The Rev. Leyla King, a Palestinian-American Episcopal priest and writer, an advocate of small churches, and a wife and mother, will serve as chaplain-in-residence for Week Four at Chautauqua.
“We’re very grateful that the Rev. Leyla King was able to be with us this summer, and excited to hear one of the promising new Arab-American Christian voices today,” said Chautauqua’s senior pastor, the Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton. “In addition to her passion for pastoral and congregational ministry, her witness for global peace, justice and reconciliation is needed now more than ever.”
King is the Canon for Mission in Small Congregations for the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, and will preach at the 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning ecumenical worship service in the Amphitheater. Her sermon title is “Reasons to Dance,” and the scripture readings are 2 Samuel 6:1-5;12-16 and Mark 6: 14-29.
She will also preach at the morning worship services at 9:15 a.m. Monday through Friday in the Amp. Her sermon titles include: “Dance! Dance!,” “Get in the Groove,” “Grace like Grits,” “Delighting in the Dance,” and “Nevertheless, Praise.”
“I am delighted to welcome the Rev. Canon King and her family to Chautauqua for the first time. We are grateful to have her perspective as a Palestinian Christian voice within the American church contributing to our program,” said Melissa Spas, vice president of religion at Chautauqua. “In light of our changing religious landscape, I am particularly appreciative of the expertise she brings relative to the small church.”
King is a founding member of the Small Churches Big Impact Collective, where she works with friends and colleagues nationwide to identify and amplify the beauty and grace of small congregations.
In addition to serving small churches, King has vocations as a writer, an educator and a mother, and a particular calling to provide a voice for Palestinian Christians in the Episcopal church and beyond. She is a founding member of Palestinian Anglicans and Clergy Allies, and writes about her experiences as a Palestinian, a clergywoman and a mother on her website, Thankful Priest.
“For thirteen and a half blissful years, I served as rector of Thankful Memorial Episcopal Church in Chattanooga,” King wrote, “which made me into the priest I am today and is the source of my identity as the Thankful Priest.”
