CEIE Presents: A Podcast with Founder of the "Beyonce Mass"

Rev. Yolanda M. Norton is assistant professor of Hebrew Bible and the Eugene Farlough Chair of Black Church Studies at San Francisco Theological Seminary (University of Redlands). She is also the creator/curator of the Beyoncé Mass.

Rev. Norton is a Ph.D. candidate in Hebrew Bible, Ancient Israel and Theology and Practice Fellow at Vanderbilt University. Her current research interests include womanist interpretation, narrative and literary criticism and the Persian period. Her work focuses on the books of Genesis and Ruth, especially how each text treats foreign women. She also considers the ways in which insider-outsider paradigms in Scripture influence constructions of identity and facilitate the vilification and/or oppression of women of color who encounter the biblical canon in the modern world. 

Rev. Norton has published chapters in “I Found God in Me: Womanist Biblical Hermeneutics Reader and Global Perspectives in the Old Testament.” She also has articles included in a pending publication in Liturgical Press’s new Feminist commentary on the Psalms. 

In this podcast, Rev. Norton speaks with SU’s Dr. Edward Donalson III about the Womanist worship service that uses the story of Beyoncé as a tool to foster an empowering conversation about Black women—their lives, their bodies and their voices. 

Listen to the Podcast on YouTube or Religica SoundCloud.

To learn more about the center, its core team of students, staff and faculty, and to view current projects, visit CEIE.