Dr Jayme Reaves

Bio:

I love teaching and the favourite part of my job is helping people make connections between scripture, their beliefs, and the ways in which we live and engage with the world around us.  I particularly love the Hebrew Bible and ways of reading it that make it come alive in all of its complexity and richness.

My training is as a public theologian with specific interests in feminist and liberation methods, and I have a keen interest in helping congregations, organisations, communities, and individuals to reflect on both developing theologies on specific public issues such as race, gender, economics, and immigration.  But I am also interested in helping people learn to think more deeply about theology’s public impact by considering what we believe and how we talk about theology and religion in ways that shape and influence culture, both for good and for ill. My book Safeguarding the Stranger: An Abrahamic Theology and Ethic of Protective Hospitality looks at the theology and ethic of providing sanctuary or refuge to those who are under threat, and how the Western Christian theology and practices of hospitality can be enriched by the recovery of honour and etiquettes related to hospitality as seen in the Jewish and Islamic traditions.

The majority of my work explores socially-engaged biblical studies and considering the various theological and social legacies created by social injustice, violence, peace, reconciliation and moral courage, with interests in both non-violent resistance and non-confessional and interfaith theological and ethical constructions and practice. Over the last 20 years, I have worked as a consultant, researcher, facilitator, and lecturer in the United States, Bosnia, Croatia, Great Britain, and Northern Ireland.

Read my contribution to the UN 16 Days Of Activism (06.12.18)– Day 12 on behalf of Shiloh Project.
At Sarum, Jayme is also Programme Leader for Bible & Sacred Texts, Short Courses and Exploring Theology

External Roles

Freelance Public Theologian (lecturer, facilitator, and author) working with a variety of communities, organisations and individuals on the intersection between theology and public issues

Honorary Research Fellow at Queen’s Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education

Consultant to the Reconcilers Together ‘Journey to Hope’ programme based at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace

External Research partner for The Shiloh Project, a research partnership project between University of Leeds, University of Sheffield, and University of Auckland (NZ)

Co-host of the Outlander Soul podcast (https://www.outlandersoul.com/)

Recent Lectures & Events

SCM Press Book Launch of When Did We See You Naked? Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse, 30 June 2021.  Live online event.

When Did We See You Naked? Holy Week Reflections on Crucifixion and Sexual Violence. Live Sarum College Online Event in partnership with Queen’s Ecumenical Theological Foundation, 31 March 2021.

Contributor on the BBC4 Beyond Belief broadcast on ‘Religion in Game of Thrones’ in August 2019. Listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0007bk5

Beyond Tea & Biscuits: Extending Hospitality. Sarum College, September 2018

#MeToo Jesus: Why Naming Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse Matters. Co-authored & presented with David Tombs at University of Sheffield’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies and at Queen’s Theological Foundation, Birmingham (UK), January 2018.

We are Made of Stories: Reading Contemporary Fiction as Sacred Text. Draft research paper presented to Society for the Study of Theology Conference, Nottingham (UK), April 2018

Cities of Refuge: Exploring Sanctuary & Restorative Culture In The Hebrew Bible. Churches Together in Britain & Ireland’s Churches’ Refugee Network Sanctuary Conference, February 2018

Safeguarding the Stranger: An Abrahamic Theology & Ethic of Protective Hospitality. Paper delivered to Society for the Study of Theology Annual Conference. Nottingham, UK. April 2017

Publications

When Did We See You Naked? Jesus as a Victim of Sexual Abuse. London: SCM Press, 2021 (co-editor)

Safeguarding the Stranger: An Abrahamic Theology and Ethic of Protective Hospitality. Eugene, Oregon (US): Wipf & Stock/Pickwick, 2016.

Sarah as Victim & Perpetrator: Whiteness, Power, and Memory in the Matriarchal Narrative. Review & Expositor: A Baptist Journal, November 2018.

Sexual Abuse and the Violence of the Cross. Paper co-authored with and presented by David Tombs at the Australian and New Zealand
Association of Theological Schools (ANZATS) Conference, Melbourne, Australia. July 2016.

Decade of Anniversaries Toolkit: Understanding Our Past, Shaping Our Future. Co-Authored with Helen McLaughlin. Community Relations Council: Belfast, 2013.

“The Role of Protective Hospitality in Building Reconciled Communities,” in Thinking Peace: What is Reconciliation? Issue 7. Corrymeela Community: Belfast, 2013.

“Beyond Coffee and Cake Hospitality: Joshua 2:1-22; 6:22-25.” A chapter in Letting the Other Speak: Proclaiming the Stories of Biblical Women by Tracy Kemp Hartman, ed. Lanham, MD: Lexington, 2012.

“Conference Response.” Being the Other: Theological Students’ Conference 2011. Experiential Learning Paper, no. 6. Irish Peace Centres. (September 2011): 78-81.

“The Impossibility of Being ‘All Things to All People’: The Realities of Trying to be a Scholar, Educator, and Activist.” Conference Response Paper. Delivered to the Interface Youth Theologians Conference. Maynooth, Ireland. March 2011.

“Clergy and Their Response to Trauma: A Literature Review.” Co-Authored with Vincent, F., Leavy, G., and Brown, C. Belfast: Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health. 2011. Internal publication.

“The Holy Rite of Disagreement.” Studying Faith, Practicing Peace. Experiential Learning Paper, no. 4. Peer-reviewed. Belfast: Irish Peace Centres, 2010. pg. 77-83.

“Redemption, Resistance and Liberation: A Christian Response to Modern Slavery.” Co-Authored with David Tombs. European Slave Trade Conference. Dublin, Ireland. July 2007.

“Room at the Table: The Role of Hospitality in Inter-Religious Life.” In The Place for Others in Our Faith and Life: Foundations for Inter-Religious Peace Education. Building Bridges Towards Peace and Reconciliation in South-East Europe in partnership with the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and World Council of Churches’ South-East European Ecumenical Partnership (SEEEP). Sarajevo: Abraham: Association for Inter-Religious Peace Work, 2004. (A collection of papers and a corresponding workbook was published in Bosnian as a result of this project in order to assist local religious communities with issues arising from the legacy of ethno-religious conflict.)

Education

PhD Theology, Trinity College, University of Dublin: ‘Safeguarding the Stranger: An Abrahamic Theology and Ethic of Protective Hospitality’
M.Phil Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation, Trinity College, University of Dublin
M.Div, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (Virginia, US)
B.A. History, Union University (Tennessee, US)

Professional Memberships

Society for the Study of Theology
British & Irish Association for Practical Theology
American Academy of Religion
Northern Ireland Inter-Faith Forum
Healing Through Remembering
Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America
Feminist Liberation Theologians’ Network
Postcolonial Theology Network
WATER (Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, & Ritual)