The Kay Gill memorial Lecture

Bringing eminent scholars and spiritual teachers to the seminary is made possible by donations to lecture's endowment, established by a generous grant from the estate of Kay Butler Gill, a graduate of General Seminary and the Center for Christian Spirituality.

Kay Butler Gill started attending the program in Spiritual Direction at the Center for Christian Spirituality in 1987. Over the course of five summers, she complete the academic work required and in 1992 began a second career in Spiritual Direction.  Kay cared about the spiritual life: After her education and formation here, she spent many years serving the Episcopal Diocese of Maine, offering retreats and quiet days and holding, as she so eloquently described it, “spiritual conversations with others.”

Her husband, the Rev. Jim Gill, Class of 1954, describes her graduation in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd as a highlight of their fifty-four years of marriage. Kay died on September 30, 2008 and in thanksgiving for her education at General she designated the legacy gift establishing the fund for the annual CCS lecture.

Previous Lectures in the Series:

as the “Annual Lecture in Christian Spirituality.”

2003    Sandra Schneiders, Embodying the Word: The Role of Interpretation in Biblical Spirituality

2004    Martin Smith, Spiritual Resources for the Future: Facing the Challenges of Crossing the Post-Modern Divide

2005    Tilden Edwards, Learning and Living with the Mind in the Heart

2006    Roberta Bondi, Life in a Hazelnut: Julian of Norwich

2007    Alan Jones, The Loss of the Good of Intellect: Spirituality in the Academy

2008    Margaret Guenther, The Cure of Souls: The Place of Spiritual Direction in Theological Education

as the "Kay Butler Gill Lecture in Christian Spirituality"

2010    Janet K. Ruffing, Love Mysticism: Relic or Contemporary Reality?

2011    Robin Jensen, Training the Heart to See: The Epiphanic Nature of the Visual Arts

2012    John Philip Newell, A New Harmony: The Spirit, the Earth, and the Human Soul

2013    James Martin, SJ, Laughing with the Saints: Joy, Humor and Laughter in the Spiritual Life

2014    Bishop Steven Charleston, OMG: Spirituality in the Digital Age

2016    John A. McGuckin, The Jesus Prayer: From Desert Contemplatives to Modern Urban Spirituality

2018 Chris Heurtz, Contemplative Activism: Sustainable Spirituality & Social Justice

2019 Westina Matthews, Saving Grace: Reflecting on Faith & Reconnection