Hesed Lecture Series at Austin Seminary

HESED 2026 IS HERE!

It’s not too late to register for HESED 2026, which starts TOMORROW at Austin Seminary! We’ve got an amazing program ready for you, whether you are joining us in-person or online! For powerful speakers to worship to special musical performances, this HESED is history in the making.

Reminder that in-person attendees will be provided a FREE lunch on Saturday with their registration, and will be able to attend this year’s HESED workshops which will be happening on campus.

Don’t delay, register today at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed or at the link in our bio!

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE SPOTLIGHT: Viva Palestina Orchestra at HESED 2026!

We’re so excited to announce that the one and only Viva Palestina Orchestra () will be joining us at HESED for a special performance on Friday, February 27 at 7:30pm in the McCord Community Center, immediately following our Opening Worship celebration. All are invited to attend!
 
Registration is free & lunch is included! Learn more at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed!
 
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About HESED
The purpose of HESED at Austin Seminary is to promote awareness and church involvement in the area of social justice, thus enabling hesed, which is Hebrew for love in action.

This year’s theme for HESED is “Through the Desert, We are One: Reclaiming Human Dignity and Sacred Truth.” Drawing from Hagar’s journey, from bo***ge to freedom, we walk through desolation and hopelessness and see the parallels in our world today. We see our human story. Patterns of empire, systemic injustice, greed and humans treated as commodities, in competition to survive. We draw strength from Hagar’s courage and faith in the desert. We follow her path out of the desert, holding God’s sacred truth as our north star. Through workshops on migration with dignity, policy justice, and uplift of stories, we hope to equip the community for advocacy and action.

WORKSHOP + PREACHER SPOTLIGHT: Rev. Dr. Dominique A. Robinson - “Preaching for Social Transformation”

We’re so excited to have Rev. Dr. Dominique A. Robinson as this year’s HESED preacher and workshop leader!

Her workshop, Preaching for Social Transformation (Social Justice to Purple Churches), is a practical preaching workshop designed to equip attendees to proclaim justice-centered sermons with pastoral clarity, theological grounding, and emotional intelligence in politically diverse congregations. Through guided reflection and role-play, participants will practice responding to common forms of pushback from parishioners while remaining faithful to the gospel, their vocation, and the pastoral relationship.  
 
Rev. Dr. Robinson is the John E. Hines Assistant Professor of Preaching at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, where she is the first full-time African American scholar on the theology faculty. She also serves as Grant Manager for the AME Zion Church’s Lilly Endowment–funded Compelling Preaching Initiative. Robinson earned her Doctor of Ministry from Columbia Theological Seminary, where she developed the groundbreaking digital preaching method iHomileticTM. She is currently completing a PhD in African American Preaching & Sacred Rhetoric at Christian Theological Seminary, focusing on Black Methodist womanist homiletics and depression among African American clergy. An ordained itinerant elder in the AME Zion Church, Robinson is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She is widely recognized as a preacher, professor, and justice advocate committed to the intersections of faith, mental health, and the flourishing of Black communities.
 
Registration is free & lunch is included! Learn more at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed!
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About HESED
The purpose of HESED at Austin Seminary is to promote awareness and church involvement in the area of social justice, thus enabling hesed, which is Hebrew for love in action.

SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT: Dr. Karma R. Chávez - “’All We Have is Us’: Learning from Q***r and Trans Migrant Politics About Building the Communities We Need.” 
 
In this talk, Dr. Chávez will consider the question of how we, as people of conscience, might meaningfully approach a social and political environment characterized by a strong distinction between “us” and “them.” Dr. Chávez will draw on her decades of research relating to q***r and trans migrant activism to provide resources for building coalition, mutual aid networks, and political campaigns that widen and fortify “us” for sustainable presents and futures.
 
About the speaker: Dr. Karma R. Chávez (she/her) is the Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor and Chair of the Department of Mexican American and Latino Studies () at the University of Texas, Austin. She is the author of The Borders of AIDS: Race, Quarantine, and Resistance and Q***r Migration Politics: Activist Rhetoric and Coalitional Possibilities.
 
Join us February 27-28 at ! Registration is free & lunch is included! Learn more at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed!
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This year’s theme for HESED is “Through the Desert, We are One: Reclaiming Human Dignity and Sacred Truth.” Drawing from Hagar’s journey, from bo***ge to freedom, we walk through desolation and hopelessness and see the parallels in our world today. We see our human story. Patterns of empire, systemic injustice, greed and humans treated as commodities, in competition to survive. We draw strength from Hagar’s courage and faith in the desert. We follow her path out of the desert, holding God’s sacred truth as our north star. Through workshops on migration with dignity, policy justice, and uplift of stories, we hope to equip the community for advocacy and action.

About HESED
The purpose of HESED at Austin Seminary is to promote awareness and church involvement in the area of social justice, thus enabling hesed, which is Hebrew for love in action.

Register today at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed!

For Outlook readers interested in how churches engage questions of justice and public life, registration is now open for the HESED Faith & Justice Conference, Feb. 27–28.

Hosted by Austin Seminary in partnership with HESED, the two-day gathering brings together preaching, learning and conversation at the intersection of faith and justice. The conference opens with an evening of preaching and continues Friday with workshops addressing timely social concerns.

The event is free to attend, includes lunch, and offers both in-person and virtual participation options. More information is available through the conference website.

⭐Click the link in the comments to register today.⭐

Austin Seminary
Hesed Lecture Series at Austin Seminary

KEYNOTE SPOTLIGHT: Daniel Bannoura, theologian and host of , who will share his insights on “Faith After Gaza: Reckoning with Christian Complicity in Genocide.” 

The war on Gaza has shattered illusions and exposed deep fractures within Western Christianity. This lecture explores the urgent theological questions rising from the rubble of Gaza concerning Christian Zionism, the silence of the Western Church, and her responsibility towards the plight of the Palestinians.

About the speaker: Daniel Bannoura is a Palestinian theologian and podcaster, and postdoc at the University of Notre Dame, where he received his PhD degree in Qur’anic Studies. His research focuses on the history and redaction of the Qur’an, Christian-Muslim relations, and Palestinian theology. Daniel is the U.S. advocacy coordinator of the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice and is also a co-host of “Across the Divide”, a podcast that provides a space for thoughtful conversations about Palestine-Israel through the lens of faith and peace-making.
 
Registration is free & lunch is included! Learn more at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed!
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This year’s theme for HESED is “Through the Desert, We are One: Reclaiming Human Dignity and Sacred Truth.” Drawing from Hagar’s journey, from bo***ge to freedom, we walk through desolation and hopelessness and see the parallels in our world today. We see our human story. Patterns of empire, systemic injustice, greed and humans treated as commodities, in competition to survive. We draw strength from Hagar’s courage and faith in the desert. We follow her path out of the desert, holding God’s sacred truth as our north star. Through workshops on migration with dignity, policy justice, and uplift of stories, we hope to equip the community for advocacy and action.

About HESED
The purpose of HESED at Austin Seminary is to promote awareness and church involvement in the area of social justice, thus enabling hesed, which is Hebrew for love in action.

Mark your calendars for HESED 2026!

Registration is now open for the annual HESED Lecture Series at Austin Seminary, scheduled for February 27 -28! Enjoy two action-packed days of inspiration and fellowship through powerful preaching, social justice lectures, and workshops and networking opportunities with community justice organizations!

We’re especially excited to hear from keynote speaker Dr. Daniel Bannoura, guest lecturer Dr. Karma Chávez, and preacher/workshop leader Rev. Dr. Dominique Robinson, among others.

Registration is free & lunch is included! Learn more at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed!

This year’s theme for HESED is “Through the Desert, We are One: Reclaiming Human Dignity and Sacred Truth.” Drawing from Hagar’s journey, from bo***ge to freedom, we walk through desolation and hopelessness and see the parallels in our world today. We see our human story. Patterns of empire, systemic injustice, greed and humans treated as commodities, in competition to survive. We draw strength from Hagar’s courage and faith in the desert. We follow her path out of the desert, holding God’s sacred truth as our north star. Through workshops on migration with dignity, policy justice, and uplift of stories, we hope to equip the community for advocacy and action.
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About HESED
The purpose of HESED at Austin Seminary is to promote awareness and church involvement in the area of social justice, thus enabling hesed, which is Hebrew for love in action. The HESED lectureship was a grassroots effort started by Austin Seminary students of the (then) African American Student Group and Hispanic Student Association in 2014 to bring scholars from black, LatinX, and other marginalized communities to Austin Seminary’s campus, in hopes that their voices would deepen the community’s conversations in response to issues of justice as faced by these students and their communities.

Sponsored by the LatinX and African and African Diaspora Student Groups. HESED is funded in part by the K.C. Ptomey, Jr. Memorial Fund

Questions? Contact [email protected]

Another year, another successful HESED in the books! ✅

Special thanks to our amazing organizers, volunteers, esteemed guests and presenters, partnering organizations, and all attendees both in-person and online for helping to put together another historic HESED at !

Stay connected with HESED and look out for more information about future events here and at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed!

ONE MORE DAY UNTIL HESED!

It's not too late to register! We've got an amazing program ready for you, whether you are joining us in-person or online! Reminder that in-person attendees will be provided a FREE lunch on Saturday with their registration, and will be able to attend this year's HESED workshops which will be happening on campus.

Don't delay, register today at www.austinseminary.edu!

HESED 2025 is just around the corner and there's still time to register! We've got an awesome program in the works for you, and can't to have you join us in-person or online! In-person attendees will be provided lunch and will be able to attend our amazing workshops, so if you are still undecided or on the fence, come out this Friday and Saturday to the Austin Seminary campus!

Register today at www.austinseminary.edu/hesed or visit the link in our bio for more information!