Campus & Community

Hendricks Chapel Virtual Conversation Series Welcomes Nationally Renowned Religious Leaders

Tuesday, August 4, 2020, By Delaney Van Wey

The Rev. Charles L. Howard, the University of Pennsylvania’s first-ever vice president for social equity and community, and Dean Jonathan Lee Walton of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, are the next guest speakers on “Matters that Matter: A Conversation Series from Hendricks Chapel.”

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Charles L. Howard

Rev. Howard will join Hendricks Chapel Dean Brian Konkol for a virtual conversation on Thursday, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. ET. Howard and Konkol will discuss “finding peace in the storms of life.”

The virtual conversation with Walton will take place Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. ET. Walton and Konkol will consider “social justice and civil rights from a lens of love”.

Both conversations can be accessed on Facebook Live on or . The same Zoom webinar link will provide access to both conversations. Pre-registration is not required, and the conversations are open and available to all.

“Matters that Matter” is a virtual series hosted by Hendricks Chapel that brings local and national thought leaders together in conversation about critical matters facing society.Learn more at.

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Jonathan Lee Walton

Howard is also university chaplain at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, Howard served as a chaplain in hospice and in hospitals and as a street outreach worker to individuals experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. His writing has been featured in such publications as Black Arts Quarterly,Black Theology: An International Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education and more. Howard has also taught in the College of Arts and Sciences and in the Graduate School of Education at Penn, as well as at The Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia.

Walton joined Wake Forest University in 2019, after serving as Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and the Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church of Harvard University. His latest book,“A Lens of Love: Reading the Bible in Its World for Our World”(Westminster John Knox Press, 2018), explores the Bible from the perspective of the most vulnerable and violated characters toward developing a Christian social ethic of radical inclusion and human affirmation. Walton is also an outspoken advocate for social justice and civil rights.

Questions? Contact Hendricks Chapel atchapel@syr.edu.