Matthew Sigler, associate professor of Worship and Historical Theology at Seattle Pacific University, will present the Parkhurst Lecture at Southwestern College on Thursday, March 27, at 5 p.m., in Messenger Recital Hall in the Darbeth Fine Arts building on the SC campus.  There is no admission charge and the public is invited to attend.

The topic of his lecture is “Revive Our Spiritual Strength: Worship Practices Among the Abolitionists of the Revivalist Tradition.”

Dawn Pleas, vice president for special projects and planning at SC, will provide an official response to Sigler's presentation on abolitionism, race, and the theology of worship.

“This year, the Parkhurst Lecture will be an event that allows us to have difficult and honest conversations about race and slavery,” says Jacob Goodson, associate professor of philosophy and the chair of the social science division. “Dr. Sigler will frame the conversation around a theology of worship within the Methodist tradition. After Dr. Sigler gives his presentation on abolitionism and anti-racism within the Methodist tradition, Dr. Pleas will provide an official response making connections between Sigler's historical argument and the realities and struggles of racism in our present day.”

Matthew Sigler holds a PhD in liturgical studies from Boston University, where his work focused on Methodist identity and liturgical praxis. Prior to becoming a professor, Sigler served for 12 years as a music minister in the church, and has written on contemporary worship as well as lyrical theology. He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and is particularly interested in how the faith practices of communities of the past can serve as resources for renewal in the church today. From 2013-2015, Sigler was the Visiting Scholar of Religion at SC.  

Stephen Rankin, former professor of religion at SC, will have copies of the book, “Awakening to Justice: Faithful Voices from the Abolitionist Past,” (InterVarsity Press) available for purchase at the event as well.

The Parkhurst Lecture is one of three annual endowed lectures hosted by the philosophy and religion department of the social sciences division at Southwestern College.

For more information, contact Goodson by email at Jacob.Goodson@sckans.edu.