In September, Lisa Sharon Harper joined us on campus to speak on the Christian call to engage the tragedies in Gaza. Grounded in theology and a biblical vision of shalom, she shared a history of the conflict, beginning from Genesis into today’s violence, adding ethical and legal lenses from her studies.
Dr. Dwight Friesen, Professor of Practical Theology, Dr. Paul Hoard, Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology, and Seattle School Admissions Counselor Milli Haase, MDiv ‘21, joined Lisa Sharon Harper for a panel discussion exploring grief, shame, and community focused on the profound implications of being made in the likeness of God.
Lisa Sharon Harper is the founder and president of Freedom Road, a groundbreaking consulting group that crafts experiences that bring common understanding and common commitments that lead to common action toward a more just world. Lisa is a public theologian whose writing, speaking, activism and training has sparked and fed the fires of re-formation in the church from Ferguson and Charlottesville to South Africa, Brazil, Australia and Ireland. Lisa’s book, Fortune: How Race Broke My Family And The World–And How To Repair It All was named one of the “Best Books of 2022” and The Very Good Gospel was named 2016 “Book of the Year” by Englewood Review of Books. The Huffington Post identified Lisa as one of 50 Women Religious Leaders to Celebrate on International Women’s Day. Lisa is host of the Freedom Road Podcast, cohost of The FOUR Podcast and author of her weekly column on Substack, “The Truth Is…”.
We are grateful to Lisa Sharon Harper for sharing with our community a deeper historical understanding of the conflict in Gaza as well as theological grounding in the Kingdom of God as we continue the conversation and wrestle with the call of leaders, therapists, pastors, theologians, and caregivers in responding to this ongoing and tragic humanitarian crisis.