Plenaries
2027 Institute
Plenaries
Meet the Institute’s plenary speakers for 2027.
Kathryn Schifferdecker, Th.D.
“Does Matter Matter?”
Tuesday, April 6, 2027, 9:00 a.m.
Location: Harre Union, Ballrooms B & C
Too often in its history, Christianity has emphasized spirit over matter, and yet, from the earliest chapters of Genesis to the end of Revelation, Scripture is concerned with ‘matter’ – that is, soil, water, air, and bodies. Does ‘matter’ matter? The biblical answer is a resounding ‘yes’! This session will explore some prominent biblical texts that speak of God’s creation of and care for the physical ‘stuff’ of creation, with an eye towards how these texts can inform our celebration of the Feast of Creation.
Speaker Bio:
Kathryn Schifferdecker, Th.D., is Professor and Elva B. Lovell Chair of Old Testament at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is also an ordained ELCA pastor, having served in rural Wisconsin for five years before coming to Luther Seminary. She earned her Th.D. from Harvard and her M.Div. from Yale. Kathryn is a frequent contributor to WorkingPreacher.org and EntertheBible.org. She has a forthcoming commentary on the book of Esther and is writing her second book on Job. Kathryn’s research interests include biblical creation theologies, agrarian readings of Scripture, biblical responses to suffering, and theological hermeneutics.
Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D.
“The End(s) of the Earth: Polycrisis as Context for Liturgy and Mission”
Tuesday, April 6, 2027, 11:15 a.m.
Location: Harre Union, Ballrooms B & C
The existential threats of nuclear war and climate collapse, the rise of authoritarianism across the globe, novel technological means of warfare, acceleration of technology (and particularly A.I.) beyond our means of ethical deliberation, and ecological degradation: this is the existential context out of which and into which we preach, craft liturgy, and engage in congregational mission. This plenary will address our context of polycrisis and collapse that constantly seems too much, too soon, and too fast for our congregations to keep up, take in, or meaningfully address through a theological framework of hope without optimism.
Speaker Bio:
The Rev. Cody J. Sanders, Ph.D., is associate professor of congregational and community care leadership at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He has published several books, including Beyond Affirming: Ministry in LGBTQIA-Inclusive Churches (Westminster John Knox, 2026), and Spiritual Care First Aid: An All-Hands Approach for Church and Community (Fortress, 2025). Prior to Luther, Sanders served as a parish pastor in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and in higher education chaplaincy at both Harvard and MIT.
William G. Fredstrom, Ph.D. Candidate
“Down and Among; Up and Away: The Material Realities and Ideological Imaginaries of AI”
Wednesday, April 7, 2027, 8:30 a.m.
Location: Harre Union, Ballrooms B & C
This presentation explores the relationship between artificial intelligence, creation, and creaturely life by attending to two interconnected dimensions of contemporary AI development and social integration. First, it examines the often unnoticed and unacknowledged material realities that make AI possible, including rare earth minerals, hidden forms of human labor, and energy and resource consumption.
Second, the presentation considers the ideologies that accompany AI development and adoption, particularly those that encourage the extraction, abstraction, and optimization of creation while increasingly distancing human creatures from the created world they are called to tend and cultivate.
Bringing these material and ideological concerns together, the presentation concludes by proposing a credal framework to help Christians navigate our emerging technosocial order and moment.
Speaker Bio:
Rev. William G. Fredstrom serves as Senior Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Seymour, Indiana. He is currently completing his Ph.D. at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, where his dissertation, “Algorithms of Authority: Christian Political Theology in the Age of Artificial Intelligence,” explores the intersection of emerging technologies and Christian political thought. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Theology at Concordia University Chicago and Concordia University Wisconsin, and a Guest Instructor at Concordia Seminary.
Rev. Fredstrom writes and speaks regularly on artificial intelligence, Christian ethics, and political theology. In 2025, he received the Lutheran Quarterly Annual Essay Prize and currently serves on the editorial committee of Lutheran Mission Matters.