Kimberly Belcher

Biography

After earning a B.S. in Mathematics and Chemistry at the University of Florida, Kimberly Hope Belcher came to Notre Dame to study the dynamics of divine and human agency in Christian liturgy. She earned the MTS and PhD here, after which she taught at the College of St Benedict and Saint John's University in Minnesota before returning to the faculty in 2013.

Belcher is the current President of the North American Academy of Liturgy. She serves on the Vital Worship Grants Board of the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship and represents the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Methodist-Catholic, Episcopal-Catholic, and Pentecostal-Catholic dialogues in the United States. She is a faculty fellow of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the Kellogg Institute of International Studies, as well as a Research Associate of Stellenbosch University in Practical Theology and Ministry.

Belcher uses tools including phenomenology, critical theory, ritual theory, and trinitarian theology in her exploration of the development, practice, and meaning of Christian liturgy and human ritual. In addition to doctoral seminars in Liturgical and Sacramental Theology and Ritual Studies, she teaches the unique undergraduate courses Rhythms of Faith and Holy Communion/Christian Disunity.