Remind & Renew

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."

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.