Sojourners editor coming to Wilshire Baptist

By Mark McKenzie

Betsy Shirley, editor in chief of Sojourners magazine, will speak at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas on Sunday, Sept. 7. Shirley will be interviewed in the northeast Dallas congregation’s 11 a.m. service, and the conversation will continue over lunch in Wilshire’s Community Hall. 

Shirley will speak on the topic “The Press and the Pulpit: We’ve Both Got Trust Issues.” She writes: “Journalists and clergy are no strangers to working amid uncertainty while striving to tell the truth. But beyond our usual struggles — dwindling audiences and limited resources — both the press and churches are facing a new challenge: record lows in public trust.” Shirley says the talk will explore “what those of us engaged in different sectors of truth-telling work might learn from each other as we build trust with folks who, frankly, have pretty good reasons to be skeptical.”

A graduate of Yale Divinity School, Shirley has worked for Sojourners since 2015. Her writing and multimedia work has earned awards from the Religion News Association, Associated Church Press and Evangelical Press Association. 

Before being named editor in chief, she served as editor of sojo.net and held various editorial positions for the publication’s print and online teams. Shirley lives in Washington, D.C.  

 First published in 1971, Sojourners is a monthly magazine published in print and online by the Christian social justice group Sojourners. Sojourners features reporting, commentary and analysis on topics at the intersection of Christianity and politics. 

 The lunch on September 7 is free while supplies last. Donations are welcome. Wilshire requests registration for the lunch at wilshirebc.org/events/betsy-shirley.

 Wilshire Baptist Church is located at 4316 Abrams Road. The church, founded in 1951, cut ties with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000 and is now affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. 

Wilshire made news in 2016 with its vote for full LGBTQ+ inclusion and now is a member of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists. Timothy Peoples is Wilshire’s senior pastor.