








































Conference


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COMMITTEE &  
TASK FORCE REPORTS

Conference
Vance Thomas, Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Chair 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

• Jessica Boyer, Mount St. Mary’s University
• Michael Bradford, Wayne State University
• Craig Kubic, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
• Jude Morrissey, Yale University Divinity School
• Derek Rieckens, Catholic Theological Union
• Oliver Schulz, Colorado Christian University
• Vance M. Thomas, Central Baptist Theological Seminary

YEAR IN REVIEW 

As we reflect on the past year, it’s clear that 2022-2023 was a trans-
formative period for the Conference Committee. Building on the 
lessons learned from the previous virtual conferences, we con-
tinued refining the hybrid conference experience. The committee 
started its work in earnest in October 2022. Attention was given to 
the timeline for the Call for Proposals and related committee work. 
Shortly after, the Call for Proposals was announced.

In late January 2023, the committee convened in Ft. Worth at 
the conference hotel to review the proposals and select from the 
submissions the sessions for the conference. Once the selection 
process was completed, a tentative schedule was drafted.



2    ANNUAL Y E ARBOOK

As in past years as the conference date approached, committee 
members focused on finalizing last-minute arrangements for me-
morials and local host logistics. With that, we (physically or virtu-
ally) made our way to Ft. Worth and to the conference itself.

ATLA ANNUAL 2023 CONFERENCE REVIEW

In mid-June, the association gathered in Ft. Worth and commenced 
our time together with a hearty, “Hi y’all.” It was another year 
of hybrid participation with participants both onsite and online. 
With a trimmed-down schedule, association members commenced 
the business of sharing insights with and support for one another.

This year, attendees were challenged to consider the role of li-
braries, and specifically theological libraries, as agents of change. 
Incoming ALA President Emily Drabinski launched us into the con-
ference by urging us to organize for change. After recounting some 
of the challenges that are part of the current context for libraries 
and librarians, Drabinski shared a personal story of an impactful 
moment that shaped her career. She recounted the power of or-
ganizing as a collective group of librarians after a management 
lockout following an impasse in contract negotiations. Her talk cul-
minated with a discussion of four things that professional organi-
zations like Atla can do to help foster change.  Our second plenary 
speaker, Dr. Walter Fluker invited us to return to our foundational 
impulses toward archiving and preserving information. This im-
pulse, Dr. Fluker states, pushes us beyond a mere posture of nos-
talgia for the past but also pushes us forward into the future. He 
imagines Pentecost as a story that is about more than tongues of 
fire—it is about diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.

Contributing to the challenges posed by the plenary speakers, 
many of our colleagues shared experiences and expertise through 
papers, conversation groups, and panel discussions which kept us 
busy Thursday and Friday of the conference. Our time together 
in Ft. Worth concluded with four post-conference workshops; de-
nominational and interest group meetings were held online in the 
weeks afterward. For those who may have missed a session or two 
due to conflicts, or maybe you just want to review a particularly 
engaging presentation, recordings of the sessions are available on-
line through Sched.



Committee & Task Force Reports    3

This was also the maiden Atla Annual Conference for our new 
Executive Director, Dr. John F. Kutsko. While the Ft. Worth temper-
atures may have been a bit oppressive, I hope Dr. Kutsko received 
a welcome and refreshing reception from the members of this as-
sociation.

I said it last year, and I will say it again—the real value of the 
conference, for me at least, is the people. Whether you participated 
onsite or online, I hope you had an opportunity to connect with 
one another and to make new acquaintances. Given that we had 
a larger-than-average number of first-time attendees (42 to be ex-
act), such opportunities were abundant. Even more, I hope you 
continue to enrich one another and continue to feel enriched by 
one another in the months to come. I genuinely believe this asso-
ciation and its members are an immeasurable treasure.

ATLA ANNUAL 2022 CONFERENCE: BY THE NUMBERS

Here are the numbers for the 2023 Annual Conference. They illus-
trate the extent of the participation and the influence of the event:

A total of 235 participants registered for the conference. Of 
those, 121 were onsite participants and 113 were virtual partici-
pants. What is particularly notable is the number of first-time par-
ticipants—58 (43 onsite and 15 virtual). Also remarkable is the fact 
that we had 42 international attendees, 29 of which were from out-
side North America.

The conference featured two plenary sessions, 36 concurrent 
sessions, four post-conference workshops, and two worship servic-
es as well as two vendor-hosted breakfast sessions. Approximately 
75 presenters contributed to the program.

Additionally, 15 interest group and denominational meetings 
were conducted virtually in the weeks following the onsite confer-
ence.

MANY THANKS

Before concluding, it is important to express gratitude to the in-
dividuals who made the Atla 2023 Annual Conference possible. 
We extend our sincere appreciation to the committee members 
who dedicated their time and expertise: Jessica Boyer, Michael 



4    ANNUAL Y E ARBOOK

Bradford, Craig Kubic, Jude Morrissey, Derek Rieckens, and Oliver 
Schulz. Special recognition goes to Craig Kubic and the local host 
committee for their warm welcome. We also acknowledge the in-
valuable contributions of Gillian Harrison Cain, Jamie Lin, and De-
nise McFarlin whose hard work behind the scenes deserves more 
praise than I can muster in these few words.

Thank you, friends. I hope to see many of you next year at the 
2024 conference in Long Beach, California.


