Theologian Emilie M. Townes, an American Baptist clergywoman, will deliver the annual Candlemas Lecture on February 4 at 7 p.m. in Gasson 100. Townes is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Religion and Black Studies at Boston University. Previously, she served as dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, where she was the University Distinguished Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society.  She also has taught at Yale Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary, and Saint Paul School of Theology. She is the editor/co-editor of numerous volumes, including Walking Through the Valley: Womanist Explorations in the Spirit of Katie Geneva Cannon; Embracing the Spirit: Womanist Perspectives on Hope, Salvation, and Transformation; Faith, Health, and Healing in African American Life. She is author of several books, including Womanist Ethics and the Cultural Production of Evil; In a Blaze of Glory: Womanist Spirituality as Social Witness; and Breaking the Fine Rain of Death: African American Health Issues and a Womanist Ethic of Care. Her lecture, titled “Facing (In)Justice with the Power of Hope,” is presented by the Lowell Humanities Series and cosponsored by the Theology Department. The event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.