WMI Conference and W. Don McClure Lecture 2026
.jpg)
WMI Conference and W. Don McClure Lecture 2026
Oct. 16-17, 2026
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? The Cost of Being Neighborly in the 21st Century
In a time marked by fear, division, and polarization, it can be easy to retreat into our own spaces—losing sight of how deeply our lives are connected. And yet, we are called to something more. We are called to show up for one another, to embrace a shared responsibility, and to consider what it truly means to love our neighbors in a complex and often fractured world.
Join us for the WMI Conference and W. Don McClure Lecture Oct. 16-17, 2026, as we explore what it takes to love our neighbors in meaningful, tangible ways. Inspired by the question, “Won’t you be my neighbor?”, this gathering invites honest reflection, connection, and action.
Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst, the conference includes a Friday evening lecture, interactive workshops, panel discussion, and opportunities for worship and conversation.
As we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the World Mission Initiative, we look ahead with hope—reimagining what faithful, neighborly love can look like today.
With low-cost registration and in-person or virtual options, this is a space for anyone ready to engage, learn, and grow. If you are interested in sponsoring this event, please find sponsoring opportunities below.
Come be part of the conversation!
Registration
Registration will open shortly
About The Presenters
.jpg)
Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst is the Richard C. Oudersluys Associate Professor of World Christianity at Western Theological Seminary. Ruth yearns to see peace and justice embraced in the beautiful and broken world we call home. A wife of one and mother of many, theologian, missiologist, educator, and storyteller, she has been involved in leadership development and theological education for integral mission in her native Latin America for several decades. She teaches at Western Theological Seminary and serves with the Comunidad de Estudios Teológicos Interdisciplinarios (a learning community with students across Latin America), and with International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation. She serves on the board of A Rocha Costa Rica, the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies, the American Society of Missiology, and the Global Christian Forum. She lives with her husband, James, in Costa Rica as a member of Casa Adobe, an intentional Christian community with deep concern for right living in relation to the whole of creation. Her studies include a bachelor’s in education (Argentina), an MA in interdisciplinary studies (Wheaton College), and a Ph.D. in theology (Boston University).
.jpg)
Lakeisha Aquino is currently a PTS M.Div. student. She was a participant in the 2026 World Mission Initiative intercultural trip to Israel/Palestine and a 2025 Valentour Fellow traveling to South Korea, Ethiopia, and Ghana. Lakeisha brings a deeply interdisciplinary and globally-informed perspective to the study of theology and visual culture. Her faith journey began within Pentecostalism and later expanded through worship experiences in Methodist and Baptist traditions, all grounded in a commitment to intellectual inquiry and spiritual exploration. Throughout these experiences, art and iconography have remained central to her theological expression and understanding of the Divine.
.jpg)
Monica Ruiz is the executive director of Casa San José, a Pittsburgh nonprofit community resource center dedicated to advocating for and empowering Latino communities through integration and self-sufficiency. The organization’s mission is to model a culture of acceptance where immigrants and newcomers are treated with dignity, respect, and kindness. A recognized advocate and coalition builder, Monica has received honors, including the 2019 Women of Influence Award and the 2025 Most Influential Latina Award from the Pennsylvania Latino Convention. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from the University of Pittsburgh and is a Lead Now Pittsburgh fellow. Born in Cleveland to Guatemalan and Puerto Rican parents, Monica began her career at Catholic Charities and joined Casa San José as an intern in 2014. She lives with her husband, children, and extended family.
.jpg)
Dr. Clarence Wright serves as senior pastor of Love Zion Baptist Church and as president and professor of practical theology at Missio Seminary, both in Philadelphia, Pa. Devoted to public service, his work spans community economic development, homeless advocacy, anti-violence initiatives, and international missions across five continents. He was elected by the Missio Board as the institution’s fifth president—and the first Black president in its 50+ year history. Dr. Wright recently served as the Fred Rogers Fellow for both Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and the Fred Rogers Institute at Saint Vincent College.
.jpg)
Dan Wonneberger is the director of family ministry at Redeemer Church, Snellville, Ga. Dan is an energetic leader with a deep faith and is equally at home yelling at a sporting event as enjoying a quiet afternoon in the woods. He is loud, weird, fun, caring, and loud. His heart is to create a safe space for students of all faith levels to belong and call home. He triple majored in undergrad and is currently pursuing his masters of divinity at Fuller Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Ashley, have invited youth into their lives for years and have three young children, Addie, Milo, and Brynlee. He enjoys hiking with his dog, disc golf, kayaking, reading, watching or playing sports, and finding everyday adventures.
Questions
Please contact or call 412-924-1449 |
About W. Don McClure Lecture
The W. Don McClure Lectures in World Mission and Evangelism honor the Rev. Dr. W. Don McClure, a 1934 graduate of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, who served as a missionary in Africa for nearly 50 years. Born in Blairsville, Pa., Don McClure began teaching in Khartoum in 1928, upon graduating from Westminster College, Pa. After studying at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, he returned with is wife, Lyda, to Sudan to evangelize among the Shulla people.
In 1938, Don initiated a mission at Akobo, on the Sudan-Ethiopia border. The "Anuak Project" employed a team of specialists in education, agriculture, medicine, and evangelism, with the intenion of fostering a self-sustaining, self-governing Anuak Church within 15 years. So successful were they that, in 1950, the McClures opened a new work at Pokwo. Later, while serving as general secretary of the American (Presbyterian) Mission, Don was asked by Emperor Haile Selassie I to establish a similar project on the Somali border. For some years McClure worked as a mission representative to the Ethiopian government. He negotiated an agreement allowing Christian missionary doctors and nurses to supervise government medical programs, and he worked for better relations between Presbyterian Mission programs and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
McClure's years in African spanned dugout canoes to jet boats, in an arc through Sudan and Ethiopia equal to the distance between Pittsburgh and Dallas. After retirement, he continued as a volunteer at Gode, Ethiopia, until he was shot to death by guerrillas on March 27, 1977. Don McClure's life is told in Adventure in Africa: From Khartoum to Addis Ababa in Five Decades (1990), written by Charles B. Partee (d. 2025), P. C. Rossin Professor Emeritus of Church History at PTS.