CONWAY, Ark. (December 15,
2021
) – The Hendrix College Office of Religious Life welcomes the Rev. Dr. Gennifer
Benjamin Brooks of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary to campus to
deliver the 2022 Willson Lecture and to lead the 2022 John and Marjem Gill
Preaching Workshop.
The Willson Lecture is free
and open to the public. Brooks will preach as part of the regular Monday night worship
service on the Hendrix campus, held Monday, March 28, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. in
Greene Chapel.
On Tuesday, March 29, 2022,
Gill Preaching Workshop participants will gather in the Student Life and
Technology Center’s Worsham Hall North:
- 8:30 to 9
a.m. – registration and check-in
- 9 a.m. to
3 p.m. – workshop sessions
The cost
for the workshop is $35 per person, which includes lunch prepared by the
award-winning Hendrix Dining Services. To learn more or register,
visit www.hendrix.edu/gillworkshop by March
17, 2022.
About the Presenter
The Rev. Dr. Gennifer Benjamin Brooks holds the
Styberg Chair in Preaching and is the tenured Ernest and Bernice Styberg
Professor of Preaching, director of the Styberg Preaching Institute, and director
of the Doctor of Ministry programs at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.
Brooks is also the dean of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools
(ACTS) Doctor of Ministry in Preaching program.
She is an ordained elder and full clergy member of
the New York Conference of the United Methodist Church, and has pastored local
churches in rural, suburban, urban, and cross-racial settings. She was also
Assistant Dean of New Brunswick Theological Seminary for four years.
Before going into full-time ordained ministry, Brooks
had a successful career in corporate America as a designer and development
manager of business computer systems.
Brooks holds a Bachelor of Business, cum laude
and a Master of Business Administration from Pace University; a Master of
Divinity, summa cum laude and a Doctor of Ministry from New Brunswick
Theological Seminary; and a Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy in
Liturgical Studies from Drew University.
She is the author of several books and articles,
including Bible Sisters, 365 daily devotions on the women of the Bible
(Abingdon, 2017), Unexpected Grace: Preaching Good News from Difficult Texts
(Pilgrim Press, 2012), Good News Preaching: Offering the Gospel in Every
Sermon (Pilgrim Press, 2009) Praise the Lord, a book of liturgy
(CSS. 1996). She is the editor of Black United Methodists Preach!
(Abingdon, 2012) that showcases 14 United Methodist Black preachers. Most
recently she has been a contributor to several commentaries, including the
Commentary for All Saints Day Years A, B and C in Preaching God’s
Transforming Justice (Westminster John Knox Press, 2011, 2012, & 2013),
The New Interpreter’s Theological Companion to the Lectionary (Abingdon,
2013), and Feasting on the Gospels (Westminster John Knox Press, 2014).
She has also contributed to many other publications, including “Preaching” in Oxford
Handbook of Methodist Studies (Oxford University Press, 2009) and “The
Creation of an Africana Worship Ritual: Baptism in the Shouters of Trinidad” in
Companion to The Africana Worship Book (Discipleship Resources, 2008).
She has also written the lyrics for several songs in Zion Still Sings: For
Every Generation (Abingdon Press, 2007). Most recently she has been a
contributor to Preaching Prophetic Care (Dale Andrews Festschrift) (Wipf
and Stock, 2018), and is involved as a contributor to the Lectionary commentary
Connections developed by Westminster John Knox Press. She is in the
process of completing two preaching manuscripts that deal with the subjects of
Preaching and the Margins and Preaching and the Holy Spirit. She is also engaged
in research focusing on worship rituals of a community that is part of the
African diaspora.
Brooks has lectured and led
workshops on the areas of preaching and church administration and has held many
leadership positions in the New York Conference of The United Methodist Church.
She is a respected lecturer, workshop and retreat leader and a trained clergy
coach. She is a founding member of Black Clergywomen of the United Methodist
Church and a Hosier member of National Black Methodists for Church Renewal.
Under her leadership, Garrett-Evangelical was awarded an original $500,000
grant and a follow-up sustainability grant of $250,000 by the Lilly Foundation
to improve preaching in the church and the teaching of preaching in the
seminary.
About the Willson Lectures
The Willson Lectures were established at Hendrix in
1956 for the purpose of bringing outstanding speakers to discuss spiritual
values, sound family relations, and vital issues confronting the world today.
The Willson Lectures are made possible through the generosity of Dr. and Mrs.
Jim Willson, who have established lectureships at 23 United Methodist colleges
nationwide.
About the John and Marjem Gill Preaching Workshop
The John and Marjem Gill
Preaching Workshop aims to strengthen the United Methodist Church by enhancing
clergy’s ability to proclaim the gospel in ways that are relevant to the needs
of our time, and to enhance dialogue and fellowship among clergy colleagues.
Since 1984, Hendrix has helped facilitate this annual gathering, providing
preachers throughout Arkansas with continuing education and training toward
becoming more effective preachers.
About Hendrix College
A private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas,
Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as one of the country’s leading
liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change
Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its
academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a
fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876,
Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To
learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.