The Methodist House of Studies at Memphis Theological Seminary invites you to the Inaugural Autura Eason Williams Lecture, to be held Thursday, April 16, at 6:30 p.m. at Centenary United Methodist Church (584 E. McLemore Avenue, Memphis).
The lecture will be delivered by Rev’d. Keith Caldwell, Senior Pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church. His lecture is titled “By Whose Authority.”
Rev. Dr. Autura Eason Williams was a beloved colleague, friend, pastor, and graduate of Memphis Theological Seminary whose ministry embodied a deep love of God expressed through vital piety, courageous anti-racist witness, and a steadfast commitment to justice rooted in the discipline of nonviolence. This lecture series honors her enduring impact on the church and the Memphis community.
It is fitting that the inaugural lecture will be held at Centenary United Methodist Church, Autura’s home congregation and a historic congregation in the Memphis struggle for justice. During the Civil Rights Movement, Centenary served as a gathering place for nonviolence workshops and mass meetings led by Rev. James Lawson, helping to shape the moral and spiritual foundations of the Memphis movement.
Rev’d. Caldwell brings to this lecture a ministry shaped by grassroots organizing and public witness. A Nashville native, he has worked for years at the intersection of race and poverty across the South and served as President of the Nashville Branch NAACP during its 100-year commemoration in 2018.
He currently serves as President of MICAH (Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope), a broad-based coalition of congregations and community organizations working for racial equity and systemic change in Memphis. Through organizing and advocacy, MICAH engages with issues such as education equity, economic justice, and criminal justice reform to build a more just and flourishing city.
