The word “formation” is more than just Episcopal jargon for Sunday School or Christian Education. When we come together in community to study, pray, and discuss the ways of God, we are shaped and reshaped by new ideas and the perspectives of others. Sometimes we get a glimpse of God and of who God calls us to be.
Formation suggests development, and even a sense of structure … but structure, like a cloud formation, evolves, grows, and shifts. Come be formed and re-formed, and possibly even made new.
Sept 13
Rector’s Forum: From Polarization to Peacemaking
Scott Walters
Elizabeth Oldfield will be one of Calvary’s Lenten Preachers in 2027. Scott Walters kicks off Calvary’s fall formation series at Calvary with a discussion of some of her key insights. What’s the difference between wrath and anger? What is “People Like Me” syndrome and where does it come from? What might the Christian practice of peacemaking offer in a polarized world?
Sept 20
Sabbatical Gifts
Katherine Bush
Come hear about Katherine’s experiences and learnings during her summer sabbatical from Calvary.
Sept 27
Hattiloo’s 20th Anniversary & Why Black Theater Matters
Ekendayo Bandele
Ekundayo Bandele is a renowned playwright and theater director whose work has significantly impacted the American theater landscape. His latest play is “Speak Salvation Speak,” which premiered in August of 2026 at Hattiloo, the theater Bandele founded in 2006. As its CEO, he curates annual seasons of plays and programs that celebrate Black culture. He successfully raised 10 million dollars to build and expand Hattiloo Theatre, including a state-of-the-art facility and an endowment. He has also led international initiatives, such as a theater management course in Sudan.
Oct 4 and 11
Hope in Times Like These
Mitzi Minor
Beloved Bible scholar Mitzi Minor leads a two week exploration of some of the wisdom of the Bible, which calls us to be people of hope even in challenging times such as ones we’re living in now.
Oct 18
Racism and Creationism
Steve McKenzie
We will discuss the strange story in Genesis 9:20-27, how it has been misused in support of slavery and segregation; I will argue that a literalist reading of this story is history is inherently racist and is perpetuated in efforts to install the teaching of creationism in public education.
Steve McKenzie is Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Spence L. Wilson Senior Research Fellow at Rhode College, where he has taught since 1983. His research has focused on the historical books and on approaches to interpretation of the Bible. Among his publications are King David: A Biography (2000), How to Read the Bible (2005), and commentaries on the books of Kings, Chronicles, and Jonah (with John Kaltner and Rhiannon Graybill).
Oct 25
Christian Nationalism
John Kaltner
This session will explore the presence of Christian Nationalism in modern American society, with a focus on how those who espouse it often misuse the Bible to justify their views and actions. We will consider several recent examples of how Christian Nationalists have coopted the biblical text to support their positions on some of the most hotly debated social issues of our time.
John Kaltner is the Virginia Ballou McGehee Chair of Muslim-Christian Relations at Rhodes College, where he has taught since 1996. His main area of training and research is in biblical studies, with a particular interest in the relationship between the Bible and the Qur’an. Among his books are Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qur’an for Bible Readers (1999), Islam: What Non-Muslims Should Know (2016), and The Bible and the Qur’an: Biblical Figures in the Islamic Tradition (2018, coauthored with Younus Mirza).
Nov 1
Room in the Inn
Lisa Anderson
Reverend Lisa Anderson is a minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. She graduated from Christian Brothers University and Memphis Theological Seminary. She served as a chaplain following Clinical Pastoral Education at VA Medical Center. She worked at Regional One, St. Joseph Hospital, and for nearly 20 years as a Pediatric Chaplain at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Reverend Anderson is the founding executive director of Room in the Inn-Memphis. She has been very involved in the Memphis-Shelby County area as an advocate for those that are experiencing homelessness and those who are guests of Room in the Inn.
The mission of RITI-Memphis is, “Sheltering those experiencing homelessness in a safe environment of hospitality.” Permanent solutions for complicated issues is the goal on the RITI campus.
Lisa is married to Rev. Dr. Barry Anderson, retired Director of Student Services at Memphis Theological Seminary. She enjoys being with her children and grandchildren and extending hospitality in her home. She and Barry love to travel and have had many adventures around the world
Nov 8
A Conversation Around ACEs
Molly Nelson, LCSW
Fellow Calvary member Molly Nelson will provide an introduction and history of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). Drawing from her experience working with parents and children in Memphis, we will explore what it means to create healthier patterns for ourselves, our families, and the generations that follow.
Molly Crenshaw Nelson attended the University of Georgia where she earned her Bachelors in Social Work. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin where she earned a Masters of Science in Social Work. Molly remained in Austin for 5 years working as a perinatal social worker for Seton Hospitals. She returned to Memphis in 2016 and began working for the Church Health Center as director of The Universal Parenting Place at Perea Schools. Molly served as director until the site’s closure in 2020. Molly continued her work as a behavioral health clinician at Church Health for 2 years. Molly currently lives in Memphis with her husband, Wes, two beautiful boys Sam and Henry and their golden doodle BB.
Nov 15
The Church and Race – in Mississippi
The Rev. Milton Winter
Milton Winter is a native of Cleveland Mississippi who attended Delta State university, Union Theological, and Princeton Seminaries. A Presbyterian minister in Holly Springs, Mississippi for 28 years, he was confirmed into the Episcopal Church at Calvary in 2016. Years of Milton’s popular column in Holly Springs’s local newspaper were collected in a book titled The Preacher’s Corner in 2021. His latest book is Mississippi Presbyterians and Race: Bending the Arc Toward Justice.
Nov 22
Water of Life: Rivers Running Through the Cosmos
Dave Rupke
Life as we know it relies on liquid water, so it is not by chance that it is a key touchpoint in the Christian story. Join astrophysicist David Rupke in exploring the universal signs of water throughout the cosmos as found in planetary oceans and atmospheres, stellar nurseries, galactic fountains, and the rivers that run between them
Nov 29
Update from the 87 Adams Team
Jazzy Miller Wilson & Randall Garrett
A year ago, Calvary received a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation to fund a three-year process to develop a design for a new public memorial space on the site of the market where people were bought and sold on Calvary’s block in the 1850s. Jazzy Miller Wilson has led the artist selection process, and Randall Garrett is in charge of community engagement. Come hear what they, and many others, have been up to on this transformative project in 2026.
