Two-day Berkeley gathering, September 25-26, calls faith communities to confront exclusion, build belonging, and create hope
BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pacific School of Religion (PSR) will host the 2026 Earl Lecture Series, “Faith Beyond Exclusion,” on September 25 and 26 at its campus. At a moment when religion is increasingly being used to divide and exclude, the gathering will bring faith leaders, advocates, and community partners together to offer a different public witness: faith as a source of liberation, moral courage, hope, and expansive belonging.
Held in the weeks before consequential midterm elections, the 2026 lectures will offer a clear religious voice, grounded in the Christian gospel and resonant with other faith traditions. Pastors, advocates, and nonprofit leaders will gather to respond to the distortions of Christian nationalism and to proclaim that faith is a source of liberation, moral courage, and expansive belonging. This year’s gathering celebrates the 125th Earl Lectures, the longest-running public lecture series in the western United States, and the 25th anniversary of PSR’s Center for LGBTQ+ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS), the first center of its kind at any Christian seminary.
“We gather because the moment demands it,” said Rev. Dr. David Vásquez-Levy, President of PSR. “When religion is being used to divide and exclude, and government steps back from its responsibility to help create a world where all can thrive, churches and faith communities have both a duty and an opportunity to step forward—to build community, create hope, and proclaim a faith that liberates. These two milestones for our institution remind us that this work is not new. For 125 years, the Earl Lectures have brought the church’s boldest voices into public life, and for 25 years, CLGS has embodied what a radically inclusive gospel looks like in practice.”
This year’s speakers are Rev. Dr. Robert Chao Romero and Bishop Yvette A. Flunder. Romero, Professor and Chair of the UCLA Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies, is an award-winning author, attorney, ordained minister, and faith-rooted community organizer whose books include “Brown Church” and “Christianity and Critical Race Theory.” Flunder, a San Francisco native and PSR alum, founded City of Refuge Church in 1991 and has spent more than three decades advocating for justice and inclusion in the church and society.
The weekend opens Friday evening with the Distinguished Alumnx Banquet. Saturday’s program includes opening worship, plenary lectures from Romero and Flunder, presentation of the inaugural Heralds of Welcome Awards, and the launch of PSR’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, “Fearless.”
Registration and details are available at PSR.edu/events/earl2026/.
ABOUT PSR
Founded in 1866, PSR is a leading progressive Christian seminary, graduate school, and center for leadership development and social impact. PSR transforms individuals and communities through a flexible, stackable curriculum and a collaborative, lifelong learning ecosystem powered by diversity.
PSR offers multiple, flexible options for anyone looking to build spiritually grounded leadership skills. In addition to PSR’s master’s and doctoral programs, PSR also offers online certificates through PSR Collective.
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SOURCE Pacific School of Religion
