Sunday, March 23 & Monday, March 24

“Loving Your Neighbor in a Fearful World”

The McPherson Lectureship is dedicated to enriching the faith and life of First Presbyterian Church as well as the Durham, NC community. This lectureship is made possible through an endowment initially given to FPC by the McPherson family in memory of lifelong members Dr. and Mrs. Samuel D. McPherson, Sr, and Dr. Samuel D. McPherson, Jr. It was established in 1999 by Mrs. Margaret “Peaches” McPherson (wife of Dr. McPherson, Jr.) and her family. Following Mrs. McPherson’s passing in 2018, the lectureship now also honors her life of service and generosity. Former lecturers have been John Kuykendall (1999), J. Barrie Shepherd (2001), Beverly Gaventa (2002), Tom Long (2003), Joanna Adams (2004), Charles Kimball (2005), Nicholas Wolterstorff (2006), Joseph L. Roberts, Jr. (2007), Richard A. Lischer (2008), Stephen A Hayner (2009), Barbara Brown Taylor (2010), Leighton Ford (2011), Martha Moore-Keish (2012), Samuel L. Adams (2013), Emilie M. Townes (2014), Ron Cole-Turner (2015), Douglas F. Ottati (2016), Miroslav Volf (2017), Starsky D. Wilson (2018) and Mary Louise Bringle (2019), Wallace “Macky” McPherson Alston III (2021/2022), Robert Johnston and Catherine Barsotti (2023), and Willie James Jennings (2024). 

2025 Author Bios

Robert (Bobby) Williamson, Jr., PhD, is Margaret Berry Hutton Odyssey Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church, USA, he was the founding pastor of Mercy Community Church and currently serves as Theologian in Residence at Canvas Community, both welcoming all people, especially those living on the streets, in Little Rock, Arkansas. He earned a Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible from Emory, a post-graduate diploma in Jewish Studies from Oxford, a master’s of divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, and a bachelor’s degree from Clemson. He is the author of The Forgotten Books of the Bible: Recovering the Five Scrolls for Today (Fortress Press, 2018). 

Amy Cooper Robertson, PhD, is Director of Lifelong Learning and Music at Congregation Or Hadash in Sandy Springs, Georgia. She studied Jewish texts and language at Harvard Divinity School and later at Emory, where she earned a PhD in Religion/Hebrew Bible. In Atlanta and in Cambridge, MA, Dr. Robertson has taught Tanakh, Judaism, Biblical Hebrew, and critical thinking and writing to undergraduates and graduate students. She is the author of several articles, including “Kohelet Teaches Us to Live for Today: Unexpected Wisdom for the Real World from Ecclesiastes.”

Together Drs. Robert Williamson, Jr. and Amy obertson produce BibleWorm, a weekly podcast in which they consider a passage of biblical text from their respective faith traditions. Starting from a place of friendship, trust, and love, Amy and Bobby find new and deeper meaning in these ancient, holy words. The BibleWorm podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other podcast apps.