On Tuesday, October 19, 2021, Asbury Theological Seminary will welcome Dr. Matthew Sigler as the guest speaker for the biennial Freitas Lecture Series. Dr. Sigler graduated from Asbury Seminary in 2007 and holds a Ph.D. in liturgical studies from Boston University, where his work focused on Methodist identity and liturgical praxis. He currently serves as the Associate Professor of Worship and Historical Theology at Seattle Pacific University (SPU) in Seattle, Washington. At SPU, Dr. Sigler teaches Wesleyan theology and history, liturgical studies, and University Foundations courses in Christian doctrine and Christian formation.

Prior to becoming a professor, Dr. Sigler served for 12 years as a music minister in the church, and has written on contemporary worship as well as lyrical theology. He is the author of Methodist Worship: Mediating the Wesleyan Liturgical Heritage published in 2019 by Routledge as well as many chapters and articles, including material featured on Seedbed. Dr. Sigler is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and is particularly interested in how the faith practices of communities of the past can serve as resources for renewal in the church today.

In the summer of 2020, Dr. Sigler launched the Leitourgia Project, a 7-month-long,intergenerational, mentorship opportunity for churches seeking new ways to incorporate youth into the worship life of their congregations. The project helps high schoolers develop their own talents in liturgical leadership through hands-on training from seasoned leaders and professors. This project speaks to Dr. Sigler’s heart for training future leaders of the church through both substantive study and praxis.

Dr. Sigler will speak in the Estes Chapel service at 11:00 AM on October 19 and will provide a following lecture.

The George and Elizabeth Freitas Lectureship was established in 1954 by Mrs. Freitas of Modesto, California. This lectureship honors the Freitas’s concern for training and educating ministers, and serves as a memorial to them.