03/14/2016

Nelson W. Trout Lectures to Feature Otis Moss III

Author and activist, the Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, will be the featured speaker for the 25th anniversary of the Nelson W. Trout Lectures in Preaching, April 28 and 29, at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, 2199 E. Main Street in Columbus.

The theme for this year’s presentation is borrowed from the speaker’s book of the same name, Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair, in which he strives to help preachers effectively communicate hope in a desperate and difficult world.

Dr. Moss is the senior pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, and a popular speaker and author. He published his first book, Redemption in a Red Light District in 1999 and co-authored The Gospel Re-Mix: How to Reach the Hip-Hop Generation in 2006. His sermons, articles, and poetry have appeared in numerous publications, including The Audacity of Faith: Christian Leaders Reflect on the Election of Barack Obama and Sojourners magazine.

Dr. Moss holds a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University and a Doctor of Ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary. An ordained minister in the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the United Church of Christ, Dr. Moss is a life member of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, board member of the Christian Century magazine, and chaplain of the Children’s Defense Fund’s Samuel DeWitt Proctor Child Advocacy Conference.

The lectures begin at 1 p.m., April 28, and conclude with a panel discussion at 2 p.m., April 29. A banquet in honor of the lecture series’ 25th anniversary will be held Thursday evening, followed by a service with Dr. Moss preaching. The lectures and worship are free and open to the public. Registration is required for the banquet, and can be found online at TLSohio.edu.

Established in 1991, the Trout lectures honor the Rev. Dr. Nelson Trout (1920-1996), a former Trinity professor and the first African American Lutheran bishop in the United States.