and with the verve of a passionate educator, LaKeesha Walrond will carefully examine our spiritual beliefs and practices to draw up an expansive, love-infused alternative.
The lecture is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
About LaKeesha Walrond
LaKeesha Walrond is an educator, visionary leader and sought-after speaker with a passion for creating communities of learners. Her career includes eleven years as a teacher in the public education system in North Carolina. She holds degrees from Spelman College, UNC at Chapel Hill and Union Theological Seminary. Walrond answered her call to ministry in 1995 and served as executive pastor of First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem for 13 years. In 2019, she became the first woman president of New York Theological Seminary. She also launched the Getting to Greatness Women’s Conference to empower women through leadership development, and spiritual, mental and psychological wellness. Walrond is the author of two books, focused on ending child sexual violence and empowering women, respectively.
About the Somerville Lecture
Supported through the generosity of Archbishop David Somerville, a former VST faculty member, the Somerville lecture series has become one of VST’s most prominent offerings to the faith community. The series was launched in the early 1990s by a group of students who were eager for VST to be a place for students to learn about the spiritual side of life and pass on to others the insights and methods of seeking God’s presence.
