Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
spring 2020
In this Issue Senior fellowships | 4
Borderlands | 6
Alumni awards | 18
Preparing leaders for Christ’s church
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AUSTIN
AUSTIN PRESBYTERIAN
PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGI C AL
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
SEMINARY
spring 2020 President
features
Theodore J. Wardlaw
Borderlands 6 A Borderlands Vision for
Board of Trustees
G. Archer Frierson II, Chair James C. Allison Janice L. Bryant (MDiv’01, DMin’11) Kelley Cooper Cameron Claudia D. Carroll Katherine B. Cummings (MDiv’05) Thomas Christian Currie James DeMent (MDiv’17) Jill Duffield (DMin’13) Britta Martin Dukes (MDIv’05) Jackson Farrow Jr. Beth Blanton Flowers, MD Stephen Giles Jesús Juan González (MDiv’92) William Greenway Walter Harris Jr. John S. Hartman Keatan A. King Steve LeBlanc Sue B. McCoy Matthew Miller (MDiv’03) W. David Pardue Denise Nance Pierce (MATS’11) Mark B. Ramsey Stephen J. Rhodes Sharon Risher (MDiv’07) Conrad M. Rocha Lana E. Russell Lita Simpson John L. Van Osdall Teresa Welborn Elizabeth C. Williams Michael G. Wright
Volume 135 | Number 2
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6 Cover: The artwork accompanying the “Borderlands” stories in this issue were created by refugee children at the Texas-Mexico border; most were drawn in 2017.
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Theological Education
By Gregory Cuéllar
Emitting Hope & Extinguishing Fear By Dick Powell
Hermeneutics of the Sacred in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
By Kimberly Kinsey
12
Borders Physical & Metaphorical By Kailen Soncksen
14
Bridging Invisible Borders By Melissa Wiginton
& departments
Trustees Emeriti
Lyndon Olsen B. W. Payne Max Sherman Anne Vickery Stevenson Louis H. Zbinden Jr.
19
2
seminary & church
3
twenty-seventh & speedway
16
faculty news & notes
18
alumni news & notes
20
live & learn
ASA Board
Sheila Sidberry-Thomas (MDiv’14), President Melinda Hunt (CIM’16), Vice-President Josh Kerr (MDiv’14), Secretary Barrett Abernethy (MDiv’13), Past President Sarah Allen (MDiv’07) David Gambrell (MDiv’98) John Guthrie (MDiv’06) Carl McCormack (MDiv’95) Denise Odom (MDiv’99) Noemi Ortiz (MATS’15) Jean Reardon (MDiv’05) Valerie Sansing (MDiv’00) Rita Sims (DMin’15) Paul Sink (MDiv’00) Ayana Teter (MDiv’06) Michael Ulasewich (MDiv’05)
Editor
Randal Whittington
Contributors
Selina Aguirre Bridgett Green Sylvia Greenway Erica Knisely Usama Malik Gary Mathews Alison Riemersma Sharon Sandberg Mona Santandrea Mary Wall
Windows is published three times each year by Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Austin Seminary Windows Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary 100 E. 27th St. Austin, TX 78705-5711 phone: 512-404-4808 e-mail: windows@austinseminary.edu AustinSeminary.edu ISSN 2056-0556; Non-profit bulk mail permit no. 2473
seminary church
from the president |
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Green Seminary Certification Austin Seminary is the first school to complete the Seminary Environmental Certification process through the Green Seminary Initiative (greenseminaries.org). This is the culmination of a three-year process designed to further develop our commitment to creation care. The Green Team, comprised of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, have steered the community through the process of auditing existing environmental practices and establishing a variety of initiatives to meet the certification goals. These include: incorporating environmental themes into the curriculum; environment-focused worship; a robust energymanagement system that greatly reduces our carbon footprint; and composting, community gardening, and a regular creek cleanup.
his little corner of Windows is where I always write a foreword anticipating and lifting up the articles that always follow. In this issue, though, I will depart from this custom. I assure you that you are in store for great reading ahead, but now I want to reflect a bit on this exceptional and frightening time that we’re living through, thanks to a microscopic virus the world now knows as COVID-19. When it first made the news months ago, it was way on the other side of the world and we hardly noticed it. We should have, of course, but we didn’t. Now we know it well. Many of us know the names of people who have been infected with it. Others of us know that it is all around us, know the current total, in our state or county, of deaths at the hand of it. We may have seen magnified pictures of it and even marveled at its sinister beauty. With all of the crowns sheathing it, it may make us think of royalty—so much so that Coronavirus is an apt description (“corona” = “something suggesting a crown”). It has insisted upon our attention. Three weeks ago, as I write these words, I saw it as a temporary inconvenience. We may have to stop teaching classes in person and go instead to online learning for a week or two, I thought to myself. Now I know better, as Austin Seminary joins the legion of universities, seminaries, public schools, shopping malls, restaurants, bike shops, churches, ice cream parlors, bars, and so many other establishments that have shuttered for God only knows how long. Now I know how foolish it would be to host a dinner party in my home, to hug friends at church, to get on a plane, to skimp on washing my hands. And now, my mind is forever obsessing on the enormity of this moment. Such a global fuss, coming as it does from something so demonically microscopic. May nations join together and destroy this thing. Meanwhile, may we ponder how, in the midst of such dystopian political and international divisions, this thing may succeed in bringing us together. Would it matter, after all, if the scientist who neutralizes this thing hails from Russia or China or North Korea? We would celebrate him or her, slap their picture on the front cover of The Economist. We might even pause to pray for forgiveness—for all of the times that we’ve vilified people from the wrong country, the wrong nationality, the wrong race, the wrong point of view. And then, let us ponder how, even in their utter invisibility (because their doors are locked now), our churches are making their way, maybe now more than ever, into our homes. Kay and I went to church this last Sunday by sitting on the couch in our den. At the 11:00 hour, our clergy appeared on our laptop screens and led us in one of the most magnificent services I’ve ever attended. In their Lenten vestments of black and purple, our two associate pastors presided from their kitchen. From his living-room, our pastor preached a sermon titled “The Gospel of Staying Home”—an intriguing theological argument on the appropriateness, in these times, of staying home and doing the gospel in different ways—in personal prayer for others in need, over the phone, in an email to a suffering brother or sister. The living water at the heart of his text from John 4:4-26 is water that we don’t have to go somewhere else to get, he said to us, because it comes with the power of the Holy Spirit, of the risen Christ, of the grace of God. If we can imagine a God as big as—no, bigger than—the whole world of teeming nations, and as small as the church that begins in and flourishes from our own homes, then perhaps God has already blessed us with new eyesight that will lead us forward, with confidence, in the days ahead. Faithfully yours,
2 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Theodore J. Wardlaw President
twenty-seventh speedway
Deborah Butler retires in style
Campaign raises more than $46 million
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n January 13, Austin Seminary received confirmation from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Midland, Texas, that it had met the requirements of a $1 million challenge grant they issued in January 2019. Funding completed for The Mary B. and Robert J. Wright Learning and Information Center marks the conclusion of Austin Seminary’s Weaving Promise and Practice into Ministry: The Campaign for Austin Seminary, which raised a record $46.23 million to support the Seminary’s mission. “We are thrilled by what this campaign has allowed Austin Seminary to become,” says President Theodore J. Wardlaw. “We are humbled by and profoundly grateful for friends near and far who have demonstrated throughout this project their commitment to the Seminary and the value of exceptional theological education.” In addition to the learning and information center, the accomplishments of the campaign include tangible benefits for students and faculty that will ensure excellence in teaching and learning, reduce additional education debt for students, and provide for ongoing professional and spiritual support to pastors and other church leaders. They include funding for a new student apartment building, endowment of the College of Pastoral Leaders, three distinguished faculty chairs, and eleven student fellowships. Over the course of the Weaving Promise and Practice into Ministry campaign, nearly 800 donors made gifts totaling $46,227,155 to Austin Seminary; of those, more than 250 were first-time givers. The alumni donated specifically to an area of the library renovation, collectively raising more than $500,000 for the project. Look for photos from the groundbreaking for the Wright Learning and Information Center elsewhere in this issue and details about the campaign in the Summer|Fall issue of Windows. v
community notes | Dan Garza (MDiv’68) served on the Austin Seminary staff from 1982 - 2002 as director of racial ethnic ministries and director of the continuing education program. Beyond retirement he continued his involvement with the Seminary through his leadership in ministries such as the Hispanic Ministries Mission Network. He died on February 13, 2020.
Molly Crawley, whose husband, James, and daughter, Martha, have both served on the Seminary’s Board of Trustees, died on February 23. Along with her husband, Molly was a faithful supporter of the mission of Austin Seminary, contributing to many funding priorities, such as the Seminary Archives. v
he Austin Seminary community gathered on February 25, 2020, (Fat Tuesday!) to say farewell to beloved staff member Deborah Butler. The McCord Atrium was filled to capacity with faculty and staff, students and alumni who wanted Deborah to know how fruitful and faithful her twenty-five years at Austin Seminary have been. Deborah began her tenure in 1995 as administrative assistant to the Office of Admissions. In 2002 she transitioned to a new department, the Office of Student Affairs, where she remained until the end of February. The primary focus of her work has been to welcome prospective students and then to shepherd them through their seminary years. Her warm and fun personality, combined with a genuine spirit of hospitality, were the perfect skill set.
“We calculated that Deborah has guided more than twelve hundred students in her time here,” says Sarah Gaventa, dean of students and Deborah’s supervisor for the past three years. “She met each of those students with enthusiasm and love. Students came to her for a cheerful word, a shoulder to cry on, and when they needed to feel known.” Near the conclusion of the celebration, Deborah made a special request to those gathered in the atrium to sing the Doxology. In a note of thanks the next day, she wrote, “You have given me wings to fly and memories to last a lifetime these twenty-five years. Each of you has captured a place in my heart. Thanks for all the memories and for the blessing on my retirement by singing the Doxology—that will forever be in my vision of what a community of saints looks like.” v
Spring 2020 | 3
twenty-seventh speedway
Senior students recognized for excellence
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t is a long-standing and much-anticipated tradition at the Austin Seminary Association banquet to learn the identity of the graduating seniors selected by the faculty to receive special awards. These fellowships recognizing excellence in academics, character, and promise for ministry include The David L. Stitt Alumni Association Fellowship, The Pile-Morgan Fellowship, The Janie Maxwell Morris Fellowship, The AlsupFrierson Fellowship for Excellence in Biblical Exegesis and Hermeneutics, and The W. P. Newell Memorial Fellowship. Meet the 2020 fellowship winners here and learn why their professors found them worthy.
Jean Corbitt | Conway, Arkansas David L. Stitt Fellowship | $18,000 prize
“Jean Corbitt is already a star theologian because she understands that bearing witness to mystery requires respecting— and navigating—seemingly paradoxical tensions … She recently identified ‘what if ?’ questions as the only questions that bring us closer to God: ‘What if I’m wrong? What if miracles happen? What if death isn’t the end?’ she asks. Thank you, Jean, for welcoming angels into your head, for being fearless about seeking value in the most traditional voices of the Christian tradition, and for being fearless, also, about challenging them.” –Professor Cynthia Rigby
Usama Malik | Round Rock, Texas Pile-Morgan Fellowship | $8,000 prize
“It is an extraordinary step out of bounds for a Muslim to come to a Christian seminary. Usama has moved the boundary and made it feel entirely ordinary. He comes to chapel, and even when he can’t join in words or actions, he is never not participating, always fully present to the holiness of the time and place. It is because of all this—his energy, his delight, his participation, his wisdom, and his commitment, that a Christian student body chose this Muslim to be their president. The surprise is that it was not surprising.” –Professor Whit Bodman 4 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Nick Demuynck | Greensboro, North Carolina Janie Maxwell Morris Fellowship | $5,000 prize
“As a student, Nick is ‘all in’—a thoughtful participant who is always alert to the other voices in the room … I have appreciated his maturity, his calm and assuring presence, his clarity of insight, and his consistent friendliness. I will miss him here next year; I am grateful that he will bring a wise, pastoral, and nurturing spirit wherever he is called.” –Professor Eric Wall
Jackie Freeman | San Antonio, Texas Alsup-Frierson Fellowship for Excellence in Biblical Exegesis and Hermeneutics | $3,500 prize
“Jackie attends to the biblical text with care and thoughtfulness, bringing all of her life experience to bear in her interpretation for the church and God’s people. Her reading reflects a pastoral sensibility to interpreting, preaching, and teaching the Bible with a keen eye toward justice for God’s people.” –Professor Margaret Aymer
Lee Legault | Austin, Texas W. P. Newell Memorial Fellowship | $3,000 prize
“Lee is a perceptive reader who asks questions that others are too timid to ask. She knows that the journey is as important as the destination. Her deep appreciation of the mystical tradition makes others realize that our experience of God’s love is always beyond words. Wherever the journey takes Lee, she will always invite others into the beauty and mystery of God.”
– Professor David Jensen Spring 2020 | 5
Let the children speak: the art accompanying these stories The Arte de Lágrimas (Refugee Artwork Project) was the brainchild of Professor Gregory Cuéllar and his wife, Nohemi Cuéllar. In 2014, supported by several Austin churches and individuals, they partnered with Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley to use art to tell the human story of Central American children and youth crossing over the Texas-Mexico border. Many of these refugees traveled by bus, train, and van; for others, walking long hours through desert terrain was the only option. While on the journey, single mothers experienced repeated forms of sexual violence. The children and youth arrived in the U.S. exhausted, traumatized, disoriented, abused, hungry, and thirsty. After crossing the border, they presented themselves to the U.S. Border Patrol, which placed them in detention for several days. In the detention center they continued to be exposed to harsh conditions—freezing temperatures, overcrowded accommodations, and poor nourishment. Over several trips to the border, teams of volunteers set up art stations in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church Relief Center and the McAllen Central Bus Station to offer the children and youth hospitality and an opportunity for creative expression. A majority of the pictures were made hours after they were released from the McAllen Detention Center. Learn more at at https://artedelagrimas.org 6 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
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The nearest U.S. port of entry to Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is located 224 miles away in Eagle Pass, Texas. Compared to other Texas member schools of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), Austin Seminary is the closest Protestant seminary to the Texas-Mexico border, beating Seminary of the Southwest by 0.5 miles. ATS’s third institutional standard for accreditation (i.e. The Theological Curriculum) requires its member schools to demonstrate global awareness and engagement in their teaching, learning, and research. For students at Austin Seminary, the Texas-Mexico border offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to develop global awareness and engagement.
A Borderlands Vision for Theological Education By Gregory Cuéllar
In little over three hours by car—barring any Austin traffic—students and faculty at the Seminary can be at one of the two international bridges in Eagle Pass and see firsthand the global flows of people and products entering the United States. Gregory Cuéllar is associate professor of Old Testament at Austin Seminary. As a biblical scholar, he is interested in alternative ways of reading the biblical text, in particular those that are rooted in themes of liberation. He has written on topics related to the U.S. Mexico borderlands, Latino/a immigration, race, and empire. Read about his newest books on page 16. Spring 2020 | 7
WebXtra United Methodist Church Bishop Robert Schnase, Austin Seminary’s 2020 Westervelt Lecturer, shared the story of Leticia, a woman who asked him to baptize her baby. Her question brought him face to face with the complexities of the immigration debate and introduced him to the power of story. Listen to his lecture here:
https://www. AustinSeminary digital.org/items/ show/1472
When engaged theologically, the Texas-Mexico border reveals more than the north-south movement of commercial trade; it also reveals a dizzying array of social, political, cultural, and religious intersections that are unlike anywhere in the world. In terms of the justice efforts of the church, Eagle Pass also serves as a site of global suffering and trauma. In late October 2019, the Department of Homeland Security began processing migrants for return to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry. The other Texas cities enforcing this inhuman policy are Laredo, El Paso, and Brownsville. According to the Human Rights Watch, “asylum seekers swept up in the MPP program face kidnapping, sexual assault, exploitation, lack of basic necessities, abuse, and other dangers in Mexico, with no meaningful access to due process in the United States.” Reports indicate that those seeking asylum at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry are not only from Central America’s Northern Triangle and Latin America but also from as far as the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of Angola. Although global in scale, these migratory flows are now local in that they occur in the very presbytery wherein the Seminary sits, Mission Presbytery. Among its connectional body of churches, the governing body of Mission Presbytery is home to seventeen border congregations, ranging from Del Rio to Brownsville, Texas. Hence, what is theologically local for the educational ministry of Austin Seminary is indeed global in scope. In her book Gore Capitalism, Sayak Valencia refers to this global/local tandem as “g-local,” which points to the notion “that the economy and the production of meaning are conceived of globally and implemented locally.” For Austin Seminary, the Texas-Mexico border serves as a global site for generating a local and organic form of theological education; while attentive to this immediate geographical setting, its impact has global reach. Though this g-local vision—specifically as it pertains to the Texas-Mexico border—is reflected in some of the Seminary’s recent master’s-level and doctoral course offerings (e.g. “The Church, The Public Good, and the Borderlands,” and “Hermeneutics of the Sacred in the US-Mexico Borderlands”), lifelong learning programs (e.g. Cruzando la Frontera, Certificado en Ministerio en Español, and Certificate in Christian Leadership for Hispanic Women), and student groups and activities (e.g. Seminarians withOut Borders), this type of theological engagement with the borderlands has been core to the identity of Austin Seminary since its foundation. In fact, the Seminary’s first president, Dr. Thornton Rogers Sampson, had such a keen awareness of Austin Seminary’s borderlands location that he made it central to his argument for why the Southern Presbyterian Church should even create the Seminary. In a 1901 essay for the Union Seminary Magazine, Dr. Sampson poses the question, “Does the Southern Presbyterian Church need another seminary now?” Under section 4, titled “The Extent of Field to be Reached,” he states the following: “But a seminary in Texas will not only meet the necessities of Texas. There are great fields north, south, and west of it, in Indian Territory, Mexico and New Mexico, to say nothing of Arkansas, which must look to it for help.” Here, Dr. Sampson’s field of vision for theological education at Austin Seminary border crossed beyond the U.S. onto Mexico. Moreover, in what appears now as prophetic words for the state of Texas, Dr. Sampson called naysayers’ attention to the flows of immigration in the region Austin Seminary would reach, Continued on page 15
8 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
By Dick Powell
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or many, attending a camp is the quintessential summer experience. From roasting marshmallows on an open fire to taking a dip in the pool to playing camp field games on a wide-open court, children from all walks of life come together in friendship and fun.
Emitting Hope & Extinguishing Fear Mo-Ranch Summer Camp, located in Hunt, Texas, in the heart of the Texas Hill Country, is no different. Here, kids get a chance to be kids by taking on a challenging ropes course, paddling a kayak down the Guadalupe River, and gathering in fellowships. The memories and moments made at Mo-Ranch Summer Camp last forever. About five years ago I asked some pastors from the Rio Grande Valley why kids from border towns don’t attend summer camp. I had noticed a lot of the young people at Mo-Ranch looked a lot like us. At camp, there should be folks who don’t. The answers varied—from them not being able to afford to travel to conflicts with their work schedules. But for me, the most poignant answer was that the kids were afraid to travel because of inland border checks. As a Christian, I believe that everyone—everyone— is a child of God and created in God’s image. I can’t allow some artificial barrier to separate our mission and ministry. They may not be able to come north, but we can go south. I immediately met with our staff, and we all agreed we had to do something. So, we decided to pack up and Dick Powell (MDiv’07) is president of Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly and a 2020 Distinguished alumnus of Austin Seminary.
Photo courtesy of Mo-Ranch
take summer camp to them. Years ago I attended an Episcopal church in the little town of Windsor, North Carolina. The church was organized by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. Those saints in the 19th century scattered seeds as a witness to the Gospel. Mo-Ranch has looked at the world and asked, How can we be an institution in “foreign parts”? How can we be a place that reaches beyond the beautiful banks of the Guadalupe and goes out into the world? How can we be sensitive to those lost in spirit? For the last four years, Mo-Ranch Summer Camp staff has made the 320-mile trek from Hunt to the Rio Grande Valley to a town called Edinburg. There, we set up shop at a facility called Camp Loma de Vida. For $25, kids ages 8 to 17 get a chance to experience summer camp. They get to swim at the pool, play team games, take on low ropes elements, make s’mores, and act in silly skits. Camp in the Valley seeks to establish a safe, Christian environment with daily Bible study and nightly worship. The first year of Camp in the Valley, thirty-six campContinued on page 15 Spring 2020 | 9
Journal entries by Kimberly Dawn Kinsey Thursday, January 16, 2020: Visit Iglesia Bautista West Brownsville Respite Center; Pastor Carlos Navarro Hospitality is one of the gifts we encounter at Iglesia Bautista Church in Brownsville, Texas. Pastor Navarro welcomes us to his office and shares his life story with us. He, too, was an immigrant and like many he crossed the border illegally in search of a better life. His life connects him with those who come to the border. It is one way to convince his community to see the migrants as humans with potential and worthy of hospitality. His life and witness defy negative stereotypes about immigration. When he applied to Iglesia Bautista, most of their previous pastors had served only two years before they and the congregation parted ways. He asked them to take a risk. They did and Navarro is nearing his third decade of ministry. While he is Guatemalan and not Mexican, he has built credibility in his congregation, local community, denomination, as well as state and
national politics. … The refugees that are served by this Respite Center are passing through to another destination. Having been vetted by U.S. immigration, the church van retrieves them. They are given showers, clothes, and food. They are met with graciousness, faith, and love no matter their own beliefs or lifestyles … Navarro understands that the support of church community and Christian belief can ground an immigrant and support them as they build a life in a new place. It did for him.
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY TRAVEL SEMINAR:
The border between Matamoros and Brownsville As we approach the border, we are aware of the fences, tents, and barbwire. These are the “courts” located in a no-man’s land between the United States and Mexico. Here immigrants seek asylum and entry, usually without the benefit of legal counsel. We cannot see past walls and checkpoints to the tent city where many live. Reports and eye witnesses tell us it is lawless and unsafe. Those we visit with say that hope is in increasingly short supply. The tent city is scheduled to be dismantled and the refugees taken to a building for shelter. By the border, we encounter a group of protesters. For five days they have been present with signs to make sure that the unseen are not forgotten. The leader of the group is Joshua Rubin. He shares what he has seen and witnessed in the tent city. He encourages us to cross. “Once you have seen the people, the conditions, the suffering, your lives will be changed. You will never forget.” … Legality and risk prevented seeing and witnessing. Yet, The Reverend Kimberly Kinsey is pastor of Western Hills United Methodist Church in El Paso, Texas. She is a current doctor of ministry student at Austin Seminary and participated in the January border travel seminar led by Professor Cuéllar. 10 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Hermeneutics
seeing and witnessing is part of sacralizing dehumanizing conditions. To date, I’ve encountered only one refugee family on our trip … The oft repeated phrase in the Gospel of John is “come and see.” … Standing with Rubin and another woman, I see who they have come and seen in this humanitarian tragedy. They share what they have seen firsthand with passion and conviction. Their lives have been changed and their actions give new resolve to my own convictions. I must do more. I don’t know what more means exactly, but faith must be lived in action. I will return to my own border and find ministries that help me interact with this need in my own border community.
Visit Caly Fernández at Puentes de Cristo, Hidalgo, Texas Caly Fernández has traveled with us for most of our trip. Her energy around people and networking are definitely a strength for Puentes de Cristo. After 21 years in Austin, she returned to Hidalgo where she grew up. Puentes de Cristo is an existing ministry for which Caly is assuming leadership and direction. Caly’s father was a physician. Drawing from his example and her experience on medical missions, she is launching a program on health. While other directors have been ordained clergy, Caly is an active, progressive lay woman. Caly echoes the themes of our course about how important it is to affirm the sacred worth of people. She stresses justice in a world of indifference and paradox. Nearing the end of our experience, I am aware of how different each visit has been. They span the gamut of denominations, politics, and approaches. All of them accomplish their ministry through extensive networking. Their work is done on a variety of levels out in the community with people. Caly’s building is bigger than
many of the offices we visited, but in need of repair, cleaning, and renovation. With the exception of Iglesia Bautista, the workers we have encountered are finding ways to create ministries and programs using limited facilities and resources. Their gifts shine not in the state of their building but in the enthusiasm they bring to their areas of ministries. Each feels a strong connection to the borderland region of South Texas and the current immigration challenges at the border.
of the Sacred in the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands Sunday, January 19: El Paso, Texas I am home and awake early as I ready myself to lead in worship. Weekend Edition Sunday from National Public Radio reports from the border crossing at Brownsville. As I hear the injustice and struggles recounted, I know that they are from the protest group we met on Thursday. I see them and the border clearly. In our denomination’s immigration newsletter from our district, I learn that the tent city on the border between Juarez and El Paso has already been dismantled. Refugees were told they didn’t have to go to the new building, but if they didn’t their children would be taken. The class has helped me see the issue in new dimensions, introduced me to amazing people. A theme that resonated during my travels and in the blogs I submitted was “remember.” This morning I pair it with another word, “reflect.” They belong together, those words, as the faithful try and make sense of the injustice of the world and how God moves in the world. v
Old Testament Professor Gregory Cuéllar (above left) led a group of pastors enrolled in Austin Seminary’s doctor of ministry program on a three-day journey to the Texas borderlands in January. Kim Kinsey, the writer of these journal entries, is fourth from the left. Many of the students are enrolled in the new doctor of ministry concentration “Leadership for Witness,” of which a trip to the border is a component. Spring 2020 | 11
By Kailen Soncksen
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n August 2018, I sat in a large room in the middle of the PC(USA) conference center in Stony Point, New York. Surrounded by other young adults, I listened intently as we were trained to combat racism in our future work spaces serving alongside others during our year as Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs). We spoke of borderlands, what they look like, feel like, and how we can recognize them. Merely three months later, I trudged through the Sonoran Desert brush, burrs sticking to my pants and dust tickling my nose. Something big loomed ahead of our group on the horizon, and as I squinted my eyes against the piercingly bright sunlight, I gasped the moment I realized what the thing was. It was a border—the border. The wall. My fellow southwest YAVs and I had found ourselves on the path so many before us had taken. We were on our YAV Fall Retreat, and although we knew we would be working with Frontera de Cristo, an organization that leads delegations through borderlands both in Agua Prieta, Mexico, and Douglas, Arizona, we had no idea we would be experiencing the physical border quite like we did that warm,
WebXtra Student James Martin works for Austin Seminary’s 787 Collective. Before coming to seminary, he was a middle school science teacher in the small town of Douglas, Arizona, on the U.S.Mexico border. In his blog on the 787 Collective website, he tells about the people he met in the border communities who nourished him with love and fellowship and greatly influenced how he sees and understands the world:
http://787collective. org/borders-of- belonging-part-1/
Borders Physical
sunny morning. As we stood underneath the towering iron bars, shooting up over three times my height, our group discussed the perilous journey thousands of migrants take every day and how we felt having struggled through a tiny fraction of it. Border Patrol dubiously drove by on the other side of the barrier— back and forth again and again—ensuring we were just a touring group and not a group of immigrants trying to cross over. Shortly after, we all sat under the shade of a tree—referred to locally as the Tree of Life—biting into sandwiches and munching on chips as we debriefed our experience walking through the desert. I remember the way my mind wandered as our guide asked us over and over again, “Pero, ¿que te pienses?” What do you think? What did I think? Well, I thought many things. I thought it was embarrassing how tired I was, even though we had barely scraped the distance so many others take to get to the U.S. I thought it wasn’t fair how we were able to sit comfortably on the low hanging branches of the Tree of Life with full stomachs while others would crawl through the same wilderness guided only by moonlight. I thought back to my YAV training in Stony Point, and how throughout the entire training, I had envisioned the border to be exclusively a physical thing. And now that I had seen the thing, I realized that it wasn’t a thing at all. The border—or rather the borderlands—is a collection of experiences which are not limited to concrete walls or rusty iron bars. They’re an experience that most cannot grasp because, well, we’ve created them. Now, over a year later, I sit in my theology and exegesis classes with my nose stuffed into book after book. I feel both far removed from my experiences conKailen Soncksen is a first-year student at Austin Seminary. Prior to enrolling in seminary she spent a year as a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer living in AYAVA House on the Seminary campus. This reflection is from a trip taken to Arizona during her YAV year.
12 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Hispanic Ministries Mission Network
& Metaphorical cerning borderlands and simultaneously in the midst of them. Like I said, the borderlands aren’t a physical thing, they’re an experience. That experience certainly isn’t limited to the U.S.-Mexico border. Borders do not only have to do with separation of countries, states, territories, and homes. They have to do with separations of beliefs, cultures, and schools of thought. We deliberately build up borders in ways that create the illusion of the other. As I discern my ministry through my seminary studies, I wonder how clergy can tear down these metaphorical blockades? I believe those who sit comfortably within borderlands—those who have the unearned privilege and ability to step back from it and observe it—are not called to “fix” anything. How can we, when we are part of its cause? Rather, I believe we are called to listen, lift up, support, and advocate for those experiencing borderlands. There is no way for us to experience the borderlands the ways immigrants—or any other marginalized population—do. Who are we to assume what is most helpful, what is most effective, what these populations need? We need to step down and pass the mic while doing our best to open welcoming and loving spaces for those who have traveled thousands of miles in search of it. On a different day of our fall retreat, my YAV delegation and I stood on the U.S. side of the militarized border between Douglas and Agua Prieta. We were praying and singing, slightly distracted by the throngs of people crossing through the port of entry to go to work, to visit friends and family, to buy groceries. Toward the end of our reflections, we heard a tiny giggle. Our attention turned to the metal slats in front of us … to a tiny brown hand poking through the spaces between. The baby’s mother grabbed him and carried him quickly away, but that didn’t stop him from giggling and waving at the circle of white people visible just beyond the barrier separating us. Despite schisms that borderlands may rip between us, there will always be space for community, warmth, and child-like love. This is what we as followers of God are called to recognize and pursue. v
The Hispanic Ministries Mission Network (HMMN) of the Synod of the Sun is the proud successor of the Hispanic American Ministries Council (HAMC), which for decades represented the Hispanic leadership within the Synod of the Sun. Because of the historical and strategic importance of Hispanic ministries within the synod and the need to strengthen and develop Hispanic ministries and leadership, in 2014 the Synod of the Sun approved HMMN as a validated network. HMMN holds annual meetings at Austin Seminary. Its mission is to develop a strong community among Hispanic/Latino churches and people interested in Hispanic/Latino ministries throughout the eleven presbyteries of the Synod of the Sun. HMMN welcomes all who wish to support Hispanic Ministries in their respective region— ¡Bienvenidos! – By Jesús ( Jesse) González (MDiv’92)
Spring 2020 | 13
By Melissa Wiginton
E WebXtra Listen to Patricia Torres’s story and other Undocumented Stories on the YouTube channel for Education Beyond the Walls at Austin Seminary:
https://www. youtube. com/watch?v =7HGTpU6aHbo Or visit our website:
AustinSeminary.edu /undocumented for more information.
ven as they live in Austin, Texas, many Latinas experience daily life in two different worlds. They navigate not a river, but an invisible border between Mexican or Latin American culture and the culture of the United States. We listened to the experiences of women and men in this live borderland as part of Austin Seminary’s 2020 strategic plan. We discovered Christian women who had a true hunger for learning—for themselves and for the good of their families, churches, and communities. In response, Education Beyond the Walls (EBW) established Instituto de Maria y Marta (IMM). IMM’s mission is to help Christian women develop as leaders for the sake of the church, community, and world. IMM recognizes the triple vulnerability of the students—as Latinas, women, and immigrants—and grounds identity development theologically and spiritually. Students learn to read the Bible from their own location and experience. They write poetry and personal stories and learn their Enneagram number and, therefore, the best parts of themselves as well as their greatest struggles. Through lectures, workshops, service, leadership projects, in a strong learning community formed over the two-year curriculum, they have been equipped, motivated, challenged, and encouraged to use their voices and ask questions as Christian leaders. The first students in the Certificate in Christian Leadership for Hispanic Woman will complete their work in May 2020.
Bridging Invisible Borders In 2019 IMM extended its reach through the “Maria y Marta” radio show. The show aired twice a week to present many of the topics addressed in the certificate program. Mónica Tornoe, project associate for EBW, together with a psychologist and a church leader, hosted the show. IMM students were the guests, invited to exercise their own voices. Listening to Latinx voices, we also became stewards of what we heard. EBW helped create an educational outreach to the dominant culture to tell the stories. The “Undocumented” project includes a traveling gallery of handwritten stories and photographs and live storytelling events. Local and national organizations as well as congregations use this resource (see sidebar at left). When we first met Patricia Torres, a business owner, mother of four, and active church member, she was afraid of taking a leadership role. She didn’t think she was capable. She didn’t think she had “what it took.” She was wrong. She became one of the first students in IMM, eventually appearing on the radio show. She has told her story as an immigrant in front of a live audience several times. She gathered a group of women in her community whom she mentors and empowers. In her town, she uses her voice to ask questions and to fight for her community in response to incidents related to the deportation of several Latinx immigrants. Patty Torres says, “No matter what impact you think that IMM is having on others, it has had a huge impact on me. I am a different woman now, because of IMM.” v Melissa Wiginton is the vice president for Education Beyond the Walls, the lifelong learning center for Austin Seminary. She also holds a faculty research position in Methodist studies.
14 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Vision
Continued from page 8 stating “this stream of immigration must largely increase in the immediate future, for no state has received in the last year so much and such favorable notice from the press as Texas.” Apart from the more than 600,000 international migrants apprehended at the Texas-Mexico border in 2019, the local press has recently reported that Texas is growing at a rate of 1,000 people per day (both domestic and international migrants), exactly what Dr. Sampson predicted. In the 1920s, Dr. Sampson’s border-crossing vision for theological education would come to fruition with the establishment of The Mexican Department of Austin Seminary. Consider these visionary words from the department’s first director, Dr. Robert Francis Gribble, as he describes the reasons for its creation: The necessity for this move is apparent, when we consider that Mexican candidates for the ministry formerly went to Mexico for an education, even while unsettled conditions and the distance made the thing impracticable. A growing work required a local training center to man the field. It was, then,
at the reopening of the Austin Seminary following the War that provision was made for Mexican Students. Like Sampson, Gribble understood in a g-local way that Austin Seminary’s educational identity and mission were inextricably linked to its borderlands setting. Both of these foundational figures knew that Austin Seminary’s Texas location required a border-crossing vision that was not only aimed west of the Mississippi River, but also south of the Rio Grande. As mentioned above, Austin Seminary continues in this border-crossing heritage, drawing on its local borderlands setting to train its students for ministry anywhere in the world, in large part because, at a place just three and half hours away, the world has come to us. v
Summer Camp Continued from page 9
ers attended; the next, seventy; in 2018, ninety-three. In 2019, sixty-two kids participated. The numbers dropped because parents were afraid to come and/or congregate. The fear in the borderlands is palpable. Jesus said repeatedly, “Fear not!” I say, “We will not be afraid and we will take the gospel into the world!” Last summer, l met a high school student who has attended camp all four years. She said to me, “I was told I will never be anything because I am simply a Mexican woman from the border.” This is a little girl who could not go to Mo-Ranch because of an artificial barrier that says you can’t go past here. That little girl is no longer just someone who can’t get past that barrier. That little girl is graduating in May. This summer she will come to Mo-
Ranch to be a summer camp counselor at the Hunt campus, then she will be a counselor at the Valley campus; she has plans to go to college. Her story is a dream come to life. By a small movement in the world—but in a big way in her life—we have helped to break the bonds of oppression. The question for us is not, What would Jesus do? it’s What did Jesus do? That’s what we are to do. That’s what I must do, not only to be Christian but to be a Christ follower. We have a vision of being an institution that can change the world, and we will not be intimidated or afraid. Fear not! v Spring 2020 | 15
faculty news notes
Old Testament professor invites readers to recast image of migrants
D
r. Gregory L. Cuéllar, associate professor of Old Testament at Austin Seminary, published two books in 2019. Following the publication of British Museum and the Making of the Biblical Scholar in the Nineteenth Century (Palgrave Press), Resacralizing the Other at the US-Mexico Border: A Borderland Hermeneutic came out from Routledge Press in December. The premise of this new book grew from Cuéllar’s experience traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years. He says, “In the context of this book, my use of the term ‘resacralization’ refers to a counter mode of truth-telling in which those regarded as non-human are cast anew as the sacred Other. Hence the hope of this book is to inspire a social awareness in the U.S. to resacralize migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees who are seeking sanctuary in the United States. In writing this book, the readers I had in mind are seminarians, clergy, humanitarians, activists, and healthcare providers. Yet, this book is also for anyone wanting
to broaden their understanding of the complex histories, cultures, and politics in the U.S. Mexico borderlands, particularly as they pertain to non-white migrants. Moreover, the book theorizes on a more life-giving mode of interpreting nonwhite migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, hence the subtitle ‘A Borderland Hermeneutic.’” v
NEWS: In January we received notice from The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) that they have renewed accreditation for all of Austin Seminary’s degree programs for ten years.
Leadership for Wonder Leadership for Witness A new kind of
Doctor of Ministry for a new kind of Leader AustinSeminary.edu/DMin DMin@austinseminary.edu
16 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
good reads | Thomas Lynch, Whence and Whither: On Lives and Living Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press (2019)
T Introducing Insights, the podcast Professor William Greenway, editor of Insights: the Faculty Journal of Austin Seminary, has developed a new podcast series to augment the journal. Greenway was looking for a way to provide readers insight into the process a professor goes through in writing the central theme of each issue. He also wanted to provide public access to other faculty presentations, such as annual convocation lectures. The Seminary launched the first episode in conjunction with the publication of the Spring 2020 Insights featuring the lead essay, “Something to Learn, Something to Teach: Theological Education for World-Mending” by Dr. David Jensen, academic dean and professor in the Clarence N. and Betty B. Frierson Distinguished Chair in Reformed Theology. The 54-minute podcast is an interview between Editor Greenway and Professor Jensen. Look for the podcast on our website: AustinSeminary.edu/ Insightspodcast and on other podcast platforms.
homas Lynch, funeral director, poet, and essayist on mortality and being mortal, delivered the Currie Lectures at Austin Seminary in 2016. Those lectures are the “gathering impulse” for Lynch’s latest book, Whence and Whither: On Lives and Living. Those who heard those three lectures will find them, with some additions, in the first three chapters of the present volume. From there, Lynch takes his reader on a guided tour of his life and his poetic and imaginative universe. One visits a funeral in 1882 for a small child and the oration delivered there by Robert Ingersoll, “the most notorious disbeliever of his time.” Lynch meditates on Ingersoll’s sentence: “Every cradle asks us, ‘Whence’ and every coffin ‘Whither?’” Meditating with a poet’s sensibility on the enclosures— womb and tomb—that frame the journey of human life, Lynch invites us to reflect on the wisdom of poets he has known and admired, whose poetry has stimulated his imagination and his pen: Michael Heffernan, William Carlos Williams, Seamus Heaney, Carol Ann Duffy. He treats us as well to a healthy sampling of his own poetry, at once sardonic and wistful and jaded and innocent. Along the way are glimpses, vignettes, and scenes from Lynch’s own life: in Milford, Michigan, on Mullet Lake in Michigan’s far north, and in West County Clare, Ireland, where Lynch lives part-time in a cottage that has been in his family for generations. He recounts the story of
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his piebald ass, named Charles (for the prince, because he thought there was a resemblance), whom he bought and raced in fairs around County Clare, and for whom he found a mate he named (what else?) Camilla. He reflects on the importance of the body for a “good funeral” (and decries “memorial services” that cosmetize and minimize the truth of death). He tells the story of distributing the ashes of a friend who saw him through years of alcoholism and recovery. He introduces us to Argyle, main character in a series of poems entitled The Sin Eater, who for a sixpence, a loaf of soda bread, and a bowl of beer, will “eat” the sins of the departed, thereby assuring them a safe passage into “Whatever is Next” (see also The Sin Eater: A Breviary, Paraclete Press , 2011). And more, so much more. Through it all, Lynch’s voice—an entertaining combination of Midwestern American pragmatism, tortured Irish Catholicism, and joyful, thoughtful humanism—invites us into his interior world. Lynch is honest about his alcoholism, his distance from the church, and his failures as a husband. He is appropriately pessimistic about the human condition, but also deeply hopeful about the human prospect. One finds oneself moved to tears, to laughter, and to a deep sense of moral congruity with his vision. This is a book worth reading and worth returning to read again. v —Reviewed by Paul Hooker, associate dean for ministerial formation and advanced studies at Austin Seminary
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alumni news notes
Austin Seminary Association Awards for Service
Outstanding alumni honored with ASA Awards The Reverend Carol Howard Merritt
(MDiv’98) is the award-winning author of Healing Spiritual Wounds: Reconnecting with a Loving God After Experiencing a Hurtful Church (HarperOne), Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation (Alban), and Tribal Church: Ministering to the Missing Generation (Alban). Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Newsweek, and she regularly writes for the Christian Century, Huffington Post, and Faith and Leadership
at Duke Divinity. She is currently serving as bridge pastor for First Presbyterian Church in New Canaan, Connecticut. Carol served as moderator of the Special General Assembly Committee on the Nature of the Church in the 21st Century and was the moderator of the General Assembly’s Survivors of Sexual Misconduct Task Force. She teaches at University of Dubuque Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. She is married to alumnus Brian Merritt (MDiv’98).
Friends and family gathered to celebrate Carol Howard Merritt (above) and Dick Powell (left). David Gambrell (MDiv’97) and Bill Poe (MDiv’72) made the presentations.
The Reverend Richard H. (Dick) Powell (MDiv’07) is president and chief executive officer for Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly in the Texas Hill Country. He graduated from The University of North Carolina-Wilmington where he studied philosophy and religion. Prior to entering seminary, he was an officer for several international corporations specializing in strategic planning and turn-around situations, experience he drew upon to 18 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
guide Mo-Ranch through a strategic planning process, begun in 2013. Initially focusing on facilities, the plan is moving toward programming with a “focus on letting children and youth discover the person God intended for them to be to grow as Christians and citizens.” See page 9 for Dick’s story on “Mo-Ranch in the Valley” summer camp for children living near the Texas-Mexican border. Dick is a current student in Austin Seminary’s doctor of ministry program.
class notes | 1970s Shirley, wife of Donald M. Owens (MDiv’78), died on December 14, 2019, in Round Rock, Texas.
1980s Steve Plunkett (MDiv’80) has published a new book, Faith & Politics In a World Gone Awry. Mark Salmon (MDiv’82) writes that he could not handle retirement and is now serving as pastor of South Salem (New York) Presbyterian Church. A baseball fan, Mark previously served with the Baseball Chapel in the Houston Astros organization.
1990s Jesse Gonzalez (MDiv’92) was installed as pastor at Gethsemane Presbyterian Church, Ft. Worth, Texas.
2000s Leighanne, wife of Mark Brechin (MDiv’00), died January 28, 2020, in Industry, Texas.
Joseph Moore (MDiv’09) serves as a ministry relations officer for the Presbyterian Foundation.
2010s Bart Smith (MDiv’12) now serves as moderator of the Synod of the Southwest. Alumni on hand as Bart took the office included PC(USA) co-moderator Cindy Kohlmann (MDiv’99), Martha Sadongei (MDiv’96), and Pete Hendrick (MDiv’52). Alex (MDiv’14) and Kathy LeeCornell (MDiv’16) welcomed their second son, Gabe, into the world on December 13, 2019.
Caroline S. Weaver (MDiv’18) is the new palliative care chaplain at Ascension Seton Medical Center-Austin. Jasiel Hernandez Garcia (MDiv’18) married Jessie Trawick on January 5, 2020.
Sherry Kenney (CIM’19) retired from the Presbyterian Foundation on December 31, 2019.
Helen Boursier (MDiv’07) published a new book, Desperately Seeking Asylum: Testimonies of Trauma, Courage, and Love. Alice Hernandez (MDiv’08) is the manager of Spiritual Care and Education for Parkland Hospital System in Dallas, Texas.
Megan McMillan (MDiv’19), (below) ordained by Mission Presbytery on January 19, 2020.
Webster Kaisi (MAMP’19) was installed as pastor of the CCAP flagship church in Lilongwe Malawi by Mlindakaya Phiri (MATS’16); both are now leaders in the Livingstonia Synod.
ordinations & commissions | Cam Burton (MDiv’13), ordained by the United Church of Christ on November 16, 2019. Will Nelson (Dip’17), ordained by the United Church of Christ on December 22, 2019.
ThM’59), February 10, 2016, Dallas, Texas Hollingsworth Mitchell (MDiv’58), August 17, 2019 Daniel M. Garza (MDiv’68), February 11, 2020, Wichita Falls, Texas
Sam Yaw Okyere-Mireku (MDiv’15) was inducted as district minister, Washington D.C. District, and minister in charge, Emmanuel Presbyterian Mission Church in Woodbridge, Virginia, by the North America Australia Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
Caroline Barnett (MDiv’19) has been called as associate pastor to Auburn Presbyterian Church in Auburn, Alabama.
Matt Morse (MDiv’03) (above) was installed as pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Navasota, Texas, on January 12, 2020.
Austin Seminary friends San Williams (DMin’03), Monica Smith (MDiv’99), Minta McIntosh, and Professor Cynthia Rigby celebrated the ordination of Dhawn Martin (MDiv’03), center.
John Homer Jr. (MDiv’69), February 9, 2018, Birmingham, Alabama Betsy Johnson Pense (MDiv’69), February 29, 2020, Ft. Worth, Texas. Devon Reynolds (MDiv’19), ordained by East Tennessee Presbytery on December 5, 2019. Dhawn Martin (MDiv’03), ordained by Mission Presbytery on February 16, 2020. She is the executive director of the SoL Center at University Presbyterian Church in San Antonio.
in memoriam | Joseph A. Slicker (MDiv’53,
William Bennett (MDiv’80), December 2, 2019, Lytle, Texas. James E. Harrell (MDiv’80), March 4, 2015, Pflugerville, Texas Fane Downs (MDiv’88), December 11, 2019, Kerrville, Texas Eugene B. Edwards Jr. (MDiv’90), February 8, 2020, Bentonville, Arkansas Cathy Anderson Caudle (MDiv’91), December 15, 2019, Capitan, New Mexico
Sheila Sidberry-Thomas to lead ASA At the Austin Seminary Association annual meeting during the ASA Banquet, the following officers were elected: Sheila Sidberry-Thomas (MDiv’14), president; Melinda Hunt (CIM’16), vice-president and president elect; Joshua P. Kerr (MDiv’14), secretary; Barrett Abernethy (MDiv’13) is past president. Jean Reardon (MDiv’05) was elected to the board and Joshua Kerr and Melinda Hunt were elected for a second 3-year term. Spring 2020 | 19
live learn
The College of Pastoral Leaders at Austin Seminary
upcoming from education beyond the walls “Some of us wear robes, others hiking boots, others jeans. Whether we are preaching at a bar, beside a lake, under a bridge, or in a sanctuary, we long to help new generations hear good news in a way they understand.” – SECOND WIND cohort
We took inspiration from the big, beautiful sprawling Texas skies to craft our 2020 events. Big skies help us sense God’s call to boundless possibilities and also recognize our smallness. Big Sky encloses all of us without borders or boundaries; she sees and knows both the terrible and the triumphant. Look up and out with us this year. Dream big and take the next step. Share your Big Sky moments with us on Facebook @ ebwapts. At press time, all dates and formats (in person or online) are subject to change.
April 24 | ONLINE | Purpose and Power: The Peculiar Challenge of Leading in the Church | Presenter: Bobbi Kaye Jones
May 1 | ONLINE | Creativity and Hope in the Face of Trauma | Presenters: Shelly
Rambo, Phillis Isabella Sheppard, and Sarah Sloan with a performance by Sadé Jones
August 3-7 | Boundaries and Big Sky: Preaching the Gospel of Mark | A Preaching Intensive with Karoline Lewis
August 22 | HORIZONS BIBLE STUDY Into the Light: Finding Hope through Prayers of Lament | Presenter: P. Lynn Miller
September 26 | Caring in an Age of Anxiety | Presenter: Philip Browning Helsel October 1-2 | THRIVE Retirement Seminar | Board of Pensions October 3 | CRUZANDO LA FRONTERA The Promise and Perils of Bi-vocational Ministry Among Latinx Communities | Presenter: Sammy Alfaro
October 5-7 | SCRAPCE FALL WORKSHOP Dipping Deeper into the Well of Ministry Resources | Presenter: Stephanie Fritz
Application Deadline
May 15, 2020 AustinSeminary.edu/CPL
October 19 | The Art & Craft of Community Storytelling: A Workshop for People of Faith | Presenters: Mark Yaconelli & Melissa Wiginton
November 8-12 | 1001 WORSHIPING COMMUNITIES DATE TO BE DETERMINED (Fall 2020) | Preaching in the Purple Zone | Presenter: Leah Schade
Up-to-the-minute programming and registration: AustinSeminary.edu/EBW 20 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
! e t a r b e l e C Groundbreaking for the Mary B. and Robert J. Wright Learning and Information Center February 5, 2020 Stitt Library
Windows
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WebXtra: See more pictures and watch highlights of our 2020 MidWinters:
AustinSeminary.edu/midwinters
