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Spiritual Thought: Jacqui Lewis in Conversation with Dante Stewart
October 14, 2021 @ 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Join us on Thursday, October 14 for Spiritual Thought: Jacqui Lewis in Conversation with Danté Stewart, a special virtual event celebrating the publication of Stewart’s new book, Shoutin’ in the Fire.
In 2016, Danté Stewart was a rising leader at the predominantly white evangelical church in Augusta, Georgia. Like many young church leaders, Stewart was thrilled at the prospect of growing his voice and influence within the community, and he was excited to break barriers as the church’s first Black preacher. But when Donald Trump began his campaign, so began the unearthing. Stewart started overhearing talk in the pews—comments ranging from microaggressions to outright hostility toward Black Americans. As this violence began to reveal itself en masse, Stewart quickly found himself isolated amid a people unraveled; this community of faith became the place where he and his family now found themselves most alone.
This set Stewart on a journey—first out of the white church and then into a liberating pursuit of faith—by looking to the wisdom of the saints that have come before, including James H. Cone, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison, and by heeding the paradoxical humility of Jesus himself. Shoutin’ in the Fire is the story of that journey.
In conversation with Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Senior Minister of Middle Collegiate Church and author of the forthcoming book Fierce Love, Stewart will discuss coming of age in a time of terror and discovering a profound faith that loves Blackness, speaks truth to pain and trauma, and and pursues a love that sets us free.
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Danté Stewart is a speaker and a writer whose work in the areas of race, religion, and politics has been featured on CNN and in The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Sojourners, The Witness: A Black Christian Collective, Comment, and elsewhere. He received his BA in sociology from Clemson University and is currently studying at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Reverend Jacqueline J. Lewis, PhD, is a public theologian and the first Black or female senior minister at the progressive, multicultural Collegiate Church in Manhattan, which dates to 1628. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and Drew University, she is the creator of the MSNBC online show Just Faith and the PBS show Faith and Justice, in which she led important conversations about culture and current events. Raised mostly in Chicago, she now lives with her husband in Manhattan.
Spiritual Thought is Random House’s community of spiritual seekers, curious minds, and engaged readers.