Leah Schade is Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary, A graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, her research and experience cover the fields of homiletics and ecological theology. As an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), Schade has served in suburban, urban, and rural settings and has worked with parishioners from a variety of cultural, racial, and economic backgrounds. Formerly the pastor of United in Christ Lutheran Church in Lewisburg, PA, Schade's ministry is marked by her experience in and passion for ecological and social justice advocacy and activism. She recently served as a community organizer and spokesperson for a community effort to defeat a proposed tire incinerator in her region. As a member of the ELCA Upper Susquehanna Synod's bipartisan Task Force on Hydraulic Fracturing, she co-authored resolutions calling for a moratorium on shale gas and oil drilling, as well as closing the "Halliburton Loopholes" exempting the industry from environmental and public health protections. She is committed to the public theology of preaching which calls on both church and society to interact and strive for equal rights for "the least of these" in the Earth (inclusive of human) community.