Teresa Fry Brown: How We All Get Free Series

Join us for Iliff’s Pulpit+ Exchange Series, an inspiring series of in-person and virtual gatherings where clergy, lay leaders, activists, scholars, ministers, journalists, and community organizers come together to wrestle with the most pressing questions of our time. Together, we’ll explore powerful stories of hope, healing, and action—each rooted in a shared vision of justice and liberation.

Rev. Teresa L. Fry Brown, PhD is the Associate Deann of Academic Affairs (2022-present) and Bandy Professor of Preaching (2015-present) at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally, she served as the fourteenth Historiographer, the editor of the A.ME. Review Executive Director of Research and Scholarship (2012-2024) and President of the General Officers’ Council of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (2021-2024). Dr. Fry Brown was Director of Black Church Studies at Candler (2007-2015).  Dr. Fry Brown obtained a Doctor of Philosophy in Religious and Theological Studies from the Iliff School of Theology and the University of Denver, with an emphasis in Religion and Social Transformation (1996). She earned a Master of Divinity from Iliff School of Theology (1988), Master of Science degree (1975) and Bachelor of Science degree (1973) in Speech Pathology and Audiology from the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Missouri.  

Dr. Fry Brown has extensive teaching and preaching experience in national, international academic and ecumenical settings. A prolific author, Dr. Fry Brown’s books include Delivering the Sermon: Voice, Body and Animation in Proclamation, Fortress Press (2008); Can A Sister Get a Little Help: Advice and Encouragement for Black Women in Ministry, Pilgrim Press (2008); God Don’t Like Ugly:  African American Women Handing on Spiritual Values Abingdon Press (2000); Weary Throats and New Song: Black Women Proclaiming God’s Word Abingdon Press (2003) and the 2006 African American History Devotional, Abingdon Press (2006).  Additionally, she has published sixty other reviews, chapters, and commentaries.

Dr. Fry Brown is a member of the American Academy of Religion (Steering Committee of Womanist Approaches to Religion and Society Group 2018-2024) ), Society for the Study of Black Religion, and the Academy of Homiletics First Vice President (2021-2022; President, December 2022-2023). She was honored for her academic achievements at the Eighteenth Annual Black Religious Scholar Group Consultation at the American Academy of Religion (2015), Emory-Williams Distinguished Teaching Award (2017), Samuel Dewitt Proctor Beautiful Are the Feet Award (2019), and Turner Theological Seminary Lifetime Achievement Award (2021). She is an ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and an Associate Minister at New Bethel A.M.E. Church, Lithonia, Georgia. 

A native of Independence, Missouri Dr. Fry Brown is the second oldest of seven children of (late) William M. Fry Sr. and (late) Naomi Parks Fry.  She is the mother of Veronica (Jonathan) Perry and proud “Fab G” to Jonathan David Perry. She is a member of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Dr. Fry Brown’s life is governed by the words of the Prophet Isaiah “Those whose hope is in the Lord gain new strength” and Zora Neale Hurston, “There are years that ask questions and years that answer.”

5:00 – 5:45 PM (MST): Light meal and connection

5:45 PM: Lecture begins, followed by Q&A and deep discussion

Location: In-person at Iliff or online via livestream. Unable to attend in person? Register to receive the livestream link.

Because change starts in community. This is a space to be challenged and inspired, while meeting others who share your passion for faith-rooted justice, equity, and collective liberation.

Come for one evening or all. Stay for the conversation. Leave with new energy, new insights, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Whether you’re a faith leader, community builder, or someone seeking meaningful connection, this is more than a lecture series—it’s an invitation to be part of a growing network of changemakers committed to building a more just and equitable world.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Iliff School of Theology