About the Evening’s Lecture
Church educators often noted that traditionally, only about 10% of those attending Sunday services engaged in the church’s educational or formational activities. This group primarily consisted of dedicated, long-standing members and a significant proportion of retirees. Even before the Pandemic, there was a noticeable decline in this participation rate. The onset of the global Pandemic further exacerbated this trend, leading to increased pastor burnout and congregants seeking meaning both within and beyond the church’s walls. Dr. Boyung Lee, combining her expertise as a religious education scholar, practical theologian, ordained clergy, and clergy spouse, extends an invitation to delve into these existential challenges commonly faced by mainline churches. She aims to share insights from her research, which is enriched by her ministry experiences, with a particular emphasis on expanding adult faith formation beyond the church’s traditional programmatic boundaries.
About Pulpit+ Exchange
Iliff’s Pulpit+ Exchange Series (supported by the Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative from Lilly Endowment Inc.) provides space for a diverse array of ordained clergy and lay leaders to gather for a meal and grapple with challenging issues. One of the main goals of the Pulpit+ Exchange is to build congregations of people who will authentically study, worship, walk, and act together across differences to create a just and equitable world.
About the Evening’s Agenda
Join other clergy and lay leaders for a light meal from 5:00 pm to 5:30 pm (MST). The lecture will begin at 5:30 pm. An opportunity to ask Dr. Lee questions and engage in discussions with colleagues will follow.
About the Evening’s Lecturer
Rev. Dr. Lee has served as the Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty since July 2017. As a feminist communitarian practical theologian, her theological and scholarly pursuit is fueled by her commitment to social justice. She works hard to embody her commitment in her leadership and pedagogical practices. Before Iliff, Rev. Dr. Lee taught for 15 years at the Pacific School of Religion (PSR) and the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, CA, where she became the first woman of color tenured faculty in 2007. Dr. Lee is also an ordained United Methodist elder who served churches in Korea and the United States.
Her current research projects include co-editing a Louisville Institute grant-funded book, Embodying Anti-Racism: Asian American Christianity and Feminist Theologies; investigating “Sexual Violence in Asian American Ethnoreligious Communities,” a Religion and Sexual Abuse project of the University of California, Riverside, funded by the Henry Luce Foundation.
She is the immediate past president of the Religious Education Association and the incoming board chair of PANAAWTM (Pacific, Asian, North American Asian Women in Theology and Ministry). She also serves as the co-chair of the Women and Religion Unit of the American Academy of Religion.
Representative courses include: