Faith (In)Forming
Lectures
Rethinking Spirituality: Lessons from Immigrant Detention
March 22, 2026 at 6pm
Christopher Tirres is a scholar and teacher who explores how spirituality helps people find freedom, meaning, and healing in everyday life. His work focuses on the Americas and looks beyond formal religion to the ways faith takes shape through culture, creativity, ritual, and lived experience—especially among communities facing injustice.
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Tirres has taught at Santa Clara University since 2023, following earlier appointments at DePaul University. An award-winning educator and recipient of fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Hispanic Theological Initiative, and the Louisville Institute, he is a native of El Paso, Texas and recently delivered the John Dewey Memorial Lecture on the healing power of borderlands spirituality.
Worship, Justice, and Joy:
A Liturgical Pilgrimage
September 7, 2025
Neal D. Presa is a Filipino Pacific Islander American pastor theologian. He is the Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of San Jose in northern California. In this role he supports the pastoral leaders and members of more than 30 congregations, fellowships, worshipping communities, and affiliated non-profit entities in Silicon Valley and surrounding regions.
Additionally, he is an Affiliate Associate Professor of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary, a Senior Fellow with The Center for Pastor Theologians (Oak Park, Ilinois), and a PhD External Examiner for the University of Pretoria (South Africa).
Poetry and Prayer
February 23, 2025
Marilyn McEntyre is a writer, speaker, and former professor whose work explores the intersections of spirituality, language, and healing. She has taught a wide range of courses, including American literature, Medical Humanities, and Literature and the Natural World. Having transitioned from full-time teaching to focus on writing, she also leads retreats, workshops, and offers editing services. Her essays and books have been featured in both academic and trade publications. A passionate advocate for environmental care, she believes imagination, compassion, and humility are essential to healing both the earth and one another.
Antiracist Spirituality
October 27, 2024
Dr. Tobin Schearer is the Professor of History at the University of Montana and the African-American Studies Director at UM. Alongside Regina Stoltzfus, he co-authored, Been in the Struggle: Pursuing an Antiracist Spirituality. He holds a dual PhD in History and Religious Studies from Northwestern University.
Parenting a Child with Disabilities
Susan Van Riesen is the lead pastor of Palo Alto Vineyard Church. Susan served on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship for 16 years at 6 different college campuses before spending time as a full-time mom of three very energetic, passionate children. She has great love for adoption, children with special needs, and gardening. Check out her blog about parenting a child with special needs showerheadsandhairdryers.blogspot.com. This event happened on September 29, 2024
The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism
Our speaker is Lerone A. Martin, Martin Luther King, Jr. Centennial Professor and Associate Professor of Religious Studies. April 21, 2024
Faith and Art: A Faith (In)Forming Lecture featuring Melynda Van Zee
Our speaker is Melynda Van Zee is an acrylic painter, author, art educator and art coach. She is the author of an art technique book published by Lark Books and enjoys coaching artists and creating art journals. March 10, 2024
Faith and Work | October 22, 2023
Paul Taylor has been a Teaching Pastor at Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto since 2007. After graduating from Stanford with a degree in Industrial Engineering, he worked for 7 years as a Product Manager for Oracle Corporation. He founded a blog and podcast called allthingsnew.tech which focuses on the intersection of theology and technology. Currently he is pursuing his Doctor of Ministry in Faith, Work, Economics and Vocation at Fuller Seminary.
The Science of Forgiveness September 17, 2023
Frederic Luskin is the author of Forgive for Good and Forgive for Love and one of the world's leading researchers and teachers on the subject of forgiveness.
Religion, Race, and American History
May 21, 2023
Professor Kathryn Gin Lum's lecture showed us how the religious idea of the heathen in need of salvation undergirds American conceptions of race.
Healing, Hope, and Justice: From Racial Trauma to Restorative Justice | Jan 22, 2023
Russell Jeung, PhD, is a Professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that addresses anti-Asian racism.
Work Pray Code: When Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley | Sep 18, 2022
Carolyn Chen is an Associate Professor at the University of California Berkley with a focus on the Asian American experience.
