Speakers | Burke Presbyterian Church

Distinguished Speakers Series

Tickets are sold out! We do have some spots in our “live feed” room, which will be set up in another part of the church building that night. Click here to grab one of those spots!

Coming March 1, 2019:

Duke Divinity School Professor Dr. Kate Bowler

Bowler is a historian at Duke Divinity School, an assistant professor of the history of Christianity in North America. Her book, Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel (Oxford University Press, 2013), received widespread media attention as the first history of the movement based on divine promises of health, wealth, and happiness.

She researched and traveled Canada and the United States interviewing megachurch leaders and everyday believers about how they make spiritual meaning of the good or bad in their lives. Her work on the prosperity gospel has been featured in the New York Times, The New Republic, The Guardian, TIME Magazine, The Atlantic, The Economist, The Washington Post, NPR,and the BBC.

In 2015, she was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at age 35. In this New York Times op-ed, she wrote about the irony of being an expert in health, wealth and happiness while being ill.

Her memoir, Everything Happens for a Reason (and other lies I’ve loved) (Random House, 2018), tells the story of her struggle to understand the personal and intellectual dimensions of the American belief that all tragedies are tests of character.

That Friday evening, Bowler will participate in a “Q&A” with Pastor Meg about her struggle with cancer, her work as a prosperity gospel historian, motherhood, grief, and her own spiritual journey.

A few other things to note:

** There will be open seating. Doors will open at 7 pm.

** Parking is available in the church parking lot, on the street (Oak Leather Drive), in the day care center lot next door to the right of the church entrance, and in the Kohl’s store lot on Burke Centre Parkway (a path connects that lot with the church).

** Directions to the church can be found on the right side of the page

Dr. Omid Safi was our first Distinguished Speaker, on March 3-4, 2017.

Part 1: Dr. Omid Safi at Burke Presbyterian Church, Burke, Virginia, March 3-4, 2017

Part 2: Dr. Omid Safi at Burke Presbyterian Church, Burke, Virginia, March 3-4, 2017

Dr. Safi was the first presenter as part of the BPC Distinguished Speaker Series, and his visit was made possible in part by the Beth Braxton Speaker’s Endowment Fund. Rev. Braxton served as pastor of this church from 1984 to 2011, and she has a passion for interfaith friendships and critical thinking about the world in which we live out our faith. We welcome contributions to this fund to enable us to host more events like this one. Thank you for your support!