Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
winter 2024
In this Issue Progressive Youth Ministry | 6 Winsome & Exemplary | 7 $1.2 million grant for preaching | 19
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AUSTIN
AUSTIN
PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGI C AL
SEMINARY
winter 2024
features
President
… to be a winsome & exemplary community of God’s people
José R. Irizarry
Board of Trustees Keatan A. King, Chair
Lee Ardell Gregory Cuéllar Thomas Christian Currie James A. DeMent Jr. (MDiv’17) Jill Duffield (DMin’13) Britta Martin Dukes (MDiv’05) Peg Falls-Corbitt (CIM’20) Jackson Farrow Jr. Beth Blanton Flowers, MD Archer Frierson Jesús Juan González (MDiv’92, DMin’23) Cyril Hollingsworth (CIM’16) Ora Houston Shawn Kang John Kenney (CIM’20) Steve LeBlanc Sue B. McCoy Matthew Miller (MDiv’03) Lisa Juica Perkins (MDiv’11) Denise Nance Pierce (MATS’11) Mark B. Ramsey Stephen Rhoades Sharon Risher (MDiv’07) Pamela Rivera Conrad M. Rocha Kenneth Snodgrass (MATS’16) John L. Van Osdall Michael Waschevski (DMin’03) Sallie Watson (MDiv’87) Elizabeth C. Williams Michael G. Wright
7
Last Words By Randal Whittington
12 Winsome
By Cynthia L. Rigby
7 What does it mean to be a “winsome and exemplary community of God’s people”? In this issue we reflect on the ways Austin Seminary lives out this part of its mission statement. Calligraphy by Jacqueline Sullivan.
14 Exemplary
By Timothy Lincoln
16 Community of God’s People By Sarah Kinney Gaventa
& departments
4
2
seminary & church
3
twenty-seventh & speedway
18 faculty news & notes 20 live & learn
19
Trustees Emeriti
Cassandra C. Carr Lyndon L. Olson Jr. B.W. Payne Max Sherman Anne Vickery Stevenson
21 alumni news & notes
Help us improve Windows by completing the survey enclosed!
Austin Seminary Association (ASA) Board Paul Sink (MDiv’00), President Josh Kerr (MDiv’14), Past President Candy Cubbage (MDiv’89) Glenn Dunn (CIM’16) Matt Edison (MDiv’18) Kristin Galle (MDiv’01) David Gambrell (MDiv’98) John Guthrie (MDiv’06) Ezequiel Herrera-Rodriguez (MDiv’19) Felicia Hopkins (MDiv’96) Lindsay Conrad Jacaruso (MDiv’13) Amy Litzinger (MATS’15) Joe MacDonald (DMin’19) Jean Reardon (MDiv’05) Devon Reynolds (MDiv’19) Amy Sergent (MDiv’92) Tony Spears (MDiv’15) Marta Ukropina (MDiv’06)
Volume 139 | Number 1
Editor
Randal Whittington
Contributors
Selina Aguirre Sylvia Greenway Gary Mathews Usama Malik Mikala McFerren Alison Riemersma Sharon Sandberg Jeff Sanchez Mona Santandrea David Schmersal Kristy Sorensen Mary Wall
Windows is published three times each year by Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. To read prior issues, go here: AustinSeminary.edu/windows 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 | Printed on recycled paper
seminary church
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President’s Schedule January 8-10, 2024 – Gathering of PC(USA) presidents, academic deans, and board chairs, Decatur, Georgia January 22-24 – Host, MidWinter Lectures, Austin, Texas February 11 – Teach, First Presbyterian Church, Austin, Texas March 22 – Attend, Presbyterian Historical Society of the Southwest Annual Meeting, Galveston, Texas April 14 – Preach, St. Philip Presbyterian Church, Houston, Texas April 25 – Host, Fundraising Luncheon, Houston, Texas
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year ago, as they formulated the long-range strategic plan for Austin Seminary, our trustees saw the need to take a closer look at our mission statement (printed on page 21). In the process, they sought to affirm the enduring values at the core of our institutional identity and to discern the need for language that could aptly describe our movement toward a more diverse and inclusive community of teaching and learning. At one point during the deliberation, a question was raised about the origin of the word “winsome” as the emblematic descriptor of our community’s character. As one might expect, the archeological search for origins was contingent—for once you have mined your memory for the first instance when you heard the echoes of a narrative, you discover that someone else has excavated deeper and found another layer, perhaps a different telling of the same story. It was only months later, after the final version of the mission statement was approved, that I found—while reviewing the history of long-serving trustee and friend of the Seminary Bruce Herlin upon his passing—an illuminating note in this regard. In his letter to the board upon his retirement, as he reflected on his twenty-seven years of uninterrupted service to the Seminary, Herlin wrote, “the creation of the mission statement, in a meeting in the offices of Sanger Harris in Dallas, was a marvelous product of—of all things—a committee. At what was thought to be the end, Clarence Frierson said, ‘It seems to lack something,’ and added the word ‘winsome,’ making the phrase one that everyone remembers.” Whether this settles the origins debate until another layer is uncovered is certainly beyond the point. What is evident in these narratives, and the avid search for origins, is the shared understanding that while other institutions can claim the value of community formation, only Austin Seminary can add distinctiveness to that claim by defining this community as a winsome one— to the point of being exemplary at being so! The fact that we are unable to grasp a concise definition of “winsomeness” gives the word its theological credence. Theological language is never content with closure but thrives in the mystery of things that are beyond our grasp and that can potentially open our minds to new understandings of God’s ongoing givenness. The Seminary’s winsomeness is a gift that we continue to unwrap through relationships and experiences of honest and, at times, fragile conviviality. This realization keeps its members intentionally focused, fully engaged, and missionally committed to communal living—for there is something that remains a mystery among us that awaits disclosure. Like a child playing hide and seek, the community lures you to search for places and moments where it can be found, so that it can jump in front of us—in surprising ways—when most needed. It is in that sacred playfulness that we are found to be winsome.
Faithfully yours,
José R. Irizarry President
twenty-seventh speedway
Austin Seminary welcomes thirty incoming students
T
Above: Master’s-level students on the Austin campus; below: Master of Arts in Youth Ministry students in the Southeast region. All students gather on the Austin Seminary campus several times each year.
hirty new master’s-level students have matriculated for the 2023-24 academic year. Nineteen students will earn a Master of Divinity degree; seven, a Master of Arts in Youth Ministry degree; two, a Master of Arts (Theological Studies) degree; and two, a Master of Arts in Religion. Three of these plan to enroll in the MDiv/MSSW dual degree program with the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin. Thanks to New Covenant International and Johnston Family International Fellowships and Austin Seminary’s De Puertos Abiertos awards, this year we have five new international students from the Philippines, Pakistan, Mexico, Nigeria, and Malawi. The Opening Convocation included an address. by Professor Carolyn Helsel, Associate Professor in the Blair Monie Distinguished Chair in Homiletics. Scan the QR code to access a recording of the lecture. v Winter 2024 | 3
{
Once again, the Austin Seminary Hawks prevailed over the Epicopalian Seminary of the Southwest Thuribulls in the 2023 Polity Bowl game, November 4.
{ Dr. Vox Jo Hsu from The University of Texas at Austin School of Rhetoric and Writing, was the Heyer Lecturer on October 12.
{ Austin Seminary welcomed six new students from beyond the U.S. border. They joined Boram Choi (left from South Korea) who arrived last year. The new students include Awrish Javed from Pakistan, Enala Chavula from Malawi, Miriam Payton from Mexico, Christopher Daomar from the Philippines, and Ochuba Okam Ochuba and Manasseh Yusuf from Nigeria.
{ President Irizarry gets into the spirit of things for the upcoming Polity Bowl while visiting booths at the Student Activity Fair on September 12. Perhaps a new member of the Holy Spirit Squad? 4 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Elected by the student body, members of the Student Senate serve on faculty committees, care for the needs of the student body, and plan social and service activities throughout the school year.
twenty-seventh speedway
New members on Seminary Board
M
{ Some prospective students in town for Discovery Weekend, October 27-29, got a guided tour of the Wright Center from the library staff.
Student Gary Renfro took the stage during a night of storytelling on October 4. The theme for the evening was “The Spirit gives us Courage.”
embers of the Austin Seminary’s Board of Trustees gathered for their fall meeting on November 1314. They approved the selection of two new members filling the place of two long-serving members of the board, Janice Bryant (MDiv’01, DMin’11) and Jim Allison who each completed nine years of service. The Reverend Dr. Pamela Rivera is the presiding elder for the Austin Capital District-AME Church. Educated at Concordia University, Truett Theological Seminary, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, she served as a field supervisor for Baylor University’s Religion Department, a task supervisor for Baylor University’s School of Social Work, and she served on the Board of Advocates of Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. She was Austin Seminary’s 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Preacher. Ken Snodgrass (MATS’16) retired in 2014 as the general manager of Shell Energy Europe Ltd where he was responsible for managing the company’s gas/ power trading business in northern Europe, working in Houston, London, and The Hague. He earned degrees from the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Houston. Following retirement he studied at Austin Seminary earning a MATS degree in 2016, where his capstone research project culminated in the book Trading With God: Seven Steps to Integrate Your Faith into Your Work (2019). A lifelong Presbyterian, he has served the church as an elder and deacon. v
Herlin and Ledesma remembered Austin Seminary mourns the recent loss of two former members of the Board of Trustees. Bruce G. Herlin of Palacios, Texas, died on August 31. Building on a legacy of service by members of the Herlin and Trull families that goes back to the 1950s, he served three nine-year terms on the Board of Trustees (1981-1990; 1991-2000; 2002-2010) and was elected a Trustee Emeritus in 2022. Lidia Serrata Ledesma (board member 1988-1997), died in Victoria, Texas, on October 11, 2023. Winter 2024 | 5
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Austin Seminary is new home to Progressive Youth Ministry (PYM)
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ith funding awarded through a grant from the In Trust Center for Theological Schools, Austin Seminary is taking on direction, vision, and leadership for Progressive Youth Ministry (PYM) and is the new home for PYM conferences. The PYM conference and community of churchbased youth workers from across North America was founded in 2014. PYM had a successful five-year run of conferences, experiencing significant growth, highlighted by speakers including Rob Bell, Otis Moss III, and Lauren Winner. Throughout the pandemic, PYM gathered virtually, creating a robust and supportive community of more than 3,000 members online with 200 to 400 participants at its annual conference. This support for youth ministers aligns with Seminary President José R. Irizarry’s vision, articulated in his Inaugural Address, to plant seeds today for fruits that other generations may enjoy. “In pursuing our vision to raise and support the ‘new generation of Christians,’ this administrative transition allows us to put ourselves at the forefront of youth ministry on the national stage,” says President Irizarry. “We are absolutely thrilled to pass the baton to Austin Seminary,” said PYM co-founder Tony Jones.
“After conversations with President Irizarry and Professor [Andrew] Zirschky, we are confident that Austin will not only curate excellent conferences but also will expand PYM’s offerings in ways that will benefit thousands of youth pastors.” Jones will serve as a consultant for three years. The Seminary plans to present an online conference in Spring 2024 and return to an in-person conference later that year. In addition, plans are afoot to add podcasts, curricula, books, and more. Believing PYM is a natural fit for Austin Seminary, given its growing youth ministry degree program, President Irizarry added, “We look forward to engaging these important partnerships in years to come as we widen our place to create spaces where new forms of ministry and leadership can be explored and empowered.” “This ground-breaking acquisition of PYM is a great example of how academia can directly engage with and impact the wider ministry community,” said Professor Andrew Zirschky, director of the Seminary’s Master of Arts in Youth Ministry program. “This puts the Seminary at the center of transformative change within youth ministry nationwide.” v
Announcing our Online Conference February 22-24, 2024 https://www.progressiveyouthministry.org/
6 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Last Words By Randal Whittington
In considering the theme for the last issue of Windows before I retire as editor, I tried to capture what has been so compelling about this place I’ve called home these past twenty-nine years. It comes down to a couple of words embedded at the end of Austin Seminary’s mission statement: “winsome” and “exemplary.” Back when I interviewed for this job, I had a trick up my sleeve. Actually, it was a rabbit in my pocket. In a previous conversation with John Evans (MDiv’68), the hiring supervisor for the position, I learned he collected rabbits. I happened upon a sweet rabbit carved out of wood at an art festival in Chattanooga the weekend before making the trip to Austin. As I was saying my thanks and good-byes, I slipped my hand into the pocket of my navy blazer and gave the bunny to John, confident that this gesture would seal the deal. Winter 2024 | 7
Dr. Dave Jensen introduced the Breastplate of St. Patrick Prayer in the second systematic theology course on St. Patrick’s Day a few years before both of my parents died. It’s a breathtaking prayer that stayed with me as I am Irish Catholic. There were a few lines from the prayer that best reflected my father’s faith, so much so they were chosen for his Mass card. Dr. Jensen and the community as a whole offered just the pastoral care I needed during that difficult time. Imagine my surprise during graduation seven months after my father’s death when Dr. Jensen and other faculty members read the Breastplate Prayer to those gathered. It was a stunning surprise that held profound Presence and emotion that will always be with me. – Terese Wier (MDiv’18)
I could not be me, without you, the people of Austin Seminary. – Rev. Mary Elizabeth Prentice-Hyers (MDiv’11) Two things I learned at Austin Seminary have stayed with me. One was its intentional focus on preparing people for parish ministry. As a mid-council leader now who is responsible for connecting congregations and pastors, I am grateful for the emphasis. The second indelible mark was Dr. Alsup’s exegetical method and the priority of “a first-hand knowledge of the text.” He insisted that we engage the text ourselves before we consult what others have written. The tools he gave me in class were clearly reflected in the preaching I heard in the chapel and modeled by the faculty. My DMin from Austin built on the same foundation of Bible and congregational ministry in constant conversation. – Carl Utley (MDiv’84, DMin’00) 8 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
What I didn’t know then was that John’s favorite movie was “Harvey,” a tale about a mostly invisible rabbit. Dean Michael Jinkins (DMin’83) wrote in this magazine on the occasion of John’s retirement, that John’s favorite line from the movie was, “In this world you must be … oh so smart or oh so pleasant. For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.” Michael continued, “In his vocation, John makes pleasantness synonymous with graciousness, placing love, and the communal sharing of love that we call hospitality, in priority over cleverness. In a time noisy with dissension, if we hope to face the future courageously and faithfully, we can hardly do better than to face it with Harvey’s wisdom embodied in John Evans’s ‘winsome’ ministry.” Like my friend Professor Cynthia Rigby (page 12) and most others who call Austin Seminary home for a time, the word “winsome” was not a regular feature of my vocabulary before arriving here. But I, too, came to embrace the word. As the Seminary’s brand manager, I’ve even declared that we “own” it. After all, one of the cheers we shout during our annual flag football game with the neighboring Episcopal seminary is, “We are winsome and depraved but our trophy will be saved!” Winsome, like Harvey, may be mostly invisible, but I have seen it at work time and time again. Holy moments include watching the intellectual and emotional unraveling and reframing that seminary students undergo blossom into their first sermon preached in Shelton Chapel. I have observed it in a heartfelt embrace and emerging friendship between a Jewish artist whose work commemorated the Holocaust and a German seminary student whose parents refused to talk about the war. I have heard it in a faculty meeting when the president starts to hum a familiar hymn and little-bylittle voices around the table join in to harmonize until soon the entire room is in song. But, of course, “winsome” alone doesn’t define us.
“Exemplary” reminds us how high the stakes are in theological education. And at Austin Seminary, it is always both / and. Which sent me back into the Archives and forward as I reached out to the community to learn how it has experienced them. Even before these words were canonized into our mission statement, the personality and character of Austin Seminary was well articulated, especially by the faculty, who, after all, took pay cuts in the dark days of the Great Depression so that the Seminary could remain open. David Fletcher (MDiv’69) remembered, “ET Thompson and Rachel Henderlite were giants of the denomination, exquisite and wonderful teachers and friends. Rachel was always open to new things that made sense for how to live out the faith.” Jim Dollar (MDiv’70) said, “The faculty modeled ministry and all of us were impacted by their caring presence in our life. And that stood me in good stead when I entered the ministry. I basically practiced what they taught me in the sense of caring about people first and letting things fall out from there.” Many graduates admitted that the erudite Stuart Currie inspired awe: “He had memorized the Greek New Testament,” said Lindsay Moffett (MDiv’64). “I was frightened to death of him,” admitted John Evans. Nicholas Lascaro (MDiv’73) simply said, “I loved him almost as much as I feared him!” George Heyer, who taught Christian doctrine for three decades, made a lasting impression on many students. A story is repeated, perhaps apocryphal, that he never cashed any of his paychecks. He was, in fact, a gifted teacher and gracious man who opened his home to host at least one Seminary Prom. “Two things have influenced everything about my ministry,” said Keith Thompson (MDiv’88), “George Heyer teaching me how to think for myself theologically and Bob Shelton’s understanding of hospitality.” Many graduates feel their strongest connection to
It is all of those things that teach you it is not about you, but all the lives that became better, because of you and what Austin Seminary did for you. It is that winsomeness that drives you to leave a permanent gift for others so they, too, can enjoy this charming place called Austin Seminary. – Wayne McEwen (MA’92) For my first two years in seminary, I kept a mural on the outside door of my dorm room. Over the years it collected many positive words, sayings, and images about seminary and becoming a future minister. In my third year I took my ordination exams and failed three of them. It was the first time in my life I had ever failed an exam, much less three. Further, the written comments on the exams were disparaging. I took it all hard and questioned myself, my call, and whether I should continue my seminary education. I took down the mural, leaving a blank door which reflected the emptiness I felt inside. But my friends built a new mural for my door, full of encouraging images, words, and prayers, and stealthily placed it on my door one night. One note said, “You can try to leave seminary, but it won’t do any good, because a big fish will just swallow you up and spit you back out right here.” I am now retiring with over twentyfive years of service as a minister of Word and Sacrament because my friends encouraged me and believed in me. That is the seminary community I remember and cherish. – Rev. Dr. W. Brent Hampton (MDiv’99, DMin’11) Austin Seminary provided me with the unique opportunity to learn the answer can be, “We don’t really know.” Sometimes allowing God to be God makes all the difference. – Trey Haddon (MDiv’17) Winter 2024 | 9
What made the difference in my seminary education, alongside the fabulous faculty and delightful classmates, was the way that Austin Seminary clearly paired academic excellence with pastoral formation. It was just as important for the seminary to produce well-formed pastors as it was to produce educated scholars. This is what’s at the heart of our winsomeness! – Sallie Watson (MDiv’87) I was always so deeply impressed by, and grateful for, the staff of dedicated, devoted employees who so faithfully and expertly served Austin Seminary. I think of people like Rodrigo, Jim, Brenda, Sharon, Mona, Alison, and Mike who quietly and effectively accomplished amazing things and never, ever sought the limelight. You all deserve countless rounds of applause but never ask for them. That, my friend, is the true definition of a servant. The Seminary would never run without you, our unsung heros to whom we owe so much more than we can ever express. – Mark Horner (MDiv’15) Austin Seminary has challenged and changed me in so many ways—inviting me to ask questions about God, faith, theology, and what it all means for us here and now. The weight and the fleetingness of it all still linger with me. I remember Cindy Rigby capturing my attention with her brilliant stories and honest vulnerability. David Johnson turning church history into a comedy hour. And Lewie Donelson’s grace. (Others may remember the time I set my hair on fire during the Easter Vigil.) I am most grateful for the relationships made through my time at Austin Seminary and the wondrous calling to recognize the beauty and love found in God’s community of winsome and exemplary people. – Kathy Lee-Cornell (MDiv’16) 10 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
the Seminary has been in their formation as worship leaders. “Professor Stan Hall had a profound influence on me both as a pastor and, now, a professor myself,” said Brett Hendrickson (MDiv’02). “His words and his example showed us how to be careful with sacred things, reminding us that they are dangerous. But, he did this with such warm and hospitable humor. When I manage to do the same with my students, I cherish the mark he and others at Austin Seminary left on me.” Joe MacDonald (DMin’19) says, “I felt I stood on holy ground hearing Jen Lord talk.” In my view, Winsome + Exemplary adds up to a place where you can get a serious theological education that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Sure, you will learn to read the Bible through the lens of the original audience and with an eye to contemporary situations. You will be in conversation with Calvin and Barth, Isasi-Diaz and Cannon, and you will practice the art of compassionate care for others. But you might also find yourself idling on a bridge searching for the ancient turtle in Waller Creek, designing the perfect seminary tattoo, picking olives off the tree that Professor Prescott Williams brought back from the Holy Land, or repeating the words of a favorite professor on a Jan-term trip to London when asked his theatre preference: “I wish to not be moved, disturbed, or edified.” I had no idea what lay ahead the day I thrust that wooden rabbit into John’s hands, along with my future. How could I know that I would become enmeshed in a community with so much wisdom and grace and joy? What a privilege it has been to work with faculty colleagues who always say Yes when I ask them to write and always share ideas that far exceed my expectations; to work alongside staff who bring such creative collaboration to support this enterprise; and to watch students—who arrive passionately loving Jesus—turn into beloved pastors and chaplains and counselors who work hard and pray harder
and love their people with their whole hearts. I retire from Austin Seminary at an exciting moment in its history and I expect surprising and wonderful things ahead. I am profoundly grateful to the readers of Windows for coming alongside me these past decades, and in particular to those faithful donors who make all this possible. I hope these pages have validated your own seminary experience or through them you have come to understand a little better the serious business of preparing faithful leaders for the church we cherish. But also … “There were a lot of pranks,” remembers George McCall (MDiv’63). “One Saturday night before people were getting ready to go preaching, we managed to move the unlocked cars of our fellow students parked on the hill beside the men’s dorm. We rolled them down the hill toward the cliff and stopped them at different angles, one backing up the other. Then we … went to bed for the night. A few days later we were summoned into President Stitt’s office one by one. We all knew we had appointments with him, but when we got there he had something other than the parking fiasco to talk to us about. He’d arranged that we would sweat for a few days before the appointment, and then we were released of the difficulty.” Like so many who have been a part of this winsome and exemplary community of God’s people, I’ve been inspired to grow, to forgive, to love, and to laugh. May it be ever so. v
Randal Whittington has been Austin Seminary’s director of communications and editor of Windows magazine since 1994. This editor’s last challenge: winnowing the beautiful comments offered by our graduates about the Seminary’s impact on their lives and ministries.
My senior year of seminary I worked out an unofficial doggy daycare situation with another classmate. Once or twice a week I would drop off my basset hound puppy with her and her dog at the duplexes so the dogs could get some playtime in while we were in class, and I didn’t have to worry about my pup being crated all day. One day, near the end of class I checked my phone and saw I had a missed number from an Austin area code. Apparently, due to a not quite latching back door, both dogs made a break for freedom and had gotten out. Luckily amazing Austin Seminary staff member Adrianna saw the two wayward puppies frolicking around campus, wrangled them both, and delivered them back to the duplexes. – Alex Pappas (MDiv’19) A fellow classmate approached me in Stotts to thank me. I believe this gentleman did not know quite what to make of me when he entered seminary, even if this gay man should be in seminary. He would avoid me or make comments and jokes behind my back. Fortunately, he was able to witness how accepted I and others in the LGBTQ tribe were by the seminary community. Eventually, he approached me as moderator of Queer Alliance. Through civil conversations, we were able to exchange ideas and our backgrounds without attacking or belittling each other. He thanked me for my understanding and gave me a big hug. I knew then that he would never encounter another LGBTQ person as before, nor would he preach a homophobic message. How many others felt like him I have no way of knowing, however, I was honored that he knew he could share with me and I knew then, that no matter where we may end up, we will always be brothers. – Tony Spears (MDiv’15) Winter 2024 | 11
“Lord, Have Mercy” is tattooed across my wrist— etched in Greek to recall my days of staring down the letters at the beginning and end of the words to puzzle out the meaning, poring over ancient text and careful exegesis, that the good news might be preached and practiced and taught in all the years of ministry ahead. It’s on my right hand, shining out to the congregations I bless from the words that settled in my bones as I recited them time and again in the Liturgy Lab—knowing they are the most important words I will ever say— words washed in mercy and forgiveness. The words are tattooed because it was one of those seminary nights where enough of us got a wild hair and went downtown to “get inked,” and then cheers-ed our decision over beers at the Local—the other place where we broke liquid bread. The rest of the times were in the chapel, where I practiced making holy, welcoming space over and over again being the tried and true beadle I feel like I was born to be, reaching peak liturgical nerd-dom in sacred space every chance it came about. Kyrie Eleison is sung and spoken from chapel to church and across the years as its meaning expands and contracts, morphs and mingles through every handshake I give, every marriage I perform, every stranger and friend I greet, every hand I hold in their final moments—words tattooed across my wrist during a sacred time, in a holy space, in the midst of the world buzzing around us as we sought out the holy, and as we practiced extending mercy, that we might choose to do so for all of our lives. – Lindsay Conrad Jacaruso (MDiv’13) 12 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
By Cynthia L Rigby
F
irst, a confession: When I came to Austin Seminary in 1995, I had to look up the word “winsome.” It was in our mission statement, that Austin Seminary is a “winsome and exemplary community” of faith, and I had the feeling I was somehow expected simply to know what it would look like and had the good sense not to ask and thus reveal my ignorance. And I did have a vague sense of the term, associating it with tall willowy Jane Austintype figures.
Over the twenty-eight years that I have had the privilege to serve as a professor at Austin Seminary, I have sat on a number of faculty and trustee committees that reconsidered our mission. Never, in my recollection, have we ever given consideration to taking out “winsome.” It is an untouchable, formative concept for us. Still, what does it mean? Webster says, along these lines, that someone who is winsome is “pleasing and engaging” and who has childlike charm and innocence: and a “winsome smile,” someone w h o is “cheerful and lighthearted … inspiring trust.” OK, but frankly I’ve come to a place where I don’t think I, or the world, needs innocence and lightheartedness as much as it needs a deep-seeded wisdom and The Reverend Dr. Cynthia L. Rigby, The W.C. Brown Professor of Theology, might have been the kind of professor Board Chair Clarence Frierson had in mind when he (allegedly) offered the phrase “winsome and exemplary community of God’s people” for Austin Seminary’s mission statement.
authenticity, which—in the face of creaturely suffering— eschews light-heartedness in favor of truth. This doesn’t mean, of course, that I think we should walk around morosely with “sober faces,” as if the salvation of the world is on our shoulders, or as if we are little versions of the Messiah (Barth). That job’s been taken. And to live stressed-out lives, wearing our burden as a badge of honor, is to deny that he has freed us to engage in “better and happier and more important activities” that characterize the abundant life Christ calls us to enjoy (John 10:10). Now, this is winsomeness with legs. And I learned what it looks like at Austin Seminary, with faculty colleagues who always show up in the Trull boardroom to discuss critically each others’ presentations, even when they are over their heads with work. It looks like students who go to class like they are going to a wedding—expecting something good to happen so strongly that they overlook a multitude of foibles on the part of their yet-to-return-those-papers professor. It looks like trustees who do not simply check up on faculty publications, but who photocopy articles during their limited free time during a hectic board meeting so they can reflect further when they get home. It looks like administrators who always somehow remember that policies are made for people and not people for policies. And it looks like being cheerful when there are things to be cheerful about and lamenting and advocating for healing when people get sick, or standing up for justice when those who have power use it to rob the lives of others. I did not always see winsomeness like this. I used to think to be a Christian was to be happy all the time. I am grateful that my Austin Seminary friends have taught me otherwise, because this means I can always be joyful. Whether I am scared or courageous, whether happy or sad, whether doubting or faithful, God is faithful still. Thank you, friends, for being exemplars of God’s winsomeness, which is nothing short of grace. v
James, who was in charge of the dining hall, could be gruff and testy, especially during the lunch rush. But as we slowly got to know him through the smaller meals of breakfast and dinner, we discovered how passionate he was about his job, and the pleasure he took in feeding us. It was a lesson in vocation that I’ve never forgotten. – Ann Herlin (MDiv’01) One of my favorite emojis is the one with your brain blowing up—that explains my seminary experience in a nutshell. From the first class (Old Testament with Professor Andy Dearman) to learning Greek (Prof John Alsup) and Hebrew (Prof Stephen Reid) to Reformed Theology (Prof Cindy Rigby) etc, my mind was continually being blown up by the radically gracious nature of the environment at APTS and my understanding of ministry in general. My biblical knowledge grew exponentially—especially by reading the Bible through the lens of the ancient languages. There were so many avenues and opportunities for growth while I was there. I was a teaching assistant for Drs. Alsup and Scott Black Johnston and several small churches depended on us students as pulpit supply. The professors treated us as if we were truly colleagues-in-ministry and not just addled students. I made life-long friends and 20+ years later we remain in contact. It was a very precious time in my life—I miss the intense theologically rich conversations, late-night trips to Starbucks, and conversations in my dorm room in Currie Hall. I loved seminary, and at 70 years old, continue to serve the church to which I was called after graduation. I love being a pastor—and I cherish my time at Austin Seminary. – Debbie Cenko (MDiv’01) When I was cleaning out my dorm room that last day, I wanted to cry. I didn’t want to leave what felt like home. – Rosie Grattan (MDiv’11) Winter 2024 | 13
I spent my entirety of high school growing up on the seminary campus where my father was a student. The average teenager would probably be less than thrilled about that, but I loved it. I had a built-in community who helped me through all the ups and downs in life. If it weren’t for the people I met while living there I don’t think I’d be the person I am today. Everyone was there for me since day one no matter what. When my grandmother passed and I wasn’t able to make it to her funeral, the community came together to hold a celebration of life for her—a woman none of them had ever met, but they made it a priority because it was important to me. The kindness and love I felt in that community is unmatched. When there was a family emergency one Thanksgiving, Ollie Jarvis did everything he could to make me feel better. Every Mother’s Day I spent with Sarah CW and the Anderson family since I did not have a mother of my own. There are many more individuals who did amazing things for me, but if I were to write them all down there would be pages and pages to read. I am now 23 years old and live far from the seminary, but the love from the community will resonate with me forever. – Lola Sackett, daughter of Ed Sackett (MDiv’18)
For years I struggled with God’s call, never believing I had the ability to meet the challenges. The day of my campus visit, we attended chapel service. The organist played Largo from Dvorak’s “New World Symphony,” which was a favorite of my grandfather. The tears came and I felt as if I had come home. During the three years of seminary, he never played the piece again. Until, the last service I attended before graduation. Tears again, as I felt my grandfather and God saying, “You trusted and here you are, Reverend!” – Lynda Dinsdale (MDiv’03) 14 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
By Timothy Lincoln
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ustin Seminary is exemplary in at least three ways. We value faculty scholarship. We offer high quality programs. We are open to changing how and what we do to serve our mission. In my time at the Seminary, expectations for professors to conduct research and publish their results have increased. And the faculty have responded. In the past two years, they have written eight books and thirtysix articles and took leadership roles in the creation of a brand new nine-volume lectionary commentary series, Connections. The faculty supports research excellence by serving as the sponsoring institution for Horizons in Biblical Theology, an international peer-reviewed academic journal. The Seminary’s commitment to scholarship is further shown in its new sponsorship of the Hispanic Summer Program, a program committed to supporting Hispanic doctoral students and emerging scholars. Another area in which Austin Seminary is exemplary is through its innovative programs to address the needs of churches. For several years the Seminary has partnered with the Center for Youth Ministry Training to offer a Master of Arts in Youth Ministry (MAYM) degree. This three-year program combines academic work at the Seminary with part-time employment in a ministry setting, typically a congregation. Because students in the program are actively serving in ministry, classroom discussion about ideas and texts is constantly in conversation with the questions that students have as a result of their ongoing experiences with children and youth. Another The Reverend Dr. Timothy Lincoln, as research professor in theological education at Austin Seminary, uses his exemplary skills to make sense of all the information at his fingertips.
In an exhilarating way, I found friendship, challenge, belonging, encouragement, thrilling Bible study, deepening theological resonance, and the ministry-shaping surprise that I loved to preach! I cannot imagine my life these 46 years hence, without becoming who I was becoming through my formation on this campus. – Bobbi Kaye Jones (MDiv’80)
example of a high-quality program addressing the needs of churches is the Houses of Hope initiative. Funded with a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., this program helps rural churches in Texas and Oklahoma discern the steps that they need to take to do what God is calling them to do in their communities.
Austin Seminary has set a high standard for faculty scholarship and programming because of its refusal to be content with familiar habits. Like other seminaries, in March 2020 Austin Seminary was challenged to continue teaching students despite the restrictions of face-to-face meetings during the early stages of the covid pandemic. We made the move to online teaching, and we did not simply snap back to our previous pedagogical habits as conditions improved. Instead, we applied what we learned about hybrid and online teaching. All degree programs now make use of tools (such as our learning management system) first used during the pandemic. Because of the Seminary’s openness to change, we now teach our Doctor of Ministry and MAYM programs in a hybrid manner. The Seminary’s quest to produce new knowledge, improve programs, and be open to change are the results of leaders who care about the witness of the church and who trust that Austin Seminary’s mission will be relevant for years to come. Under the leadership of President Irizarry and the Seminary’s Board of Trustees, I am confident that Austin Seminary will continue to meet our highest aspirations of being an exemplary community of God’s people. v
One of the first things I remember being told about seminary was that it wasn’t church. As seminarians we were encouraged to find a church home as soon as possible because seminary would not be that for us. Whoever gave that advice was wrong. After more than 20 years in ministry serving in the local church in a multitude of places, I can tell you that seminary can be church, or at the very least a liminal space. Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary was my home for four years, and it was a place where I was encouraged to explore my faith, stretch my theological muscles, refine my questions, dive into ancient texts—and yet it was a place to play, to laugh, to fellowship, to serve, and to worship. I can’t think of a better description for church. Maybe, we should honor these liminal congregations that are seminaries ... as students and faculty and staff move through those hallowed halls the institution is constantly changing from year to year, but for a moment this is a community of faith together. As the photographer in the PR Office, I was tasked with digitizing the photography archives. I spent many hours in the basement of Trull with a camera on a tripod in a dark room clicking photographs to preserve them from the ravages of time. I saw classmates through the decades boarding planes to preach at congregations in Louisiana and Arkansas, faculty members lecturing in familiar classrooms, worship services in the chapel, gameready faces on the Polity Bowl field, dorm students preparing meals together, rowdy folks at chili cookoffs, students in conversation over breakfast tacos, and so many moments of community frozen in celluloid. Church is a word often used to describe a place or a body of believers. In light of those definitions, Austin Seminary was definitely a body of believers. I give thanks for the season that Austin was my church home and may this institution continue to be a home for generations to come. – Anghaarad Teague Dees (MDiv’01) Winter 2024 | 15
I experienced a winsome and exemplary community of God’s people at Austin Seminary in the humility and grace of so many to seek truth and justice in the world and within this very place. – Crystal Silva-McCormick (MDiv’10) I appreciated a seminar with Ellen Babinsky in which we were encouraged to integrate our life experience prior to seminary with the ministry we hoped to enter. I compared the General Assembly I observed to Democratic Party National Conventions I had attended. Others similarly designed projects with Ellen’s guidance that helped all of us integrate different parts of our lives and get to know each other. – Jeanie Stanley (MDiv’99. DMin’13) Being a part of and living among the Austin Seminary community was an aspect of my life I will never forget. – Laurel Dixon (MDiv’11) Just like at any other institution, when I graduated from Austin Seminary I thought that I was set free with no community net to catch me should I fall. Boy, was I wrong. I have moved so often in the last several years that when I am asked where home is I often hesitate because I do not have a home in the traditional sense. Home is not a place, but it is a people. Several years ago I found myself leaving a horrific situation. I did not yet know where I was headed, so I took some time to travel back to the seminary. It was the only place I felt to go. I walked into the office and Ted Wardlaw stood with his arms wide open and with a booming voice said, “Emily! Welcome Home!” This simple sentiment brought me tears then as it still does today. I was home. Though I had left years ago the faculty and staff still cared and were invested in my wellbeing and professional development. Where is home, especially for those of us who have no family? Home is the family of Austin Seminary standing with arms wide open to greet us whether near or far. It’s the unexpected, but welcomed, phone call from Gary Mathews, the banter on Facebook with professors, the Insights and Windows publications, knowing I can call at any time and I am known and loved ... What is home? It is the family at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. – Emily Béghin (MDiv’15) 16 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
By Sarah Kinney Gaventa
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he image of a seminary community that was formed in me when I attended Virginia Theological Seminary two decades ago was of a body of people called to a common vocation—in this case, the vocation of Episcopal
priesthood—who engaged in a period of educational and liturgical formation to shape us into the people God had called us to be. The path was narrow, deep, and focused. While a deep groove of denominational preparation for Presbyterian pastors is still vibrant at Austin Seminary, the community and formation of God’s people is wider and more complex than I had imagined when I began my work here. Students come to our door with the same tug on their heart—a desire to know more about God, a desire to grow in leadership—but the paths that they take to get here are infinitely more varied. Our Presbyterian students learn and worship alongside people of faith from more than a dozen The Reverend Sarah Gaventa, as dean of students, has a front-row seat (and a job backstage) for creating opportunities for Christian community at Austin Seminary.
different denominations and six other countries. This tapestry of faith traditions creates an unbelievably rich environment for students to deepen their knowledge and worship of God. As students learn Reformed theology, preaching, and liturgy from our amazing faculty, they also get to learn from each other about the theological ideas that formed each of their traditions. In a world in which people are increasingly isolated from one another, it feels like a small miracle to work in this rich ecumenical, international, diverse community of the people of God. Members of this community of God serve one another
by learning collaboratively and not competitively; by keeping up a community cupboard where students can find canned goods and other necessities; and by showing love and support when another member is having a personal crisis. This community of God serves Austin through volunteer work with immigrants and in soup kitchens; by working in churches as children and youth ministers, worship leaders, interns, and pastors; and by working faithfully in jobs that serve the community while they study. Upon graduation every year, part of this community of God leaves campus to become pastors, chaplains, teachers, social workers, activists, and passionate lay leaders. This community is not insular, but reaches out beyond our walls, to serve all God’s world in Texas, the United States, and beyond! v
My stay at Austin Seminary as an International Student 1979-1980, supported by the Seminary’s room, board, and tuition scholarship, and by a travel grant from the U.S. Fulbright Commission, had a lasting impact on my understanding of the church as a global ecumenical body—spiritually as well as materially. – Dr. Karl-Heinz Schell (’80)
The only seminary on the planet willing to have a quadriplegic cheerleader. – Amy Litzinger (MATS’15) One afternoon, when I was walking my wife home from her job at the university, Dr. John Jansen waved to us as he exited the chapel. He next approached us wearing a smile. Once he reached our place on the sidewalk, he congratulated me on my performance on the oral exam of the four gospels and Acts. He certainly didn’t have to do that, but that’s who he was—a brilliant scholar and an example of what it meant to be a part of a winsome community. Almost every time I would enter the Trull Administration building, I was affirmed by someone. It seems people consistently had something positive and encouraging to say. Austin Seminary was for me a rigorous academic experience lived in and buoyed by a winsome and exemplary community of faith which taught me the same great truth that inspired a converted Pharisee named Paul to write these remarkable words from 1st Corinthians: Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. – Bob Lively (MDiv’73, DMin’79) Winter 2024 | 17
faculty news notes
good reads Benjamin Alire Sáenz, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Simon & Schuster (2014); Kimberly Garza: The Last Karankawas, Henry Holt and Co. (2022; Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, Jason Stanford, Forget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, Penguin Books (2022)
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n 2015, after I moved to Texas, I hoped someday … but not today. to learn more about this state. However, Exploring San Antonio’s most famous family demands and a global pandemic mission and battleground led me to Forget have left me little opportunity to explore. the Alamo by Bryan Burrough, Chris Thank goodness for books. This year, I’ve Tomlinson, and taken myself on a Texas book tour. Here are Jason Stanford. three highlights, for those who might want This rollicking to join my journey. non-fiction history Set in contemporary El Paso, Benjamin explains Texian Alire Saenz’s young adult, LGBTQIA history under coming-of-age story, Aristotle and Dante Mexico. However, Discover the Secrets of the Universe, follows its strength lies two teenaged, in the authors’ middle-class exploration of Latinos as they the growth of the muse about life, “Alamo myth” about what it through the means to be Latino, influence of such disparate figures as the about fitting in Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Walt with other kids, Disney, John Wayne, and Phil Collins. and, of course, The history is so engaging that my now about parents fourth-grader insists that I read it to him at and their hopes bedtime. and dreams. The Books like these encourage me to novel gently takes consider not only what our faith says, but the reader into the boys’ adventures with what it says in this particular place and grace and good humor. And while some time. They encourage me to listen to the harrowing events take place stories of those who have lived on (spoiler alert) nobody dies, this land—life-long Texans and and the novel ends with joy immigrants alike—and to connect and love. their stories to the story of faith Kimberly Garza sets the that we share, a story in which we story of The Last Karankawas are just a small part of God’s much on Galveston Island in the grander narrative. years leading up to Hurricane What are your favorite Texas Ike. The novel highlights the reads? How do these help you to lives of Filipino, Latino, and think theologically about God’s Vietnamese families on the word to this particular place in this Texas coast, relating their season? v loves and their hurts even as the storm bears down. Survival and determination mark these —Reviewed by Margaret lives, even as those who live by the coast Aymer, Academic Dean maintain a determination to survive. and The First Presbyterian Like Magdalena, these characters live Church, Shreveport, D. with the power of nature, the reality Thomason Professor in New that the sea will take the island algún día, Testament Studies
faculty notes | Sarah Allen (advanced studies) was the worship leader for a Grace Presbytery clergywomen’s cohort retreat in November. Patricia Bonilla (Christian education) led worship and participated in active listening sessions with pastoral leaders at “Entre Nos: A Hispanic/Latino Pastoral Gathering.” Hosted by The National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry of the United Methodist Church, the gathering in Phoenix, Arizona, Oct. 30-Nov. 2, is the first of its kind. Mindful of their Hispanic/Latino constituency and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that disproportionately impacted communities of color, participants discussed issues such as how clergy serving these communities experience burnout, exhaustion, and loss. They also considered denominational schism and how the disaffiliation of congregations has further strained communities of color. In June, Jennifer Lord (homiletics) was an invited Consultant for the Calvin Institute for Worship in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She preached and gave the Lupberger Lectures at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans in November. She will serve the next four years as the
Continued on next page 18 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Austin Seminary receives $1.2 million grant to strengthen preaching
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ustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary received a grant of $1,248,603 from Lilly Endowment Inc. to help establish The Faithful Preaching Project, a new initiative designed to help preachers of small mainline congregations instill deeper faith in their listeners and empower them to live out their faith more fully in worship and in the community beyond their church walls. The Reverend Dr. Carolyn Helsel, Associate Professor in the Blair R. Monie Distinguished Chair in Homiletics, wrote the grant and is charged with designing and administering the program. The program is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative. The aim of the initiative is to foster and support preaching that inspires, encourages, and guides people to come to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully. “The goal of the Faithful Preaching Project will be to identify what makes sermons faith-full and faith-inspiring, and then to coach preachers on how they can infuse their own preaching with those skills,” says Professor Helsel. “When I taught lay preachers in our Certificate in Ministry program last spring, I was struck by how the students’ sermons so powerfully demonstrated and communicated a deep faith. My hope is to help more preachers cultivate a preaching life that fosters faith in listeners.” The project is guided by three goals aimed at strengthening preaching skills for clergy and lay preachers: • Coach preachers and lay proclaimers of small mainline congregations to inspire listeners to know and love God and live out their Christian faith in the world. • Equip preachers to empower their congregants to create worship liturgies and testify to God’s love so all members practice being proclaimers. • Train preachers to communicate faith-instilling messages to reach outside the walls of the church and engage
the community beyond their congregation. The project’s main activities include coaching preachers, hosting cohorts of preachers, hosting preaching workshops, and creating a worship camp for worship leaders and pastors to come together and consider creative ways to reimagine faithful worship. Lilly Endowment launched the Compelling Preaching Initiative in 2022 because of its interest in supporting projects that help to nurture the religious lives of individuals and families and foster the growth and vitality of Christian congregations in the United States. Austin Seminary is one of eighty-one organizations receiving grants through this competitive round of the Compelling Preaching Initiative. Reflecting the diversity of Christianity in the United States, the organizations are affiliated with mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, Anabaptist, and Pentecostal faith communities. Dr. Helsel is the author of Anxious to Talk About It: Helping White Christians Talk Faithfully About Race, and Preaching about Racism: A Guide for Faith Leaders. Together, both books earned the 2018 Book(s) of the Year Award from the Association of Parish Clergy. Dr. Helsel served on the editorial board for the commentary series Connections, published by Westminster John Knox Press, and contributed nine essays across the volumes. She authored, with Y. Joy Harris-Smith, The A.B.C.’s of Diversity: Helping Kids Embrace Our Differences (Chalice Press, 2020). She and faculty colleague Song-Mi Suzie Park published The Flawed Family of God: Stories about the Imperfect Families in Genesis (Westminster John Knox, 2021). Dr. Helsel is ordained to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She currently administers one grant related to anisemitism and another designed to equip theological schools and students with tools to equip them for changemaking in their communities. v
Worship Consultant for Worshiping with Children: Imagining and Imaging God at Phillips Seminary and as a homiletics team member for The Faithful Preaching Project (see story above). She
taught Sunday school at University United Methodist Church, Austin; facilitated the onboarding of the new Capital District superintendent of the Rio Texas Conference; and co-
is preparing to lead a Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trip for Austin Seminary students in summer, 2024. This fall Melissa Wiginton (Methodist Studies)
facilitated a cohort of United Methodist Clergy for the Texas Methodist Foundation and a day of reflection and visioning for the Conference Leadership Team of the Texas Conference of the UMC. v Winter 2024 | 19
live learn
“Cultivating Ideas” faculty webinar series in the spring Join us ONLINE to hear some compelling, fresh ideas from Austin Seminary’s faculty. Throughout the academic year, professors are sharing ideas and insights they have been cultivating in teaching, writing, and ministry. Come, gather seeds of scholarship to grow in your own church and community. Each FREE session is on a Thursday from Noon to 1:00 p.m. (CT). Sign up for one or all! February 15: Rodney Caruthers (New Testament) “The Kingdom in Parables” February 22: Jennifer Lord (homiletics) “Making the Most of the Font” February 29: William Greenway (theology) “The Passion of Torah Is the Passion of Jesus Is the Passion of Lent” March 7: Eric Wall (sacred music), “Songs Along the Way: Music and the Lenten Journey” April 11: Bobbi Kaye Jones (pastoral ministry) “Conversations with Alumni from the Road” April 18: Andrew Zirschky (youth ministry) “Why Your Church Isn’t Forming the Faith of Children and Teens, and What You Can Do about It” April 25: Crystal Silva-McCormick (evangelism and missions) “Euro-American Christianity and Indigenous Suffering: Are We Diseased?” May 2: Patricia Bonilla (Christian education) “TraumaInformed Faith Formation” May 9: Gregory Cuéllar (Old Testament) “Resacralizing the Other at the US-Mexico Border”
College of Pastoral Leaders
Clergy Renewal Grants
College of Pastoral Leaders celebrates two decades of resourcing pastors Begun in 2004, the College of Pastoral Leaders (CPL) has provided funds to more than 800 pastors to engage in twoyear cohort-based programs that encourage sustainability and faithfulness. With $10,000 grants, CPL encourages groups of pastoral colleagues—such as former seminary friends, pastors within the same judicatory, clergy in neighborhood ministries—to coalesce around a specific goal and together design a project, create a budget, and implement their program over the two years of the grant cycle. The College of Pastoral Leaders facilitates personal renewal, professional vitality, and pastoral excellence. Emerging out of CPL in 2020, the Latinx Leadership Renewal (LLR) program has provided three one-year $3500 grants toward the revitalization of Hispanic congregational leaders.
Deadlines for 2024
Grant application is May 10
Awards are announced by June 30 Start date for grants is July 1
AustinSeminary.edu/ifelong-learning WebXtra: Stories by and for immigrants Mónica Tornoé, director of Latino/a programs at Austin Seminary, had an essay published in Faith & Leadership from Duke Divinity titled, “Events and books help undocumented immigrants tell their stories.” Arising from her own immigrant experience, she shared her ministry at Austin Seminary, especially through the project Undocumented Stories, designed to educate people about immigration through storytelling. 20 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Ideas for a social-justice stocking Check out these children’s books on immigration by Mónica Tornoé
alumni news notes
class notes | 1970s Bob Lively (MDiv’73, DMin’79) has a new book out, 7 Moments of Grace. He says, “I wrote this book for my grandson so that he might come to watch for those seminal moments of grace when the Shepherd’s rod and staff are guiding his feet onto the path he should follow.”
1980s Maurice D. Millican (MDiv’89) retired from the Army in September 2022, and he and his wife, Linda, moved to their ranch in Nacogdoches County. He has been serving as a part-time pastor at Trawick Presbyterian Church since January 2023. Cynthia, wife of Gilley G. Richardson (MDiv’86) died on September 11, 2023, in San Antonio, Texas. James Morley (MDiv’88) was one of three subjects featured in the independent film documentary, “O Pioneer,” shown in several film festivals this fall. A former hospital chaplain, James now serves as pastor of the Fleming Memorial Presbyterian Church in Fairmont, West Virginia.
1990s Erin McGee (MDiv’97) has been called as transitional lead presbyter for Whitewater Valley Presbytery, beginning January, 2024. Linda A. Norris (MDiv’97) is honorably retired and currently serving part-time as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Hamilton, Texas.
2000s Matt Morse (MDiv’03) is serving as interim pastor for First Presbyterian Church, Bryan, Texas. Janet, wife of Rick Carroll (MDiv’04), died August 11, 2023, in Cedar Park, Texas. Caressa L. Murray (MDiv’08) became senior pastor at New Hope Presbyterian, Castle Rock, Colorado on November 1. Brian, husband of Callie Candee (MDiv’06), died on October 23, 2023. Wayne Eberly (DMin’09), after serving as a pastor in Rhode Island for eight years, returned to the Presbytery of New Covenant in February of 2023 to serve as pastor at Atascocita Presbyterian Church.
2010s Michelle Ruiz (MDiv’13) has been promoted to team champion and hospitality manager at Pint House Brewery/ Pizza in Austin. As part of Pinthouse’s HR department, Michelle says, “I even get to do presentations and events that feel a lot like Mid-Week Manna!” Wendy J. Manuel (MDiv’16) has retired. As an APC board certified chaplain, she continues to give volunteer pastoral care. “Life is good,” says Wendy who lives with her partner in Northfield, Minnesota.
2020s Matthew Hoffman (DMin’23) published a book based on his doctoral project. Pandemic Theology reflects theologically on religious responses during this most recent pandemic through a series of interviews, as well as utilizing a historical survey of religious responses during times of pandemics, plagues, and epidemics of the past.
milestones ordained 50 years Darwin Wolfe (DMin’73), November 18, 1973
in memoriam Mary E. Gaines (MCE’63, MDiv’75, DMin’77), September 12, 2023, Georgetown, Texas Jack M. White (MDiv’63), April 26, 2020, Pennington, New Jersey George W. Hunt (MDiv’66), September 18, 2023, Dallas, Texas
Join other Austin Seminary alumni at MidWinters to honor our 2024 Distinguished Service Award recipients:
Anne Simpson Pardington (MCE’64)
Roger B. Speegle (MDiv’70), September 11, 2023, Denton, Texas Henry P. Hosey (MDiv’71), October 10, 2023, Sulphur Springs, Texas
Bill Poe (MDiv’72)
Robert L. Walton Jr. (MDiv’74), September 2, 2018, Memphis, Tennessee James A. Ryan (MDiv’76), August 24, 2023, Mabelvale, Arkansas Larry S. Tyler (MDiv’76), June 24, 2022, Tulsa, Oklahoma Donald F. Wales (DMin’81), September 20, 2023, Albuquerque, New Mexico George S. Gee (MDiv’88), September 13, 2023, Dallas, Texas Dennis M. Myhand (MDiv’90), September 27, 2023, Victoria, Texas
Ted Foote (MDiv’79) ASA Dinner | Tuesday, January 23, 2024 Register at: AustinSeminary.edu/ MidWinters
For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip people for ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources for the nurture of the church; to practice and promote critical theological thought and research; to engage a range of voices and perspectives within and beyond the life of the Seminary; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God’s people. —Mission Statement Winter 2024 | 21
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January 22-24, 2024
Emilie M. Townes
Cláudio Carvalhaes
Cheryl Bear
Chris Currie
“Premeditated Indifference: Facing (In)Justice with the Power of Hope”
“Two Ways of Being in the World: To Rise and To Land”
“Indigenous Spirituality: A Way of Being and the Contextualization of the Gospel”
MidWinters Preacher
Sometimes the power of hope is all that sustains us when we look at the world around us and ask, How did we get ourselves into such deep divisions? Rather than turn away from the challenges that this question poses, these three lectures will explore how we can use hope as both solace for our souls and a call to action in our public witness.
Amidst so many challenges around us, we have to keep asking ourselves what can keep us alive. In these two lectures, two gestures will be offered: to rise and to land.
Through my lectures I hope to raise awareness of Indigenous worldview, culture, and spirituality so that when the next Indigenous person is in your periphery, you will have an entirely new way of being with them. You will be able to be a real human to them. That is my hope.
The Reverend Dr. Chris Currie is senior pastor at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans Louisiana. He is the author of In the Meantime: Sermons for this Time Between the Times (2018), and The Only Sacrament Left to Us: The Threefold Word of God in the Theology and Ecclesiology of Karl Barth (2015).
Pre-register by January 8: AustinSeminary.edu/MidWinters
