The Mama Leo Latinx Lecture series housed at Union Theological Seminary is funded by the Mama Leo Lecture Fund which you can give directly to here.

The 4th Annual Mama Leo Lecture Committe consists of:

Founder & Director - Rev. Dr. Samuel Cruz

Chair - Rev. Dr. Elizabeth D. Rios

Co-Chair - Rev. Dr. Kittin Silva

To Co-Sponsor This Event, contact us.

Event Outline

Prophetic Legacy: Latina Voices Shaping the Church and Society

Herencia Profética: Voces Latinas Transformando la Iglesia y la Sociedad

A Celebration of the Latina Pentecostal Legacy of Social Transformation, Public Theology, and Prophetic Preaching

Registration & Coffee

• Welcome table with event materials

• Networking opportunity

Opening Worship & Welcome -Dr. Sam Cruz, Associate Professor and Founding Director of the Mama Leo Lecture Series

• Scripture reading & invocation

• Brief remarks on Mama Leo’s legacy & why this lecture was started

Panel: Cloud of Witnesses: Hidden Figures and the History of Latina Pentecostal Pastoring and Preaching
This panel will bring the Hidden Figures website to life, featuring stories of five overlooked Pentecostal women from the Northeast. Scholars, pastors, and descendants will discuss their preaching legacy, spiritual authority, and how their ministries inform today’s public theology and resistance work.

Panel: Public Theology: Digital Púlpitos and Prophetic Witness - Moderated by Rev. Aracelis Haye, Púlpito Fellows Program
Exploring how Latino/as preachers, practitioners, and theologians use social media, podcasts, and digital platforms to challenge empire, preach justice, compel action in communities, and embody Gospel truth in the public square.

Lunch & Networking

Panel: Hermanos en Solidaridad- Male Allies Lifting Latina Voices

In a church world that has often silenced or sidelined Latina voices, male allies have a critical role to play just like they did for Mama Leo not as saviors, but as co-conspirators in justice, equity, and Spirit-led liberation. This session highlights and hears from men actively working to create space, share power, and honor Latinas' prophetic and pastoral leadership in Pentecostal and justice-rooted ministry. These hermanos understand that true allyship requires risk, repentance, and radical partnership. Whether as mentors, colleagues, community leaders, and spouses they model what it looks like to be in solidarity, not just in words, but in action.

Keynote Address Speaker: Rev. Dr. Liz Ríos, Founder, Passion2Plant Church Planting Network & alumna of Union Theological Seminary (Class of 2025)
Topic: Pentecostal Power, Mujerista Mind: Latina Faith Leadership in a Changing Church & a Changing World

In an era marked by spiritual disillusionment, cultural upheaval, and theological compromise, Latina leaders are rising, not as afterthoughts, but as forerunners of a renewed, Spirit-led church. In this keynote, Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Ríos weaves together the bold fire of her roots in Pentecostalism with the liberating lens of mujerista theology to cast a prophetic vision for Latina faith leadership in a rapidly shifting religious landscape.

With unapologetic clarity and pastoral depth, Dr. Ríos will reflect on how Latinas formed in the crucible of marginalization, resilience, and sacred resistance are uniquely positioned to lead the church toward justice, healing, and holy disruption. This address will name the challenges, honor the legacy of trailblazers like Mama Leo, and ignite a call for Latinas to take their rightful place as architects of both ecclesial transformation and societal repair.

This is not just a closing address, it’s a commissioning. For far too long, Latinas have been the hidden figures of the church and society, preaching, organizing, nurturing, and resisting in the shadows. But we have never been idle. As the world shifts and the church confronts its unraveling, Latina leaders aren’t asking for permission, they are claiming sacred space, reimagining leadership, and shaping a more just and liberative future for us all.

Closing Reflections - Rev. Dr. Sam Cruz

Benediction