Valarie Kaur, Founder of The Revolutionary Love Project, Civil Rights Activist and Documentary Filmmaker

Valarie Kaur is a seasoned civil rights activist, award-winning filmmaker, lawyer, faith leader, and founder of the Revolutionary Love Project. She was born and raised in Clovis, Calif., where her family settled as Sikh farmers in 1913. When a family friend was the first person killed in a hate crime after Sept. 11, 2001, she began to document hate crimes against Sikh and Muslim Americans, which resulted in the award-winning film Divided We Fall. Since then, she has made films and led story-based campaigns on hate crimes, racial profiling, immigration detention, solitary confinement, marriage equality, and Internet freedom. She is the founder of Groundswell Movement, considered “America’s largest multi-faith online organizing network,” recognized for “dynamically strengthening faith-based organizing in the 21st century.” She also founded the Yale Visual Law Project, where she trained law students how to make films for social change, and co-founded Faithful Internet to build the movement for net neutrality. Recognized as a leading Sikh American voice, she has been a senior fellow at Auburn Theological Seminary since 2013.

During her work, whether inside supermax prisons, on the military base at Guantanamo, or at sites of mass shootings, she identified a surprising key element for social change: the ethic of love. Today she leads the Revolutionary Love Project to champion love as a force for justice and wellspring for social action.

Valarie earned undergraduate degrees in religious studies and international relations at Stanford University, a master’s in theological studies at Harvard Divinity School, where she was a Harvard University presidential scholar, and a J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was a Knight law and media scholar. She has worked on complex civil rights cases, clerked on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and served as a legal observer at Guantanamo Bay. She was a faculty member of the Stanford Philosophy Institute, teaching high school students religion and philosophy. Valarie was recognized as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum. She has an honorary doctorate from the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is a member of the California Bar.

SUNDAY, MAY 23, 2021

6:30-7:00 p.m. Registration

7:00-8:00 p.m. Opening Reception

MONDAY, MAY 24, 2021

8:30-9:00 a.m. Registration

9:00-9:45 a.m. Opening Worship

9:45-10:00 a.m. Coffee Break

10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. Plenary Session: “The First Amendment, Religious Practice, and the Common Good”

12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch

1:15-2:45 p.m. Session 1 Workshops: “Faith Engagement in the World” (Choose one)

A: Islam and the Common Good; B: Hinduism and Nonviolence; C: Judaism and Justice; D: Christianity and the Neighborhood; E: Religion in Public Space: What Religious Leaders Need to Know

2:45-3:00 p.m. Break

3:00-4:30 p.m. Session 2 Workshops: “Faith Engagement in the World” (Choose one)

A: Islam and the Common Good; B: Hinduism and Nonviolence; C: Judaism and Justice; D: Christianity and the Neighborhood; E: Religion in Public Space: What Religious Leaders Need to Know

5:00-7:00 p.m. Dinner / Break

7:00 -9:00 p.m. "See No Stranger: Revolutionary Love as the Call of Our Times" / Henderson Lecture on Church and Ministry with Valarie Kaur ~ FREE AND OPEN TO PUBLIC

TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2021

8:30-9:00 a.m. Registration

9:00-9:45 a.m. Morning Worship

9:45-10:00 a.m. Break

10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. Workshop with Valarie Kaur: “The Labor of Revolutionary Love"

"The future is dark. Is this darkness of the tomb— or the darkness of the womb?" Valarie Kaur reframes the present moment in history as one of transition and calls on us to show up in the labor of birthing a new future. Her message has inspired millions of people around the globe. In this workshop, she will equip us with tools for how to practice Revolutionary Love in our lives and in our movements for social justice. When in your life have you experienced the beloved community, the world as it ought to be? What has it felt like in your body? Come for inspiration, transformation, and solidarity.

12:00-1:00 p.m. Lunch

1:15-2:45 p.m. Plenary Session: “Interfaith Issues and the Common Good”

2:45-3:00 p.m. Break

3:00-4:30 p.m.  Workshops: “Sacred Text and Practices” (Choose one)

G: Buddhist Practice and Teaching; H: Jewish Torah Study; I: New Testament Study; J: Reading the Qur'an; K: Engaging Your Own Story to Engage the World

5:00-7:00 p.m. Dinner / Break

7:00-9:00 p.m. Screening of "Revolution of the Heart: The Dorothy Day Story"

WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021

8:30-9:00 a.m. Registration

9:00-10:30 a.m. Panel Discussion: "Personal Values, Public Life"

What motivates our civic leaders? How have their hopes for our common life together been inspired by the values they received through their specific religious traditions? This panel will be an opportunity to hear elected officials reflect on their own spirituality and how their faith traditions have shaped their committment to public life.

10:30-10:45 a.m. Break

10:45-11:30 a.m. Closing Prayer

11:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m. Lunch and Farewells/Departure

 

Registration for the conference will open later this fall. Thank you for your patience while we re-evaluate costs for this event.

Lodging

On-campus housing is very limited. After September 15, 2020, you will be able to make reservations for a room in Calian Hall by e-mailing reception@pts.edu. Other options include AirBnB (Highland Park area of Pittsburgh) or the Hotel Indigo East Liberty which provides a discount for PTS guests. Details about other housing options in the area can be requested from the CE Office.

Directions

Directions to the Seminary. Free parking is available on the campus of the Seminary behind the chapel and there will be directional signs to indicate where events are being held. Campus map.

CEUs

CEUs are available for clergy upon request. Conference registration is required. To receive a certificate, E-mail ConEd@pts.edu.

We will send an E-mail to you at a later date to choose the workshops you wish to participate in. As details for the workshops are finalized, we will update this site.

 

MONDAY, MAY 24, 2021 ~ FAITH ENGAGEMENT IN THE WORLD

A: ISLAM AND THE COMMON GOOD 

B: HINDUISM AND NONVIOLENCE

C: JUDAISM AND JUSTICE 

D: CHRISTIANITY AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD 

E: RELIGION IN PUBLIC SPACE: WHAT RELIGIOUS LEADERS NEED TO KNOW

 

TUESDAY, MAY 25, 2021 ~ SACRED TEXT AND PRACTICES

G: BUDDHIST PRACTICE AND TEACHING 

H: JEWISH TORAH STUDY 

I:  NEW TESTAMENT STUDY 

J: READING THE QUR'AN

K: ENGAGING YOUR OWN STORY TO ENGAGE THE WORLD