Red state/blue state politics threaten the foundations of our democracy and tear the fabric of our churches.  Congregations and church leaders need new perspectives and insights for navigating this difficult time. Rev. Dr. Leah Schade will offer an overview of “the purple zone” based her longitudinal research of nearly 4000 clergy and 1000 laity from 2017-2025.  She will then introduce strategies and methods for engaging issues of public concern that enable congregations to find the values that bind them together and respond faithfully to God’s Word.

Resources from this webinar:

• Preaching in the Purple Zone – https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/preaching-in-the-purple-zone-9781538119884/
  
• Preaching and Social Issues: Empowering Your Prophetic Voice – https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/preaching-and-social-issues-9781538187616/
  
• Rooted and Rising – https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/rooted-and-rising-9781538127766/
• Introduction to Preaching – https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/introduction-to-preaching-9781538138601/
• EcoPreacher blog: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/ecopreacher/
• Assessment Tool for Preaching about Social Issues: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PreachingSocialIssuesAssessment
• “How Will Preachers Address Social Issues During the 2024 Election?” Schade, Leah D., Wayne Thompson, Amanda Wilson Harper. Canopy Forum, May 29, 2024. https://canopyforum.org/2024/05/29/how-will-preachers-address-social-issues-during-the-2024-election/

Recommended Books by other authors:

• The Gospel People Don’t Want to Hear – https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506456393/The-Gospel-People-Dont-Want-to-Hear
• The Politics of Faith – https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506466996/The-Politics-of-Faith
• Webinars, book reviews, etc. from PRC on Christian Nationalism – https://www.prcli.org/?s=nationalism
• Facebook Group – Clergy Emergency League – https://www.facebook.com/groups/3268854966534981
• Recording of the session, “Trolls, Doxxing, and Threats, Oh My! Guidance for Clergy and Congregations Engaged in Prophetic Ministry” A webinar from the Clergy Emergency League and the Wisconsin Council of Churches https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL1vAbRmkZ0&t=1s

The Rev. Dr. Leah D. Schade is the Associate Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky, and served as the President of the Academy of Homiletics in 2024.  An ordained Lutheran minister (ELCA) for nearly twenty-five years, Leah earned both her MDiv and PhD degrees from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (now United Lutheran Seminary).  She has pastored congregations in suburban, urban, and rural contexts. She is the author of Preaching and Social Issues: Tools and Tactics for Empowering Your Prophetic Voice (Rowman & Littlefield, 2025), Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019) and Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit (Chalice Press, 2015). She is the co-editor of Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019). Her book, Introduction to Preaching: Scripture, Theology, and Sermon Preparation, was co-authored with Jerry L. Sumney and Emily Askew (Rowman & Littlefield, 2023).