Hesed Lecture Series at Austin Seminary

Another year, another successful HESED in the books! ✅

Special thanks to our amazing organizers, volunteers, esteemed guests and presenters, partnering organizations, and all attendees both in-person and online for helping to put together another historic HESED at !

Stay connected with HESED and look out for more information about future events here and at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed!

HESED 2025 is just around the corner and there's still time to register! We've got an awesome program in the works for you, and can't to have you join us in-person or online! In-person attendees will be provided lunch and will be able to attend our amazing workshops, so if you are still undecided or on the fence, come out this Friday and Saturday to the Austin Seminary campus!

Register today at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed or visit the link in our bio for more information!

WORKSHOP SPOTLIGHT: Prophetic Imagination and ARTivism presented by Rev. Lis Valle-Ruiz, PhD

This workshop provokes our imaginations and introduces the possibilities that ARTivism offers for preaching in and out of the pulpit and church buildings. Participants will draw on their communication skills beyond oratory to imagine prophetic sermons to be delivered in alternative, artistic, and perhaps non-verbal media, addressing what makes God cry and enacting different realities of divine justice-liberation-salvation.

Registration is free and lunch is included! Visit www.austinseminary.edu/hesed to learn more and to register or see the link in our bio!

About Lis Valle-Ruiz:
Rev. Dr. Lis Valle-Ruiz is Assistant Professor of Homiletics at McCormick Theological Seminary. She holds a PhD in Homiletics and Liturgics from Vanderbilt University, where she also studied gender and sexuality. Her dissertation, “As One Among Many: Affirming a Multitude of Embodied Preaching Practices,” analyzes pulpit preaching through public speech, street preaching through symbolic action, and preaching through theater and proposes that these are three paradigms among many others in the repertoire of embodied Christian preaching practices among which preachers may choose. Originally from Puerto Rico, Rev. Dr. Valle-Ruiz has researched the theology of the sermons of Latina clergy and is also the author of “Toward Postcolonial Liturgical Preaching: Drawing on the Pre-Columbian Caribbean Religion of the Taínos” in Homiletic Online Journal (2015). She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) since 2013 who has served as Professor of Theology and Scripture at the Lux Summer Youth Institute in Monmouth College, IL and possesses a background as both an actor and a lawyer. Rev. Dr. Valle-Ruiz holds a ThM in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary, an MDiv from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, as well as a JD from the University of Puerto Rico. With a BA in Education with an emphasis in Theater, Rev. Dr. Valle-Ruiz has continued to combine her study of theology and passion for justice with her work as an actress and an artistic director.

And just like that, another memorable HESED is in the books! ✅

We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to share these past two days with our guest speakers, workshop leaders, organizational partners, community members and all others, both in-person and virtually, and take an intentional, substantive step in reclaiming our stories and continuing the work of HESED in our lives both individually and collectively.

Stay tuned for updates coming soon regarding event recordings, photos, and so much more.

If you’d like to stay connected with HESED or help sustain the work of this student-led and organized effort for the future, please visit www.austinseminary.edu/hesed or the link in our bio for more information, and be sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Thank you again and stay tuned for more updates! Also be sure to save the date for HESED 2025, scheduled for February 28 & March 1!

Day 1 of HESED 2024 is in the books but it’s not too late to get in on the HESED experience! Day 2 starts at 9:30 AM CST tomorrow with check-in and registration and a full day to behold, including free lunch! See www.austinseminary.edu/hesed for more information or visit the link in bio!