April 16, 2026
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Wait Chapel
About Prophetic Preaching in a Fractured World
The 2026 Mac Bryan Prophetic Preachers Series is focused on the theme, Prophetic Preaching in a Fractured World, and will bring nationally recognized leaders in preaching and public theology to engage the urgent moral and spiritual challenges of our time. The day-long event will feature lectures and public conversations designed to equip clergy, students, and community members to engage preaching as a vital form of public witness in a divided and complex world.
The Mac Bryan Prophetic Speakers Series brings preachers and speakers to the Wake Forest University campus who will inspire students to live and serve at the intersection of Christianity and social justice.
Participants
The Reverend Dr. Carolyn Browning Helsel
Associate Professor in the Blair Monie Distinguished Chair of Homiletics at Austin Presbyterian Seminary
The Reverend Dr. Lis Valle-Ruiz
Associate Professor of Homiletics and Worship and Director of Community Worship Life at McCormick Theological Seminary
Schedule of Events
10:00 am | Welcome
Corey D. B. Walker
Dean and Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities
10:15 am | Lecture and Conversation I
The Reverend Dr. Lis Valle-Ruiz
Associate Professor of Homiletics and Worship and Director of Community Worship Life, McCormick Theological Seminary
In Conversation with Melva L. Sampson, Assistant Teaching Professor of Preaching and Practical Theology
11:30 am| Break
11:45 am | Lecture and Conversation II
The Reverend Dr. Carolyn Browning Helsel
Associate Professor in the Blair Monie Distinguished Chair of Homiletics, Austin Presbyterian Seminary
In Conversation with Melva L. Sampson
1:00 pm | Lunch
2:00 pm | Lecture and Conversation III
The Reverend Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
President and CEO, Interfaith Alliance
In Conversation with Mallory Challis (MDIV ’26) and Lt. Gen. Charles D. Luckey (Ret.), (MDIV ’28)
3:15 pm | Break
3:30 pm | Conversation IV
Lis Valle-Ruiz, Carolyn Browning Helsel, and Paul Brandeis Raushenbush
In Conversation with Melva L. Sampson and Corey D. B. Walker
4:00 pm | Reception
Livestream
Available at time of event
About the Mac Bryan Prophetic Preachers Series
The Mac Bryan Prophetic Preachers Series was established in honor and memory of George McLeod “Mac” Bryan, Sr. (’41, MA ’44) by George (’61) and Carol (’64) Williamson, longtime supporters of Wake Forest University and early advocates for the School of Divinity. Bryan served on the religion faculty for thirty-seven years after joining the University in 1956. A pioneering teacher and public intellectual, he introduced courses on feminism, religion and science, medical ethics, and Black and liberation theology. A tireless advocate for civil rights and social reform, Bryan played a pivotal role in the integration of Wake Forest College in the 1960s. He authored several works on social justice, including These Few Also Paid a Price and Voices in the Wilderness. In carrying forward his legacy, the series brings preachers and speakers to campus who inspire students to live and serve at the intersection of faith and social justice.