Nelson W. Trout Lectures
April 8-9, 2027
Each year Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University holds the Nelson W. Trout Lectures, honoring the life and legacy of The Rev. Dr. Nelson W. Trout. The lectures include two days of inspired worship, focused learning, anointed preaching and Spirit led conversation. As always, this year's lectures are held in his honor.
Registration will open on Monday, January 18, 2027
Featuring Dr. Nick Peterson
Dr. Nick Peterson holds a PhD from the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University, a Bachelor of Arts from Franklin & Marshall College in Africana Studies and Business Management, and a Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary. His dissertation, On Being an Issue of Delores: A Meditation on Black Faith in an Antiblack World, explores how black faith engenders intramural care practices, which he calls black-on-black care. This transformative care contends with and sometimes exceeds the constraints of antiblackness. As a practical theologian, Peterson interrogates how intentional and unintentional practices shape Christian identities and configure worldviews. Teaching in preaching and worship, he is acutely interested in the ways biblical interpretation, tradition, culture, and social location inform public proclamation and liturgy. Dr. Peterson is an ordained Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and has served broadly in the local church as assistant pastor, pastor, minister of music, and youth minister. He has demonstrated commitment to ecumenism and has held positions in Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Mennonite, UCC, and UMC contexts. Peterson and his spouse NaKisha have twin 6-year-old sons, Zayden and Zander.
More Information About the Lectures
The Rev. Dr.Nelson W. Trout (1920-1996) grew up in Urbancrest, Columbus, OH. His mother was a preacher. He was a 1948 alumnus of Capital University, a 1952 alumnus of Trinity Lutheran Seminary, a member of the Trinity faculty, and the first African American elected to serve as a Lutheran bishop. His vibrant preaching and commitment to social ministry inspired hundreds of seminary students and touched thousands of lives. In 1989 he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Trout was elected bishop while serving as a member of the faculty and staff of Trinity Lutheran Seminary (1975-1983). He was bishop of the South Pacific District of the American Lutheran Church, a predecessor body of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in America (ELCA). His mission territory was California, Texas, and Hawaii where he presided over more than 600 Rostered Leaders and 314 congregations.
Since 1992 these lectures have included leading theologians, preachers, teachers, and community leaders.
- 1992 The Rev. Dr. Gardner Calvin Taylor
- 1993 The Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker
- 1994 The Rev. Dr. William B. McClain
- 1995 The Rev. Dr. Joseph L. Roberts
- 1996 The Rev. Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell
- 1997 The Rev. Dr. Renita J. Weems
- 1998 The Rev. Wallace Charles Smith
- 1999 The Rev. Dr. Carolyn Ann Knight
- 2000 The Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr.
- 2001 The Rev. Dr. E. K. Bailey
- 2002 The Rev. Dr. Charles E. Booth
- 2003 The Rev. Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr
- 2004 The Rev. Dr. Yvonne Delk & Bishop Mark Hanson
- 2005 The Rev. Dr. Joseph L. Roberts, Jr.&
- 2006 Bishop Vashti Murphy Mackenzie
- 2007 The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr. & The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III
- 2008 The Rev. Dr. Mark A. Lomax
- 2009 The Rev. Dr. Frederick D. Haynes III
- 2010 The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale
- 2011 The Rev. Dr. Claudette Copeland
- 2012 The Rev. Dr. Marvin McMickle
- 2013 Bishop Walter Scott Thomas, Sr.
- 2014 Dr. J. Kameron Carter
- 2015 The Rev. Dr. Teresa Fry Brown
- 2016 The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III
- 2017 The Rev. Dr. Frank A. Thomas
- 2018 The Rev. Dr. Eboni Marshall Turman
- 2019 The Rev. Dr. Yvette A. Flunder
- 2020 No lectures held
- 2021 The Rev. Dr. Beverly Wallace
- 2022 Bishop Yehiel Curry
- 2023 The Rev. Dr. Kevin Dudley
- 2024 The Rev. Dr. Valerie Bridgeman
- 2025 The Rev. Dr. Teresa Smallwood
- 2023 Kenneth W. Wheeler, US: The Resurrection of American Terror
- 2024 Albert Starr Jr., Late Night Offerings & Morning Prayers
- 2025 James Thomas, A Rumor of Black Lutherans: The Formation of Black Leadership in Early American Lutheranism
Sponsors
Acts in Common
Southeastern Michigan Synod
Trout Day of Giving
Partners
African Descent Lutheran Association
African Descent Lutheran Association Los Angeles Chapter
SIMBA, Safe in My Brothers Arms
SIMSA, Safe in My Sisters Arms
Support the Trout Endowment
The Nelson W. Trout Lectures are, in part, endowment supported. To support the Trout Lectures, please give online.
Please note: When asked for designation, select "Other" and then write in "Trout Endowment"
Contact
Please contact msiefke@capital.edu with questions or call 614-236-6301.