April 1, 2026 | 9:30 am – 2:00 pm PST | Online (Live via Zoom)
The Unafraid Symposium is Pacific School of Religion’s annual academic gathering celebrating student scholarship, theological imagination, and disciplined inquiry. Now in its fifth year, the symposium has become an important tradition at PSR, bringing together students, faculty, and the broader PSR and GTU community to engage emerging scholars and practitioners as they present original work in theology, ministry, and public life.
At a moment when theological voices are urgently needed in public discourse, the Unafraid Symposium cultivates students not only to speak courageously, but to think carefully, argue clearly, and listen attentively. Academic excellence is a practiced discipline that requires intellectual rigor, humility, and responsibility to communities, traditions, and publics.
The 2026 symposium will feature live scholarly presentations organized into three thematic panels. Each panel will include faculty response and discussion, creating space for thoughtful engagement and collaborative learning.
Revised Program Schedule
9:30-9:40 | Keynote Address (10 minutes): Dean Dr. Susan Abraham
9:40-10:35 | Panel 1: Sermons as Public Theology (55 minutes)
- 9:40-9:52 – Presenter 1 (12 min): Jayna Acosta
- Excerpt from: Experimenting with Ethical Unknowings in the Absence of Discourse: Pornographic Elephants in Christian Rooms
- 9:52-10:04 – Presenter 2 (12 min): Lavjay Butani
- The Repeated Violations of Ahalya and the Perpetuation of Hegemonic Revisionism
- Download Presentation Handout
- 10:04-10:16 – Presenter 3 (12 min): Rev. Rachael Pryor
- Public Theology in Long-Term Disaster Recovery
- 10:16-10:26 – Faculty Response (10 min): Dr. Corwin Malcolm Davis
- 10:26-10:35 – Q&A (9 min)
10:35-10:40 | Transition Break (5 minutes)
10:40-11:35 | Panel 2: Theology in Practice: DMin Scholarship (55 minutes)
- 10:40-10:52 – Presenter 1 (12 min): Raquel Farmer-Richardson
- The Reclaimed Girl: A Sankofa Hermeneutic of the Black Madonna and the Somatic Liberation of the African Diaspora
- Download Presentation Handout
- 10:52-11:04 – Presenter 2 (12 min): Rev. MacArthur H. Flournoy IV
- “Healer, Ancestor, and Liberator”: An African, African Feminist, Womanist, and Black Theologies in Conversation for Liberation
- 11:04-11:16 – Presenter 3 (12 min): John Wright
- The Impact of Misogyny on the Role of Black Women in Black Church Leadership
- 11:16-11:26 – Faculty Response (10 min): Dr. Heesung Hwang
- 11:26-11:35 – Q&A (9 min)
11:35-12:05 | Lunch Break (30 minutes)
12:05-1:00 | Panel 3: Truth-Telling in Contested Times (55 minutes)
- 12:05-12:17 – Presenter 1 (12 min): Richard Martin
- The Colonial Legacy in Gaza: Toward a Liberative Christian Ethic.
- 12:17-12:29 – Presenter 2 (12 min): Jayne Parks
- Casting the Light on Babylon: Epistemological Justice and Ethics from the Margins
- 12:29-12:41 – Presenter 3 (12 min): Rev. Robert (Bobby) Wiseman Jr.
- Rooted in Love, Renewed in Relationship: Reweaving the Relational Body Politic through Theological Dialogues of Love, Power, and Public Health Justice
- Download Presentation Attachment
- 12:41-12:51 – Faculty Response (10 min): Dr. Joshua Bartholomew
- 12:51-1:00 – Q&A (9 min)
1:00-1:05 | Break (5 minutes)
1:05-1:40 | Faculty Synthesis & Reflections (35 minutes): Dr. EunHye Grace So with Faculty Responders
1:40-1:45 | Acknowledgments (5 minutes): Dr. EunHye Grace So
1:45-1:50 | Presidential Remarks (5 minutes): President David Vásquez-Levy
1:50-2:00 | Dean’s Closing Remarks (10 minutes): Dean Dr. Susan Abraham
Audience: The event is open to all students and the broader GTU community.