The Rev. Dr. Jess Winderweedle
July 2025 – Drew Theological School is pleased to welcome the Rev. Dr. Jess Winderweedle as the newest Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow.
Winderweedle will join the Theological School this fall as Assistant Teaching Professor of Preaching.
As part of the larger multi-year Vocation of the Theological Educator initiative, the Louisville Institute Fellowship helps early career scholars develop as theological educators by providing support for a two-year, visiting professorship at a participating North American theological school, college, or university.
Louisville Institute is funded by the Religion Division of Lilly Endowment Inc. and is based at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The Louisville Institute’s mission is to bridge church and academy by awarding grants and fellowships to those who study North American religious institutions, practices, and movements.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rev. Jess Winderweedle as Assistant Teaching Professor of Preaching,” said Drew Theological School Dean Edwin David Aponte. “Her deep pastoral experience and commitment to theological education will be a gift to our students and community. Drew University is grateful for the continuing partnership with Louisville Institute in advancing theological education and serving faith communities in practical ways.”
Winderweedle earned her PhD in Practical Theology (Homiletics) from Princeton Theological Seminary. Her doctoral research centered on the experiences of openly LGBTQIA+ preachers from mainline Protestant traditions and explores the possibilities of a queer-informed approach to the formation and instruction of mainline preachers.
Winderweedle is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church. “As a clergy person here in the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference, I have many wonderful clergy colleagues who are enthusiastic Drew alums, and I’m excited to get to know this community that means so much to them,” said Winderweedle of her appointment at Drew.
Winderweedle also serves as the program coordinator for the Expanding the Pulpit program, a Lilly-funded initiative of the Presbytery of Philadelphia of the Presbyterian Church, USA. Previously, she served as the lead pastor at Kingston United Methodist Church, where she also founded The Feed Truck, a mobile campus and community outreach ministry.
