Remind & Renew

Click for Event COVID-19 Precautions

While coming together in person is important, there remains an inherent risk meeting in any public place with other people. COVID-19 is a very contagious disease and can lead to severe illness and death. The risk for serious or fatal illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is higher for those with underlying medical conditions and senior citizens.

To mitigate in-person risk of infection, Phillips Theological Seminary requires our guests to wear face coverings in all indoor public spaces on its property, regardless of vaccination status. This includes bathrooms and offices when meeting with other people. Face coverings must fully cover the nose, mouth, and chin. Bandanas, gaiters, with valves, and similar facial coverings are not sufficient. The seminary will require guests with improper face coverings to use a seminary-provided mask.

Facial coverings may be briefly removed while actively eating or drinking as long as individuals remain socially distant from one another. While it is tempting to unmask while visiting with people we feel comfortable with, this should not be the practice during this event.

For events hosted away from Phillips Seminary property, the requirements of that venue will be observed. However, Phillips highly encourages the wearing of face coverings during any indoor activity with other people.

Individuals with underlying medical conditions or who prefer not to wear face coverings are encouraged to participate online rather than in person where that option is available. Those who choose to attend an in-person event voluntarily assume all risks and responsibilities associated with COVID-19 exposure.

In this year’s Remind & Renew, The Art of Ritual: Cultivating Practices for Community, we will:

explore and experience rituals that nourish our souls, give life to our missions, and express our deepest and most significant communal values.
reconsider the significance of ritual for marking time.
recognize again the power of ritual for justice and protest—and for injustice.
broaden our understanding of ritual to include our environment and our companion creatures.

Registration is now open. As of now, Remind & Renew will be both in-person and online with recorded and live presentations using a conference platform called Whova. This service also allows R&R attendees to set up meetings in their own small groups in-person or online. When you register for Remind & Renew, you'll get more information on how to use Whova, including its smartphone app.

Presenters (as of Sept. 25, 2021):

Marcia McFee, PhD, is a professor, worship designer, author, preacher and ritual artist. She is the energy behind the Worship Design Studio. LEARN MORE
Victoria Loorz, MDiv, is a "wild church pastor," an "eco-spiritual director" and co-founder of several transformation-focused organizations focused on the integration of nature and spirituality. She is the co-founder of the ecumenical Wild Church Network. LEARN MORE
Chelsea Yarborough, PhD, is a professor and minister known for exploring liturgy in the context of black theology and preaching outside the pulpit. LEARN MORE
Sarah de la Fuente, MDiv, is an Austin-based ceremony officiant, owner of Central Ceremonies, and Parish Associate at Central Presbyterian Church. LEARN MORE
Dan Paul, MDiv, is director of the Blue Theology Mission Station, a place where current science in marine biology informs a theology of creation care. LEARN MORE

Human longing for ritual is deep, and in our culture often frustrated.

Tom Driver in "The Magic of Ritual: Our Need for Liberating Rites that Transform Our Lives and Our Communities."

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Event Code of Conduct

Welcome to Phillips Theological Seminary. Whether you are using the library or attending an educational program, the Seminary is committed to providing a learning space for all participants, and we need your cooperation in doing so.

Phillips is first and foremost an educational institution; creating and maintaining an environment conducive to learning is essential. A harassment free environment allows each Seminary guest to learn without fear of being accosted for who they are.

The Seminary has taken care to write policies to frame spaces for harassment-free learning. See the anti-discrimination statements, the trustees’ statement on Engaged Diversity, inclusive language, Title IX/Sexual Harassment Prevention, and ADA. The seminary is a member of the Disciples Alliance Q, which advocates for the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in the life of the church. In addition, the Seminary is seeking to build a deeper capacity to communicate across cultures through utilizing the Intercultural Development Inventory.

A harassment-free space is achieved when guests treat others with respect and refrain from inappropriate speech, touch, or actions that ignore, dismiss, demean, or denigrate the equal and full humanity of another.

Guests should expect harassment-free treatment from Phillips employees and students.

Seminary guests should seek to be aware not only of their intent in interacting with others but also of the impact/reception of their actions.

In your interactions with others (whether other guests, students, or employees), please understand yourself to be in a public, professional context rather than a personal space, and keep your comments and actions appropriate for that public, professional space within the framework created by the Seminary’s policies.

If you judge that you have been on the receiving end of an inappropriate action, please deal with the situation by addressing the action personally, by bringing the situation to the attention of Seminary personnel (starting with the event organizer, during a program), or both.

The Seminary employee in charge of the event or the space (e.g., the library) is authorized to address situations. Actions may range from speaking to or admonishing the offending party, to dismissal from the event (without refund), to a prohibition from using the library or attending programs at the Seminary.

If a guest makes a complaint about an employee or a student, that complaint will be investigated according to the policies in the Employee or the Student Handbook.