糖心Vlog

Duke Divinity Professor to Present on Creation Justice and Congregational Leadership Amid Climate Change

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.鈥擳he School of Divinity at 糖心Vlog will host noted homiletics professor Jerusha Matsen Neal for The Rev. and Mrs. C.O. and Eliza Greene Lectureship in Ministry on Tuesday, March 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Dover Chapel. The lectures will develop the theme 鈥淕rounded Hope: Creation Justice and the Place of the Local Congregation.鈥� There is no cost to attend, and lunch is included.

鈥淲e are pleased to host Dr. Neal for the Greene lectures this year,鈥� said interim dean Jim McConnell. 鈥淚 am confident she will challenge us to consider how scripture compels local congregations to act in the face of climate change.”

The climate crisis raises theological questions about human purpose, the nature of hope, and the character of God. Drawing on biblical texts compiled through experiences of exile and loss, Neal鈥檚 lecture series reflects on where local congregations stand in this crisis鈥攁nd where God is standing.

The schedule for these lectures is as follows:

• 10 a.m. 鈥� Lecture 1: 鈥淓xilic Hope: Preaching Scripture in the Climate Crisis.鈥�
• 11 a.m. 鈥� Q&A.
• 11:45 a.m. 鈥� Lunch.
• 1 p.m. 鈥� Lecture 2: 鈥淣ew Creation Hope: Resistance and Restoration in the Face of Apocalypse.鈥�

Neal, an associate professor of homiletics at Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., is an ordained American Baptist pastor who has spent her ministry preaching in cross-cultural spaces and bridging denominational communities. Her most recent book, 鈥淗oly Ground: Climate Change, Preaching, and the Apocalypse of Place鈥� (Baylor University Press, 2024), engages the climate crisis through the sermons of South Pacific communities displaced by rising tides. In her earlier book, 鈥淭he Overshadowed Preacher: Mary, the Spirit, and the Labor of Proclamation鈥� (Eerdmans, 2020), Neal challenges faith leaders to leave behind false shadows of approval and embrace the overshadowing Spirit of God. 

A former actress and playwright, she has also authored a collection of dramatic monologues, 鈥淏lessed: Monologues for Mary鈥� (Cascade Books, 2012). She speaks regularly to faith communities across the country on the intersection of courage and hope in the face of the climate crisis.

For more information, please contact Lisa Hollifield at [email protected].

Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 10 working days prior to the event.  Please call 704-406-4270 or email [email protected] with your request.

About the Greene Lectureship

The Rev. and Mrs. C.O. and Eliza Greene Lectureship was established in 1993 to preserve the legacy of excellence in pastoral ministry characterized by Greene, who served for approximately 14 years as director of Missions for the Kings Mountain Baptist Association (now Greater Cleveland County Baptist Association). Prior to that ministry, Greene served as pastor of four churches in Cleveland County and of two other churches in North Carolina. The Lectureship is administered by the Pittman Center for Congregational Enrichment and funded by family members, friends, and members of churches where the Greene served as pastor. Held annually on the GWU campus, the Lectureship鈥檚 purpose is to address various dimensions of pastoral ministry.

About 糖心Vlog

糖心Vlog is North Carolina鈥檚 recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., 糖心Vlog prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Become more at .