Rev. Dr. Alvin Jackson 2011 Founders Day preacher
Rev. Dr. Alvin Jackson
Rev. Dr. Alvin Jackson
2011 Founders Day preacher
Author Anne Lamott 2011 Founders Day speaker
Author Anne Lamott
Author Anne Lamott
2011 Founders Day speaker
Celebration Band 2011 Founders Day Celebration Band
Celebration Band
Celebration Band
2011 Founders Day Celebration Band
Rev. Don Dewey & Rev. Susan Gonzales Dewey
Rev. Don Dewey & Rev. Susan Gonzales Dewey Co-Regional Ministers of the PSW Region and Rev. Dr. Stanley D. Smith ‘67
Rev. Don Dewey & Rev. Susan Gonzales Dewey Co-Regional Ministers of the PSW Region and Rev. Dr. Stanley D. Smith ‘67
Co-Regional Ministers of the PSW Region and Rev. Dr. Stanley D. Smith ‘67
Founders Day Lunch Chapman Disciples on Campus students and alumni sharing lunch together at Founders Day
Founders Day Lunch
Founders Day Lunch
Chapman Disciples on Campus students and alumni sharing lunch together at Founders Day
Disciples on Campus alum
Mark Perring ‘11
Mark Perring ‘11
Disciples on Campus alum
David Ruby ’15 and family 2011 Youth Leader of the Year
David Ruby ’15 and family
David Ruby ’15 and family
2011 Youth Leader of the Year
2011 Church Leader of the Year Rev. Dr. Dennis Short ‘65
Rev. Dr. Dennis Short ‘65
Rev. Dr. Dennis Short ‘65
2011 Church Leader of the Year
Bishop John Shelby Spong – 2011 Founders Day speaker
Bishop John Shelby Spong
Bishop John Shelby Spong
2011 Founders Day speaker

»Founders Day 2012

This annual spring two-day event is sponsored by the Office Church Relations at Chapman University and offers education for interested persons of all faiths on Friday. Saturday events are geared more for members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, though all are welcome. You may register online for all or part of the event or download the registration form

We look forward to welcoming you to Founders Day, March 23-24, 2012. Our theme is “Ordinary Stories, Extraordinary Truths.”

This year’s Friday speaker is Dr. Amy-Jill Levine of the Divinity School of Vanderbilt University.  A self-described "Yankee Jewish feminist who teaches in a predominantly Christian divinity school in the buckle of the Bible Belt," Professor Levine combines historical-critical rigor, literary-critical sensitivity, and a frequent dash of humor with a commitment to eliminating anti-Jewish, sexist, and homophobic theologies.

Dr. Levine’s books included The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus (Publisher’s Weekly Best Books of 2007), Editor of the Feminist Companion to the New Testament series, The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us (2011) and The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011).

Saturday highlights include:

  • Worship preacher Rev. Felix Carrion, Coordinator of the StillSpeaking Ministry of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, OH.
  • Honoring Joan Rich of Atascadero, CA as the United Church of Christ Church Leader of the Year
  • Honoring Ed Linberg of Fullerton, CA as the Disciples of Christ Church Leader of the Year
  • Honoring an incoming Chapman freshman as Youth Leader of the Year (TBD).
  • Prospective student and parent events
  • Concert by the Chapman University Choir
  • Panel conversation with Dr. Amy-Jill Levine and Chapman faculty Dr. Julye Bidmead, Dr. Marilyn Harran and Dr. Marvin Meyer.
  • Party for Disciples on Campus (DOC) alumni, 1987-2011

Complete Founders Day Schedule

Please call the Office of Church Relations at (714) 997-6760 or email Kari Kempf at kempf@chapman.edu with any questions you may have.

  • News
  • Events
  • News
  • Events