The 2018 Harvey lecturer will be Dr. Kristin Leslie, Professor of Pastoral Theology and Care at Eden Theological Seminary. She will be delivering a talk titled: ‘Noisy Lament, Noisy Believing: Sexual Assault in the time of #s’.
The lecture will be in the Weeks Campus Center beginning at 6:30pm on Monday, April 9th. A desert reception and book signing will follow.
Dr. Leslie’s research has focused on intercultural pastoral theology; womanist and feminist pastoral counseling; pastoral theological implications of sexualized violence, particularly on pastoral counseling issues for survivors of acquaintance rape; and ministry in higher education with young adults. She has taught many specialized courses on pastoral care and has led international travel seminars to Bosnia, Croatia, and Australia. She has worked with chaplains in the U. S. Military on issues of sexualized and religious violence and religious intolerance. In 2005, Dr. Leslie co-authored the report that brought to light the problem of Christian proselytizing at the Air Force Academy. In 2013, she was awarded a Navy contract to train Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard chaplains on matters related to military sexual assault.
Dr. Leslie is the author of numerous essays, including “Three Decades of Women Writing for their Lives” in Feminist and Womanist Pastoral Theology (Abington 1999), “Sexual Abuse” in The Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics (Baker, 2011), “Spectrum of Pastoral Counseling” in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Psychology (2013), as well as the book, When Violence is No Stronger: Pastoral Counseling with Survivors of Acquaintance Rape (Fortress, 2003). She has prepared and presented journal articles and public lectures on pastoral care, chaplaincy, and spiritual care after rape. She occasionally is called on as a consultant for matters related to clergy misconduct, religious intolerance, and sexualized violence.
An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, she serves on the board of Care and Counseling, a St. Louis-based pastoral counseling center and has served on several different governing boards for the denomination.
During Dean Harvey’s tenure, following some institutional turbulence during the 1960’s, the seminary had begun rebuilding in terms of enrollment, financial strength, and earning back the trust of many dioceses through the church.
The seminary community established the Harvey Lectures, an annual series that would be overseen by student leaders, and that would address the relationship between pastoral leadership and contemporary issues confronting the church.
Over the years, these Lectures have become a lasting and vital resource for the seminary, bringing important and diverse theological voices to our seminary campus.
