Mujerista Symposium - Spring 2022

The Office of Multicultural Relations will collaborate with En Conjunto: A Latinx Student Collaborative at Princeton Theological Seminary and additional student organizations to present a student-organized Mujerista Symposium on March 31. This symposium will explore the transformative power of gratitude expressed in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book of essays, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Those interested in attending this event may do so in person or via livestream.

In the essay “Allegiance to Gratitude,” Kimmerer introduces the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, which provides a template for transformative gratitude. Such gratitude names and bows to each and every gift within God’s creation, recognizing that humans are just one piece of an interrelated web of beings, all sharing in the abundance of grace which is made evident in the land itself. This powerful gratitude becomes a revolutionary act because it breeds cultures of reciprocity. How can we continue to hoard unjustly when we are steeped in appreciation for the freely given gifts of God? How can we not offer our gifts in return to the land and to one another when we witness daily to the abundance and generosity of every other created thing?

With Indigenous women as our guides, we will explore the interweaving of theological underpinnings that connect the act of gratitude to ethical relationships with ecology and a covenant to care for all of creation. This event provides an important space for the Princeton Seminary community to listen and learn from the wisdom of Indigenous perspectives and practices, from the women who have been caretakers and partakers of the land we now share long before Europeans came to its shores.

Through this event, we will also consider the ways in which transformative gratitude can be cultivated in Christian community through ongoing relationships with the many indigenous peoples who still inhabit this land. We will consider what whole-hearted creation gratitude might call us to in terms of our ministries, our use of church resources, and our daily lives as we learn from Indigenous examples and leadership in this realm.

Rt. Rev. Dr. Carol J. Gallagher is the regional canon for the Central Region of the Diocese of Massachusetts comprising the 56 congregations, as well as other church-related institutions, in the Boston Harbor, Alewife, Charles River, and Neponset River deaneries. Gallagher has been the assistant bishop in the Diocese of Montana since 2014, developing relationships with Native leaders and congregations there, educating and training clergy and lay leaders in issues of race, gender, and inclusion, and leading the Task Force on Native Issues. She has also been serving during that time as the bishop missioner to the Bishops' Native Collaborative, working with the Episcopal Church Executive Committee to do assessments and respond to needs, and to provide materials and trainings for lay leadership and clergy. She brings a passion for training and formation for all the baptized and for using her skills in culture, leadership development, pastoral care, and faith and relationship to empower others.

Dr. Cecilia Titizano is Bolivian of Aymara descent. She holds a PhD in philosophical theology from the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California. For many years, Cecilia has worked in the area of international development, among Quechua and Aymara communities. She is part-time faculty in the Theology and Religious Studies Department at the University of San Francisco, where she teaches Indigenous Cosmologies and Theologies and Ethics in the Indigenous Spiritual Traditions. Cecilia serves in Memoria Indígena as an advisory board member and is part of the Comunidad de Sabias y Teólogas Indígenas del Abya Yala (COSTIAY).

Vaccines and a booster are required to attend events on campus. Our health and wellness protocols regarding COVID-19 change based on the guidance of our local health departments officials and numbers of cases in our region. As a result, protocols are fluid and requirements regarding the use of face coverings, distance, and testing may change. For the latest guidelines, click here.

There is no cost for this event but registration is required.