[Episcopal Divinity School press release] Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) has announced its 2016 commencement ceremony will take place on May 19, at the First Church in Cambridge, Congregational, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at 2:00pm. At the ceremony, EDS will present honorary doctor of divinity degrees to three individuals: the Rev. Cn. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, Dr. Joseph B. Moore, and the Rev. Elder Dr. Nancy L. Wilson.

The Rev. Cn. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas will deliver the commencement address. Douglas is The Susan D. Morgan Professor and Chair of the Religion Program at Goucher College in Baltimore, MD, the canon theologian at the Washington National Cathedral, and a leading voice in the development of a womanist theology.

About the 2016 Honorary Degree Recipients

The Rev. Cn. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas is the Susan D. Morgan Professor and Chair of the Religion Program at Goucher College in Baltimore, MD. A leading voice in the development of a womanist theology, Essence magazine counts Douglas “among this country’s most distinguished religious thinkers, teachers, ministers, and counselors.” She has published numerous essays and articles in national publications, and her books include The Black Christ; Sexuality and the Black Church; What’s Faith Got to Do With It?: Black Bodies/Christian Soul; Black Bodies and the Black Church: A Blues Slant; and most recently, in 2015, Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God. Read more.

Dr. Joseph B. Moore is in his ninth year as president of Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Moore was a central figure in guiding the negotiations of the EDS-Lesley partnership that occurred from 2007 to 2010. His leadership and devotion to the spirit of the partnership was instrumental in bringing the complex partnership agreement to fruition and solidifying trust between the two institutions. Read more.

The Rev. Elder Dr. Nancy L. Wilson has been moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) since 2005, following the retirement of the founder of MCC, Rev. Elder Troy Perry. In July 2010, she was re-elected for a term of six years. She is only the second person, and the first woman, to serve in that role since the founding of MCC in 1968. Wilson, who received a DMin from Episcopal Divinity School in 2011, has spoken at national, and international conferences on the topics of eradicating human trafficking, a queer response to climate change, global LGBTQI human rights, religion and social change, and marriage equality. Read more.