University Chapel Service and Guest Lecture with Ruth Naomi Floyd

Please join us for a special University Chapel service led by guest pastor Ruth Naomi Floyd from 11:30 a.m. to noon. After the service, Floyd will lecture on "The Theology of the Blues and Belonging" from 12:30-1:30 p.m. with a brief, informal reception to follow.

The lecture will trace the blues back to African American Spirituals, showing how this musical tradition emerged from Black communities' faith, pain and resilience. African American Spirituals are the root of American music and are a profoundly Christian expression shaped by suffering, hope and the longing for liberation. This perspective frames the blues not simply as a genre, but as a living theological witness. The formerly enslaved Africans in America carried the weight of lament, naming sorrow without hiding it, while singing through the long shadow of despair. Their sound became a witness to justice, dignity and healing — a testimony and a mirror reflecting the timeless human hunger for belonging and dignity. Through this lens, the blues speak to belonging: a sacred yearning for a world where people are not only heard but fully received.

Floyd is an award-winning vocalist, composer, educator, photographer, and justice advocate whose work unfolds in two interwoven streams: sacred jazz and the African American historical witness. An internationally acclaimed artist, she performs and lectures worldwide at the intersection of beauty, theology, justice, history and the arts.

An educator for nearly thirty years, Floyd was the first African American woman to serve as the founding director of a university jazz studies program in the United States. She currently teaches at Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania. In recognition of her contributions to the arts, music education, and justice advocacy, Concordia College New York awarded her an honorary doctorate.

Beyond music, Floyd is an award-winning photographer whose work is held in museums and private collections. For more than thirty years, her creative practice and teaching have been inseparable from her advocacy. Her work offers a sustained presence in Philadelphia and Africa, serving those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS as well as unhoused, transgender and incarcerated communities in Philadelphia.

Register