Discovery: Spring 2026
Sundays at 10am
January 11–May 17
Join our weekly discussion series to explore relevant topics like how Christians can respond to the climate crisis, use our money to work for justice, and rewrite the narrative in perilous times. Together we’ll uncover profound spiritual truths and seek answers that challenge us to put faith into practice.
A Theology of Giving: Justice, Prosperity, and Philanthropy
Generosity is central to Christian practice. We give our time, talent, and financial resources because we know our lives are interconnected — one person cannot flourish until everyone has all they need. In conversations with leaders from the church, faith-based nonprofits, and the fundraising sector, come build a theological framework for giving, on both individual and institutional levels, to work toward our common good.
Using Our Resources to Respond to Climate Catastrophe
January 11
How do we respond to the climate emergency — and humanitarian crises that come in its wake? Katie Mears of Episcopal Relief & Development discusses their on-the-ground experience with disaster relief and how we might view climate change, and its wide-ranging effects, through a Christian lens.
Katie Mears is the senior technical specialist, U.S. Disaster and Climate Risk, at Episcopal Relief & Development. With 20 years of experience in faith-based disaster response, Katie provides technical assistance and leadership to responding church and community partners, focused on innovative interventions for vulnerable populations.
Additional Resources
The Migration Data Portal provides comprehensive data on how climate change is influencing human mobility across the world.
Listen to experts convened by the Governance Studies at Brookings Institution discuss how U.S. communities are vulnerable to climate change and how to prepare for the dislocations it causes.
The Connection Between Giving and Justice
January 18
In addition to delivering the sermon on MLK Sunday, the Rev. Canon John Thompson-Quartey, Canon for Ministry in the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, leads a conversation on how we might center social justice in our Christian giving practices.
The Rev. Canon John Thompson-Quartey has served as Canon for Ministry in the Diocese of Atlanta since 2014. In this role, he initiated a plan for congregational vitality that culminated in the creation of the diocese’s College for Congregational Development. He has also worked to revitalize campus ministries and increase student participation, including the launch of three new campus ministries.
Additional Resources
In The Priority of Love: Christian Charity and Social Justice, Timothy P. Jackson, associate professor of Christian Ethics at The Candler School of Theology at Emory University, explores the relationship between Christian charity, or agape, and social justice.
In an article from Christianity Today, Craig Bloomberg, author of bestseller Christians in an Age of Wealth: A Biblical Theology of Stewardship, speaks about the Bible’s two-sided portrayal of wealth and how good stewardship is best exemplified in sacrificial giving.
What Is Christian Giving?
January 25
How might we use the resources we’ve got to serve God’s purposes? And how should institutions wisely steward funds to make the greatest impact in caring for our communities — and all of creation? Hear from philanthropy experts and Trinity parishioners Hilary Pennington and Buff Kavelman, as well as Trinity’s Chief Philanthropies Officer Beatriz de la Torre, in a panel discussion on how we can make the most of our time, talent, and money to work for a more prosperous world.
Hilary Pennington is the former executive vice president of the Ford Foundation, where she worked across programs and offices to ensure strategic, meaningful, and well-aligned global grantmaking. She serves on the vestry of Trinity Church.
Buff Kavelman founded The Kavelman Group Philanthropic Advisors (TKG) in 2007 to build strength and impact for donors, grantmakers, and nonprofit leaders. With over 30 years of experience as a funder, board member, and nonprofit executive, Buff is recognized for launching new initiatives, strengthening philanthropic strategies, and creating lasting partnerships.
Beatriz (Bea) de la Torre serves as the chief philanthropy officer of Trinity Church, where she oversees philanthropic work across five initiatives: racial justice, housing and homelessness, mission real estate development, leadership development, and Lower Manhattan. Prior to this appointment, de la Torre was managing director for Trinity’s Housing and Homelessness initiative, securing and implementing high-impact interventions to break the cycle of mass homelessness in New York City.
Additional Resources
Learn about how Trinity Church is supporting justice initiatives in New York and around the world.
Check out Generous Giving, an organization founded by The Maclellan Foundation that provides resources and hosts conferences about biblical generosity.
Listen to the Very Rev. David Montieth, the dean of Canterbury Cathedral, preach at Trinity on doing right with money.
To Be the Church in This Moment
In an increasingly fraught time, we might find ourselves wrestling for control — over our own lives and over the actions of others. But God is uncontrollable, and as the Bible shows us time and tagain, divine love will sweep through our world regardless of the limits and powers of our day. In conversations ranging across Christian tradition, uncover ways to bring your personal experience of God’s love from the pew into your everyday life and to the community around you.
Healing Our Broken Humanity
February 1
Our newsfeeds are filled with inequity, division, and fear; yet we want to make a difference and see justice restored — because Jesus calls us to be peacemakers and reconcilers. But how? Come learn accessible and profound spiritual practices that can bring healing and hope to a hurting world.
The Rev. Grace Ji-Sun Kim was born in Korea and educated in Canada. She now teaches as Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion. She is the author or editor of 25 books, most recently, Earthbound, When God Became White, Invisible, Spirit Life, and Healing Our Broken Humanity: Practices for Revitalizing the Church and Renewing the World (co-written with Graham Hill).
Additional Resources
Listen to Grace Ji-Sun Kim on the Freedom Road podcast. Talking about her 2024 book, When God Became White, she explores the devastating consequences of the myth of Jesus as white a person and God as a white male.
Find more of Kim’s work at her Substack newsletter, Loving Life, the Madang Podcast, and Good Faith Media.
Listen to Fr. Brendan McManus and Jim Deeds share meditation practices for mindful living in a conflicting world based on their book, Finding God in the Mess.
Changing the Narrative in Perilous Times
February 8
How have Christian religious institutions and authorities historically shaped discourse in ways antithetical to the teachings of Jesus? And what do we do with the echoes of those problematic rhetorics? In this session, Ruth Vida Amwe discusses how Christians, and Christian institutions, can courageously lead the way in constructing new narratives of belonging that are faithful to Jesus’s words, even in today’s divisive environment.
Ruth Vida Amwe holds a PhD in Religion and Society from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) and is currently a post-doctoral fellow at PTS and Trinity Church. Her research focuses on the intersection of gender and religio-political imagination in sub-Saharan Africa and the Black diasporas in the Americas. Ruth is the deputy managing editor of Utambuzi Journal for the Study of the Religions of Africa and its Diaspora, the North American representative of the International Sociological Association, and a committee member of the Status of Women and Gender Minoritized Persons in Professions Committee at the American Academy of Religion.
Additional Resources
Explore Princeton University’s long-hidden historical ties to the institution of slavery — and consider the central paradox of the American story.
Read “Jesus’s Message for Turbulent Times” from Summerlee Staten, Trinity’s executive director for Faith Formation and Education.
For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional
February 15
How does faith prepare us to confront the injustices of our day? What can you do to lower your own anxiety while praying and acting courageously? Hanna Reichel of Princeton Theological Seminary speaks on their “emergency devotional,” For Such a Time as This, and highlights what Christians can do to respond faithfully to challenging moments.
Hanna Reichel, PhD, is the Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Raised an ecumenical Lutheran, Reichel serves as a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and on the Theology Working Group of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Reichel is the author of For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional.
Additional Resources
Purchase your own copy of Reichel’s emergency devotional.
Read about the German church’s courageous act in opposition to Hitler-Nazi rule.
Speakers
Katie Mears is the senior technical specialist, U.S. Disaster and Climate Risk, at Episcopal Relief & Development. With 20 years of experience in faith-based disaster response, Katie provides technical assistance and leadership to responding church and community partners, focused on innovative interventions for vulnerable populations.
The Rev. Canon John Thompson-Quartey has served as Canon for Ministry in the Diocese of Atlanta since 2014. In this role, he initiated a plan for congregational vitality that culminated in the creation of the diocese’s College for Congregational Development. He has also worked to revitalize campus ministries and increase student participation, including the launch of three new campus ministries.
Hilary Pennington is the former executive vice president of the Ford Foundation, where she worked across programs and offices to ensure strategic, meaningful, and well-aligned global grantmaking. She serves on the vestry of Trinity Church.
Buff Kavelman founded The Kavelman Group Philanthropic Advisors (TKG) in 2007 to build strength and impact for donors, grantmakers, and nonprofit leaders. With over 30 years of experience as a funder, board member, and nonprofit executive, Buff is recognized for launching new initiatives, strengthening philanthropic strategies, and creating lasting partnerships.
Beatriz (Bea) de la Torre serves as the chief philanthropy officer of Trinity Church, where she oversees philanthropic work across five initiatives: racial justice, housing and homelessness, mission real estate development, leadership development, and Lower Manhattan. Prior to this appointment, de la Torre was managing director for Trinity’s Housing and Homelessness initiative, securing and implementing high-impact interventions to break the cycle of mass homelessness in New York City.
The Rev. Grace Ji-Sun Kim was born in Korea and educated in Canada. She now teaches as Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion. She is the author or editor of 25 books, most recently, Earthbound, When God Became White, Invisible, Spirit Life,and Healing Our Broken Humanity: Practices for Revitalizing the Church and Renewing the World (co-written with Graham Hill).
Ruth Vida Amwe holds a PhD in Religion and Society from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) and is currently a post-doctoral fellow at PTS and Trinity Church. Her research focuses on the intersection of gender and religio-political imagination in sub-Saharan Africa and the Black diasporas in the Americas. Ruth is the deputy managing editor of Utambuzi Journal for the Study of the Religions of Africa and its Diaspora, the North American representative of the International Sociological Association, and a committee member of the Status of Women and Gender Minoritized Persons in Professions Committee at the American Academy of Religion.
Hanna Reichel, PhD, is the Charles Hodge Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Raised an ecumenical Lutheran, Reichel serves as a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and on the Theology Working Group of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Reichel is the author of For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional.
