Join us for an inspiring evening of big ideas, fresh perspectives, and meaningful conversation as leading voices in theology and the academy explore questions of faith, God, and justice through powerful 20-minute talks.
Friday, October 9, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Orlando FL
Tickets: $15 each
TheoEd Orlando brings leading voices in theology and the academy together for an evening of 20-minute talks—TED-style, no notes—designed to spark real conversation about God, faith, and justice.
TheoEd speakers deliver neither sermons nor traditional lectures. Instead, they offer highly polished, no-notes talks that explore big ideas about faith, theology, spirituality, and the power of faith to change lives and communities.
Meet the Speakers:
Bishop Tom Berlin
Bishop Tom Berlin
How Caring for Aging Loved Ones Changed the Way I Live
Resident Bishop of The Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church
Tom Berlin has walked this road with many families in his ministry. Now, he is traveling it in a deeply personal way as he accompanies his own parents toward the end of life. In this talk, he invites us to slow down, pay attention, and receive the quiet wisdom this season offers. What if our fears, grief, and uncertainty are not only burdens—but teachers? What if walking with others toward death can help us embrace greater clarity, courage, and grace so that we really live?
About Bishop Tom Berlin:
After pastoring in the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist church for 34 years, Tom Berlin now serves as the residential bishop of the Florida Episcopal Area. In his capacity as bishop, he travels extensively preaching in local churches and interacting with laity and clergy. Bishop Berlin has chaired the Board of Governors at Wesley Theological Seminary, led delegations to General Conference, and served on the Commission on a Way Forward and the team that created the Protocol of Grace and Reconciliation through Separation. He enjoys spending time with his wife Karen and four adult daughters, as well as traveling, hiking, and woodworking.
Rev. Ingrid Rasmussen
Rev. Ingrid Rasmussen
Lives Held in Common
Minneapolis Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
What if courage, hope, risk, and even grief were never meant to be carried alone? In the wake of Minneapolis’ federal occupation, Rev. Ingrid C. A. Rasmussen invites us to imagine a world where our lives are held in common.
About Rev. Ingrid C. Rasmussen:
A native of southwest Minnesota, Rev. Ingrid C. A. Rasmussen is an ordained ELCA pastor who currently serves as Lead Pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. A public theologian and community leader, she is deeply committed to justice, compassion, and active engagement in the public square. Rasmussen was a leading voice in the 2025 ICE protests in Minnesota, bearing witness to what it means to be the church in the midst of community crisis and injustice. Her writing has appeared in The Christian Century, Faith & Leadership, Journal of Lutheran Ethics, and she is a contributing author to Parenting for a Better World (Chalice Press, 2021).
Kat Armas
Kat Armas
Author, Theologian, Speaker
About Kat Armas:
Kat Armas is a Cuban-American author, speaker, theologian, spouse, and mom to two humans and a beloved band of farm animals. She holds a ThM from Vanderbilt Divinity School, where she received the J.D. Owen and the Luke-Acts awards for excellence in New Testament studies. She also earned a dual MDiv and MAT from Fuller Theological Seminary, where she was awarded the Frederick Buechner Award for Excellence in Writing. Her work has appeared in the National Catholic Reporter—including an article shared by the Pope—as well as The Christian Century, Plough Magazine, Sojourners, and numerous other publications. Kat speaks and leads workshops at universities, churches, and organizations across the country, engaging the intersections of empire, decolonization, and the Bible. She is the author of Abuelita Faith, Sacred Belonging, and Liturgies for Resisting Empire.
Dr. Chris Carter + Dr. Seth Schoen
Dr. Chris Carter + Dr. Seth Schoen
What Must You Unlearn to Practice Antiracism?
Racial Resilience
Unlearning our internalized beliefs about race and racism is difficult because we perceive disagreement as a threat to our egos rather than an opportunity for curiosity and learning. Unlearning asks us to prioritize courage over fear, and compassion-based spiritual practices can help us develop the courage we need to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
About Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter:
Carter is an Associate Professor of Theology, Ecology, and Race at Methodist Theological School in Ohio and the Lead Pastor of The Loft at Westwood United Methodist Church. In addition, he is the co-creator of Racial Resilience, an anti-racism and anti-oppression training program, and the host of The Progressive Christian Podcast. Carter’s research, teaching, and activist interests are in Black, Womanist, and Environmental ethics, with a particular focus on race, food, and ecology. He is married to Dr. Gabrielle Carter, a small animal veterinary oncologist, and while their son, Isaiah, is not a doctor of any sort, he definitely believes he is smarter than his parents.
About Dr. Seth Schoen:
My research and teaching interests are in contemplative and spiritual practices, especially the cultivation of compassion. I am committed to educating people about the power of compassion and the way that race and racism impact our worlds, from the macro structures that organize our society to the micro structures that permeate our relationships and structure our minds and bodies. I understand anti-racism as a process of spiritual formation. Offering tools for people to create a foundation of compassion that fuels an anti-racist way of life energizes and motivates my research and personal interests. I enjoy being part of compassion-based processes in which people gain insights about themselves and others.
Carlton Mackey
Carlton Mackey
High Museum of Art
About Carlton Mackey:
Mackey serves as the Assistant Director of Education, Community Dialogue and Engagement at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA. Mackey is also the Co-Creator of the Emory University Arts and Social Justice Fellowship Program, which brings leading Atlanta artists into Emory classrooms to help students translate their learning into creative expressions of activism in the name of racial and social justice. In addition to serving as a Lecturer in Emory’s Department of Film and Media, Mackey is the creator of BLACK MEN SMILE®, a viral social media platform, empowerment movement, and apparel brand with a mission of “amplifying the revolutionary power of Black joy.
About TheoEd
TheoEd is a faith-based speaker series that brings together leading thinkers in the church and the academy to give the talk of their lives in 20 minutes or less. By packaging powerful ideas into bite-size talks, TheoEd seeks to do for the Bible, theology, and spirituality what the TED series has done for technology, entertainment, and design.
Since its launch in 2017, TheoEd events have been held in cities across the country, including Atlanta, Orlando, Nashville, Charlotte, and Austin. More than 50 speakers have participated, including Otis Moss III, Brian McLaren, Cole Arthur Riley, Shane Claiborne, Pete Enns, Amy-Jill Levine, Diana Butler Bass, Jacqui Lewis, Jim Wallis, Lauren Winner, Mike McHargue, and Kristin du Mez.
TheoEd has reached more than half a million viewers through its digital platform, TheoEd.com, where audiences can access free videos of TheoEd talks and discussion guides designed for congregations, Bible studies, small groups, and anyone curious about faith.
TheoEd is an initiative of The Candler Foundry, a project at Emory University that seeks to make theological education accessible beyond Candler’s degree programs and to broader audiences, including congregations, lay leaders, ministry staff, teachers, and those curious about faith.
TheoEd Orlando is brought to you by The Candler Foundry and St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Orlando and is co-sponsored by the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church and the Institute of Preaching.
The Florida Conference of the UMC presents the Beloved Community Summit, 2-day training on
October 9 and 10 that includes TheoEd.
This training allows us, clergy and laity alike, to consider how we preach and practice beloved community through the stories and skills of practitioners from around the nation.
Learn more, see the itinerary and speakers, and register for this impactful event by clicking the button below:
