VST Announces Cork Lecture 2024: Crisis as Formation | Dr. Kate Rae Davis

register for the lecture and workshop here

The Vancouver School of Theology and St. Andrew’s Hall are pleased to announce that Dr. Kate Rae Davis of the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology will be the keynote speaker for the 2024 Cork Lecture and Workshop.

Kate’s keynote lecture will explore how struggles in ministry can present sacred opportunities for growth and transformation. This important topic will be especially of interest to ministers, those preparing for leadership in the church, and lay leaders of all stripes and vocations.

Dr. Kate Rae Davis is the Executive Director of the Center for Transforming Engagement at the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. Kate brings a collaborative approach to her role working with Christian leaders to restore their inner resilience and lead from healed wounds. Her position allows her to gather with experts from a variety of fields and shape discussions around challenges facing leaders in a complex cultural moment and discern how each might uniquely join in God’s work in the world.

Kate joined The Seattle School as a Master of Divinity student in 2011 with a background in English and Spanish language and literature and an emphasis on Marginality & Difference. Over the years as a student and staff member, Kate has been a part of the Library, Financial Aid, Human Resources, and Academic departments. She recently completed an Education Doctorate in Leadership & Innovation from New York University.

Passionate about the church in its many forms, Kate is an award-winning preacher with experience in a post-evangelical megachurch and multiple mainline parishes.

Kate is a quiet extravert, a constant prayer, a martial art practitioner, a ravenous reader, and an alliteration aficionado. She lives with her husband Keller and dog Magic. Together they regularly hike, play tabletop games, and travel throughout Cascadia and, when they have the opportunity, around the globe. Favorite destinations so far have been Granada, Spain; Istanbul, Turkey; the Isle of Skye, Scotland; and Lake Crescent, WA.

Free public lecture Friday August 16, 7 p.m. | Workshop and panel discussion Saturday August 17, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Crisis as Formation: Resilience for Ministry in Changing Times
No matter the form our ministry takes or the role we hold, there will be moments where we struggle and even suffer. In these moments, conventional wisdom tells us to persevere and to push through. But what if we view those same moments as opportunities to learn and to grow? What if we enter into the next crisis with the hope and expectation that this, too, will form us? We can learn to attend to the sacred in the midst of suffering in our congregations, our leadership, and our lives.

The Cork Lecture and Workshop is jointly sponsored by VST and St. Andrew’s Hall in honour of Mardee Cork, a generous supporter of theological education. The Cork Lecture and Workshop is made possible through allocations from a permanent fund held by St. Andrew’s Hall with all distributions exclusively at the direction of the VST President. The Cork Lecture and Workshop will focus on congregational vitality.