Kirkpatrick Lecture
The Kirkpatrick Lecture is presented biennially, featuring prominent historians in the Stone-Campbell heritage. The lectureship was founded in 1992 by Dr. Forrest H. Kirkpatrick of Wheeling, West Virginia. Dr. Kirkpatrick was a Lifetime Member of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society and had a long and deep interest in the Society and in sharing the history of the Stone-Campbell movement.
Dr. Kirkpatrick had a distinguished career as an industrialist and as an educator. He served as an Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation. He served as Dean and Professor of Bethany College, Bethany, West Virginia, for 25 years. Dr. Kirkpatrick was also an ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
2022 Tulsa Kirkpatrick Conference
Most recently, the Historical Society hosted the Kirkpatrick Conference, in March 2022, at Phillips Theological Seminary in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The theme of the Conference was “Visions of Wholeness: Systemic Racism, Antiracism, and Reconciliation in Our Shared History and Tradition.” This historic gathering of scholars, church leaders, and participants throughout the church, in-person and online via livestream, generated new scholarship and conversation about this critical topic in our history and in our life as a church today. It included a day and a half of intense, informed reflection on the experience and witness of Indigenous, African American, Hispanic, Asian and Asian American communities in the history of Disciples and the broader Stone-Campbell movement.
Watch video presentations from the 2022 Kirkpatrick Conference:
- Setting the Table by Sandhya Jha
- A Conversation About Alexander Campbell and Barton Stone by Doug Foster
- Not of This Fold: Exploring the Historical Complexities of Native Identity within a Contemporary North American Christian Context by Joshua Shawnee
- Disciples and the ‘F’ Word: How our Focus on The Significance of the Frontier Causes Us to Lose Sight of our Legacy of Conquest by Lisa Barnett
- One Hundred Years of Solicitude: A Movements Disfiguring of American Indigeneity by David Bell
- The Life and Ministry of Preston Taylor by Edward Robinson
- The Life and Ministry of Sarah Lue Bostick by Yvonne Gilmore
- Before and After 1978: Two Streams in the History of North American Pacific/Asian American Disciples by Tim Lee
- Hispanic/Latinx Disciples History and Experience: Obra Hispana by Lori Tapia
- Still Here: Resisting Marginalization by Santiago Piñon
- Reflections on Education in and beyond the Church through an Anti-Racist Lens: Toward an Epistemology of Inclusion and Reconciliation by Lawrence Burnley
- Keynote Sermon by William J. Barber II
Forrest F. Reed Lecture
The Forrest F. Reed Lecture is presented biennially by the Disciples of Christ Historical Society. A forum for ideas on how theology, history and culture interconnect, the Lecture was established in 1964 by a permanent gift from Forrest Reed.
Reed was a Nashville publisher, businessman and lay leader of Woodmont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). From 1953 until his death in 1975, Mr. Reed was a member of the Board of Trustees of Disciples of Christ Historical Society and served several terms as its Chair.
Joe & Nancy Stalcup Webinar for Congregational Historians
This webinar series is aimed to equip local church historians, lay and professional to research and write histories of their congregations. We have some congregations that can trace their roots back to 200 years or earlier, and many that can to do so to 100-plus years. However, only a small minority of these have historical accounts of their lives together as Stone-Campbell communities. It would be a good thing if more of our congregations can collect and share their histories, which is important for solidifying their distinct identities and strengthening the fabric of the movement.
Scholarships, Internships & Awards:
Ketcherside Scholarships
Ketcherside Scholarships are given for in-house archival or writing projects. The program is open to students in graduate studies at one our constituent institutions, or any academic committed to the study of the Stone-Campbell heritage. We do not provide scholarships for course or degree work.
Cannon-Benoit Student Internship
This annual internship is awarded to an undergraduate or graduate student to provide short-term training in archival work and research. Several recipients of this internship have gone on to careers as archivists, including our current Associate Archivist, Abby Ayers.
Isaac Errett Award
Each year, the Disciples of Christ Historical Society recognizes the best student research paper in Stone-Campbell history with the annual Isaac Errett Award.
The award (along with a cash prize of $500) is presented annually at the Stone-Campbell Journal Conference, where the winner is invited to present the paper.
For more information about the Errett competition, contact Dr. Lisa Barnett ([email protected]), Phillips Theological Seminary.