Our Dill Lecture Series

about the Stephen & Ruth

Dill Lecture Series

The Dill Lecture Series (DLS) was established in 2013 as a legacy project of the Dauphin Way United Methodist Church Centennial Celebration to honor the Rev. Dr. Stephen F. Dill and his wife Ruth for their 40 years of extraordinary service to our church and to our community. Dr. Dill served as senior minister of Dauphin Way from 1972 until his retirement in 1990 and continued to enrich the lives of the Dauphin Way community of faith and the greater Mobile community until his death in January 2022. Throughout Steve’s long career, Ruth also served ably as partner to Steve in ministry and teaching. The DLS Committee mourns the loss of Dr. Stephen Dill in January 2022 and is grateful for his legacy.

This lecture series is made possible by generous contributions to the Dill Lecture Fund set up within the Dauphin Way UMC Foundation. It brings to Mobile esteemed speakers to offer their insights and inspiration to the Dauphin Way congregation and to the community at large. The speakers may be chosen from the ranks of theologians, philosophers, academicians, authors, or others who can offer education, enlightenment and inspiration to the Dauphin Way congregation and the wider community by challenging them to think critically and act ethically and by exploring what it means to be a person of faith in the 21st century. The events are promoted to attract wide audiences from not only Dauphin Way and other religious institutions but also area colleges and universities and the community at large and are offered at no charge. The Dill Lecture Fund provides for the speaker stipend and travel and other expenses associated with the presentations.

The Lecture Series brings to Mobile esteemed speakers to offer their insights and inspiration to the Dauphin Way congregation and to the community at large.

Past Dill Lecture Speakers Have Included:

2014

Thomas Cahill—

American scholar and writer who is best known for his acclaimed Hinges of History series

2015

Dr. Walter Brueggemann—

The preeminent contemporary scholar of the Old Testament

2016

Rachel Held Evans—

Best-selling author and nationally-popular blogger

2017

Dr. Wayne Flynt—

Auburn University professor emeritus and distinguished scholar of Southern history, politics, religion, and culture

2018

Jim Wallis—

Founder and editor-in-chief of Sojourners and renowned preacher and theologian

2019

Krista Tippett—

Creator and host of NPR programs Speaking of Faith and On Being

2021

Rev. Adam Hamilton—

Founder and senior pastor of the 25,000-member United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas

2021

Rev. Dr. Thomas G. Long—

Bandy Professor of Preaching Emeritus at Candler School of Theology at Emory University

2022

2022 Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor—

Episcopal priest, teacher, speaker, theologian, and best-selling author

2022

Philip Yancey—

Best-selling contemporary Christian author and spiritual inspiration to millions of followers worldwide

2023

Dr. Amy-Jill Levine—

Internationally renowned scholar, teacher, and author

2024

Rev. Dr. Paul Chilcote—

Research fellow at Wesley House, Cambridge, England, and featured seminarian at Duke University and other theological seminaries

Spring 2026 DLS Speaker

Bishop Jonathan Holston

Bishop Jonathan Holston is the Bishop in Residence of the Alabama Panhandle Episcopal Area, which includes the Alabama-West Florida and North Alabama Conferences of the United Methodist Church. He is serving his first quadrennium in our conferences and his fourth quadrennium in the connection. The most favored episcopacy candidate in the elections at the 2012 Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference, he was overwhelmingly elected on the first ballot. Prior to his current assignment, he faithfully served as bishop of the South Carolina Annual Conference from 2012-2024.

Bishop Holston earned his Master of Divinity in biblical studies from the Interdenominational Theological Center at Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in religion from the University of Georgia. Before his election to the episcopacy, he served as senior pastor at a number of UMC churches and also as a District Superintendent. He possesses broad knowledge gained by his experience and presence through the years on numerous boards and committees of the United Methodist Church at the conference and general church levels. His love for missions has taken him around the world and gained him recognition as a mission specialist. He served as a delegate to several UMC General Conferences and was a delegate to the World Methodist Conference in 2001 and 2005.

Bishop Holston is married to the former Felecia Brown. They have two adult children, son Karlton and daughter Brittany.

Event Details for the next

Dill Lecture Series

The next Dill Lecture will be held on Sunday, January 25, 2026.

Click below for more details about each worship service.

Dauphin Way United Methodist Church