Brian Albert Smith, PhD., grew up in the Midwest but has spent most of his adult life in the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the US. A brief stint in youth ministry led to seminary and a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Ancient Near East studies. His work at Messiah University has been in Campus Ministries and the department of Biblical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies. In addition to teaching courses in Hebrew Bible and Hermeneutics, he co-directs Thriving Together: Congregations for Racial Justice, which challenges local churches to grapple with central Pennsylvania’s racialized past and respond with new work for justice. Brian has a deep fondness for trees and woodworking and enjoys life with his partner Jackie, whom he married this past summer.
Much like our “Nonviolent Atonements” series, alongside exploring with surprising people how the Scriptures can turn our world upside down, this season we are...
Melissa Florer- Bixler is the pastor of Raleigh Mennonite Church, and a graduate of Duke University and Princeton Theological Seminary. She spent time studying...
Nekeisha Alayna Alexis has written and published on the cross and atonement from a womanist and anabaptist perspective. Nekeisha brings practical, administrative and intellectual...