Carvalhaes, Cláudio
Assistant Professor of Worship and Preaching (June 2007)
Schlegel 202
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992-9299; 299

Cláudio Carvalhaes, a theologian and artist, was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, where he also earned his degree from the Independent Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He was ordained by the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil and served two different Presbyterian congregations in São Paulo.

He studied ecumenism in Switzerland at the World Council of Churches and received his M.A. in theology and literature from Methodist University's Ecumenical Institute of the Graduate School of Religion in São Paulo.

In a partnership between the Presbytery of São Paulo and the Presbytery of Southern New England and supported by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Synod of the Northeast, Carvalhaes became a founding pastor of Christ is Life Presbyterian Church, a Portuguese-speaking congregation in Fall River, Mass. After serving the church for four years, Carvalhaes moved to New York City where he started his doctoral studies at Union Theological Seminary.

Throughout his studies he provided classroom assistance to notable Union professors including James Cone ("Foundations of Christian Theology," 2003) and Janet Walton ("Worship and the Arts," 2004). Union also designated Carvalhaes the Daniel Day Williams Fellow for 2006-2007, an award presented to the Ph.D. student with outstanding work in theology, philosophy, ethics, and culture. He was selected to participate in the Wabash Workshop for Pre-Tenured Faculty in 2008-2009 and was invited to be part of the worship team of the All Africa Conference of Churches in Maputo, Mozambique, in December 2008. He will serve on the worship team for the Edinburgh 2010 World Missionary Conference.

A much sought after speaker, writer, performer, and consultant, Carvalhaes has served with the Presbyterian Church (USA) in its peacemaking and immigrant groups ministries. He is on the faculty of the ITEBA, Institute of Theological Education of Bahia, Brazil, and works with immigrant groups. Currently, he is the co-chair of the Hispanic Latino/a Coalition of Louisville, KY, and serves on the board of The Society for the Arts, Religion and Contemporary Culture and of the Brazilian online journal, Trópico – Ideias de Norte a Sul. He has published articles, in both English and Portuguese, on the relation between globalization, immigration, and postcolonial theologies/liturgies in the U.S. and Brazil and on worship, arts, and the Christian faith. He has performed in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Maputo, Mozambique; and in New York, Virginia, and Kentucky, in the USA. With David Gambrell, he leads the annual summer conference on Worship and the Arts at Louisville Seminary.

Selected Publications