Christian author and speaker Rosaria Butterfield will speak in chapel service on Wednesday, March 8, at 10 a.m in Rudd Auditorium. Dr. Butterfield was once a tenured professor of English who identified as a lesbian and worked to advance the cause of LGBT equality. After her conversion to Christ in 1999, she said she came to see the sinfulness of having any identity apart from Him.
“Rosaria's story is a powerful testimony of God's grace that set her free,” said Dr. Stephen Livesay, president of Bryan College. “She speaks to today's controversial issues with passion, wit and love.”
Dr. Butterfield’s chapel presentation is open to the public along with a Q and A session to be held in the campus library the prior evening, Tuesday, March 7, at 7 p.m. This event is free.
Dr. Butterfield is married to Kent Butterfield, pastor of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church of Durham, and is a home-school mother, pastor's wife, author, and speaker. She said she is helping Christians to better understand their LGBT neighbors and loved ones so that we can lovingly look past labels of sexual identity and share the gospel effectively.
In 2012, she published her conversion memoir, “The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey to Christian Faith.” Her second book, “Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity and Union with Christ” was released in the summer of 2015. She writes about sexuality, identity, Christian community, and seeks to encourage all in faithful Christian living and service.