Trauma, Grace, and Redemption

Join us for the annual Convocation of the Reformed Institute, featuring a leading theologian and educator on a timely subject. Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, President of Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY, will speak on “Trauma, Grace, and Redemption.” The event takes place Saturday, January 25, 2025 at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.

Rev. Dr. Jones brings years of research and theological reflection about individual and collective trauma and its effect upon our capacity to remember, to act, and to love. Trauma from violence challenges our theological understanding of grace and how we remember the traumatic experience of Jesus’ life and death which are at the heart of the Christian faith. Jones focuses on the long-term effects of collective violence on abuse survivors, war veterans, and marginalized populations and the ways that grace and redemption are exhibited in these different contexts. This is a timely address given the level of violence in the neighborhoods, homes, social media, and halls of power in our nation, and the escalation of violent wars and genocides in our world.

Enjoy the a la carte breakfast at 8:30 a.m.. The program begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 11:15 a.m.

RSVP below or by calling 703-232-5303. A virtual option is available for those outside the DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia) area.

Download the Event Flyer | Press Release

About the Speaker

A highly respected scholar and public intellectual, the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is the 16th President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. The first woman to head the 186-year-old institution, Jones occupies the Johnston Family Chair for Religion and Democracy. She is a Past President of the American Academy of Religion, which annually hosts the world’s largest gathering of scholars of religion. Jones came to Union after seventeen years at Yale University, where she was the Titus Street Professor of Theology at the Divinity School, and Chair of the University’s Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is the author of several books including Trauma and Grace and, most recently, her memoir Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World. Jones, a popular public speaker, is sought by media to comment on major issues impacting society because of her deep grounding in theology, politics, women’s studies, economics, race studies, history, and ethics.