Diocesan Convention Will Welcome Two Guest Speakers in November

Two special guest speakers have accepted the invitation of Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley to participate in the 235th annual convention of the diocese, November 6-8, 2025 at Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant. The Rev. Luther E. Smith, Jr., PhD, will be our keynote speaker, and the Rev. Carter Heyward, PhD, will preach at the convention eucharist. Both speakers will also offer workshops and participate in a panel discussion with Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. The speakers' latest books will be available for purchase at convention, thanks to the Gifts of Grace Cathedral Bookstore.

Dr. Smith is professor emeritus of Church and Community at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University. He writes, teaches, and speaks extensively on issues of church and society, interfaith cooperation, child advocacy, congregational renewal, Christian spirituality, and the thought of Howard Thurman. He is an ordained minister of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, cofounder of the Interfaith Children’s Movement, cofounder of the International Community School, and Coordinator for the “Pan-Methodist Campaign for Children in Poverty.” His latest book is, Hope Is Here! Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and Beloved Community. Dr. Smith will already be known to many in the diocese, as he was one of the guest speakers at our clergy retreat and his book was commended by the bishop for reading during Lent.

The Rev. Carter Heyward is an Episcopal priest, professor, theologian, activist, and writer, known as a pioneer in the areas of feminist liberation theology. At a time in which neither the Episcopal Church—nor any other part of the world-wide Anglican Communion—would ordain women as priests, Heyward was ordained on July 29, 1974 along with 10 other women at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, a group that would come to be known as the "Philadelphia Eleven." As a professor at Episcopal Divinity School, Heyward’s primary teaching concentrated on 19th century Anglican theology, feminist liberation theology and theology of human sexuality. Throughout her vocation she has sought to transform consciousness, proclaim the possibilities for women to be priests, for LGBTQ+ people to be theological, and make way for new approaches to connecting the divine to intimacy, justice, and activism. Her primary work these days is with her local chapter of the NAACP. Heyward's latest book, her eighteen published work, is The Seven Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism, which the bishop also commended for Lenten reading.

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