2016 Harvey Lecture

The 2016 Harvey Lecture, “Good News for a Change: Creative Collaboration in Context,” will be given by Father William “Bill” Miller, a noted preacher, teacher, speaker and author. He began his ministry in 1986 as the Director of Youth Ministries at the Church of St. John the Divine in Houston, and has served as Rector of St. James Church in Austin, Trinity Church in Midtown Houston, and St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church on the island of Kauai. Each church experienced significant growth in ministry and membership during Father Bill’s tenure. In June of 2015 he became Rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Covington, Louisiana, near New Orleans. Christ Church has embraced a new model of four distinct worship services with a variety of music, and has grown significantly in just a few months.

Father Bill has founded four jazz festivals in the sacred context and has collaborated with musicians to create many different jazz, blues and gospel masses. He is the author of two popular books, The Gospel According to Sam: Animal Stories for the Soul (Seabury: New York) andThe Beer Drinker’s Guide to God: The Whole and Holy Truth About Lager, Loving and Living (Howard Books/Simon and Schuster). He is presently working on two books, one on congregational development and another with the theme of balance and wholeness.

The Harvey Lectures were conceived at Seminary of the Southwest as a way of honoring the late Dean Hudnall Harvey, who died unexpectedly in 1972, after serving as the seminary’s Dean for just 5 years. During Dean Harvey’s tenure, the seminary increased enrollment, strengthened financial health, and earned the trust of many dioceses throughout the church. The seminary community established the Harvey Lectures, an annual series that would be overseen by student leaders, to address the relationship between pastoral leadership and contemporary issues confronting the church.

The lecture will begin at 7:00 and a reception will follow.

2016 Harvey Lecture Participation Certificate (pdf)