Banner image for Convocation and Reunions 2023

YDS Convocation & Reunions 2023

Registration ends Sunday, October 1, 2023

Yale Divinity School and our Sterling Divinity Quadrangle partners—Berkeley Divinity School, Andover Newton Seminary, and the Yale Institute for Sacred Music—invite you to be a part of our 2023 Convocation and Reunion October 11–13, 2023. Whether you join us for a single day or the duration, you will delight in engaging lectures and panel discussions, opportunities to attend a class, and the chance to reconnect with alums and network with students and faculty. This year’s highlight is the groundbreaking for the Living Village, a regenerative student residential hall that will be the largest living-building housing complex on a university campus.

Schedule subject to change. 

Locations will be confirmed in early October. All events will be within walking distance from Sterling Memorial Quadrangle, unless otherwise noted.

For questions regarding:

See Travel and Lodging

Schedule: 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

7:30 - 8:00 AM Berkeley Divinity School Morning Prayer 
8:00 AM Welcome Desk Opens - Please Check-In Upon Arrival
9:30 - 10:20 AM YDS Class: History of Early Christianity with Prof. Teresa Morgan*
This course introduces students to early Christianity from apostolic times through the eighth century. It examines the social, political, and religious context of early Christianity; its expansion and Imperial adoption; the character of its life, worship, and mission; the formation of the Christian scriptures; the articulation and defense of a central body of doctrine; church councils and creeds; the monastic movement; and early Christian art. 

9:30 - 10:20 AM
 

YDS Class: History of Early Modern Christianity with Prof. Bruce Gordon*
This course introduces students to the rapidly changing world of early modern Christianity, a period that ranges from the Reformation to the Enlightenment and the transatlantic worlds of the eighteenth century.
10:30 - 11:20 AM YDS Class: New Testament Interpretation with Prof. Laura Nasrallah*
The texts of the New Testament emerged in the diverse social and complex political context of the Roman Empire and of second-temple Judaism within it.
11:30 - 12:30 PM Marquand Chapel & Beecher Lecture: Messianic Humor and the Slit in the Umbrella. A Fundamental Homiletical Reflection with Prof. Dr. Alexander Deeg, Chair of Practical Theology, University of Leipzig 
12:30 - 2:00 PM Berkeley Divinity School Graduate Network Lunch
12:30 - 2:00 PM Networking Lunch for Students and Alums
Alums from different professional backgrounds will host lunch tables 
2:30 - 3:45 PM

Berkeley Divinity School Pitt Lecture, Convocation On, and Conferral In with the Rt. Rev’d Dr. Vicentia Kgabe, Bishop of the Diocese of Lesotho.

2:30 - 4:00 PM

Living Village Panel - Built Structures and the Environmental Crisis: Building in Harmony With the Natural World 

Moderator:
Greg Sterling, Dean of Yale Divinity School; The Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament

Panelists:
Deborah Berke, Dean, Yale School of Architecture
Lindsay Baker, CEO, International Living Future Institute
Julie Beth Zimmerman, Vice Provost, Yale Plantery Solutions
Jason J. Jewhurst, AIA, Partner and Principal, Bruner/Cott Architects

4:30 - 5:00 PM Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Living Village
5:00 - 6:30 PM Living Village Groundbreaking Program and Reception 
6:00 - 6:45 PM Berkeley Divinity School Eucharist with the Rt. Rev. Matthew F. Heyd, M.A.R. ‘95, Bishop Coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of New York
7:00 - 8:15 PM Berkeley Divinity School Reception
7:00 - 9:00 PM Convocation attendees are free to make dinner plans with fellow alums throughout New Haven. A select number of restaurants can be found here.

Thursday, October 12, 2023

7:30 - 8:00 AM Berkeley Divinity School Morning Prayer 
8:00 AM Welcome Desk Opens - Please Check-In Upon Arrival
8:15 - 9:30 AM Berkeley Divinity School Brunch
10:30 - 11:20 AM YDS Class: Introduction to Theology with Prof. Linn Tonstad*
The aim of this course is to introduce students to Christian theology, or better, Christian theologies.
9:30 - 11:00 AM

Andover Newton Seminary Plenary:
Music led by Mark Miller
Worship and Communion, prayer with Dr. Yvonne Delk
State of the School, Dean Sarah Drummond
Spirit of the Hill Award presented to Dr. Yvonne Delk

10:00 - 11:00 AM Center for Continuing Education Panel: Reimagining Church in the 21st Century

What is the church today and how can we embrace new directions in ministry? Join Alison Cunningham, M.Div ‘82 and Director of Professional Formation, in conversation with Rev. Robert Bergner and Dr. Frank Mitchell around the work accomplished through the Lilly Endowment funded “Reimagining Church” program and the critical need to envision new and vibrant ministries in today’s world.

11:30 - 12:30 PM Marquand Chapel & Beecher Lecture: “Turn It and Turn It” or: G’d in, with, and Under the Words of the Bible. A Sacramental Hermeneutics Beyond Fundamentalism and Liberalism with Prof. Dr. Alexander Deeg, Chair of Practical Theology, University of Leipzig 
12:30 - 2:00 PM Lunch 
1:30 - 3:30 PM Andover Newton Class - Theology and Medicine with Prof. Mark Heim*
Prof. Mark Heim’s Theology of Medicine class will host a conversation with Dr. Lydia Dugdale, M.A.R. ‘18, about her book The Lost Art of Dying.
1:30 - 2:30 PM In Memoriam Service for 50th Reunion, Class of 1973, & 55th Reunion, Classes of 1967, 1968, and 1969
2:30 - 3:30 PM Kavanagh Lecture - Hearing our Prayers: Audition and its rituals in Christian Worship with Professor Juliette Day, Institute for Sacred Music
3:30 - 4:30 PM Andover Newton Workshop - Judges: Once Upon a Time In Israel with Prof. Gregory Mobley
3:30 - 4:30 PM

Center for Public Theology & Public Policy Informational Session: The CPTPP team will give an overview of the Center’s mission, goals, and ongoing work, and will be available to answer questions from attendees. The informational session will also include a brief history of the Social Justice movement work that led to the establishment of the Center, reflections from students who have engaged in the Center’s early programs, and an overview of the Center’s long-terms plans at YDS. 

4:30 - 6:30 PM

YDS Alumni Association Awards Ceremony and Reception

Distinction in Theological Education - Dr. Carolyn J. Sharp ’94 M.A.R., ’00 Ph.D.
Lux et Veritas Award - Dr. Richard F. Mollica, M.D. ’79 M.A.R.
William Sloane Coffin Award - Marylouise Oates ’73 M.Div.
Distinction in Congregational Ministry - Jeffrey Haggray ‘88 M.Div.

5:30 - 6:30 PM Andover Newton Colloquium w/ Prof. Mark Heim
6:30 - 8:30 PM 50th Reunion Dinner, Class of 1973  
6:30 - 7:00 PM Andover Newton Seminary Dinner and Bible Study
7:15 - 8:15 PM Andover Newton Emmaus Worship 

Friday, October 13, 2023

7:30 - 8:00 AM Berkeley Divinity School Morning Prayer 
8:00 AM Welcome Desk Opens - Please Check-In Upon Arrival
8:30 - 9:30 AM Volunteer and Leadership Donor Recognition Breakfast (Invitation Only)
9:30 - 11:15 AM

Yale Black Seminarians 55th Anniversary Celebration: Brunch & Panel Discussion - The Evolving Black Church: Innovative Practices for the Future

Moderator:
Rev. Dr. Gabby Cudjoe Wilkes, Brand Strategist, Event Planner, and Pastor

Panelists: 
Allen Reynolds, Editor, UrbanFaith 
Rev. D. Danyelle Thomas, Founder & Content Creator, Unfit Christian
Rev. Dr. Jason Turner, Senior Pastor, Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church

9:30 - 10:30 AM

Living Village Presentation
Learn about the Living Building Challenge certification and the regenerative elements of the program with Bruce McCann, Living Village Building Project Manager and Dean Greg Sterling

11:30 - 1:00 PM Marquand Chapel & Beecher Lecture: Open-Ended, Longing…Homiletical Rhetorics in Metamodern Times with Prof. Dr. Alexander Deeg, Chair of Practical Theology, University of Leipzig , Q&A
12:30 - 2:00 PM Community Lunch for YDS Alums and Students
2:00 - 2:30 PM Closing Communion 
2:30 - 3:00 PM Dessert Reception 

*Class spaces are limited and are on a first come, first served basis. 

Contact

Alumni Relations Office

(203) 432-5359
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