Join Us for Reunion 2026

Rev. Dr. Jonathan Lee Walton, PhD ’06

Keynote Address

Princeton Theological Seminary stands at a dynamic intersection of tradition and transformation—rooted in a deep theological heritage while continually reimagining its witness in a changing world. In this special address, President Jonathan Lee Walton will welcome you to campus and offer a keynote reflection on the Seminary’s present commitments and future aspirations. Drawing on his leadership in theological education and public engagement, President Walton will explore how Princeton Seminary forms leaders for faithful service in the church, academy, and society. The session will conclude with time for questions and conversation, inviting participants into a shared reflection on the Seminary’s mission, vision, and unfolding work.

Rev. David A. Davis, MDiv ’86, PhD ’02 | Opening Worships Preacher

David A. Davis is the senior pastor of Nassau Presbyterian Church. He has served the congregation since 2000. David earned his PhD in Homiletics from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he continues to teach as a visiting lecturer. His academic work has focused on preaching as a corporate act and the active role of the listener in the preaching event. Before arriving in Princeton, he served for fourteen years as the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Blackwood, New Jersey. He has published two sermon collections, A Kingdom You Can Taste and Lord, Teach Us to Pray, and served on the Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Foundation and the local Princeton YMCA. In addition to preaching in Presbyterian congregations around the country, David has preached to congregations in South Africa, Scotland, the Samuel Proctor Child Advocacy Conference of the Children’s Defense Fund, the Calvin Symposium for Worship, and on the campuses of Harvard and Duke Universities. David grew up in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, and did his undergraduate work at Harvard University where he was a member of the University Choir, singing weekly in Memorial Church and listening to the preaching of Professor Peter Gomes. David is married to Cathy Cook Davis, also a Presbyterian minister. They have two children, Hannah and Ben.

Dr. Martin Tel | Choir & Worship Leader

Martin Tel is the C. F. Seabrook Director of Music at Princeton Theological Seminary where he directs the Seminary choirs, facilitates the music ministry for daily worship, and lectures in the area of church music. He served as senior editor of Psalms for All Season: A Complete Psalter for Worship (Faith Alive, 2012). He also served on the editorial committees which produced a new hymnal for the Christian Reformed Church and Reformed Church in America denominations, Lift Up Your Hearts (Faith Alive, 2013) and the Spanish-English bilingual hymnal, Santo, Santo, Santo / Holy, Holy, Holy (GIA, 2019).

Kenneth Appold | Faith & Art

Faith and Art Exploration

Princeton University’s new Art Museum opened in the fall and is not to be missed. Join Professor Kenneth Appold, the James Hastings Nichols Professor of Reformation History at Princeton Theological Seminary for a conversation about theology expressed in art. Dr. Appold will discuss a few pieces from the collection, pulled and displayed for this purpose. After the 45-minute session with Dr. Appold, you will be free to explore the museum at your own pace until closing. Space is limited.

Carmelle Beaugelin | Women’s Network Event

Creating What is Next: Imagination and Leadership

CreatioDivina (divine creating) is a guided, multimodal creative workshop designed by artist Carmelle Beaugelin Caldwell. The experience is rooted in the ancient Christian practice of lectio divina—sacred reading and contemplative reflection—and reimagined through accessible, communal art-making. Participants are invited to slow down, engage their imagination, and explore creativity as an essential leadership capacity. In contrast to leadership cultures that prioritize certainty and control, CreatioDivina cultivates curiosity, discernment, and the courage to respond to what is emerging. No artistic experience is required—just a willingness to reflect, create, and connect.

Brennan Breed, MDiv ’06 | Faculty Spotlight

“The Plan of All Things”: Theological Transformations of the Early Hellenistic Period

In the wake of Alexander the Great’s surprising conquests, Greek administrators reshaped the socio-economic fabric of the ancient Near East, introducing new ways of organizing time, value, risk, and knowledge. Jewish scribes responded with an explosion of unprecedented theological ideas, including apocalyptic writings,  angelologies and demonologies, and schemes of universal history that confessed God’s sovereignty in a world increasingly shaped by abstraction, calculation, and speculation. These texts wrestle with issues of divine sovereignty, hidden order, and the limits of human understanding amidst a political system that claimed total control. These texts are thus timely biblical tools for theological reflection.

Melena Mae Laudig | Faculty Spotlight

New Perspectives on the History of “Slave Religion”

This talk and seminar provide an overview of the core themes and questions in the study of enslaved people’s religious cultures in the United States. While we examine the conclusions of twentieth-century luminaries such as W.E.B. Du Bois and Albert J. Raboteau, we also consider more recent theoretical and methodological approaches, which have productively expanded the sites of inquiry in the field.

Dr. Mahri Leonard-Fleckman | Faculty Spotlight

The Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22)

The Old Testament is marked by striking narrative gaps—moments of silence, ambiguity, and tension that invite readers into the act of interpretation. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Binding of Isaac, a brief yet unsettling story that has served as a linchpin for Jewish, Christian, and Islamic reflection for centuries. In this talk, we practice close reading together, attending to what the text says—and pointedly does not say—to explore how meaning emerges at the intersection of text, imagination, and interpretive communities. The seminar extends this work through deeper engagement with the story’s suspense, its theological stakes, and the enduring plurality of its interpretations.

Dr. Matthew Novenson, PhD ’09 | Faculty Spotlight

Judaism in the New Testament

The New Testament is the more obviously Christian part of the Christian Bible, since the Old Testament (or Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh) is scripture to Jews, as well. But as a great deal of recent research has shown, even the New Testament is full of evidence for Judaism in the late Second Temple period: the Judaism of Jesus and the apostles. An important challenge for Christian interpretation, therefore, is to read the New Testament as Christian scripture without turning Jews and Judaism into a caricature or a foil.

Dr. Shalon Park, PhD ’24 | Faculty Spotlight

How Christianity Learned to Speak Korean

This talk and seminar discuss how Asian believers actively translated faith through confessional writing, highlighting the role of Korean Catholic women and vernacular texts in reshaping Christianity as a deeply Asian tradition.

Dr. Nathan Stucky, PhD ’13 | Wine and the Bible

Wine and the Bible

Join Dr. Nate Stucky, for this seminar that includes a tour of the Farminary, a lecture and discussion of the significance of wine and wine making in scripture, with wine tasting. Light appetizers will be served. A shuttle to and from the Farminary will be provided. There is an additional cost of $20 for this experience, and pre-registration is required. Sign up when you register for Reunion to ensure a spot. Space is limited.

Dr. Simon Unger | Faculty Spotlight

Christianity under Fascism in Europe, 1920s-1950s

What was Christian life like under dictatorships, and why did so many believers in Europe embrace fascist ideologies? In order to find answers, my research looks at religious publications, newspaper articles, and diplomatic documents from Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, Franco’s Spain, and Vichy France. For example, this work explores the history of the Protestant ‘German Christians Movement’, but also the diplomacy of the Vatican in order to evaluate why Pope Pius XII remained silent about the Holocaust. Yet, my research also engages with religious resistance, and the question of how Christians came to support democracy after 1945.

Dr. Amanda Drury, MDiv ’05, PhD ’12 | Rian Lecturer

The Edwin H. Rian Alumni Lecture: The Church at Play

What might it mean to speak of a church at play? This lecture considers play as an important aspect of Christian practices, one that shapes imagination, reorders desire and opens space for communion with God. Play is not an escape from seriousness, but a mode of faithful presence that resists reduction to usefulness, productivity, or control. Attending to a God who delights and invites delight, the lecture suggests that play discloses something essential about the life of faith and becomes especially vital in suffering and pain.

The Edwin H. Rian Alumni Lecture is made possible by gifts to the Edwin H. Rian Alumni Lecture Fund. The lecture is given annually at Alumni Reunion. Edwin H. Rian, BD ‘27, served as assistant to Princeton Theological Seminary’s President, James McCord, from 1967 – 1979. Rian’s earlier career included serving as assistant pastor of New Jersey’s Westfield Presbyterian Church and in higher education administration at institutions such as Westminster Theological Seminary, Christian University Association, Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, Beaver College in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, Jamestown College in Jamestown, North Dakota, Biblical Seminary, and the Institute for Educational Planning.

Rev. Amos Shin, MDiv ’06 | Closing Worship

Rev. Amos Shin ’06 (M.Div.) is the senior pastor of Poolhyanggi Presbyterian Church in South Korea. Since graduating from Seminary, he has dedicated a decade of ministry to both the United States and Korea, a journey that has uniquely called him to serve as a bridge between different cultures. Rev. Shin serves on the PTS Alumni Council for Korea and as a Board Member of Professionals for Global Missions (PGM), where he is passionate about equipping people to serve as missionaries within their own professional fields. As the founder of In and Out Ministry, he is dedicated to sharing the Gospel with foreigners residing in Korea, empowering them to serve as witnesses when they return to their own nations.

Pamela Holmes-Saxton, MDiv ’14 | 2026 Alumni Service Awardee

The Reverend Pamela Holmes-Saxton, MDiv ’14, is a leader whose ministry is marked by emotional resilience, profound spiritual grounding, and a generous spirit. For more than fifteen years, she has served Emmanuel Baptist Church in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, as associate pastor, bringing pastoral excellence to congregational life through preaching, care, and adaptive leadership. Her vision of ministry extends beyond longevity, emphasizing the cultivation of leaders, the strengthening of structures, and the creation of a church equipped to thrive well beyond any one individual’s presence.

In March 2024, Holmes-Saxton was sworn in as the first Black woman chaplain in the 160-year history of the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY). In this historic role, she provides spiritual leadership not only in moments of ceremony, but also in times of crisis, offering presence, counsel, and care to firefighters and their families.

Through her faithful service to both church and society, Holmes-Saxton exemplifies the values and mission of Princeton Theological Seminary. We are proud to recognize her enduring impact and elated to present her with the 2026 Alumni Service Award.

Mark DeVries, MDiv ’86 | 2026 Distinguished Alumni Awardee

The Reverend Mark DeVries, MDiv ’86, is a pastor, teacher, and ecclesial innovator whose influence has shaped youth, family, and congregational ministry for nearly four decades. His work reflects a rare combination of pastoral longevity and systemic vision, building ministries and institutions designed to endure and form leaders across generations.

A deeply committed alumnus of Princeton Theological Seminary, DeVries has played a formative role in some of the Seminary’s most influential initiatives of the past thirty years. He was a key member of the team that designed and established the Institute for Youth Ministry, pioneering what became known nationally as the “theological turn” in youth ministry, and has remained a trusted teacher, mentor, and consultant to students and faculty. He also served as a key coach and mentor in the early development of the Farminary, an innovation now central to the Seminary’s identity and pedagogical approach. In addition, DeVries has served the Seminary with distinction through alumni leadership, Board of Trustees service, and ongoing engagement as a mentor and presenter on campus.

Beyond Princeton, DeVries’s sustained pastoral ministry at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville laid the foundation for his broader impact. For twenty-eight years, he formed young people in faith, equipped volunteer leaders, and built ministry systems that continue to thrive decades later. From this work emerged Ministry Architects, which he founded in 2002 and has since partnered with hundreds of congregations across more than thirty innovation and mission entrepreneurships within the church. His commitment to leader formation is further reflected in his leadership of the Center for Youth Ministry Training at Austin Seminary, now known as the Ministry Leadership Center, which integrates theological education with mentored practice and coaching.

A widely respected author, coach, and mentor, DeVries has guided thousands of leaders through his writing, teaching, and consulting. Known for his pastoral wisdom, spiritual integrity, and hopeful vision for the church, he embodies leadership that is deeply rooted in theological conviction and courageously reaching toward the renewal of the church and the world. We are proud to recognize his extraordinary contributions and enduring influence by presenting him with the 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award.