Baylor Set to “Go Tell It on the Mountain” at 2022 Pruit Memorial Symposium

WACO, Texas (Feb. 15, 2022) – Baylor University’s annual Pruit Memorial Symposium – “Go Tell It on the Mountain: Perspectives on Black Preaching, Theology and Gospel Music” – will be held at 12:15 p.m. CST Thursday, Feb. 16, via Zoom with a hybrid option. This year's symposium will feature presentations by three leading international scholars who emphasize different dimensions of theological and pastoral inquiry, followed by a conversation moderated by Baylor School of Music faculty member Monique Ingalls, Ph.D.

The guest scholars featured in this year's symposium are:

• Dr. Dulcie Dixon McKenzie, director of the Centre for Black Theology at The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Foundation in Birmingham, UK. Her research interests include African Caribbean Pentecostalism, Black gospel music and womanist theology.
• Lisa M. Weaver, Ph.D., assistant professor of worship at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia. She previously served at the Catholic University of America and the Howard University School of Divinity.
• The Rev. Dr. Carol Tomlin, Ph.D., principal and director of studies at the Kingdom School of Theology and the apostolic overseer and founder of Restoration Freedom Ministries in Leeds, UK. 

“This year's Pruit Symposium showcases the international and interdisciplinary breadth of the study of Black gospel music. It draws together three world-leading scholars from the U.S. and the UK, each of whom approaches gospel music from a different perspective,” said Ingalls, associate professor of music and graduate program director in church music at Baylor. “Just as Black women have long led the way in creating gospel music, these three Black women scholars are leading the way in researching and reflecting on it."

For more than two decades, the Pruit Memorial Symposium has brought the perspective of the Christian intellectual tradition to contemporary issues of common concern. Since 2013, the experience has complemented and expanded on Baylor’s Black Gospel Music Restoration Project as well as the newer Black Preaching Project.

"This will be the 10th symposium focused on American Black sacred music, but the 2022 version extends the topic to all aspects of worship and expands the conversation to international scholars who cannot travel to Waco," said Kathy Hillman, associate professor and co-chair of the Pruit Symposium Committee. "We hope that all who participate will be impacted by the I’s of information, insight and the inspiration to 'Go Tell It on the Mountain' through a combination of preaching, music and ministry." 

This virtual event is free and open to the public. Guests can attend a complimentary luncheon and live viewing of the event in Jesse H. Jones Library, Room 200, on the campus of Baylor University or participate virtually from anywhere in the world by Zoom. Those interested in attending can visit baylor.edu/pruit to request Zoom credentials or RSVP for the in-person session (required).

Created in 1996 by Ella Wall Prichard and Lev H. Prichard III, the symposium is supported in part by the Pruit Memorial Symposium Endowment Fund. Co-sponsors of the 2022 symposium include the Baylor School of Music, the Center for Christian Music Studies, Baylor University Libraries, George W. Truett Theological Seminary and the Departments of Religion and Journalism, Public Relations and New Media.

For more information, please contact Kathy Hillman by email at kathy_hillman@baylor.edu or call 254-710-6684.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT THE BAYLOR UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The Baylor Libraries lead as an innovative research library that undergirds scholarship, fosters teaching and learning and builds communities. Comprised of Moody and Jones Libraries along with world-renowned special collections that include Armstrong Browning Library, The Texas Collection and University Archives, The Institute for Oral History, the Keston Center for Religion, Politics and Society and the W. R. Poage Legislative Library, the Libraries drive research at Baylor University and beyond.