As the Rev. Shanea D. Leonard began to talk about radical welcome from Montreat Conference Center, they put on an apron and began to reflect on childhood holidays.
Speaking to McCormick Theological Seminary students as they launched the 2021-22 academic year on Monday, Dr. Jennifer McBride preached the theology of hope made famous by the German theologian Jūrgen Moltmann and exemplified by the biblical accounts of Jesus’ post-resurrection encounters with Mary Magdalene at the tomb and later with two followers on the road to Emmaus. That second encounter gave McBride the title for Monday’s address: “We Had Hoped: Theological Education After Devastation.”