Considering Mass Trauma
How do we find the right words…again?
Wednesday, April 19 · 5 – 6pm * Free and Livestreamed
Listen to what a homiletics professor and presidential speechwriter have learned about creating space
in the face of unimaginable events to engage such themes as lament, hope, reconciliation, and forgiveness.
The Rev. Dr. Kimberly Wagner
will be the keynote speaker at the Pastors’ Retreat on May 9, prior to the Presbytery meeting. More information on the retreat, including registration, can be found here.
She serves as the Assistant Professor of Preaching at Princeton Theological Seminary. Dr. Wagner’s current work focuses on preaching and ministry in the midst and wake of trauma, particularly thinking about the role of the preacher and the resources of our Scriptures and faith to respond to these moments.
Her book, Fractured Ground: Preaching in the Wake of Mass Trauma, offers guidance for preaching in the aftermath of communal trauma, including mass violence, natural disasters, and public health crises.
Cody Keenan
has been a speechwriter for President Barack Obama for nearly a decade, helping the former President craft remarks on every topic for every audience. This includes the President’s role as Consoler-in-Chief, speaking in the wake of some of the most unimaginable events of our time, including the mass shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown CT and Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston SC.
Today, Keenan serves as Obama’s post-presidential speechwriter.
