Fall public events at the Clough School of Theology and Ministry

Fr. Strassburger, who graduated in 2021 with master of divinity and master of theology degrees, leads a small team of Jesuits on the United States-Mexico border who provide pastoral accompaniment, spiritual ministry, and humanitarian aid to migrants. He will present “We Are the Body of Christ: An Ignatian Approach to Restoring the Humanity of Migrants” on September 30 at 6 p.m. in the Corcoran Commons Heights Room. His address will cover the dynamic of migration on the border as well as throughout the U.S., and center on how Catholics are called upon to accompany migrants facing exploitation, criminalization, and unlawful detention. This event will also be available via Zoom.

The Pyne Memorial Lecture on Ministry with Persons with Disabilities will be given in a Zoom webinar format on October 8 at 6 p.m. by Rabbi Julia Watts Belser, professor of Jewish Studies at Georgetown University and author of the award-winning book Loving our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole. Belser is also core faculty in Georgetown’s Disability Studies Program and a senior research fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs. Her presentation, “A Conversation on Disability, Religion, and Loving Our Own Bones,” will address how disability wisdom is a powerful catalyst for reimagining religion. According to Besler, reading biblical texts through the prism of disability can help people challenge ableism and injustice and crack open potent new ways of thinking about God’s presence and power. The Pyne Memorial Lecture is generously supported by the Pyne Endowment Trust in memory of Professor Margaret E. Pyne, a lifelong advocate for persons with disabilities.

Nougoutna Norbert Litoing, S.J., director of the Center for Interfaith Studies in Africa at Hekima University College in Nairobi, Kenya, will present “The Fire That Welcomes: An African Theology of Hospitality” on October 22 at 5:30 p.m. in Simboli 100. Fr. Litoing will explore how African traditions of hospitality offer theological resources for addressing religious diversity, migration, and social fragmentation. In dialogue with Christian and Islamic traditions, he says that hospitality is more than generosity—it is a way of living that affirms the dignity of the stranger, fosters solidarity, and creates space for encounter with the sacred. His talk will also be available via Zoom.

Annual Ministry Renewal Day (November 13) features a presentation at noon in the Corcoran Commons Heights Room by CSTM part-time faculty member L. Callid Keefe-Perry, director of vocational discernment and ministerial readiness at Brite Divinity School in Texas. His talk, “Beyond Balance: Finding Vocational Equilibrium in Disorienting Times,” will explore “dynamic equilibrium” and how the shifting moral and spiritual landscape of ministry requires constant, responsive adaptation rather than rigid work-life boundaries. Keefe-Perry will discuss the idea of a “Moral Orienting System” to map ministers’ current realities, identifying which practices and commitments need adjusting to stay faithful, grounded, and renewed in their vocations. The event will be available via Zoom.

Registration is required for in-person attendance and Zoom presentations and is available at the CSTM Continuing Education website.