Wesley Center for Spirituality, Service, and Social Justice

2024-2025
Mahle Keynote Participants

Back to the 2024-2025 Mahle Recap

Dr. David F. Ford OBE

"The Promise of Scriptural Reasoning"
2024 Keynote Lecture

Click here to read the Dr. Ford's lecture in Volume 2, Issue 1 of The Mahle Lectures Journal

David F. Ford OBE is Regius Professor of Divinity Emeritus in the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Selwyn College.

He is married to Revd Deborah Ford (née Hardy), who is an Anglican priest, a chaplain in Addenbrookes Hospital, and a psychotherapist; and they have three children, Rebecca, Rachel and Daniel.

Alongside continuing work on Christian theology and on inter-faith relations, Professor Ford’s current research includes work on: the Gospel of John; theology, modernity and the arts; religion-related violence; contemporary worldviews; and higher education.

Dr. Rocío Cortés Rodríguez

"Scriptural Reasoning and Indigenous Wisdom"
2025 Keynote Lecture

Check back here (or subscribe to the Wesley Center Newsletter) to read the Dr. Cortés Rodríguez's lecture in Volume 2, Issue 2 of
The Mahle Lectures Journal

Dr. Rocío Cortés Rodríguez is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Theology, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She specializes in interreligious dialogue, with a focus on Judaism, Islam, and indigenous traditions.

She holds a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, United States (2020), and a Master’s in Theology from the University of Helsinki, Finland (2014). Her work applies Scriptural Reasoning to foster religious coexistence, particularly in the Chilean context, integrating it into schools, universities, and pastoral settings.

Viveka Hall-Holt, Paths of Understanding

2025 Presentation on "The Potluck Project"

Viveka Hall-Holt is the Let's Go Together Program Coordinator at Paths of Understanding. In her role, Viveka facilitates community building by working with leaders to bring people from all corners of the community together to bridge divides and know each other. In her work with The Potluck Project she facilitates wisdom communities like churches, mosques, and temples, and other community groups to make a difference by inviting neighbors to a Potluck. The Potluck Project Toolkit can be downloaded at this link.