New York Times columnist David Brooks to speak Tuesday

In the fall of 2013, Rich Webster found David Brooks’ email address at the bottom of his column in The New York Times. He decided to email him about Saint Luke’s Episcopal, where he serves as rector, and Birmingham. The next day, Webster got a call. Brooks was intrigued. 

The colleague of Brooks who called wanted to clarify one thing, though. Did Webster know Brooks was Jewish? He did. 

“I also knew he quotes Christian authors and seems to know more about Christianity than most Christians,” Webster said. “The [Claypool] lecture series has always intended to bring interesting people to Birmingham, people on the forefront of faith and of creative culture and leadership.” 

At the time, Brooks was finishing a book on humility, so Saint Luke’s wasn’t able to book the political and social analyst to come until this January. Brooks is now scheduled to speak on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 6:30 p.m. at Samford’s Wright Center as a part of Saint Luke’s Claypool Lecture Series. In the past, the series has brought speakers such as Brené Brown and the authors of Same Kind of Different As Me to honor the service of the Rev. John Claypool, a preacher and Christian author who previously served at Saint Luke’s.

Webster specifically wanted Brooks to know the context of Birmingham in addressing the topic, “How do people with influence use their faith as a moral center to change the world?”

“The mountain that separates Birmingham is wonderful and terrible,” Webster said of what he explained to Brooks. “It can easily divide haves and have nots.” 

Webster believes Brooks is the ideal person to speak to the topic. He has long admired Brooks’ thoughts and passions and, most recently, seeing him emerge as a consistent moral voice for people in leadership roles.

“I think people will find in David someone who is universally admired for his capacity to listen to different points of view,” Webster said. “He is that rare public figure who doesn’t retreat into the camp of the like-minded. That’s the kind of diversity we need to have in this city.”

Webster said this is evident in hearing Brooks speak on television and radio programs.

“His colleagues adore him and don’t agree with him on anything,” Webster said. “I am not sure we adore our political opponents anymore. That’s good behavior to model.”

Brooks has been an op-ed columnist at The New York Times since 2003. His columns are currently published in the paper on Tuesdays and Fridays. He is also a frequent commentator on NPR and appears on the PBS Newshour. He is the author of Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, On Paradise Drive: How We Live Now (And Always Have) in the Future Tense and, most recently, The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement.

Webster hopes the city will rally behind Brooks’ visit and that the Wright Center will sell out for the Jan. 13 event. 

Tickets are $25 and available at tickets.samford.edu or by contacting Nancy Cain at 802-6200. 

Tuesday, Jan. 13

6:30 p.m.

Wright Center

Samford University

$25