WATERtalks

Join the dialogue: learn something new, be encouraged,

and keep up on publications in feminism and religion.

Sign up to receive information about upcoming WATERtalks and other WATER events.

Upcoming WATERtalks

Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 1 pm ET

“Becoming Trustworthy White Allies” with Melanie Morrison

Melanie Morrison, social justice activist and educator, will discuss her new book, Becoming Trustworthy White Allies (Duke University Press, 2025). Pitfalls of trying to an ally are many. But guides like Melanie’s book are clarion calls to solidarity and action. The work is for all to do. Be part of this frank conversation as you chart your own course as an ally.

The Feminist Conversations in Religion Series is a monthly meeting of minds, free and open to the public. For over five years, we have facilitated the sharing of great ideas, and enjoyed witnessing leading scholars and ministers as they share their research and experiences. These meetings have included a wide cross-section of people from many different traditions and backgrounds. WATER is proud to offer these valuable and exciting opportunities on a regular basis.

Typically hosted by Mary E. Hunt, the format includes a 20-25 minute presentation by a featured guest, followed by a Q&A session. Recordings and transcripts of the conversations are available below at no cost. We invite you to use them as educational resources.

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Many WATERtalks focus on the featured guests’ recent book/publication, and we encourage supporting these authors by buying a copy of their work. Below is a list of alternatives to purchasing them through Amazon, recommended by the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice:

IndieBound or Bookshop—support your local bookstores
ThriftBooks—provides a range of used copies
BetterWorldBooks—supports global literacy and carries both new and used books
Libro—audiobooks from independent bookstores

Upcoming 2026 Dates – All by Zoom
All Wednesday at 1:00 pm ET

February 11, 2026

March 11, 2026

April 15, 2026

May 13, 2026

June 10, 2026

Archive of WATERtalks

Past WATERtalks, with their notes and recordings, are available for perusal. Please consider making a donation for use of these valuable resources. Click on the audio headset to access the audio; click on the book to access the follow-up notes; click on the movie icon to access the video recording. Listen to archived WATERtalk audio here (pre 2022) or view recent talks on YouTube.

Speaker	Topic	Video
Melanie Morrison January 2026	Becoming Trustworthy White Allies
Darla Schumm December 2025	Healing Ableism: Stories About Disability and Religious Life
Dr. Teresa Smallwood November 2025	“Public Theology and Violent Rhetoric Examined in a Queer Womanist Critical Ethnography”
Sr. Christine Schenk, CSJ October 2025	“Bending Toward Justice”
Tracey McEwen, Kathleen McPhillips and Mary E. Hunt July 2025	Patricia Horsley: Celebration of Gratitude for a Global Friend
Former Interns and Staff Members June 2025	Interns Shaping WATER
Kwok Pui-lan and Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite May 2025	Feminist Liberation Theologians’ Network Mid-Year Meeting “What in the World is Going On?”
Victoria Rue and Martha Boesing April 2025	“Voices from the Silenced: Pre-Roe Abortion Stories”
Jennifer Rycenga March 2025	“Philosophia: Women Inspiring and Encouraging One Another”
Charlotte Bunch in Conversation with Mary E. Hunt February 2025	“Charlotte Bunch in Conversation with Mary E. Hunt”
Elizabeth Davis, RSM and Phyllis Zagano, PhD January 2025	“The Synod and Women: What’s Next?”	Passcode: aA=28ypm
Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite December 2024	“SURFACING: A Kristin Ginelli Mystery“
Grace Y. Kao November 2024	“Talking with an Expert about Surrogacy”
Nancy Sylvester, IHM October 2024	“Journey-Faith in an Entangled World”
Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Rev. Dr. Carter Heyward, Darlene O’Dell, and Margo Guernsey September 2024	“The Impact of Women’s Ordination on the Episcopal Church Fifty Years Ago and Now”
Dr. Oluwatomisin Olayinka Oredein April 2024	“The Theology of Mercy Amba Oduyoye: Ecumenism, Feminism, and Communal Practice”
Dr. Kate Common March 2024	“Undoing Conquest: Ancient Israel, the Bible, and the Future of Christianity”
Dr. Monique Moultrie February 2024	“Hidden Histories: Faith and Black Lesbian Leadership”
Rev. Dr. Nóirín Ní Riain January 2024	“Sacred Rituals for Everyday Prayer”
Rabbi Dr. Julia Watts Belser December 2023	“Loving Our Own Bones: Disability Wisdom and the Spiritual Subversiveness of Knowing Ourselves Whole”
Susan Brooks Thistlewaite October 2023	“Malice”
Phyllis Zagano September 2023	“Just Church: Catholic Social Teaching, Synodality, and Women”
Emilie Townes, Stacey Floyd-Thomas, Alison P. Gise Johnson, and Angela D. Sims, Editors. June 2023	“Walking Through the Valley: Womanist Explorations in the Spirit of Katie Geneva Cannon”
Mary E. Hunt May 2023	“Feminist Liberation Theologians’ Network Mid-Year Meeting“
Carter Heyward April 2023	“The Seven Deadly Sins of White Christian Nationalism: A Call to Action“
Karma Lekshe Tsomo March 2023	“Women in Buddhist Traditions“
Jeanette Stokes February 2023	“Making the Road As We Go“
Su Yon Park, Mychal B. Spring, Editors January 2023	“Sisters in Mourning: Daughters Reflecting on Care, Loss, and Meaning“
Kwok Pui-lan November 2022	“Postcolonial Politics and Theology: Unraveling Empire for a Global World”
Rabbi Toba Spitzer October 2022	“God Is Here: Reimagining the Divine”
Ofelia Ortega, Shannon Clarkson, Cherie White, and Mary Hunt September 2022	“Cuban Feminist Theology: Visions and Praxis”
Lisa Allen June 2022	“A Womanist Theology of Worship: Liturgy, Justice, and Communal Righteousness”
Jennifer Harvey May 2022	“Raising Antiracist White Kids: A Conversation for All of Us”
Yolanda Pierce April 2022	“In My Grandmother’s House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit”
Melanie Morrison March 2022	“Letters from Old Screamer Mountain”
Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite January 2022	“What She Will Become”
Kelly Denton-Borhaug November 2021	“Military Moral Injury and Cultural Violence: Exploring The Intersections of Toxic Masculinities, Religion, and Ideologies of Nationalism in The U.S. Context”
Gale A. Yee October 2021	“Thinking Intersectionally About Our Social Locations”
Emma Goldberg September 2021	“Life on the Line: Young Doctors Come of Age in a Pandemic”
Marcy Litle July 2021	“Illusions of Innocence: Reflections on Race and Whiteness”
Carol Adams June 2021	“The Pornography of Meat: The Misogyny We Don’t Want to See”
Naomi Goldenberg and Kathleen McPhillips May 2021	*The End of Religion: Feminist Reappraisals of the State*
Rev. Irie Lynne Session, Rev. Dr. Kamilah Hall Sharp, and Rev. Dr. Jann Aldredge-Clanton April 2021	*The Gathering: A Womanist Church—Origins, Stories, Sermons, and Litanies*
Heidi Neumark and Cyndi Lapp March 2021	*Sanctuary: Being Christian in the Wake of Trump*
Colleen Hartung and Elizabeth Ursic February 2021	“Gender Bias in Biographical Notability: Telling the Stories of Women Activists in Religion”
Phyllis Zagano January 2021	*Women: Icons of Christ*
Kendra Weddle and Jann Aldredge-Clanton December 2020	*Building Bridges: Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Friends*
Theresa Kane, RSM, and Christine Schenk, CSJ November 2020	*To Speak the Truth in Love: A Biography of Theresa Kane, RSM*
Traci C. West October 2020	*Solidarity and Defiant Spirituality: Africana Lessons on Religion, Racism, and Ending Gender Violence*
Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite September 2020	“Feminist Theology as Performance Art: Confronting White Supremacy Through Fiction”
Victoria Rue July 2020	“Maryam: A Woman of Bethlehem”
Kathleen Gallagher Elkins June 2020	“Mary, Mother of Martyrs: How Motherhood become Self-Sacrifice in Early Christianity”
Gina Hens-Piazza May 2020	“Silence Breakers: Woman Zion and the #MeToo Movement (Lamentations 2:20-22)”
Susan M. Shaw and Grace Ji-Sun Kim April 2020	“Intersectional Theology: An Introduction”
Diann Neu March 2020	“Stirring WATERS: Feminist Liturgies for Justice”
Kathryn Lofton February 2020	“Consuming Religion”
Gale A. Yee January 2020	“The Hebrew Bible: Feminist and Intersectional Perspectives”
Rebecca Todd Peters and Grace Y. Kao December 2019	“Encountering the Sacred: Feminist Reflections on Women’s Lives”
M. Shawn Copeland November 2019	“Knowing Christ Crucified: The Witness of African American Religious Experience”
Bishop Karen P. Oliveto October 2019	“Together at the Table: Diversity Without Division in the United Methodist Church”
Marianne Duddy-Burke September 2019	“50 Years of Dignity USA”
Dolly Pomerleau July 2019	“A Discussion on the Quixote Center and the Continuing Journey of Activist Work”
Annmarie Sanders July 2019	“However Long the Night: Making Meaning in a Time of Crisis”
Su Yon Pak and Jung Ha Kim June 2019	“Leading Wisdom: Asian and Asian North American Women Leaders”
M Barclay and Mary E. Hunt April 2019	“Methodists and Catholics: As Steeples Fall, What About the People?”
Gay L. Byron March 2019	“Womanist Interpretations of the Bible: Expanding the Discourse”
Patricia Beattie Jung February 2019	“Glorious Sex”
Nancy Wilson January 2019	“I Love to Tell the Story”
Alice L. Laffey December 2018	“Roots and Ruth: Division and Dialogue”
Angela Yarber November 2018	“Holy Women Icons: Folk-Feminist Iconography and an Intersectionally Ecofeminist Philosophy of Creativity”
Teresia Mbari Hinga October 2018	“Bearing Prophetic Witness: On Being African, Christian, and Feminist Today”
Rebecca Todd Peters September 2018	“Trust Women: Moving the Conversation from Abortion to Reproductive Justice”
Nami Kim July 2018	“The Gendered Politics of the Korean Protestant Right: Hegemonic Masculinity”
Judith Casselberry June 2018	“Labor of Faith: Gender and Power in Black Apostolic Pentecostalism”
Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder May 2018	“Motherhood, Mayhem, and Mindfulness”
Eileen Markey April 2018	“Radical Faith: The Assassination of Sister Maura”
Marianne Duddy-Burke, Kate McElwee, and Mary E. Hunt March 2018	“Every Day is International Women’s Day”
Monique Moultrie March 2018	“Passionate and Pious: Religious Media and Black Women’s Sexuality”
Rima Vesley-Flad February 2018	“Theological Responses to the US Penal System”
Liz Edman January 2018	“Queer Virtue 101”
Teresa Forcades December 2017	“Medieval Feminist Monasticism: Did it Exist and Can it be Relevant Today?”
Katherine Marshall and Susan Heyward November 2017	“Women, Religion and Peacebuilding: Illuminating the Unseen”
Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Jennifer Bailey, and Micky ScottBey Jones October 2017	“Faith Rooted Organizing: Public Theology, Healing Justice and Moral Imagination”
Rev. M Barclay September 2017	“In Conversation about Transgender Inclusion”
Jennifer Rycenga and Linda Barufaldi July 2017	“Cerebrating The Mary Daly Reader”
Ani Zonneveld June 2017	“Is Sharia Law Still Relevant?”
Judith Freeman May 2017	*“The Latter Days: Surviving Mormon Patriarchy in the Age of Feminism*”
Ayesha S. Chaudhry April 2017	“Studying Islam in the Age of Islamophobia”
Caitlin Breedlove March 2017	“Spiritual Fortification and Feminism in the Time of Trump”
Mychal Copeland February 2017	“LGBTQI Issues in Religion: Their Roots in Feminist Religious Studies”
Heather White January 2017	“Queer Activism and the Christian Right: The Surprising Story of their Shared History”
Mary Evelyn Tucker December 2016	“Living Cosmology: Christian Responses to Journey of the Universe”
Renate Rose November 2016	“Feminist Efforts to Overcome the Genocidal Mentality of Nuclear Weapons”
Celia Wexler October 2016	“The Evolution of the Catholic ‘Everywoman’”
Judith Plaskow and Carol Christ September 2016	“God and Goddess in the World: Conversations in Embodied Theology”
Joan Chittister June 2016	“Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope”
Rita Nakashima Brock May 2016	“Women in the Military: Implications for Trauma Studies”
Susan Thistlethwaite April 2016	“Women’s Bodies as Battlefield ”
Carol J Adams March 2016	“Witnessing Against Violence: 25 Years after the Sexual Politics of Meat ”
Joanna Brooks February 2016	“Mormon Feminism: The Forty Years We Celebrate, The Forty Years Ahead ”
Grace Y. Kao January 2016	“Introducing Asian American Christian Ethics”
Beverly Lanzetta December 2015	“Interfaith Contemplation: A Path That Shaped My Life”
Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas November 2015	“Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God”
Rebecca Parrish, Chris Schenk, Simone Campbell October 2015	“Creating Radical Grace”
Sandy Boucher September 2015	“She Appears! Encounters with Kwan Yin, Goddess of Compassion”
Aisha Beliso-de Jesús July 2015	“Gender, Sexuality, and Feminism in Afro-Cuban Religions”
Margaret McCarthy and Mary Ann Zollman June 2015	“Power of Sisterhood: Women Religious Tell the Story of the Apostolic Visitation”
Reverend Elder Dr. Nancy Wilson June 2015	“The Things That Shaped Me: A Queer, Christian, Feminist Faith Activist!”
Xochitl Alvizo, Gina Messina-Dysert, Rosemary Ruether May 2015	“Feminism and Religion in the 21st Century: Technology, Dialogue, & Expanding Borders”
Namsoon Kang April 2015	“Where Are You FROM and Where ARE You? Cosmopolitan and Diasporic Modes of Thinking and Acting”
Jann Aldredge-Clanton March 2015	“She Lives! Sophia Wisdom Works in the World!”
Rita Gross January 2015	“Religious Diversity: What’s the Problem?”
Mary E. Hunt, Kecia Ali, and Monique Moultrie December 2014	“A Guide for Women in Religion”
Kate Kelly November 2014	“Girls Just Wanna Have FUN-damental Human Rights”
Theresa Kane October 2014	“Making History, Making Change: A Conversation with Theresa Kane”
Marie Alford-Harkey and Rev. Debra W. Haffner October 2014	“Bisexuality: Making the Invisible Visible in Faith Communities”
Andrea Smith September 2014	“Addressing Violence Against Women of Color”
Darlene O’Dell July 2014	“The Story of the Philadelphia Eleven: Women’s Ordination History”
Carter Heyward June 2014	“The Power of a Woman’s Voice: The Legacy of Sue Hyatt”
Cynthia Tootle May 2014	“Greeting the Goddess”
Margaret Mann April 2014	“Life is Tough, Deal with It”
Anne E. Patrick March 2014	“Conscience and Calling: Ethical Reflections on Catholic Women’s Church Vocations”
Grace Biskie, Gina Messina-Dysert, Tara Woodard-Lehman, and Katey Zeh February 2014	“Talking Taboo” Part Two
Robyn Henderson-Espinoza and Erin Lane January 2014	“Talking Taboo” Part One
Keri Day December 2013	“Is Moral Economy Possible?”
Cynthia Moe-Lobeda November 2013	“Resisting Structural Evil: Love as Ecological-Economic Vocation”
Nancy Sylvester October 2013	“Contemplation: An Invitation to Faith-filled Feminists”
Linn Marie Tonstad September 2013	“The Sexuality of God”
Grace Ji-Sun Kim July 2013	“Colonialism, Han, and the Transformative Spirit”
Monica A. Coleman June 2013	“Third Wave Womanist Religious Thought”
Marie M. Fortune, Jeanette Stokes, Mary E. Hunt, and Diann L. Neu May 2013	“A Century of Creative Feminist Leadership in Religion”
Gina Messina-Dysert April 2013	“In Search of Healing: Confronting Rape Culture and Spiritual Violence”
Mary E. Hunt March 2013	“Catholic Patriarchy: What the Papal Transition Means and What Feminists Can Do About It”
WATER Colleagues February 2013	“Teleconference Town Meeting”
Carol P. Christ January 2013	“Goddess and God after Feminism: What is the Nature of Divine Power”
Teleconference with Margaret R. Miles November 2012	“Imagining the Intelligent Body”
Teleconference with Melissa Browning October 2012	“HIV/AIDS and Christian Marriage in East Africa”
Teleconference with Judith Plaskow September 2012	“God After Feminism”
Teleconference with Teresa Berger July 2012	“Gender Differences and the Making of Liturgical History”
Teleconference with Nikki Young June 2012	“Queering the Human Situation”
Teleconference with Melanie Morrison and Julia Watts Belser May 2012	“What No Longer Serves Us”
Teleconference with Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza April 2012	“Transforming Vision”
Teleconference with Carol Adams March 2012	“The Sexual Politics of Meat”
Teleconference with Mary Evelyn Tucker February 2012	“Journey of the Universe”
Teleconference with Rita Nakashima Brock January 2012	“Occupying Paradise”
Teleconference with Maureen Fiedler December 2011	“Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Religious Leaders in Their Own Words”
Teleconference with Bernadette Brooten November 2011	“Beyond Slavery: Overcoming Its Religious and Sexual Legacies”
Teleconference with Eleanor Moody-Shepherd October 2011	“Our Voices: Loud and Clear”
Teleconference with Meg Riley September 2011	“Embodied Theology in a Digital Age”
Teleconference with M. Shawn Copeland July 2011	“Enfleshing Freedom: Body, Race, and Being”
Teleconference with Anne Joh June 2011	“Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality: Integrating the Diverse Politics of Identity into Our Theology”
Teleconference with Nancy Pineda-Madrid May 2011	“Suffering and Salvation in Ciudad Juarez”
Teleconference with Patrick Cheng April 2011	“What Does Queerness Have to Do With Feminism?: A Conversation on Queer and Feminist Theologies”
Teleconference with Kate Ott March 2011	“Searching for an Ethic: Sexuality, Children, and Moral Agency”
Teleconference with Eunjoo Mary Kim February 2011	“Asian American Women and Renewal of Preaching”
Teleconference with Gale A. Yee January 2011	“Where Are You Really From? An Asian American Feminist Biblical Scholar Reflects on Her Guild”
Teleconference with Shelly Matthews December 2010	“The Future of Feminist Scripture Studies”
Teleconference with Virginia Ramey Mollenkott November 2010	“Trans Gifts”
Teleconference with Wanda Deifelt October 2010	“Crossing Borders: Feminist Christianity in Latin America”
Teleconference with Traci C. West September 2010	“What Does Antiracist Feminist Christian Social Ethics Look Like?”
Teleconference with Rosemary Radford Ruether July 2010	“Feminist Theology in Theological Education”
Teleconference with Victoria Rue June 2010	“This Is My Body: Feminist Ministries at the Grassroots”
Teleconference with Letha Dawson Scanzoni May 2010	“Being An Evangelical Christian Feminist Today”
Teleconference with Mary E. Hunt April 2010	“Mary Daly—A Feminist’s Feminist”
Teleconference with Mary Condren February 2010	“Brigit of Ireland: Spirit of Old Europe”
Teleconference with Kwok Pui-lan January 2010	“Just Too Busy: No Time to Do Anything I Really Like to Do?”
Teleconference with Mary E. Hunt January 2010	“What Feminist Ministers Need to Know about LGBTQ Issues”
Teleconference with Diann Neu January 2010	“Healing Rituals”
Teleconference with Rev. Marie M. Fortune July 2009	“Feminist Ministry and Sexual Violence”
Teleconference with Dr. Emilie M. Townes June 2009	“Theological Education for Feminist Ministry”