Mary Lee Talbot
Staff Writer
The Rev. Suzanne Wenonah Duchesne has a calling to “engage in practices and honest conversations that strive to undermine and dismantle systemic racism and colonization and invite people to live more deeply into the kin-dom of God by seeking to honor each other’s differences, and embody a spirituality that recognizes all creation as beloved.”
Inspired by her training as a fine artist, dancer and thespian, she is a teacher, preacher, scholar and consultant who encourages wholeness, justice and healing with all creation. Duchesne will be the chaplain for Week Three at Chautauqua.
Duchesne will preach at the 10:45 a.m. Sunday morning worship service in the Amphitheater. Her sermon title is “This Little Light of Mine.” She will also preach at the 9:15 a.m. morning worship services Monday through Friday in the Amphitheater. Her sermon titles include “Fortifications and Family,” “Empty Cases,” “Aliens Among Us,” “Emptying and Embrace” and “Standin’ at the Crossroads.”
Serving in various academic and ministerial roles, she currently holds the position of assistant professor of worship and preaching and the director of Mast Chapel at New Brunswick Theological Seminary. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Liturgical Studies with a concentration in women’s studies from Drew University Theological School. An ordained elder in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, she is also an antiracism trainer, and communications chairperson for the Northeastern Jurisdiction of the Native American Ministries Committee for the United Methodist Church.
Her passion for social justice is guided by her ongoing relationships with members of various Indigenous Nations, including the Kiowa, Lakota, Cherokee, Mvskoke (Creek), Choctaw, Chickasaw, Abenaki, Shinnecock, Southern Ute, Lenape and Yuchi. These connections enrich her understanding and advocacy for Indigenous peoples within her ministry and scholarship.
In addition to her published works on decolonized and antiracist preaching, she has published essays and articles, developed curricula, designed worship experiences and crafted liturgies addressing critical topics such as missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, the Doctrine of Discovery, creation care — including “Water is Life: Mní Wičóni” — the history of Methodist women preachers and activists, John Wesley’s interactions with various nations during his time in Georgia and the legacy of Methodist involvement with Native American boarding schools.
Her work with the diverse faculty, staff and student body at New Brunswick Theological Seminary is informed by her experiences leading churches of various sizes and settings that included congregations comprised of white settlers as well as arrivants, multi-lingual, multicultural and intergenerational members. Her congregations engage in various worship styles such as blended, sacramental-contemplative, Pentacostal-Charismatic, maranatha style contemporary and emergent ancient-modern.
