Lis Valle-Ruiz
Rev. Dr. Lis Valle-Ruiz is Assistant Professor of Homiletics at McCormick Theological Seminary. She holds a PhD in Homiletics and Liturgics from Vanderbilt University, where she also studied gender and sexuality. Her dissertation, “As One Among Many: Affirming a Multitude of Embodied Preaching Practices,” analyzes pulpit preaching through public speech, street preaching through symbolic action, and preaching through theater and proposes that these are three paradigms among many others in the repertoire of embodied Christian preaching practices among which preachers may choose. Originally from Puerto Rico, Rev. Dr. Valle-Ruiz has researched the theology of the sermons of Latina clergy and is also the author of “Toward Postcolonial Liturgical Preaching: Drawing on the Pre-Columbian Caribbean Religion of the Taínos” in Homiletic Online Journal (2015).
She is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) since 2013 who has served as Professor of Theology and Scripture at the Lux Summer Youth Institute in Monmouth College, IL and possesses a background as both an actor and a lawyer. Rev. Dr. Valle-Ruiz holds a ThM in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary, an MDiv from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, as well as a JD from the University of Puerto Rico. With a BA in Education with an emphasis in Theater, Rev. Dr. Valle-Ruiz has continued to combine her study of theology and passion for justice with her work as an actress and an artistic director. She is a member of the American Academy of Religion, the Academy of Homiletics, and the ARC Creative Collaborative for Theopoetics, among other professional organizations. Dr. Valle-Ruiz has been a fellow with the Forum for Theological Exploration and the Hispanic Theological Initiative/Consortium.
