CTS Talks Explore Care of the Soul Throughout the Year
Christian Theological Seminary fosters an inclusive learning community grounded in the worth and dignity of every person. Through its academic programs, the seminary equips leaders to serve their communities and helps shape a more just and compassionate world.
CTS Talks brings accomplished guests and subject-matter experts to the seminary for a series of engaging, TED Talk–style presentations. Each program invites participants to explore timely ideas through a blend of intellectual inquiry and thoughtful community conversation.
For Christian Theological Seminary President Dr. David Mellott, CTS Talks creates space for “a deeper contemplation of what it means to be human and the eternal nature of our souls.” The series also offers an opportunity “to understand CTS as an active voice in the wider community and church landscape,” he said.
Mellott sees that public engagement as inseparable from spiritual formation. “Our commitment to social justice grows out of our own sense of spiritual character,” he said. “The work we do is grounded in our identity in God.” CTS Talks can therefore invite audiences to consider a wider range of perspectives: “What other traditions can help us understand our identity in God? We appreciate the Western church, of course, but how might we think beyond it?”
Mellott chose Care of the Soul as CTS’s theme for the 2026–27 academic year, creating a unifying framework for the seminary’s events, programs, and community conversations. He describes it as “a window into all the work we do,” connecting theology and pastoral care through an integrated approach to spirituality. This year’s CTS Talks extend that invitation to reflect on what it means to care for the soul.
October 8, 2026: The Role of Communal Healers: Caring for Our Collective Soul — Cindy S. Lee, PhD
Against a backdrop of shared anxiety, grief, and deep fatigue, the opening session will examine how communal healers can tend to the well-being of a collective soul. Lee will consider the people willing to enter the difficult conversations and spaces of the present moment, as well as the contemplative presence, rituals, and practices that can help communities move toward deeper healing.
About the speaker: Cindy S. Lee, PhD, is a practical theologian, spiritual director, educator, and author focused on spirituality, collective healing, and de-Westernizing Christian formation. She directs the Liberated Together Spiritual Direction School and wrote Our Unforming: De-Westernizing Spiritual Formation.
November 17, 2026: Dignity & Community in the Hands of Empire: Caring for the Soul of the Nation — Rev. Dr. William B. Kincaid
Moments of national crisis often have fostered unity and have led to some memorable leadership examples where thoughtful words and a reassuring presence were on full display. But the U.S. is now experiencing something very different. Occasional attention and episodic civic investment will not nurture well-being, inclusion, and flourishing. It’s time to consider what the character of our shared life will be and how we will give sustained care to the soul of the nation.
About the speaker: Rev. Dr. William B. Kincaid is the Herald B. Monroe Professor of Leadership and Ministry Studies at Christian Theological Seminary and an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). His work focuses on pastoral leadership, community engagement, and spirituality. He is the author of four books, including Come Again to the Circle: 40 Leaders Imagine the Church beyond COVID.
2026–27 CTS Talks
- October 8, 2026: The Role of Communal Healers: Caring for Our Collective Soul — Cindy S. Lee, PhD
- November 17, 2026: Dignity & Community in the Hands of Empire: Caring for the Soul of the Nation — Rev. Dr. William B. Kincaid
- February 25, 2027: Children Are Not Clay: On Seeing Before Shaping — Rev. Dr. Irie L. Session
- April 8, 2027: Your Inner Self Is Not Inside You — José Francisco Morales Torres, PhD
