Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty is frequently invited to speak in academic and congregational settings as well as in other contexts. Posted below you will can find a selection of her speaking engagements. Contact Elizabeth to schedule a speaking engagement, training event, or retreat.

Events in 2023

Elizabeth is honored to be asked to return to Laurinburg, North Carolina to give the Hattie McNair Bible Lectures on November 5, 6, and 7. The event will be held at Laurinburg Presbyterian Church. She will also be preaching on Sunday, November 5 at 11:00 AM.

A Conference for Research in Diakonia and Christian Social Practice is being sponsored by VID University College in Oslo, Norway and will be held online and in person at the end of May. Elizabeth will be presenting a paper on participation of US religious leaders in recent solidarity protest movements. The conference relates to research included in the recent publication of the International Handbook on Ecumenical Diakonia: Contextual Theologies and Practices of Diakonia and Christian Social Services – Resources for Study and Intercultural Learning (Fortress, 2021).

Elizabeth worked collaboratively with a planning team from Valley Presbyterian Church in Portola Valley, California to plan a Women’s Retreat held at Villa Maria del Mar in Santa Cruz. The retreat entitled “Listening for the Sound of the Authentic” was held from March 10-13, 2023 and included sessions focusing on storytelling. Elizabeth spoke on “Opening the Mind to the Illumination of God,” “Drowning Out the External Rumble,” and “Wading Out into the World’s Troubled Seas.” These themes emerge in the writings of social mystics including Howard Thurman and Vida Dutton Scudder.

Events in 2022

On October 16, 2022, Elizabeth led worship and preached at First Lutheran Church in Louisville, Kentucky. The title of her sermon was “Opening Doors.”

Elizabeth served as the keynote speaker for the Synod School of Lakes and Prairies which met from July 31-August 5, 2022 at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. A brief summary of her keynote presentations is available as a Google.doc and can be found here.

Elizabeth presented a webinar for the Presbyterian Outlook on “Supporting Caregivers for People with Serious Mental Illness” on April 26, 2022. On demand replay is available on the Presbyterian Outlook website. You can find more information here.

Elizabeth led a Clergy Women’s Retreat for Presbytery of the Mid-South at Pinecrest Camp on March 5, 2022 that focused on “Disarming Microaggressions and Challenging Everyday Sexism.” The workshop explored research done by the Flourishing in Ministry project at Notre Dame and the findings of the Gender and Leadership Survey of the PC(USA). A brief description of the content follows:

The identities of pastors and ordained ministers serving in other types of religious leadership positions are formed in community and rooted in relationship. For women and LBGTQIA clergy in religious leadership this is both a gift and can be a significant challenge. Several recent studies have shown that a majority of women and LGBTQIA clergy experience discrimination in the workplace. In the PCUSA, 84% of female teaching elders reported having experienced discrimination, harassment, or prejudicial comments due to their gender. Four out of ten felt they had experienced gender bias in hiring, promotion, or selection for an official position within the PCUSA. At the same time, the Gender and Leadership Report of the PCUSA (2016) found that almost half of members do not think that gender inequality is still a problem. Recent studies of the experiences of younger women clergy also show that they do not feel adequately prepared to face this form of prejudice and report that they have never had a seminary class focused on bias based on gender and sexual orientation as it relates specifically to their formation as religious leaders. Research also shows that religious leaders who cultivate their own ability to identify everyday expressions of sexism and gender bias are more effective in dealing with it.

Themes for the two sessions included “Being Assertive” and “Effective Negotiating.”

Goals for the Retreat and Participant Takeaways

• Build community together and share stories
• Learning how to identify everyday sexism and microaggressions
• Consider best practices to disarm microaggressions in the workplace
• Practice intervention strategies and effective negotiation strategies

If your church or presbytery is interested in hosting Elizabeth for a similar workshop please contact her at ehinsonhasty@bellarmine.edu.

Events in 2021

On Sunday, November 14, 2021, Elizabeth led worship and preached at Bardstown Road Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Social of Christian Ethics held its first fully online meeting in January 2021. Elizabeth gave a presentation for the Family and Social Responsibility Interest Group on “The Moral Limits of Dutiful Love.” Her presentation incorporated her research on the impact of serious mental illness upon siblings and explored the moral limits of Christian concepts of dutiful love and self-sacrificial love in families affected by serious mental illness.

On July, 18, 2021, Elizabeth preached at Pee Wee Valley Presbyterian Church. Her sermon was entitled “Remembering God and Reorienting Oneself in the Midst of Daily Chaos: Reflections on Psalm 23.”

Online Events in 2020

Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary and Stony Point Center organized a four week course focusing on the PCUSA Matthew 25 initiative. Elizabeth opened the course on September 21, 2020 with a presentation on “The Underpinnings of Systemic Poverty.” She also wrapped up the conversation by exploring debt as a moral issue and raising the critical question “Have you ever imagined a society free from debt?” The Presbyterian News Service provided a nice summary of the class. https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/may-21-2021/

Lee and Elizabeth Hinson-Hasty facilitated a workshop on “Being Theologically Creative in an Age of Polarization” on March 2, 2020 at the NEXT Church Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Events in 2019

Habitat for Humanity of Indiana hosted its annual convention November 18-20, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Elizabeth was the plenary speaker for the convention and discussed debt and usury as well as other concepts introduced in her book on The Problem of Wealth.

Elizabeth preached at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Louisville, Kentucky on Sunday, September 8, 2019.

Elizabeth preached at First Presbyterian Church in Shelbyville, Kentucky on Sunday, August 4, 2019.

Elizabeth presented a paper related to her current research on “Madness, Polarization, and the Call to Embody God’s Grace” at the upcoming meeting of the International Reformed Theological Institute (IRTI). IRTI met in Amsterdam from July 4-7, 2019. For information related to conference events visit this website:
https://www.pthu.nl/irti/IRTI%20Conference%202019/

Elizabeth preached on Sunday, March 31, 2019, at Crescent Hill Baptist Church’s celebration “For the Love of God: Honoring the Life and Work of E. Glenn Hinson.” The sermon concluded a weekend-long (March 29-31) discussion with speakers such as Loyd Allen, Raymond Bailey, Bill Leonard, Karen Smith, Phyllis Rodgerson Pleasants Tessieri, and Doug Weaver. Her sermon and papers presented at the event were published in a special issue of the American Baptist Quarterly.

Lectures in Academic Settings

Sister Mary Keenan Lecture, “Insights from the World’s Religions for an Alternative Social Logic,” Spaulding University, Louisville, Kentucky, March 27, 2018.

Cunningham Lectures, “Why the Problem is Wealth, Not Poverty,” “More than Money, Math, and Markets: Considering Alternative Approaches to Economics,” and “Insights from the World’s Religions for an Alternative Social Logic,” Austin College, Sherman, Texas, February 20, 2018.

Tollefson Lectures, Buena Vista University, Storm Lake, Iowa, November 9, 2015. Topics: “Introducing the Problem of Wealth” and “Sola Caritate, Love Alone: A Serious Call for a Cultural Conversion.”

McClendon Scholar in Residence, New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC, September 18-20, 2015.  Weekend theme: “The Challenge of Dorothy Day for 21^st Christians.”  Saturday presentation on “Dorothy Day and Social Mysticism” and Sunday presentation on “Living by an Authentic Ethic of Peace.”  Sermon entitled, “Love Alone, Sola Caritate.” 

Distinguished Guest Professor for an international conference on “International Calvinism:  A Unity in Diversity? Interactions between International and National Calvinism(s) during the Era of Liberalism and Totalitarianism.” Delivered paper entitled “Paying a Visit to Zacchaeus’ House:  Protestant Churches in North America Working on the Periphery for Systemic and Structural Change.” Sponsored by Debrecen Reformed Theological Seminary, Berekfürdő-Debrecen, Hungary, April 11-15, 2015.  

Annual Cardinal Ritter Lecturer on “Dorothy Day’s Impact in the Louisville Area” for Lecture and Irish Coffee Night at Cardinal Ritter Home, New Albany, Indiana, March 12, 2015.

The George and Jean Edwards Lecturer in Peace and Justice, Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, November 14, 2013.

The Thomas White Currie Lecturer at Austin Theological Seminary, February 5-6, 2013.  Topic: “Grace-filled Economy: The Way around an Ethic of Scarcity toward an Ethic of Enough.”   Specific titles of lectures given: “The Driving Forces behind an Ethic of Scarcity” (February 5), “Table Grace and an Ethic of Enough” (February 5), and “Theological Course for an Economy of Sharing” (February 6).  In addition to lectures, there was a panel discussion that included Hinson-Hasty, Dr. Margaret Aymer Odet (Robert F. Jones Lecturer), and Dr. Joe Small (the E.C. Westervelt Lecturer). 

Panel Presentation on the “The Future of the Social Gospel,” Annual Stuber Lectures and Panel Presentation, Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Rochester, New York, April 24, 2008.  Other panelists included Dr. Moses Moore and the Rev. Dr. Paul Raushenbush.

Congregational Contexts

As a Minister of Word and Sacrament and member of Mid-Kentucky Presbytery, Elizabeth enjoys visiting local congregations as well as preaching in a variety of congregations.

Selected sermon titles:

“God’s Grace is Good Enough for All of Us” on 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10.

“Marked by a Pain in the Hip” on Genesis 32: 22-31.

“Rule-breakers, Resistance, and Zacchean Economics” on Luke 19:1-10.

“Partners in Building God’s Household in the Wilderness” on Genesis 21: 8-20.

“Entering Life Through the Eye of the Needle, By Moving the Molasses Quickly, or Finding the Little Gate” on Matthew 19: 16-25.

Interfaith Contexts and Community Organizations

Planned and Facilitated Metro United Way Interfaith Literacy Training for Employees, Metro United Way, Louisville, Kentucky, July 2018.

“ ‘Dangerous Unselfishness’: Reflections on the Problem of Wealth in Honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.”  The Temple, Louisville, Kentucky, April, 2018.

“The History of the Sanctuary Movement” for a panel on “Compassionate City: Exploring Louisville’s Role and What it Means for Immigrants.” Society of Professional Journalists, Iroquois Library, Louisville, Kentucky, November, 2017.

“The Moral Imperative to Teach Interfaith Literacy for the Sake of the Commons,” Panelist with Samuel Marcosson, Edwin Segal, Joe Brenna, and Siddique Malik on the topic of “Teaching Religion in the Public Schools:  Recent Changes in Kentucky Law.” The Salaam Network, University of Louisville, Kentucky, April 2017.

“Erasure.” Panelist for Interfaith Panel on Herstories at Dialogue on Diversity, The Galt House, Louisville, Kentucky, November 2011. Other panelists include Haleh Karimi.

“Christians Calling for Economic Justice in the 21^st Century: That All May Enjoy the Work of Their Own Hands,” Third Thursday Lunch, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Louisville, Kentucky, January, 2008.

Sample Videos, Podcasts, and Interviews

Women Reformed and Always Reforming. A conversation with Lee Hinson-Hasty about Leading Theologically aired on December 2, 2020.

Interviewer of James Keenan about his book University Ethics for Ethics Forward.  Aired November 13, 2018. This interview was recorded in a THEO 200 Ultimate Questions course. 

Interviewed on The Problem of Wealth for Ethics Forward by Avery Kolers. Aired September 12, 2017.