Kate's keynote lecture will explore how struggles in ministry can present sacred opportunities for growth and transformation. This important topic will be especially of interest to ministers, those preparing for leadership in the church, and lay leaders of all stripes and vocations. All who minister encounter challenges and difficulties—Kate's lecture and the following workshop will explore what good fruit these times of struggle can bear. Saturday's workshop will include a panel discussion with members of the VST faculty. Please select tickets for either or both events you wish to attend.

Gain exclusive insights into Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s life, his theological journey, and his courageous stand against injustice. Join Bonhoeffer scholars Dr. Andy Root and Dr. Tripp Fuller for a rich, salon-style discussion that illuminates Bonhoeffer’s radical approach to the Gospel.

Friday, March 1st at 7pm

Public Lecture: ‘Give us a hearing heart’. The Listening Society and Its Enemies (In-Person & Online)

Saturday, March 2nd, 10am – 2pm

Public Workshop: Democracy Needs Religion: On a Peculiar but Resonant Relationship (In-Person only)

How do you find reconciliation when justice is so far away? For individuals who have experienced oppression and marginalization, the church’s advocacy of reconciliation can seem artificial or contrived. How do you continue to advocate for reconciliation if it means that you will never see justice for the ones you have lost? Perhaps the only way forward is to listen to our elders, to the call from those who have suffered and are surviving, to seek reconciliation. Perhaps we need to seek the truth, but in the end, embrace reconciliation and try to live together as neighbours. Reconciliation is not cheap grace, it cost something.

The ecological polycrisis confronting the world today is unparalleled in human history and threatens to unravel, within decades, the very fabric of civilization. Long battered by the “dominion” theology of Christianity, the global environment has suffered further in recent decades because of entrapment in a vortex of science denialism, political polarization, and cultural tribalism. Nonetheless, as a faith system committed to truth, hope, and unity across cultural divides, Christianity also provides a path forward. Rick Lindroth argues for a re-wilding of the Christian ethic of creation care—one that promotes enchantment, connection, reciprocity, and justice—for the betterment of humanity and flourishing of the living world.

Join this national webinar on January 28 at 4 PM EST.
Dr. Amy-Jill Levine will deliver a one-hour lecture, followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer session. Her talk will focus on interpretations of the New Testament that have historically fuelled anti-Jewish sentiments and hatred. We invite those across our country who are interested in dialogue.

We live in conflicted times. Our newsfeeds are filled with inequality, division, and fear. We want to make a difference and see justice restored so that we can become peacemaking and reconciling people. This lecture will offer Christian practices that can bring healing and hope to a broken world, such as lament, relinquishing power and reinforcing agency. Embodying these practices enables us to be the new humanity in Christ, so the church and world can experience reconciliation, justice, unity, peace, and love.