Liz Theoharis Explained

Liz Theoharis
Birth Name:Elizabeth Armen Theoharis
Birth Date:18 February 1976
Occupation:anti-poverty activist, pastor, biblical scholar
Education:University of Pennsylvania (BA)
Union Theological Seminary (MDiv, MPhil, PhD)
Spouse:Chris Caruso
Relatives:Athan Theoharis (father)
Jeanne Theoharis (sister)

Elizabeth Armen "Liz" Theoharis (born February 18, 1976) is an American theologian who is the co-chair (along with William Barber II) of the, and the Director of the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary. She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA).[1]

Education

Theoharis received her BA in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. In 2004 she received her Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary with Columbia University, and her Master of Philosophy in 2009 and PhD as the Henry Berg Scholar in New Testament and Christian Origins in 2014 from the same institution. The title of her dissertation was "Will 'The Poor Be With You Always?': Towards a Methodological Approach of Reading the Bible with the Poor".[2]

Anti-poverty activism

In 1994, Theoharis moved from her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend the University of Pennsylvania. While there she became involved in Empty the Shelters,[3] a student organization dedicated to ending homelessness related to the National Union of the Homeless, and the Kensington Welfare Rights Union.[4] In 1995, as part of KWRU, she participated in the takeover of the abandoned St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Philadelphia by dozens of homeless families. In 2003, along with other leaders from KWRU and the related Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign, she established the Poverty Initiative at Union Theological Seminary and the "Poverty Scholars Program" to build a network of grassroots organizations united around ending poverty.[5]

The Poverty Initiative launched the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice, with Theoharis as one of its two Co-Directors (along with Larry Cox), in 2013.

In 2017, Theoharis' first book, Always With Us? What Jesus Really Said About the Poor[6] was published. The book combines reflections on her experiences as an organizer and educator in Philadelphia and with the Poverty Initiative with Biblical scholarship and theology to argue that Jesus' words in Matthew 26:11—"The poor you will always have with you"—are part of the Bible's call to end poverty.[7] [8] Later that year the book was made recommended reading for all Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations through the denomination's "One Church, One Book" initiative.[9]

Also in 2017, Theoharis became a national Co-Chair, with Rev. Dr. William Barber II, of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival.[10] During 2017 and the first half of 2018, she traveled to various parts of the country to advance the local organizing of the campaign, including Detroit, MI; Harlan County, KY; Selma, AL; and Charleston, WV.[11] [12] During the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival's "40 Days of Action" in May–June 2018, she was arrested while leading a prayer on the steps of the Supreme Court as part of the campaign's protests in Washington, D.C.[13] The next day a statement prepared by her was read out in a hearing with members of the Congress and Senate.[14] In November 2018, Theoharis and Rev. Dr. William Barber II gave an official TED talk titled "A Call for a Moral Revival".[15] In December 2018, Revive Us Again: Vision and Action in Moral Organizing,[16] a book she co-authored with Rev. Dr. William Barber II and Rev. Dr. Rick Lowery, was published.

In 2019, as a co-chair of the campaign, she participated in "National Emergency Truth and Poverty Tours" organized in various states, meant to highlight the problems facing diverse poor communities in the United States, and the solutions being proposed by the campaign and local organizations.[17] She was the co-chair of the campaign's "Poor People's Moral Action Congress," held from June 17-19th, 2019 at Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C. At the event, she co-moderated a town hall with candidates for the 2020 Democratic Primary[18] and testified before the House Budget Committee, along with other leaders from the campaign.[19]

Selected works

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Wisconsin upbringing inspired Rev. Liz Theoharis' walk with the poor. June 22, 2018. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. June 22, 2018.
  2. PhD thesis . Will 'The Poor Be With You Always?': Towards a Methodological Approach of Reading the Bible with the Poor . Theoharis . Elizabeth . June 2014 . New York . Union Theological Seminary. 10.7916/D85Q4T7D .
  3. Web site: Group says media ignores poverty. Fiore. Mark. 1995-11-17. The Daily Pennsylvanian. en-us. 2019-08-08.
  4. Web site: Wisconsin upbringing inspired Rev. Liz Theoharis' walk with the poor. Edbeat. J. S.. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. en. 2019-08-08.
  5. Book: Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World. Salvatierra. Rev Alexia. Heltzel. Peter. 2014-01-06. InterVarsity Press. 9780830864690. en.
  6. Book: Theoharis, Liz . Always with us? : what Jesus really said about the poor. April 21, 2017. Wm. B. Eerdmans . 9781467447133. 1002109198.
  7. Web site: Always with Us? - Liz Theoharis : Eerdmans. www.eerdmans.com. 2019-08-08.
  8. Web site: How to Liberate Scripture. Wilkes. Andrew. 2018-04-25. Sojourners. EN. 2019-08-08.
  9. Web site: Presbyterians at the intersection of poverty and race: Co-moderators recommend next book for the church to read. 2017-07-07. The Presbyterian Outlook. en-US. 2019-08-08.
  10. News: Ministers Look to Revive Martin Luther King's 1968 Poverty Campaign. Goodstein. Laurie. 2017-12-03. The New York Times. 2019-08-08. en-US. 0362-4331.
  11. Web site: Detroit comeback is leaving poor behind, activists say. Witsil. Frank. Detroit Free Press. en. 2019-08-08.
  12. Web site: 50 years later, MLK's Poor People's Campaign is back -- and more needed than ever. Dockray. Heather. Mashable. April 4, 2018 . en. 2019-08-08.
  13. Web site: Religious Leaders Shackled, Held in Jail Overnight, After Praying in Protest Outside Supreme Court. Democracy Now!. en. 2019-08-08.
  14. News: The Poor People's Campaign Is Changing the Moral Narrative of Congress. Nichols. John. The Nation. 2018-06-14. 2019-08-08. en-US. 0027-8378.
  15. Web site: Rev. William Barber and Rev. Liz Theoharis: A call for a moral revival . ted.com . November 2018 . 2020-03-01.
  16. Book: Revive us again : vision and action in moral organizing. Theoharis, Liz . Lowery, Richard H. . Barber, William J. II. Beacon Press. 2018. 9780807025604. 995081636.
  17. Web site: To Counter Trump's Fake Border Crisis, Poor People's Campaign Tour Aims to Expose 'Real Emergencies' Nation Faces. Common Dreams. en. 2019-08-08.
  18. News: 2020 Democrats Address Poverty and Systemic Racism at Presidential Forum. Kaplan. Thomas. 2019-06-17. The New York Times. 2019-08-08. en-US. 0362-4331.
  19. Web site: How to raise $9 trillion for working-class people without really trying. . June 19, 2019 . en-US. 2019-08-08.
  20. News: Bridge Awards honor longtime educators. Jones. James. 2019-03-03. The Selma Times-Journal. 2019-08-08. en-US. 1043-9129.
  21. Web site: Union Theological honors North Shore native for work with poor. www.jsonline.com. en. 2019-08-08.

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