A Black woman with medium-length, curly brown hair smiles at the camera. She is wearing silver hoop earrings, a grey shawl over a black top, and is standing in front of an arched stone doorway.

Naomi Washington-Leapheart

Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart is a Black queer preacher, teacher, movement strategist, and justice advocate. She is an adjunct professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University and Arcadia University, and was the Government Fellow for Religion and Public Life at Harvard Divinity School from 2022 to 2024. Rev. Naomi also serves as the first-ever Strategic Partnerships Director at Political Research Associates (PRA), a social justice research and strategy center that provides strategic insights and actionable research that identifies, disrupts, and competes with movements and institutions that undermine democracy, justice, and human rights. In 2021, Rev. Naomi founded Salt | Yeast | Light, an organization that develops spaces of spiritual education, disruption, reflection, transformation, and public action.

Upcoming Programs by Naomi Washington-Leapheart

A stained glass window of a Eucharistic Host and chalice. Words next to it read "the work of the people: Liturgy."

Whose Liturgy Is It Anyway? Lenten Liturgy as the Work of and For the People

February 7 - 9, 2025

Familiar and traditional liturgy in Christian worship can be a source of comfort. But liturgies left unexamined can do harm. In this retreat timed for a month before Lent begins, we'll explore various liturgical forms and ask - whose liturgy is this and what "work" is this liturgy doing? This retreat will engage participants in […]

A line of people hold three banners that read "Break Bread not Bodies" and "Christians for a Free Palestine."

Liturgical Direct Action: A Discernment Retreat

Also With Bill Wylie-Kellermann and Nichola Torbett

November 14 - 16, 2025

How is direct action or civil disobedience altered when framed in prayerful worship? What dimensions of freedom are then embraced? When public witness tells the story of faith and marks a feast or season, what new depth of communication is opened? When nonviolence is practiced in sacramental forms, how is liturgy itself enhanced? With examples […]