The McClendon Scholar-in-Residence Program brings scholars to Washington to speak on their most recent research and to share their learning and their vision with The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and the broader Washington community.

The McClendon Scholar-in-Residence Program stands at the place where faith, intellect and justice meet. It was established through the insight and generosity of the late Rev. Dr. Jack E. McClendon, Associate Minister of the New York Avenue Church from 1957 to 1991. Dr. McClendon’s enduring passion for social justice and confidence that a congregation must be a place where faith, intellect, and commitment to justice issue forth in service remain abiding legacies of his ministry. The Scholar-in-Residence Program is one fruit of Dr. McClendon’s conviction that justice, service, and action can only be sustained for the long haul when a community of faith grapples with profound issues and is equipped to engage in a deepening of faith. To this end, he wished to bring to the church and the larger Washington community noted scholars whose unique gifts, knowledge, and lives would inspire both ongoing reflection and action.

The program continues to work through a major piece of Rev. McClendon’s vision, that is, ensuring that the lessons of each scholar are thoroughly incorporated into the life and work of the NYAPC and Washington communities—through widespread and thorough preparation for the scholar’s arrival, an ongoing presence of the scholar in the life of the New York Avenue community and intentional consideration of initiatives to implement the lessons of each scholar’s tenure at the church.

Thus far, the Scholar-in-Residence Program has been honored to host the following McClendon Scholars in Residence:

• Walter Brueggemann, Professor of Old Testament Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary, “The Congregational Practice of Prophetic Imagination,” December 1-3, 2006
• Frances Taylor Gench, Professor of New Testament, Union Presbyterian Seminary, “Discerning the Shape of Discipleship: Gospel Perspectives,” February–April, 2007
• Larry Rasmussen, Professor Social Ethics Emeritus, Union Seminary (New York), “And the Fullness Thereof: Christian Discipleship at an Ecological Crossroads,” October 26–28, 2007
• Charles Swezey, Professor of Christian Ethics Emeritus, Union Presbyterian Seminary, “Recovering Politics for Mainline Christians: Retrieving the Legacy of Reinhold Niebuhr,” September 2008–May 2009
• Ronald C. White, Jr., Huntington Library Fellow and Biographer, “Abraham Lincoln 2009: Wisdom for Today,” September 18–20, 2009
• Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Professor of Theology, Chicago Theological Seminary, and Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, “Toward a Just Peace in a Wired World,” September 16–18, 2011
• Brian Blount, President of Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, Virginia, “An Encounter with the Apocalypse: Studying the Book of Revelation,” March 9–11, 2012

May 24, 2013: Conversation Among Congregations On Race and Class in Our City 

Professor Cone’s coming is a high event in the ongoing conversation among the members of four congregations about how issues of race and class can divide us and how sharing our experiences and perspectives can begin to heal us and our community.  During Lent of this year, members of the four congregations have read and discussed together, in large and small groups, Dr. Cone’s book, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, and we have begun the process of considering ways we might continue the conversation and act and advocate for programs and policies to address the issues it lifts up in Washington.  We are, therefore, grateful that we together can sponsor Dr. Cone’s presence among us:

The Emory Fellowship, Rev. Joseph Daniels, Senior Pastor

Luther Place Memorial Church, Rev. Karen Blau, Senior Pastor

Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, Rev. Lionel Edmonds, Senior Pastor

The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Rev. Roger Gench, Pastor and the McClendon Scholar-in-Residence Program

Program Brochure for May 24, 2013