Join us for a weekend with Dr.  Lori Brandt Hale, president of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section AND Amanda Tyler of Christians Against Christian Nationalism. Discover how people of faith can authentically and humbly act at the intersection of civic life and faith, in contrast and response to the forces of Christian Nationalism, using the legacy and theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a guide. We are grateful to partner with United Lutheran Seminary’s Kindling Faith to offer this event. 

EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION OPEN UNTIL FEB. 7! 

The historic cupola of the Seminary Ridge Museum. Used with permission.

Friday, March 7, 6:00pm – Authors’ Reception and Dinner – $75

Meet Dr. Lori Brandt Hale, president of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section, and Amanda Tyler, lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism and executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. A reception at the Seminary Ridge Museum will allow visitors to talk with both authors and tour the museum that was used as a hospital for wounded from both sides at the Battle of Gettysburg. Tickets include an opportunity for attendees to visit the building’s historic cupola!  The dinner will feature a brief talk on the unfinished work of Reconstruction by the Rev. Dr. Teresa Smallwood, dean and vice president of student affairs at United Lutheran Seminary.

Saturday, March 8, Chapel of the Abiding Presence  – Public Lectures and Panel Discussion – $35; Optional Boxed Lunch – $20; Livestream – $20

Tentative Schedule

10 a.m. — Amanda Tyler will give a talk on her new book How to End Christian Nationalism. This presentation defines what Christian nationalism is, explains how it works in our society (and beyond), interprets the movement in the light of the gospel, and offers suggestions for Christian response.

11 a.m. — Dr. Brandt Hale will give a public lecture on Bonhoeffer’s concept of “This-Worldly” Christianity, also known as “religionless” Christianity. Dr. Brandt Hale will illustrate how Bonhoeffer’s conception evolves, and how ultimately, he believes that the Christian witness is most faithful and powerful when “viewed from below,” from the perspective of real people, especially the poor and oppressed.

Noon — Lunch — Order a boxed lunch when you register for the day or dine on your own in Gettysburg.

1:30 p.m. —  A panel discussion will follow lunch to help participants understand the ways in which Bonhoeffer’s theology counters the ways in which Christian Nationalist forces frame “faithful” participation in the public sphere. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of ways in which they can speak about their faith and public life and can take concrete action to counter the harmful narratives of Christian Nationalism.

2:45 p.m. — We end our time by coming together around the Word and Sacrament, reminding ourselves of our connection to one another in concrete community and as part of the communion of saints throughout time and space. We are sent nourished and filled, ready for the work we are called to do.

Registration is open now! 

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Speakers

Amanda Tyler is executive director of BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty), leading the organization as it upholds the historic Baptist principle of religious liberty: defending the free exercise of religion and protecting against its establishment by government. In that capacity, she is also the lead organizer of Christians Against Christian Nationalism. The author of How to End Christian Nationalism (October 2024), Tyler is also the co-host of BJC’s Respecting Religion podcast. Tyler’s constitutional law analysis and advocacy for faith freedom for all have been featured by major news outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CBS News, ABC News, CNN, and MSNBC, and she has testified before Congress on religious liberty and Christian nationalism. A graduate of Georgetown University and The University of Texas School of Law, she lives in Dallas with her husband and son.

Dr. Lori Brandt Hale is Professor of Religion in Department of Religion and Philosophy at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. She is the President of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section and a Westar Institute Scholar. Brandt Hale is co-editor of and contributor to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theology, and Political Resistance (June 2020), the second volume in a new series on faith and political theology by Lexington Books. Her chapter in this book, a constructive read of Bonhoeffer’s work, is titled, “The Interfaith Imperative: How Bonhoeffer Compels Interfaith Action.” She is also the co-author of Bonhoeffer for Armchair Theologians (Westminster John Knox, 2009) and has written numerous articles and book chapters on Bonhoeffer’s political resistance, understanding of vocation, and relevance in contemporary times – including the now perennial question, “Is this a Bonhoeffer moment?”

The Rev. Dr. Teresa Smallwood is the James Franklin Kelly and Hope Eyster Kelly Associate Professor of Public Theology and Dean and Vice-President of Academic Affairs for United Lutheran Seminary. Dr. Smallwood graduated from Howard University School of Divinity in 2010 with a Master of Divinity degree. In 2011, Dr. Smallwood pursued a Ph.D. from Chicago Theological Seminary, which she earned in 2017. Dr. Smallwood has held ministerial staff positions at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church, Lewiston, NC, Israel Baptist Church, Washington, DC, and New Covenant Christian Church Disciples of Christ, Nashville, TN. She is currently on the ministerial staff of Saint John African Methodist Episcopal Church, Nashville, TN with Senior Pastor, Rev. Dr. Lisa Hammonds. Dr. Smallwood has taught at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Religious Freedom Center in Washington, D.C., Chicago Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois, and Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dr. Smallwood served as the Postdoctoral Fellow and Associate Director of the Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative at Vanderbilt Divinity School from 2017 to 2021.