On March 30, the Very Rev. James F. Turrell, dean of the School of Theology, announced that the Rev. Dr. Hilary Bogert-Winkler has been appointed assistant professor of liturgy. She will begin teaching in the academic year 2021–22.

“Dr. Bogert-Winkler is both a scholar and practitioner of the liturgy, and she brings considerable gifts to the work of preparing students to lead the people of God in worship. I am delighted that she will be part of the faculty at the School of Theology,” Turrell said.

Bogert-Winkler was most recently director of pastoral studies at Montreal Diocesan Theological College and an affiliate member of the faculty at the School of Religious Studies at McGill University. Bogert-Winkler holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Connecticut, as well as degrees from Yale Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, and Western Kentucky University. Originally from Kentucky and ordained a priest in 2010, she served for a decade in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts, working first in parish settings and more recently as youth missioner while also completing her doctorate.

“It is fantastic that Dr. Hilary Bogert-Winkler will be joining the faculty in the area of liturgy, a subject in which the School of Theology has always been so strong,” said the Rev. Dr. Benjamin King, associate dean for academic affairs. “Her excellent credentials give me confidence that her name fits alongside those of Massey Shepherd, Marion Hatchett, Neil Alexander, and James Turrell. She is also a true pastor who will serve our students well inside and outside the classroom.”

In addition to her dissertation titled “Prayerful Protest and Clandestine Conformity: Alternative Liturgies and the Book of Common Prayer in Interregnum England,” she is the author of several publications including a recently commissioned piece for the bishop of the Diocese of Quebec titled “Individual Communion Cups, Community, and Covid-19.”

Bogert-Winkler has received multiple awards and fellowships beginning with the Thomas Phillips Memorial Award from Yale Divinity School in 2009, and most recently, the Karl Z. Trybus Award from the University of Connecticut.

“I am thrilled to be joining the faculty of the School of Theology,” said Bogert-Winkler. “Sewanee holds an important place in theological education and liturgical studies for The Episcopal Church, and I am excited to give back to the Church that raised me through teaching its future leaders. I look forward to working with students to explore the richness and breadth of our liturgical tradition, and to think about the ways we can draw upon those riches as we move into the future.”

“In addition,” she continued, “in my conversations with the faculty and students of the School of Theology, I have been consistently struck by their desire to be honest about Sewanee’s history and to work for a more just and inclusive institution. This is vital and sacred work, and I am committed to joining with them in it. And, as a native Kentuckian, I feel that this return to my southern roots is very much like coming home.”