A Summer That Forms

APRIL 29, 2026

Doctoral Intensives Shaping Leaders for the Church and the World

At McCormick Theological Seminary, formation doesn’t pause when the seasons change. If anything, summer creates space for deeper focus, sharper questions, and more intentional growth.

This summer, McCormick’s Doctoral Program is offering an intensive course designed for leaders ready to engage faith not just as belief, but as lived, embodied practice in a complex world. This one-week course invites participants to wrestle with urgent questions facing the church while equipping them with tools for meaningful, transformative leadership.

Grounded in Witness: WOMANIST THEOLOGY (M672)
June 22-26 | IN-PERSON (with required pre-coursework)

Opening the summer is a course centered on the faithful witness of African American women and the enduring impact of Black womanist religious thought. Womanist Theology (M672) is a one-week, in-person intensive that invites students into an interdisciplinary exploration of theology, ethics, and biblical interpretation through the lens of womanist scholarship.

Students will engage the lived realities that shape Black women’s spiritual lives and leadership — attending to the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality. Guided by the core tenets of womanist inquiry — radical subjectivity, traditional communalism, redemptive self-love, and critical engagement. Participants will deepen their theological imagination while confronting the structures that shape both church and society.

This course is taught by Rev. Ebony Marshall Turman, PhD, Associate Professor of Theology and African American Religion at Yale Divinity School — an ordained National Baptist preacher and leading voice in womanist theology, ethics, and Black religious thought. A pioneer in both church and academy, she previously led Black Church Studies at Duke Divinity School and was the youngest woman appointed Assistant Minister at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City. Her work, featured in national conversations and publications, centers Black women’s lives, faith, and ethical witness, including her seminal book Toward a Womanist Ethic of Incarnation. In a way that resonates deeply with McCormick’s own legacy, Dr. Turman’s scholarship and ministry equip leaders to engage the church and world with clarity, courage, and conviction.

A SUMMER THAT MATTERS
Course offerings like this one reflect McCormick’s commitment to forming leaders who are theologically grounded, socially aware, and practically equipped. It’s an invitation for students to engage the fullness of their calling — with rigor, courage, and imagination.

Because the work of ministry does not happen in abstraction.
It happens in real communities, among real people, shaped by real histories—and sustained by a living hope.

📩 Interested in joining the Womanist Theology summer intensive?
Registration is now open. Email admit@mccormick.edu to learn more.