Rev. Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble
I met Valerie at a regional AAR (American Academy of Religion) gathering. She was warm and welcoming, and I was drawn to her charm. We haven’t had the chance to really get to know each other over the years outside of social media, but even through distance she makes herself available. What I love about Valerie’s work is that it focuses on adaptation and change, something we desperately need to understand now. She focuses on womanist perspectives of leadership and ethics, engaging interdisciplinary approaches to public theology. Theology isn’t something done in a classroom; it’s life in the streets, conversations around a kitchen table, adaptation and change in the midst of injustice, and honoring voices ignored. This is what she teaches us, and I am honored to learn from her.
Rev. Dr. Valerie Miles-Tribble, Associate Professor / Interim Pastor
Tell us who you are!
I am daughter of Rosie, granddaughter of Bertha and Alice, raised in the segregated inner-city neighborhood of West Philly, and taught to dream beyond those confines.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by the resilience of black women, survivors who loves themselves regardless; hence, they inspire and nurture self, family, and community despite the tension of systemic challenges that confront them. However, these are not pseudo-super women, but women who laugh, cry, sigh, pray, and exhale as part of being their authentic self.
What are one or two lessons you carry with you each day?
Never forget that God is the source of my blessings, which I am expected to share as a recipient of grace.
What are you working on?
After years of labor pangs, birthing a book: Change Agent Church in Black Lives Matter Times - and the affirming opportunities to teach and speak from the research.
How do you connect spirituality/religion in your work?
Mine is a womanist belief in a living God of transcendent freedom and justice, as a theoethical guide for my academic and public witness roles. My ancestral spiritual connection is manifest when I use my spiritual gifts of discernment and encouragement to mentor others toward pursuit of their dreams.
What’s your go to happy song?
Of late-in this coronavirus madness - I find my happy place and brighten my mood with Kirk Franklin's Covid mix "SMILE" with assorted singing friends. Tell me - after you listen - are you not smiling? Knew it!!
You can follow valerie on twitter @cantbestill