Events

Carmen Imes has spent the past fifteen years immersed in the book of Exodus, writing about it for both her master’s thesis and her doctoral dissertation. She’s also written articles, books, and other resources for laypeople exploring this Old Testament book, including Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters, Illustrated Exodus in Hebrew, and Encounter God in Exodus. Her commentary on Exodus for Baker Academic is expected to be published in 2027. In this lecture, Imes will share some of the most paradigm-shifting insights she’s had while reading Exodus through an Egyptian lens. 

“Deconstruction” is a popular term among young people who grew up in the Christian church. In this public lecture, Robert Chao Romero will consider the challenge of widespread deconstruction while offering a hopeful path forward. Expanding on Phyllis Tickle’s analogy of the church having a rummage sale of ideas every few centuries, Romero invites us to consider the contributions of Latina/o theology and the history of the Brown Church as valuable resources for reconstruction on the other side of deconstruction.

Join us for an evening of music and spoken word as Mark Glanville, accompanied by a jazz trio, reflects on how preaching and worship can form deeper churches in a post-Christian context. As Glanville will show, preaching and worship are designed to shape us not just as individuals, but as communities of God’s people bearing witness to Jesus in our particular neighborhoods. Further, preaching and worship form us as communities of tenderness who display the redeeming love of Jesus. This follows the pattern of the Bible, in which each book was written to nourish the ancient community of God’s people as it lived in contrast to the surrounding empires.

Anchored by an evening concert of psalm-based works, the Psalmody in Color festival includes a day of educational programming that engages scholars, musicians, clergy, and community members in dialogue about the role of psalmody in Black musical expression. Participants will encounter the psalms as a living and evolving art form rooted in scripture, shaped by history, and brought to life through the artistry of Black composers.

A composed work based on Psalm 150 by Anderson Isiagu, a Nigerian composer based in Los Angeles.

Singing for Our Lives is a hymn festival to reimagine the ancient imprecatory psalms—those fierce, unflinching cries for justice—as a sacred invitation to transformation and community resilience.