Guelich Lectures
Let's reimagine Church.
With climate change, political polarization, and persistent social inequalities, sometimes it seems the world is coming apart. How do churches show up in the here and now? Reimagine church at the Guelich Lectures on April 22 – 23, where we’ll explore how God’s Spirit might call us into new ways of facing the greatest challenges of our time.
Jeff Chu.
Jeff Chu is a writer, reporter, and editor-at-large for Travel+Leisure. Chu is a Ph.D. student at the University of Stellenbosch and is ordained by the Reformed Church in America (RCA). Chu is a frequent speaker and occasional preacher, as well as a teacher in residence at Crosspointe Church. As a seminarian at Princeton Theological Seminary, Chu worked as a farmhand at PTS’s agricultural-based Farminary. Jeff is a former co-curator of Evolving Faith and continues to facilitate their BIPoC group.
Our Panelists.
We're honored to host three panelists that represent a range of perspectives and academic disciplines as they add their voice to the future of the Church.
Gary Green is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Social Transformation and Director of Anti-Racist Initiatives at United Theological Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. from Brite Divinity School, where he focused on issues related to young African American men through the lens of public pastoral theology. His dissertation, Playing the Game: Unmarking “Beast” from the Bodies of Young Black Men, is a project that seeks to humanize young black men by allowing their voices to challenge stereotypical scripts that cast them as “beasts” for public consumption.
Ry Siggelkow is the director of the Leadership Center for Social Justice at United Theological Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. in Theology and Ethics from Princeton Theological Seminary and served as the director of Initiatives in Faith & Praxis at the University of St. Thomas where he taught courses at the intersection of race, class, and gender with a focus on migration, the abolition of borders, and theologies of liberation. An ordained Mennonite minister and former pastor of Faith Mennonite Church (Minneapolis), Ry has been actively involved in grassroots community organizing for several years alongside Spanish-speaking undocumented people.
Sara Wilhelm Garbers is a feminist, ethicist, activist, teacher, pastor, community member, and general human committed to co-creating the beloved community with others. She earned her Masters of Divinity from Bethel University and her Ph.D. in Ethics from Loyola University. Sara’s academic work focuses on the intersections of spirituality, identity, formation, trauma, ethics, politics, political theology, and the self rooted in feminist analysis and praxis. Sara’s leadership efforts are aimed at creating a world in which we all have oxygen enough to breathe and can live truly livable lives.
Falicia Nichole is an actress, producer, and advocate who is passionate about connecting with people through stories. She’s appeared most recently in the TV Series Hidden Falls.
Schedule.
The Guelich Lectures will take place on April 22-23 at Meetinghouse Church, with a virtual alternative available via YouTube. It involves three sessions and an optional lunch from Houndstooth Modern Tavern.
9:00 – 10:30am: Keynote by Jeff Chu who will help us see how God’s Spirit might be calling us into ways of being that both honor and reckon with history as we discern a path forward.
10:30 – 10:45am: Break
10:45am -12:00pm: An interactive panel discussion hosted by Jeff Chu on the challenges and opportunities for today’s Church, featuring Gary Green, Ry Siggelkow, and Sara Wilhelm Garbers.
12:00pm: Lunch served by Houndstooth Modern Tavern ($12 for adults and $6 for kids, registration required)
1:00-2:00pm: Building off his first talk, Jeff will share about the inner work it takes for the people of the Church to be a force of love in the world.
2:00-3:00pm: A follow-up panel discussion with audience Q&A hosted by Jeff Chu on the challenges and opportunities for today’s Church, featuring Gary Green, Ry Siggelkow, and Sara Wilhelm Garbers.
3:00 – 3:45pm: Book signing by Jeff Chu.
9:30am: Worship Service in the Meetinghouse with Jeff Chu preaching.
Kids & Youth.
From birth all the way through high school, we've got programming for kids to participate in throughout the Guelich Lectures, including a special presentation from guest presenter Falicia Nichole.
If you have a child between the ages of 0 – 3, we’ve got Nursery care available throughout both days. Sign them up via the Youth registration form here.
We have a whole day planned on Saturday for kids from PreK all the way to 5th grade. They’ll start the day with large motor activities, participate in an experience led by Falicia Nichole, and eat lunch with their families. Sticking around for the afternoon session? We’ll have snacks and a movie on hand.
If you’re joining us for the special worship service that Sunday, you’ll check your kids in when you first walk in, then they’ll be dismissed about 20 minutes into the service to their own age-specific programming.
We invite middle & high schoolers to create art inspired by their hope for the future of the church. It can be any kind of art – paintings, poems, sculptures, or any other format they can think of. They’ll be displayed in the Meetinghouse Church Hearth Room during the weekend.
Students will join the lunch hour, and have the option of attending the morning and afternoon sessions with their adults or with the younger generations. Contact Andrew Zhao for questions.
Falicia Nichole is our guest presenter and will be sharing with K-1st grade and 3-5th grades during the Saturday morning session. She’ll be sharing about themes of light and darkness—how light provides comfort, clarity, and community, and how Jesus embodied that kind of light in his life.
Falicia is an actress, producer, and advocate who is passionate about connecting with people through stories. She’s appeared most recently in the TV Series Hidden Falls.
About the Guelich Lectures.
The Guelich Lectures were established in 1993 to honor the life, teaching, and values of the Rev. Dr. Robert A. Guelich, Teaching Minister of Colonial (now Meetinghouse) Church 1973-75 & 1984-88. The lectures seek to enrich the larger community through presentations by outstanding lecturers who bring the best of biblical and theological scholarship in the service of the Church. Notable past speakers include Henri Nouwen, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Jennifer Wiseman.