Eden Theological Seminary
Wesley Lecture
Noisy Believing: Ethical and Spiritual Responses to Sexualized Violence
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Allison Great Hall, 7 p.m.
Transformative responses to sexualized violence reflect an early Methodist ethic that connects faith to public action. This spirituality encouraged followers to “do all the good you can… for as long as ever you can.” Holding communities accountable to such a public ethic and teaching the silenced to speak are basic building blocks to changing the nature of sexualized violence on college campuses.
This lecture is sponsored by the Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues, the Office of the President and the Center for Service, Spirituality and Social Justice with special thanks to the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church. This event is also co-sponsored by the Prevention, Education and Advocacy Center, the Department of Religion, the Women’s and Gender Resource Center, Dickinson Christian Fellowship and the Churchill Fund. It is also part of the Clarke Forum’s Leadership in an Age of Uncertainty Series.
Biography (provided by the speaker)
The Rev. Kristen Leslie, Ph.D., is a feminist pastoral theologian who addresses issues of resilience in survivors of sexualized violence on college campuses and in the military. She received a B.A. from the College of Wooster, an MDiv from Yale University Divinity School, and a Ph.D. from the Claremont School of Theology. An ordained United Methodist minister, she has served as a parish pastor, college chaplain, pastoral counselor, rape counselor and divinity school professor. Presently she is the professor of pastoral theology and care at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. She is the author of When Violence is No Stranger: Pastoral Counseling with Survivors of Acquaintance Rape (Fortress Press, 2003) and numerous articles on sexualized violence and the healing role of religious professionals. She has served as a subject expert for the U.S. Navy and the U. S. Air Force, working to equip chaplains who provide pastoral care in situations involving military sexual assault. She is a regular lecturer for Operation: Tohidu, a therapeutic retreat center serving the needs of veterans and active duty service members who have experienced sexual assault and other forms of deployment-related trauma. She actively serves as a consultant to college and university chaplains and Title IX committees responding to college sexual assault.
The Wesley Lecture
The Wesley Lecture grows out of the historical relationship between Dickinson College and the Methodist Church, a relationship that has its roots in the 19th century. The lecture highlights contemporary conversations and controversies in faith communities and in higher education about the importance and role of community, commitment, and service for the education of the citizen-scholar.
Video of the Presentation