Vantage Summer 2018

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BRANCHING OUT A WORD FROM OUR PRESIDENT

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ccording to my concordance, the word “tree” appears 370 times in the Bible.

Trees play a number of roles in Scripture. Sometimes they have a starring role: think of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden in Genesis.

Sometimes trees signal a precise location: think of the time Jesus called the disciple Nathanael who was standing under a fig tree.

Sometimes trees were a place of God’s revelation: think Maybe you noticed that the branches and leaves of the tree that Elijah slumped under when he was so on our logo are stretching upwards. We understand this discouraged and God sent an angel to restore him. as an expression of our commitment to live fully into Not only do trees play a number of roles, they our mission to form future pastors for the sake of the also appear in startling variety. There are poplar, church and the world. We know that accomplishing our balsam, cedar, oak, almond, juniper, cypress, and many mission faithfully means that we must take the rest of other trees in the Bible. A forest of trees! In addition, the tree image seriously as well: rooted in God’s call Scripture includes the flowers and and shaped by the Word at the center of everything buds and fruits and birds and nests and we do. We think of the time when Jesus said to his shade of all these trees. And so it is not disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those surprising that the Christian tradition who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit. . . ” has recognized the importance of tree (John 15:5). We long for our work to bear fruit, to bud images in Scripture. The “tree of life” tradition, for We know that accomplishing our mission Dr. Leanne Van Dyk example, is very rich in PRESIDENT faithfully means that we must take the rest of Christian spirituality and the tree image seriously as well: rooted in God’s mysticism; it is a symbol with strong and call and shaped by the Word at the center of vibrant meanings. The Columbia Seminary logo is a “tree of life” image. Recent issues everything we do. of Vantage have focused on the layers of meanings expressed by our logo. It is a tree with roots, which we unpacked in the Fall, 2017 and blossom and then burst into fruit that will nourish issue, and a tree with the Word at its very center, both communities of faith and public contexts near which we explored in the Spring, 2018 issue. This and far. We rejoice when our students graduate and reflection focuses on the branches of the tree. move on to the places where God is calling them.

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Another “tree of life” meaning in both Scripture and the long Christian tradition comes from the necessary work of pruning and cutting. Last January, I witnessed a master winemaker in Napa Valley prune grape vines and was amazed at how much of the vine’s branches he cut off. For a vine to bear much fruit, the pruning needs to be bold. This is the pruning that Jesus had in mind when he went on to say to his disciples, “Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers.” We know that God is always calling and pruning us to deeper faithfulness.

Our commitment to live as fruitful trees here at Columbia Seminary means that we invest in the nurture and education of each and every student. This

past May, 66 students walked across the platform at Peachtree Presbyterian Church to receive their diplomas at our graduation ceremony. Each of them is now called to go out and bear much fruit. Your prayer and support is vital to the work of Columbia Seminary as we continue to be a “tree of life” in God’s world.

Thank you for being an essential part of our mission.

Blessings,

Leanne Van Dyk President

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

IN THIS ISSUE

DEPARTMENTS

VANTAGE POINT

pg 2

HYPERFOCUS

pg 20

NEW @CTS MEDIA

pg 22

REASONABLE SERVICE

pg 23

RECOGNIZING SCHOLARS

pg 25

LIFELONG LEARNING

pg 28, 30, 32

TAUTA PANTA

pg 31

NEWS FROM COLUMBIA

pg 34

ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES

pg 36

FACULTY & STAFF

pg 40

BEST OF THE BLOG

pg 47

VANTAGE / VOL. 110, NO. 3 SUMMER 2018

EDITORS

Michael K. Thompson Corie Cox

How is Columbia Seminary “Branching Out”?

DESIGN

Lucy Ke

FEATURE

PHOTOGRAPHY

BRANCHING OUT

Michael K. Thompson

CONTRIBUTORS

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“THE RESTORED KINGDOM COME”

The social justice of gardens and food

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A REFLECTION OF GROWTH

Three years at Columbia — now what?

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THE ENGAGING (AND ENGAGED) COMMUNITY AT THE HIVE

Spiritual roots and friendship beyond church buildings

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IF GOD IS FORP GUS

Reflections from Romans 8:31–39 and the Asian American experience An educational institution of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

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Jess Adams Julie Bailey ’09 Troy Bronsink ’04 Leslie Cox ’18 Mary Lynn Darden Sarah Erickson ’03/DEdMin ’10 Israel Galindo Heidi Gleason Steven Miller Laura Nile ’19 Caitlin Reeves Valrie Thompson Leanne Van Dyk Debra Weir Joel Winchip William Yoo

This issue of VANTAGE is available online at www.ctsnet.edu.

“THE RESTORED KINGDOM COME” B Y L A U R A N I L E , M D I V ’ 19

Laura Nile (MDiv ’19) was the winner of this year’s Dabney and Tom Dixon Creation Care Prize.

Award-winning sermons address the intersections of the Bible, the Church, and environmental concerns.

This year, Laura preached on Amos 9.

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AM SO HONORED TO BE PREACHING TODAY, PARTICULARLY ON ONE OF MY FAVORITE TOPICS—GOD’S CARE FOR CREATION. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN PLACED ON MY HEART AND WILL NOT LET MY HEART GO UNTIL I DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I GREW UP IN OREGON, WHICH IS EXACTLY THE CRUNCHY-GRANOLA-HIPSTER CENTRAL YOU’D EXPECT IT TO BE. I LITERALLY REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I SAW SOMEONE THROW PAPER IN THE GARBAGE. I was working at a camp in California and could not comprehend not having recycling. You can imagine my shock when I moved to the South! And yet it wasn’t until I moved somewhere where sustainability wasn’t taken for granted that my passion for environmental justice and care for God’s creation began to blossom. It’s become an unshakable conviction of mine, and I believe, of God’s.

Today, we’re diving into the book of Amos. For those of you who haven’t

been in Old Testament class for a while, let me provide a little refresher. Amos is known as Israel’s first theologian because he was the first person to take the theological claim that Israel had taken for granted, of being God’s chosen people,

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and give it new meaning. Perhaps, instead of just being a sacred privilege, it is also a burden and responsibility.

For almost three thousand years, Amos’ dangerous, radical, and searing words have shaped and challenged the people of God about what it means to be a just community.

Amos was living and writing in the 8th Century BCE. It was a time of incredible national economic productivity, but one that came at a great cost. Let us not mistakenly think that economics doesn’t have theological consequences. For Amos, the social and economic changes to the nation of Israel were deeply theological problems.

For centuries, the Israelites had been living in small familial communities where farming was hard work and nearly everyone lived at the subsistence level. They all worked year-round just to have enough to eat. If they had any extra, they stored it in case another member of the extended family needed it. It was their community safety net. No questions asked—if someone was in need, the others would provide for them. The excess they saved was distributed, never wasted.

But Israel wanted to be like their neighboring empires and they wanted a king.

When God relented and gave them a king, first Saul and then David, it also began a process that changed the social and agricultural life of the people. Elites began taxing the people, forcing them to give up their small excess safety net. They continued to raise taxes, forcing the peasants to become cash crop farmers, where they couldn’t afford to feed their own families. A single bad harvest, which was not a rare occurrence, would force them into starvation. Despite their hard work, peasants fell deeper and deeper into debt, until they had to sell the land of their inheritance. Small familial communities were replaced by large estates. The elites continued their heavy taxation, living in luxury, to the point of waste. They had more food than they could eat, while those growing it were starving.

Within a century, the agricultural practices had entirely changed the community of Israel. Families went from sharing and surviving together to becoming sharecroppers on the land that was once theirs. It changed how they related to one another, how they worshipped and what it meant to be tribes of Israel.

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Because if you impact access to food, you impact everything. Food shapes the community. Just think of the food that we associate with different parts of our country—deep dish pizza in Chicago, a New York bagel, Southern barbeque, or New Orleans gumbo. It may not be exactly true that we are what we eat, but what someone eats tells you a lot about them. It tells you what they can afford, where they probably live, what their schedule is like. It doesn’t necessarily tell you what they care about, because often people eat what they have access to, not what they would ideally be eating. Access to affordable, nourishing food was not a given in Israel in Amos’s day, nor is it today. In Georgia, nearly 2 million people live in a “food desert” where low-income communities live more than a mile from a store to buy fresh food.

It’s no surprise that if you’re living paycheck to paycheck in a neighborhood where it takes you 20 minutes to get to the closest grocery store that you don’t have time to try new kale chip recipes. You choose Burger King over Whole Foods because you have to. You support shady businesses, like Walmart, that underpay workers because it’s what you can afford and it’s what is in your neighborhood.

The neighborhood of Peoplestown is less than a mile away from where I work, but the closest grocery store is almost three miles away. For the many residents who don’t have a car, it takes 1-2 hours on the bus just to go to the grocery store. And of course, who lives in Peoplestown? Primarily low-income people of color.

What we are seeing in our city and in our country is not only systemic racial injustice, but environmental injustice. In 1987, three out of every five African Americans and Hispanics lived in communities contaminated by toxic waste. By

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2007, it was still at 50%. All of the waste facilities in the Metro Atlanta area are in majority African-American communities. The fact that Flint, Michigan is a majority black city is not unrelated to the fact that they still don’t have clean water.

Multinational corporations make billions off of oil pipes desecrating sacred land at Standing Rock and Bears Ears. The abuse of creation is deeply connected to racism and the systemic injustice that plagues our country.

This is the kind of injustice that made the prophet Amos’ blood boil—

the rich and powerful abusing the poor and marginalized, particularly by abusing their relationship to the land. Amos repeatedly warns them of the destruction that will come to Israel. It will be complete and total. And yet, at the very end, there is a vision of a glimmer of hope. It’s a hope for someday far in the future. Amos 9:13-15 reads,

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The time is surely coming, says the Lord, when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.

I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.

I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the Lord your God. I love the vision of God as a gardener, carefully planting us in a land where we will never be forced out, evicted, or bought out. Amos’ vision of justice is not separate from the land and those who tend to it, but they are intrinsically tied together. Justice for the oppressed in Israel meant economic and ecological justice.

When the unjust agricultural system denied the poor their land, their rights, and their freedom, God promised restoration. This promised restoration is of agricultural bounty—food so abundant they can hardly pick it before the next growing season starts again.

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You see, hope for the restored kingdom is not hope in a life free from the context we live in, but a hope of our world made right. The restoration of David’s Kingdom is the restoration of the land that the people of Israel inhabit. No longer will God’s people see their hard work go unrewarded or the fruit of their labors go to those who did not work for it. The restored kingdom will be a kingdom where all will reap the fruits of their labor. Restoration means returning something to its former owner or condition.

The ruined cities will be brought to life again and those who long for home shall find it there.

I believe this is a message of hope for the church today. As Christians, we long for God’s

kingdom to come on Earth “as it is in Heaven.” This is not just something we must wait for, but we can participate in bringing that kingdom to life, as we can see from the vision of David’s restored kingdom. The restored kingdom comes to life when Indigenous people are free to return to their land and tend to it without oppression. The restored kingdom is in the places where ghettos are transformed into urban oases, not through gentrification and pushing out the poor, but by transforming the lives of those who live there. The restored kingdom proclaims that not only do Black Lives Matter, but so does the land they live upon and the work that they do.

Environmental justice is not one more thing on the never-ending list of social justice causes woke Christians are supposed care about. It’s not something to guilt you into recycling more, it’s an invitation to joy. When we see the sea-levels rising and each year the globe gets hotter, it can feel like there is nothing we can do to stop it. But we can tend to creation. When we plant fruits and vegetables, tend to them all season long, and enjoy the fruits of the hard-earned labor, we participate in making the restored kingdom come. When we fight against the policies in our city and state that worsen climate change, we participate in making the restored kingdom come.

When we decrease the amount of trash that we send into black communities in our city, we are participating in making the restored kingdom come.

We need only to look around to see that the restored kingdom has not yet come in full, but it is slowly making its way into this world. It’s there if you seek it and there you will find joy. In the dirt and the flowers, the rocks in the stream, and the hills and the valleys, we can find joy. People of Columbia, I know that you hope to be people of justice. I think if the prophet Amos were here with us, he would say that to seek justice that flows down like waters means seeking ecological justice, and with it, justice for those who inhabit the land.

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A REFLECTION ON GROWTH

B Y L E S L I E C O X , M D I V ’ 18

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OR THE PAST THREE YEARS, I HAVE LIVED ON THIS CAMPUS. WE ARE INTIMATE. I KNOW THE FEELING OF ITS SOIL BENEATH MY TOES EARLY IN THE MORNING WHEN THE SUN IS STILL IN HIDING. I’VE FELT THE MURMUR OF ITS HEART WHEN STUDENTS, STAFF, AND FACULTY GATHER TOGETHER AND REST IN ITS SHADE INTERMINGLING WITH ONE ANOTHER AS FAMILY. I’ve witnessed it change alongside students bringing with them new ideas of community filled with visions of green lawn chairs, rainbow PRIDE flags, giant bounce houses, and parades of popsicles and colas. I’ve even listened to it as it tells stories of its past. Inspired by our progress and acceptance of all God’s beloved children, it remembers stories of past racist and sexist events that took place on this campus, even some that transpired over my seminary career.

It is this ground that provided me the space to find my voice and call. Throughout my studies, I was planted by my community, nourished in classrooms, and sustained through spiritual practices. Columbia Theological Seminary provided me a charge and benediction to grow.

Columbia Seminary was the place I heard my first sermon preached by a woman. She was a third-year

student who welcomed me when I was only visiting. It was her senior chapel week. Her team had a service filled with poetry and dance. I remember the rhythm and flow that served as an invitation into her sermon. I still remember her message, even if the words are faint, the way my heart raced is still vivid. Later I would go on to preach my own sermon. Then I

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I kept creating where I once gave up. I wasn’t alone in this.

would preach again and again, preaching messages on racial justice, creation care, and Psalms of lament. The sort of sermons I never heard in the church I was raised in. The sort of sermons in which I heard the Spirit move.

Columbia Seminary was the place where I learned to say “No” when my plate felt heavy and “Yes” when my community offered me support.

It was here that I started counseling and prioritized my mental health and spiritual well-being. Thankfully, throughout my studies, I had already learned to say “Yes” to silent retreats, to mediation, and to medication. It was here that I found wellness alongside self-compassion.

Columbia Seminary was the place I claimed creativity. I, an art school dropout, created with a fervor I had never known. I was inspired by Old Testament courses that spoke of a God of creation and affirmed by friends who relished in my adventures. I tried new things. I wrote, blogged, painted, and took pictures.

In my three years, I failed many times but I learned to persevere. “Resilience and imagination,” they said for the umpteenth time throughout our seminary careers.

While we rolled our eyes during this refrain that we couldn’t quite escape, somewhere along the way the message sank in. I kept creating where I once gave up. I wasn’t alone in this. We all tried out new things with an unabandoned boldness that could only be accounted for by the presence of the Holy Spirit. I witnessed peers and professors rally and stand in solidarity alongside those who faced deportation, capital punishment, and discrimination based on the color of their skin or the way they showed and expressed loved.

Columbia Seminary was the place I fell in love with independent studies, supervised ministries, even Greek and Hebrew language courses.

It was my pleasure to study testimony and queer theology under the guidance of Dr. Anna Carter Florence. Through supervised ministry opportunities, I worked in churches and nonprofits learning to provide pastoral care to survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. It was these ministerial experiences that led me to attend the United Nation’s 61st Commission on the Status of Women as an ambassador of the PC(USA) and work in our D.C. advocacy office. It was in my entering Summer Greek course that Dr. Nadella taught us that the Greek word for Holy Spirit should be translated as "advocate" rather than "comforter." It was in my Hebrew course that I fell in love with the beautiful poetry of Genesis and Job. And as I have grown, I have watched those who entered this institution beside me grow in so many exciting new ways. We were called into seminary together bearing witness to one another’s journeys. My classmates have been sources for inspiration.

They challenged me in lectures, raised my spirit during chapel, and left me breathless as they each found their distinct voice and passion during our time here. We have all

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found hope and inspiration in one another, and our staff and faculty members. We’ve had mentors invest in us, small groups pray over us, and student officers offer us support along the way.

Throughout our time here, all of us have wrestled with our calls and in truth, most of us are still wrestling even today. This past week I watched these people, my friends, my cohort, and peers walk across a stage, beginning that short walk as students and finishing it as alumni. Some of us will become pastors, others camp directors. Some will work in nonprofits and some will teach our youth. Some have already received their first calls, others are taking a step back to reflect.

As I’ve witnessed our discernment I’m left in wonder at the mystery of our calls. Each of us is being sent out. Our directions will be as diverse and unique as our class. While we are all graduating from the same institution having experienced similar journeys alongside one another, our callings are distinctly different. As a sapling we grew as a community, now we are being sent out in different directions. I can’t help but picture us as an oak tree with limbs extending in all directions. We will always have a similar experience of our time spent in seminary, but each of us diverged along the way grafting new branches reflecting our passions. It’s a wondrous thing to behold.

We’re a tree of memories whispering our own theology and deeply held beliefs.

We entered alongside one another; that in itself centers and grounds us together. So as we venture out beyond the walls of Columbia Seminary, our stories are entwined with one another. We are a class in flux, a tree of many rings marking its experiences upon this earth. We entered into Columbia Theological Seminary as individuals, and even as we leave once more as individuals, we exit as a community.

LIVING PRAYER: THE SPIRITUALITY OF EVERDAY LITURGY

September 10 - October 6, 2018 Online Course with Carl McColman Certificate in Spiritual Formation

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THE ENGAGING (AND ENGAGED) COMMUNITY AT THE HIVE MTAT H EOW MM DM I VU’N 18I C AT I O N S B Y M I C H ABEYL RTA HCOHMEPLSVA O NN, KDIIRRKE C OR F SC, O

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FTER GRADUATING FROM COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN 2004, TROY BRONSINK SPENT TIME WORKING IN SOUTHWEST ATLANTA ON EMERGING NEW CHURCH DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY ACTION INITIATIVES UNTIL RESOURCES SUDDENLY SHIFTED ELSEWHERE. IN 2012, HE MOVED TO CINCINNATI, OHIO, AND STARTED NETWORKING WITH THE ARTS AND HEALING ARTS COMMUNITIES. Working with Northminster Presbyterian Church and the Presbytery of Cincinnati, he could see that activists and artists were burning out, and that seekers were looking beyond church buildings for spiritual roots and friendship. They were seeking meaning in the face of life’s challenges, and fresh questions needed to be asked.

Troy Bronsink, left

Cassandra Zetta Photography

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An opportunity came along with “Transformation 2.0,” a community

Currently, the Hive community has a membership of 130.

It’s a place where community leaders can find restoration, social entrepreneurs can experiment, and anyone can grow in connecting contemplation with social action.

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based grant of his Presbytery that would allow Bronsink and others to imagine a center for contemplation, art, and activism. Out of this, The Hive (www.cincyhive. org) was conceived “to develop creative, compassionate, and mindfully-engaged citizens in the Cincinnati region through small group classes, events and workshops.”

It soon buzzed with small-group contemplative practices, social engagement, art classes, yoga, and other learning opportunities.

Participants have the opportunity to take a single class, or commit to becoming a long-term member. Currently, The Hive community has a membership of 130.

It’s a place where community leaders can find restoration, social entrepreneurs can experiment, and anyone can grow in connecting mindfulness with social action. Many elements of this model were learned from The Center for Action and Contemplation founded by Richard Rohr, which has been a support community for Bronsink and The Hive. Bronsink has interviewed Rohr and others on the podcast, “From The Hive” about thoughtful, intentional leadership and practice.

More recently, Bronsink was involved in creating a three-month fellowship program called Common Good (commongood.cc). Common Good allows participants to engage with Columbia Seminary’s professor emeritus Walter Brueggemann, and his recent writing companions, Peter Block and John McKnight “to move from scarcity to abundance mindsets through peer-topeer cohorts, and integrative learning projects.” There are about 30 fellows ranging from pastors to entrepreneurs and social agency leaders now in the program.

The Hive serves a variety of people. Some are in the process of re-entry into the community after spending time in prison. They and others are seeking recovery from trauma through mindfulness and other exercises. Others see themselves as moving away from “organized religion,” and are led into what Bronsink calls “courageous vulnerability.” And others are clergy and church leaders seeking a place for peer-to-peer support in establishing a daily contemplative practice.

Partnerships are being built with leaders of various lineages, and mindfulness methods are integrated with ancient practices. The goal is to support local leaders who are often engaged with challenging tasks on a daily basis.

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“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response. I’m surprised it’s working,” said Bronsink. “I enjoy witnessing how this community has built itself on shared intention and vulnerability. People are looking to integrate diverse voices for the common good. They are thirsty to share responsibility for a new conversation. And people are looking for gracefilled ways to apply their faith to social action and reconciliation.”

Bronsink then quotes a partner in ministry Peter Block, “Leadership is about convening and confronting people with their freedom.” He follows up by stating that “God’s love is infinite and accessible to everyone. We are all connected to the vine and free to enjoy that with others or to isolate ourselves with personal programs for happiness, and ideological detours cutting ourselves off from one another.”

Over time, The Hive has shared space with other Christian community

groups such as a 1001 New Worshipping Community called Church-ish, and Parish Collective, and an interfaith alliance called Just Love, in addition to secular nonprofits and arts organizations. I followed up by asking how they maintain this diversity.

Bronsink delves deeper into their “intentional diversity principle” of “shared intention and vulnerability.”

“Shared intentions emerge as we communicate and accept responsibility for our own stories and desires. There is always more to discover about yourself and others.

To get the big picture, we need to root our content in traditions. This means learning about Sabbath from a Rabbi, about Rumi from a Muslim, about embodiment from a yoga teacher. Diversity need not be a threat to community belonging. We constantly mix up who the facilitators are, representing various skills and backgrounds and networks. Sharing authority with different people can be ‘messy,’ but it is worth it for all we gain from the experiences we share.” He continues, “A couple of times a month I hear someone say, ‘this is the place I’ve been looking for since I left church’ and then, just last week I heard someone say, ‘after two years at The Hive I’ve decided to check out the church down the street, to give it another chance.’ So, we’re helping people move full circle, a place for spiritual transformation.”

Troy Bronsink ends by expressing appreciation for Darrell Guder, Anna CarterFlorence, Mark Douglas, Walter Brueggemann, and late president, Steve Hayner—all of whom he met during his time in Decatur. “So many of the ideas I was taught while at Columbia Seminary are now working their way out here in Cincinnati. I wouldn’t trade any of the ups and downs of the last 14 years since seminary, because they’ve made possible what I’m able to be a part of today!”

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IF GOD IS FOR US: REFLECTIONS FROM ROMANS 8:31-39 AND THE ASIAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE

EM L VA K IA R SKSM ’ 18 B Y DBRY. R WAI LCLHI A Y ONO, I SAT TAH NETWPSR, OMFDEISVS O R OF A M E R I C A N R E L I G I O U S A N D C U LT U R A L H I S T O R Y

This essay is adapted from a sermon delivered during the Asian Students Association Chapel Week at Columbia Theological Seminary on March 19, 2018.

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S THE FACULTY ADVISOR FOR THE ASIAN STUDENTS ASSOCIATION AT COLUMBIA SEMINARY, I AM GRATEFUL FOR OUR BEAUTIFUL DIVERSITY OF ASIAN AND ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS ACROSS CONFESSIONS AND CULTURES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. I CHERISH THE OPPORTUNITIES GOD HAS GRANTED US TO STUDY TOGETHER, TO WORSHIP IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES, AND TO CELEBRATE THE LOVE WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM JESUS CHRIST. In Romans 8:31, Paul writes that since God is for us and with us, nothing can stand against us. The mutual challenge and encouragement for all Christians is that we have all we need to fulfill and enact the dreams and visions God has placed in our hearts.

For some of us at Columbia Seminary, God has implanted in us dreams of proclaiming a message of hope and salvation to persons that are forgotten or overlooked in our congregations. God has given us new hearts and transformed minds to understand that all are accepted and beloved in God’s family. Nobody is too young, too old, too different, or too foreign. For others of us, God has convicted us with visions of serving outside of congregational ministry. The reason is not because we do not love the church, but rather because we believe prisons, hospitals, college campuses, campsites, and community organizations are also holy places.

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As we prepare for vocations of Christian leadership, other kids strapped into their seats, Charles walked over to the sign that read, “You must be this tall to ride,” and we also acknowledge that each of us will encounter the he was in fact a few inches short. Charles was rejected pain of rejection in this world. We will receive severe because he wasn’t tall enough. I put my arm around him criticism and encounter seemingly insurmountable and we walked over to a bench nearby as he began to obstacles. We will stumble; we will fall; we will fail. And sob (his spirits lifted when I took him to a smaller roller we will question whether we are good enough, talented coaster nearby). enough, and qualified enough to answer God’s call.

In our faith journeys, we too For one child I knew, he experience the sting of rejection wondered if he was tall enough. when we are denied access to our When I was a college student at the dreams and visions. We don’t know University of Pennsylvania, I worked We are fearfully and where to turn or what to do, and we with children in West Philadelphia wonderfully made in wonder how we will answer God’s through an urban ministry at my God’s image.

God has call with courage and conviction.

Korean American church. One The good news of the gospel is that summer, we took forty children from called us to Christian we have been accepted by Jesus our summer camp to an amusement ministry. Daniel Christ and we are therefore invited park about two hours away called overcame the lion’s to approach the throne of grace Dorney Park. One of our students, den, Moses parted the with confidence.

Charles, was eight years old, and Red Sea, Esther defied Romans 8:33-34 teaches us he was so excited for the trip. With a king’s edict, and that we are justified by an almighty big eyes of curiosity and wonder, he Deborah led Israel in and awesome God who raised Christ asked me if Dorney Park would be as from the dead. In the following good as in his dreams. While we were the time of the judges. verse, Paul asks, “Who will separate on the bus to the amusement park, What about us? us from the love of Christ? Will he, and all the other children, kept hardship, or distress, or persecution, asking, “Are we there yet?” When or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or they could see the roller coasters in sword?” As a professor, I know how the distance from the highway, they first went silent, and then they cheered loudly, jumping to sniff out a trick question. If Romans 8:35 took the form of a multiple-choice question on an examination, up and down in their seats. the right answer is not “(A) Hardship,” “(B) Distress,” But Charles was short for his age. The camp or “(G) Sword.” It is “(H) None of the above.” Nothing counselors and I were worried he wouldn’t be tall can separate us from the love of Christ. As we continue enough for the exciting rides like “The Dominator,” which slowly goes up 160 feet in the air and drops down to serve and lead God’s people, we must cling to these promises: God loves us and God is for us. quickly. When we arrived at “The Dominator,” the For those of us of Asian descent in this country, amusement park attendant stopped Charles and told we are often treated as strangers and dismissed as him he might not be tall enough for the ride. As the foreigners because of our appearance, our heritage, or

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our language. At times, we are made to feel small or invisible. We are told, in loud shouts or quiet whispers, that we do not belong and we are not “American enough.”

We must reject these falsehoods and remember God’s truth. We are fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image. God has called us to Christian ministry.

Daniel overcame the lion’s den, Moses parted the Red Sea, Esther defied a king’s edict, and Deborah led Israel in the time of the judges. What about us? We too can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.

The lion’s den and the darkest valley cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

As the eldest child of Asian American immigrants, my parents’ hard journey to this country remains close to my heart. Our relationship became strained when

I followed God’s call and enrolled in seminary after college. My parents had different dreams and visions for me. But through all the ups and downs of our relationship, I tried my best to express my gratitude for their sacrifice. Like other children of immigrants, I know that my parents’ sacrifice made my life possible.

Like all Christians, I also know that God’s love for us in Christ Jesus initiates, sustains, and completes our faith journeys. As we press on in our studies and our ministries, may we be reminded and convinced “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

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H Y P E R F O C U S

NAVIGATING CAMP & CONFERENCE MINISTRY INTERVIEW WITH JOEL WINCHIP

J

OEL WINCHIP IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH CAMP AND CONFERENCE ASSOCIATION (PCCCA). HE ALSO TEACHES THE CAMP/CONFERENCE AND RECREATION COURSES AT THE SEMINARY. WE CAUGHT UP WITH JOEL TO TALK ABOUT HIS WORK WITH PCCCA AND THE COMPASS POINTS CERTIFICATE PROGRAM. VANTAGE: Joel, it’s great to catch up with you. How did you get started in Camp and Conference ministry?

JOEL WINCHIP: For me, it started at Camp Fellowship in South Carolina. I was a junior counselor who caught “the bug.” In college, I dreaded the day I would need to stop and find a “real job.” I felt a definite call to outdoor ministry. For many years, I worked in a different Presbyterian camp each summer somewhere in the Southeast. Each one provided a different experience and vision for outdoor ministry. All this led to what I do now.

What does PCCCA and Compass Points provide for participants?

PCCCA equips leaders. We hold nine events each year. We provide constant support for those in camp and conference ministry, and we connect with one another.

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The Compass Points program is a one-of-a-kind, ecumenical ministry. When PCCCA created this certificate program with Columbia Seminary, we eventually realized that we couldn’t keep it to ourselves.

Over time, we have shared ownership with three other denominations. We work together in growing and shaping the mission.

What do you hope participants take away from the certificate program?

While we hope everyone comes away with some concrete, non-profit management skills for the camp and retreat context, even more we want participants to learn about what we have in common across denominational lines. Big camps and little camps alike have much to learn from one another.

What challenges are camp and conference center ministries facing right now?

The PC(USA) has built many ministries over the years from hospitals to schools to retirement communities. In nearly every case, they have incorporated as their own independent entity. Now is the time for camps and conference centers to do the same. There are many good reasons for doing this including financial viability, grants, legal liability, and others. The Presbyterian church can lead the way on this. It will help our camps and conference centers to thrive in a changing environment.

What future opportunities are there for camp and conference center ministries?

Many camps and conference centers are expanding their ministries with satellite day camp programs. These are often camps hosted off the main property with a separate staff. They provide greater access to programs for kids in local communities.

Thank you for talking with us. Any final comments you wish to make?

Columbia Theological Seminary is the only PC(USA) seminary demonstrating this level of commitment to develop leaders for camps and conference centers. We have the course that I teach at CTS in January along with the Compass Points certificate program. It’s a big deal, and I’m thankful for the renewed support offered by President Leanne Van Dyk. Many young adults who respond to a call in ministry had some formative experience in a camp or conference center. We are eager to continue growing young leaders for the church through the work we do.

COLUMBIA CONTINUES SUPPORT OF CAMP AND CONFERENCE MINISTRY Compass Points is a cooperative program of the Presbyterian Church Camp and Conference Association, Outdoor Ministries Association of the United Church of Christ, Lutheran Outdoor Ministries, and United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries in partnership with Columbia Theological Seminary. The Compass Points courses are intended for learners who would like to expand and deepen their knowledge in camp and retreat ministry. The participants come from a wide variety of positions, facility types, and program models. Persons of all denominations are welcome.

This certificate program is comprised of eight courses of study, which are scheduled on a repeating two-year cycle. Each class covers key areas that are relevant to this unique ministry. These courses are: • Articulating our Mission, Role, and Value • Biblical and Reformed Theological Foundations • Program Design and Implementation • Personnel and Leadership • Non-Profit Business Management • Development • Site Administration • Capstone Event Participants can attend just one class or can receive a certificate when they complete all eight courses. The faculty for the classes are seminary professors and camp/conference professionals. The classes are offered in the fall and spring at Columbia Seminary or one of the camps and conference centers around the country. The Compass Points program is designed for those new to the field or experienced professionals who may be seeking to broaden their knowledge base.

It may also be appropriate for those considering a call to camp and conference ministry.

Learn more at www.ctsnet.edu/compass-points-camp-conference-leaders.

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NEW @CTS MEDIA We continue to create more great videos on behalf of Columbia Theological Seminary to share news on campus and tell the story about our great programs.

View them and share them with friends! Below are a few of our latest videos in this series: FA C U LT Y I N T E R V I E W S

• D r. Jeffery Tribble discusses the intersection between the gospel and culture in his teaching and the work of Columbia Theological Seminary.

• D r. Beth Johnson talks about what she wants students to take away from her classes and the importance of Contextual Education.

• D r. Brennan Breed talks about his Explorations experience (part of our Contextual Education program in an alternative cultural context).

• D r. Bill Brown shares his passion for Hebrew, the Old Testament, and the “wonder” that joins together faith, science, and art.

4:29

4:19

COLUMBIA FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

• Zak Fletcher • Sungwoo Sam Kim • Paige Woody

201 8 B A C C A L A U R E AT E S E R M O N

T. Denise Anderson, Co-Moderator of the 222nd General Assembly (2016) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) titled “Everything You Need, Nothing You Expect” For these and other videos, please visit us on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/ctsmedia.

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1:35

Names shown in color refer to the featured videos.

REASONABLE

SERVICE

C . BEN T ON KLIN E , J R . C OLLEC T ION S AN D ARCH IV E S R E LE A SE S OR MON D PA P E R S

BY CAITLIN REEVES, PROCESSING ARCHIVIST

T

HE C. BENTON KLINE, JR. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES IS PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF THE PERSONAL PAPERS OF DR. J. WILL ORMOND, JR, AT THE JOHN BULOW CAMPBELL LIBRARY ON THE COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY CAMPUS. A graduate of Columbia Seminary in 1943, Dr. Ormond served Covenant Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa, AL where he spoke in favor of integration. In 1966, he returned to Columbia Seminary joining the faculty as the J. McDowell Richards Professor of Biblical Exposition, a position he held until his retirement in 1987.

Dr. Ormond’s collection consists of items traditionally found in the files of pastors and professors, such as sermons, course notes, and drafts of publications.

Rather unexpectedly, though, Dr. Ormond’s papers contain material belonging to his mother, Mary B. Ormond, which includes the correspondence Will Ormond wrote to his mother every Sunday while he was a student at Columbia Seminary.

In Dr. Ormond’s obituary, fellow alumnus and classmate J. Phillips Noble wrote, “Ormond’s life was marked by a deep devotion to his mother, his father having died when Will was a young child.”

“It is rare that a collection would have letters written by its creator. How often do we get the chance to re-read the letters we send?” said Caitlin Reeves, Processing Archivist. “These letters give us a candid view of student life at Columbia Seminary.

This definitely exhibits the riches now available for use in the Archives.”

Will Ormond was born He authored a letter in 1963 to Gov. George April 22, 1919, in Beaumont, Wallace in opposition to segregation stating, TX, but grew up in Sumter “You, sir, have missed your opportunity for County, AL. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the greatness.”

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ORMOND PAPERS continued

Dr. J. Will Ormond, Jr.

Registration is open now for Colloquy for Latino/a Clergy and Colloquy for Clery in Rural Church Contexts. Both classes meet in the fall and again in the spring. Visit www. ctsnet.edu/colloquy-forclergy for more info and to register.

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University of Alabama, he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary, in Decatur, GA, in 1943. He then attended Princeton Theological Seminary, where he received a Master of Theology degree in 1948.

Ormond served as pastor of Marion Presbyterian Church, in Marion, AL, and was the organizing minister of Covenant Presbyterian Church, in Tuscaloosa, AL. While there, he authored a letter in 1963 to Gov. George Wallace in opposition to segregation stating, “You, sir, have missed your opportunity for greatness.”

In 1964 Ormond was called by Columbia Theological Seminary as professor of New Testament. In preparation for the teaching position, he studied under the famous Dr. William Barclay at the University of Glasgow, in Glasgow, Scotland, earning his Ph.D. degree in 1973. Dr. Ormond returned to Scotland many times throughout his life.

In 1966 he became the J. McDowell Richards Professor of Biblical Exposition at Columbia Theological Seminary, teaching until he retired in 1987. “Ormond was an effective pulpiteer, and moved his listeners with his keen Biblical insight and wonderful gift of humor,” recalled Noble.

In retirement at Lenbrook Square, Ormond became the popular, unofficial “pastor” for his fellow residents, arranging a weekly Vespers service, where ministers from many denominations were invited to speak. He also wrote two books during his retirement: Good News among the Rubble and Preaching Eyes for Listening Ears.

A more detailed inventory of this collection is available. If you are curious about these letters, or any of the other items in the collection, please be in touch with the Archives at archives@ctsnet.edu or 404-687-4628.

R E CO G NI Z I NG

SCHOLARS

FELLOWSHIPS, AWARDS, & PRIZES FOR 2018 ON MAY 22, 2018, COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY held its annual commencement exercises at Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA. This year, 67 students were awarded degrees in six graduate degree programs. Fourteen graduates received dual degrees in the Master of Divinity and Master of Practical Theology programs. The other degrees included Doctor of Educational Ministry, Doctor of Ministry, Master of Theology, and Master of Arts in Theological Studies.

AWARDS

RECIPIENTS

Harvard A. Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Myron Krystopher Florence Columbia Graduate Fellowship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lydia Jane Foreman Emma Gaillard Boyce Graduate Fellowship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Jean Stow Fannie Jordan Bryan Fellowship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Garam Han and Sarah Ruth Paulsen Anna Church Whitner Fellowship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rajathy Gerlyn Henry James T. and Celeste M. Boyd Book Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lindsey Bartell Shortley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Dewyngaert Bumgarner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keith Alan Phillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Kathleen Watkins The Robert Ramey, Jr. Christian Leadership Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rachel VanKirk Mathews Wilds Book Prize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Jean Stow William Dudley Fund Awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sungwoo Kim & Raymond Walker III Buechner Award in Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Szabina Sztojka Julia Abdullah Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erin Robinson Hall Paul T. Fuhrmann Book Prize in Church History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kyungyoon Kim The John Nelsen Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erin Robinson Hall George and Sally Telford Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lisa D. Heilig H. J. Riddle Memorial Book Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Vanessa McLean Indiantown Country Church Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glory Elizabeth Allison Cumbow Florrie Wilkes Sanders Prize in Theology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rajathy Gerlyn Henry St. Andrew Presbytery Preaching Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Raymond Walker III William Rivers Waddey Award . . . . . . . . . . . Sungwoo Kim and Glory Elizabeth Allison Cumbow Dabney & Tom Dixon Creation Care Sermon Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Marie Nile Buechner Award in Preaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Myron Krystopher Florence

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2018 G R A D U AT E S

CONGRATULATIONS T O O U R R E C E N T G R A D U AT E S !

ADVANCED DEGREE GRADUATES

TOP ROW

Peter Alexander Bynum, Joseph Kirkland Hall IV, Uijin Jung, Anthony Hodge, Adam James Shortley, Samuel Adu-Gyamfi.

MIDDLE ROW

James John Hedgis II, Anita Killebrew Herbert, Cheryl Ann Carson, Joshua Ryan Kingcade, Jamie Lamont Capers, Emmanuel

Charles Bwatta. BOTTOM ROW Szabina Sztojka, Jessica Renee Patchett, Barbara Weiss Gorsky, SongYin Paik, Erin Robinson Hall, Lisa D. Heilig.

NOT PICTURED

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Roy Radcliff Dennis, Janis Jack-Watson, Robert Emasseau Pierre, Eser Kim

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BASIC DEGREE GRADUATES

TOP ROW

Jennifer Kathleen Watkins, Keith Alan Phillips, ByungWoo Seol, Stephen L. Edge, Myron Krystopher Florence, Frederick E.

Brogdon III. THIRD ROW Sungwoo Kim, James Robert Bannon Jr., Jonathan Moore, Garam Han, Michael Andrew Sanchez, Ross Boone, Rachel VanKirk Mathews. SECOND ROW Dawn Kahler Shores, Sarah Vanessa McLean, Michael Sarvis, Bryan Amick, Alexia Wicker Ford, Glory Elizabeth Allison Cumbow, Amy Catherine Speas, Raymond Walker III, Kamilah Veone Smith, Carolyn Boles, Holly Elizabeth Reimer, Joyce Kyungyoon Kim, Lindsey Bartell Shortley. FRONT ROW Dena Bales Kitchens, Nancy Lee Jones, Jae Kuok Kim, Rajathy Gerlyn Henry, Dinah Baah, Sarah Ruth Paulsen, Kyung Ae Eirene Lee, Leslie Cox, Melva NaLotta Lowry, Suzanne Yoder, Sol Na, Elizabeth Jean Stow, Sarah Dewyngaert Bumgarner, Sukyoung Kim. Not pictured: Ji Sun Emily Choi, Hee Joon Park, Lydia Jane Foreman, Michelle Jina Lee

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LIFELONG LEARNING

THE CENTER FOR LIFELONG LEARNING IS BRANCHING OUT! B Y I S R A E L G A L I N D O, A S S O C I AT E D E A N F O R LIFELONG LEARNING

The Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL) at Columbia Seminary is branching out to reach new audiences and new partners, in new locations. The 2018-2019 academic year will see several new initiatives and locations.

NEW AUDIENCES Through its Colloquy for Clergy series the CLL will reach out to pastors in particular contexts and profiles to offer its colloquy experience. Building on the success of its Colloquy for Mid-Career Clergy, and partly funded through a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc., the CLL will offer a series of focused colloquy experiences through 2020.

The first of the series are the Colloquy for Latino/a Pastors, and one for pastors ministering in rural congregations. In subsequent years the experience will be offered to Young Black Church Pastors, early call clergy, women clergy of color, second career clergy, one for clergy transitioning into retirement, a colloquy for clergy in entrepreneurial ministries, and one for clergy who are leading a congregation to closure.

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One frequently asked question is, “What’s a colloquy?” Unlike typical workshops and conferences, a colloquy uses a dialogical constructivism approach to help participants explore internal, external, and contextual frameworks in order to understand and gain insight into the issues and challenges they face as clergy.

Ministry is complex and challenging. The colloquy experience uses the “zone of proximal development,” or the difference between the difficulty of a problem that a participant can cope with individually and the level that can be accomplished with the help of a facilitator coach and a peer group. This method involves active learning. It helps cultivate the “reflective practitioner,” one who can reflect on his or her experience in context and interpret that experience toward action.

Application to the Rural Church Clergy Colloquy and to the Colloquy for Latino/a Pastors is now open.

Check the CTS website under Lifelong Learning for details.

The CLL is expanding its reach to a new audience: those who are interested in becoming professional coaches. Through The Coaching Institute at Columbia Theological Seminary (TCI@CTS) persons interested can complete certification in coaching. Led by an experienced faculty, this certificate program will begin January 2019. See the website for more information.

NEW PARTNERS The CLL carries out part of its mission through collaborative partnerships. We are excited to be working with the Wabash Valley Presbytery in offering the online learning component of their Ruling Elder Certification Program. The CLL provides six online courses for the program, with cohort meetings offered by the Presbytery. The courses are: Understanding the Old Testament, Understanding the New Testament, Bible Exegesis: Psalms, Reformed Theology and Polity, Worship and Sacraments, and one elective. The courses are taught by CTS faculty and others with expertise in the subject matter.

As part of its Pastoral Excellence Program the CLL will help address the crisis of clergy forced termination.

“This is a silent epidemic,” said Israel Galindo, Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning. “It is overlooked and has tragic consequences for both pastors and churches.” Partnering with the Ministering to Ministers Foundation, the CLL will offer a Transitioning to Wellness Retreat for Clergy and Spouses. This retreat will help pastors, and their spouses, deal with the trauma of the experience of a forced termination.

Funded in part by the Lilly Endowment the cost of the retreat is $100 per person, or, $150 per clergy couple.

NEW LOCATION The CLL will launch a new location for the Leadership in Ministry (LIM) workshops in Kansas City, MO. This new location expands this clergy leadership development program beyond its current locations in Atlanta, Boston, Portland (OR), and the two workshops in Lynchburg (VA). Fifteen experienced faculty members made up of coaches, therapists, and clergy resource this peer-coaching program, offering clergy a theory of practice for ministry. Here is what participants say about their experience in the program:

A Methodist minister: “I've been coming to LIM for about twelve years (as long as I have been a pastor), and the personal value is survival of a divorce, raising a child to young adulthood without killing him, and learning to be more differentiated in a very enmeshed family. The professional value is maintaining sanity in ministry when everyone is coming at you at the same time, and certain issues are cloudy.”

An Episcopal priest: “I do not think I would be as loving to my family and friends and as useful, as I hope I am, to my work if I were not working the theory. It explains so much.”

An Episcopal priest: “I’ve said before that without LIM, I probably wouldn’t be in ordained ministry and quite possibly wouldn’t be alive. So LIM is a life-saver (and vocation saver) for me.”

A hospital chaplain: “…the experience of the workshops has been the substance of the relationships with the people I feel so fortunate, so blessed to have known — who have been important beyond the telling in my life over the past 16 or so years.”

A Mennonite minister: “I doubt if I would have survived in pastoral ministry without LIM.” A congregational staff member: “This year I'm beginning my 23rd year in … my current congregation.

I attribute my longevity in this ministry to my work with [LIM]. It has helped me to stay present in times of high anxiety and conflict when my previous instinct would be to run and hide.”

For more information or to register or apply for any of these programs, visit our website at www.CTSnet. edu/lifelong-learning.

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LEARN � EXPLORE � CONNECT with the Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary

Sep. 10 – Oct. 6, ’18 Living Prayer: The Spirituality of Everyday Liturgy ONLINE COURSE

with Carl McColman (CSF)

Sep. 13 – 15, ’18 Just Worship: Toward a Vibrant and Faithful Future with Paul T. Roberts, Aisha Brooks-Lytle, Jennifer Lord, Tony McNeill, David Gambrell, Kimberly Bracken Long, Eric Wall, Gad Mpoyo, Kevin Park, and Rebecca Spurrier Sep. 17 – Oct. 26, ’18 An Introduction to the Old Testament ONLINE COURSE

with Brennan Breed Oct. 1 – Nov. 2, ’18 Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth ONLINE COURSE

with Cody J. Sanders, author of A Brief Guide to Ministry with LGBTQIA Youth 30

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Oct. 4 – 7, ’18 Invitation to a Deeper Spiritual Life with William P Brown, Stanley Saunders, Deedra Rich, Debra Weir (CSF)

Oct. 8 – 11, ’18 Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreat for Ministers and Spouses See ad on back cover of Vantage Oct. 18 – 21, ’18 A Dwelling Place for God: Renewing an Earthly Spirituality with Stanley Saunders at Montreat Conference Center (CSF)

Oct. 22 – 24, ’18 Leadership in Ministry: Kansas City Session I Nov. 1 – 30, ’18 Money and Your Ministry ONLINE COURSE

with Margaret Marcuson, author of Money and Your Ministry

Nov. 8 – 11, ’18 Living a Spirituality of Hope: Embracing Its Challenges and Practices with Dr. Luther E. Smith, Jr.

Mar. 11 – 13, ’19 The Process of Aging and Implications for Ministry Older Adult Ministry Certificate Course with Mary Ann Johnson

Nov. 12 – 14, ’18 Leadership in Ministry: Atlanta Session I

Mar. 13 – 15, ’19 Teaching for Transformation with Older Adults Older Adult Ministry Certificate Course with Joyce MacKichan Walker

(CSF)

Jan. 14 – 18, ’19 The Coaching Institute at CTS 2019 Cohort with Laurie Ferguson, Phil Bergey, and Chris Holmes Jan. 24 – 26, ’19 Enneagram: Personality and Spirituality with Sandra Smith (CSF) Jan. 29 – 31, ’19 Welcoming Our Transgender and Non-Binary Neighbors with Linda Herzer and Gabrielle Claiborne Feb. 1 – Mar. 4, ’19 The Role of the Minister in a Dying Congregation ONLINE COURSE

with Woody Jenkins, author of The Role of the Minister in a Dying Congregation Feb. 4 –Mar. 15, ’19 Creation and Connection: An Introduction to Celtic Christian Spirituality ONLINE COURSE with Art Wright (CSF)

Mar. 4 – 29, ’19 Contemporary Readings in Christian Education: Youth Christian Education ONLINE COURSE

with Anna Brown

Apr. 23 – 26, ’19 Tell Me Your Story and I’ll Know Why I Should Come to Your Church Thompson Scholars 2019 Applications are due by Dec. 15, 2018 with Ralph Basui Watkins and Terence Lester Apr. 29 – May 31, ’19 Writing Together in Creative Community: An Online Workshop

ONLINE COURSE

with Melissa Tidwell and Beth Waltemath May 12 – 15, ’19 Discerning Forgiveness with Marjorie Thompson at Montreat Conference Center (CSF)

Learn more or register online at www.CTSnet.edu/events

LIFELONG LEARNING

TCI@CTS: E X PA N D I N G O U R L E A D E R S H I P DEVELOPMENT THROUGH COACHING TRAINING THE CENTER FOR LIFELONG LEARNING (CLL) AT COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF A NEW CERTIFICATE PROGRAM, THE COACHING INSTITUTE AT COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY (TCI@CTS). THIS CERTIFICATE PROGRAM AND ITS INSTRUCTORS ARE ACCREDITED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COACH FEDERATION (ICF).

T

he Coaching Institute, under the direction of Dr. Sarah Erickson, Director of Lifelong Learning, is a significant addition to our leadership development programs,” said Israel Galindo, Associate Dean for Lifelong Learning. “The leadership team brings with it over ten years of experience delivering high-quality, effective coach training."

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Participants interested in TCI@CTS should complete an online application prior to October 15, 2018. A résumé or CV and letter of recommendation from a supervisor or peer are required at the time of application. Upon acceptance, a non-refundable deposit of $500 will secure a place in the cohort. For 2019, the residential program tuition is $4,995. This includes all coursework and the residential program (room and board). A commuter registration option includes all coursework and eight meals during the January gathering for $4470.

"With this coaching program we expand our offerings in helping clergy and other church leaders gain and refine their skills for leadership in various contexts of ministry,” said Erickson. “We are starting with a strong core team of trainers and will continue to add depth and diversity to the

team—hopefully from those who complete our program—as we grow.”

A team of four coach-trainers, including Coach Coordinator Laurie J. Ferguson (pictured below), will offer classes on campus and via teleconference.

Ferguson, a Presbyterian minister who previously coordinated the program at Auburn Seminary, is a licensed clinical psychologist and ICF-certified coach. Reflecting on the practice of coaching, Ferguson commented, “After eighteen

years of coaching, I remain excited about how these skills support and expand ministry. We are in a time when the gospel faces deep challenges, and leaders also see great opportunity. Coaching is uniquely poised to help leaders focus on their particular visions and create new ways to live out God's mission." The other three current team members are Phillip C. Bergey, who holds several coaching and other certifications in addition to a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems; Chris Holmes, a founding member of the Maryland Chapter of the International Coach Federation, former pastor and District Superintendent in the United Methodist Church and developer of the UMC coaching team; and

Youngsook Charlene Kang, serving currently as Superintendent of Leadership Development and Director of Connectional Ministries of the Mountain Sky Conference, UMC, where she also coordinates their coaching program.

The group will convene on the seminary campus January 14-18, 2019, for a week of residential course work with Bergey, Ferguson and Holmes. The program starts at noon on Monday and concludes by noon on Friday. Participants are strongly encouraged to come on Sunday night (at no extra charge) to avoid any travel delays on the day the program begins.

The balance of this ICF-accredited curriculum will be completed by the end of June 2019 via

thirteen additional courses delivered via teleconferenced classes facilitated by all four team members. At the conclusion of the program, participants will have all the training hours necessary to apply to the ICF to become a credentialed coach.

Complete details about TCI@CTS, including application instructions, FAQs and instructor bios, can be found at www.CTSnet. edu/coach-training-program/.

For more information about the Center for Lifelong Learning and their other courses and certificate programs, visit www.CTSnet.edu/lifelonglearning or email the CLL at LifelongLearning@ctsnet.edu.

"With this coaching program we expand our offerings in helping clergy and other church leaders gain and refine their skills for leadership in various contexts of ministry.�

— Sarah Erickson

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T A U T A P A N T A

WE ARE ALL PART OF A LIVING TRADITION that reaches back to the earliest days of God’s people reflecting on their world, their experience of God, and their sense of God’s calling. Tauta Panta refers to “all these things,” as in “Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33).

These are notes from our journey as alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of Columbia Theological Seminary.

NEWS FROM CAMPUS

APRIL 4, 2018

Presbyterian Women Fund Joint Community Gardening Effort The Healthy Seminarians-Healthy Church nonprofit (HSHC) and Columbia Presbyterian Church (CPC) have announced a new collaborative effort for community gardening in Decatur, GA. It will be funded by a $26,800 grant awarded from the Presbyterian Women of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The project, “Feed My People” is being directed by HSHC, in partnership with CPC, Global Growers Network (GG), and Columbia Theological Seminary.

The Thank Offering is a long tradition with Presbyterian Women, and funds new and expanding projects, as well as small capital improvement projects.

These projects have a clearly defined purpose that meets basic human needs. The “Feed My People” project will establish new garden plots for refugee families and provide training and educational opportunities in food-related health issues and sustainable gardening practices to nourish refugees, congregational members, and others.

APRIL 9, 2018

Dr. Love Sechrest Named VP, Dean of Faculty The Board of Trustees for Columbia Theological Seminary voted unanimously today to appoint Dr. Love L. Sechrest to be the school’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Faculty, and Associate Professor of New Testament. She is currently the Associate Professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. Dr. Sechrest’s appointment is effective July 1, 2018.

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Dr. Sechrest succeeds Dr. Christine Roy Yoder who has been serving as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty for the past two years. “Dr. Sechrest brings an exceptional combination of scholarship and management skills needed in the leadership of a world class institution,” said Dr. Leanne Van Dyk, President.

“We are thankful for the strong gifts of Dr. Sechrest and look forward to welcoming her to our community this summer.”

APRIL 9, 2018

Dean of Students Brandon Maxwell Promoted To Vice President For Student Affairs And Community Life Dr. Leanne Van Dyk, President of Columbia Theological Seminary, has promoted the Rev. Brandon Maxwell to be Vice President for Student Affairs and Community Life, effective immediately.

“Brandon Maxwell has, in his two years here at Columbia Seminary, provided critical leadership on campus in multiple areas,” stated President Van Dyk. “He is highly skilled in the ways he works constructively with students and the community as a whole. This promotion is an appropriate affirmation of his remarkable effectiveness as a leader.”

In addition, Rev. Maxwell, who will continue to serve as the Dean of Students, will also be given greater responsibility to address the needs of the school’s community as the Special Advisor to the President on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. This is a role that acknowledges his knowledge, skill, and commitment to the seminary’s goals to more fully embody justice at every level of the institution.

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APRIL 10, 2018

Lisa Weaver Named Assistant Professor of Worship The Board of Trustees for Columbia Theological Seminary voted unanimously today to appoint Ms. Lisa M. Weaver as Assistant Professor of Worship. Ms. Weaver, a Ph.D. candidate in Liturgical Studies/Sacramental Theology at The Catholic University of America, will defend her dissertation in the fall of 2018.

Her appointment is effective January 1, 2019.

“We are very excited to welcome Ms. Weaver to the Columbia faculty. She brings fresh and relevant scholarship, remarkable gifts for teaching, facility with a diversity of liturgical traditions, and extensive pastoral experience,” said Christine Roy Yoder, Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty. “We look forward to serving with and learning from her in the years ahead.”

For the full stories and more, please visit www.CTSnet.edu/columbia-connections.

The 2019 International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) will be held at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India, from July 23-26. Columbia Theological Seminary will be a primary sponsor of this historic event, the first such conference in South Asia.

“Reading Scriptures in the Context of Empire” will be the main theme of this conference that will bring together hundreds of Biblical scholars from around the world, mainly Asia and Europe. Scholars specializing in a variety of methodological perspectives will share papers about the role of the Bible in colonial and postcolonial India. They will explicate the disparate ways in which the Bible was (and has been) interpreted by people in various social locations and analyze the factors that influenced those interpretations as well as their impact on the society.

The SBL International Meeting is held annually outside North America. It provides a unique forum for international scholars who are unable to attend the North American meeting and for all who wish to engage more directly SBL's growing international membership and scholarship.

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ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES

Thank you to everyone who sent us updates!

Now anyone can send us “alumni news & notes” through our Website at www.CTSnet.edu/update-my-info.

1970s | Gibson P.

(Nibs) Stroupe, MDiv ’75 has just retired as senior pastor at Oakhurst Presbyterian Church in January, where he pastored since 1983. He is the author of four books, including a book of sermons published in September entitled Deeper Waters: Sermons for a New Vision. He has written numerous articles for Journal for Preachers, and he is a regular contributor to the Feasting on the Word series. Nibs also writes a monthly column for Hospitality Magazine and has written other articles for numerous publications and books. In 2007, he was inducted into the MLK Board of Preachers at Morehouse College.

He has been adjunct faculty at both Columbia Seminary and Candler School of Theology. He is a speaker at the 2018 Princeton Barth Pastor’s conference: http:// barth.ptsem.edu/event/2018pastors-conference.

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1980s | Dr. R. Stephen

Nickle, MDiv ’87, Trinity University chaplain, and wife Catherine Morell-Nickle, assistant director for Student Accessibility Services made the decision to retire this year. They have been faithful and passionate supporters of the Trinity community since Nickle was hired in 2000. Nickle has served as Trinity’s chaplain for 18 years. After this semester, Nickle will begin a year-long pastoral residency at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma, working with patients, families and staff.

1990s | Sid Burgess,

MDiv ’90, pastor emeritus of the Edgewood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, AL, has compiled a collection of eulogies delivered during his 23 years as the Church’s pastor. EDGEWOOD SAINTS: Home Forever, is available in both soft cover and Kindle editions through Amazon.com.

Jim Caprell, MDiv ’91 is Chaplain at Clinton Presbyterian Communities. He most recently served as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville for 21 years. Caprell is active in Foothills Presbytery and the Golden Strip Rotary Club.

E. Jones Doughton, MDiv ’93 is pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Mesquite, Texas, as of January 1, 2018.

Thom L. Bales, MDiv ’98 is the Executive Director of Haiti Nursing Foundation, a nonprofit

headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan that is working to improve health in the Republic of Haiti by supporting quality nursing education, primarily at Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de l’Université Episcopale (FSIL) d’Haïti in Léogâne. This nursing school was launched in 2005 with significant support from the Medical Benevolence Foundation and the First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, MI.

2000s | Janice L. Edmiston, DMin ’01,

contributed to article “PC(USA) co-moderators reflect on their tenure,” about her term as co-moderator of the 222nd General Assembly — The Presbyterian Outlook, Vol. 200 No. 09, June 11, 2018.

Robert (Bobby) Williamson, Jr., MDiv ’01 is serving as associate professor of religious studies at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, and as the founding pastor of Mercy Community Church of Little Rock, a 1001 New Worshiping Community welcoming particularly those living on the streets. His new book, The Forgotten Books of the Bible: Recovering the Five Scrolls for Today (Fortress Press, 2018) explores Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther as books with urgent relevance for the church today.

Lisa R. Eye, MDiv ’02 is Pastor, Corbin Presbyterian Church, Corbin, KY. Wes Brandon, MDiv ’03 transferred from PC(USA) to Church of Scotland in 2018. Currently serving a year familiarization placement at Sherwood Greenlaw Parish Church in Paisley, Scotland, before seeking a call in 2019.

for our annual

Alumni Reunion Feb. 4-6, 2019 featuring the Smyth Lectures, presented

by Dr. Frank Thomas, Professor of Homiletics at Christian Theological Seminary.

Spend time with former classmates and professors and new friends as we gather on the beautiful CTS campus!

Go to www.CTSnet.edu/alumni to update your contact info and for reunion details as they become available.

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ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES continued

MaryAnn McKibben Dana, MDiv ’03, Book Review about her book, God, Improv, and the Art of Living — The Presbyterian Outlook, Vol. 200 No. 09, June 11, 2018.

Rebecca Burton, MDiv ’97 and DMin ’05 retired from active Ministry in April 2018 and relocated to her hometown of Ocala, FL. Sue Crannell MDiv ’05 retired from the CTS bookstore and moved to Harrisonburg, VA, to be closer to her son, Scott.

C. Brandon Brewer, MDiv ’06 recent publications include “Chapter 11 — Journeys of Loss, Hope, and Growth in Hospice” in Transforming Loss: Finding Potential for Growth, Hospice Foundation of America, February 2018, and

“Chapter 8 — Caring for Souls: A Pastoral Perspective” in Sacred Journeys: Ecumenical Perspectives on Spiritual Care, by Michael J. Kurtz, WestBow Press, January 9, 2018.

Sarah Walker Cleaveland, MDiv ’07 daughter Hannah born December 30, 2016. New call as Co-Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Racine, WI, effective August 1, 2018.

Catherine Neelly-Burton, MDiv ’08 is Senior Pastor, Head of Staff, Grace Presbyterian Church, Wichita, KS.

James C. Yao, MDiv ’09, is serving as pastor to Moorefield (WV) Presbyterian Church, and its two chapels: Tannery Chapel and Oakdale Chapel.

Nancy Meehan Yao, MDiv ’09, serves as Associate General Presbyter for Shenandoah Presbytery.

2010s | Daeseung (Teddy) Son MDiv ’11, is Education Pastor ­— The Oriental Mission Church, Los Angeles, CA.

Katelyn Gordon-Cooke, MDiv ’09 married The Reverend Andy Cooke on November 11, 2017, at First Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, NC.

IN MEMORIAM

Clarence Duncan Fouse, BD ’67 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 22, 2018 Marissa E. Myers, MDiv ’09 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 3, 2018 Dr. Donnie W. Smith, DMin ’93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . June 9, 2018

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ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES continued

Four Alumni Named to Day1 Advisory Board: The Rev. Dr. Emily C. Heath, MDiv ’01, is Senior Pastor of the Congregational Church of Exeter, NH (UCC).

The Rev. Christopher Henry, MDiv ’07, is Senior Pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN. He is a trustee of the Alliance for Christian Media.

The Rev. Dr. Charley Reeb, DMin ’10, is Senior Pastor of Johns Creek United Methodist Church in Johns Creek, GA. The Rev. Matthew Ruffner, MDiv ’10, is Senior Pastor of Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas, TX.

September 13–15, 2018 • Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary Come explore how worship embodies and shapes us for justice With Paul T. Roberts, Aisha Brooks-Lytle, Tony McNeill, David Gambrell, Kimberly Bracken Long, Eric Wall, and Jennifer Lord Visit bit.ly/justworship2018 for more info and to register The conference is sponsored by Johnson C. Smith Seminary, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Columbia Theological Seminary, The Presbyterian Association of Musicians and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Office of Theology and Worship SUMMER 2018 / VANTAGE /

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GODSPEED

Editor’s Note: In recent months, we received news of the passing of a few spouses of faculty. These women made an impact on the community here at Columbia Theological Seminary, so we have collected short stories of three: Mardia Brown, wife of Tommy Brown; Shirley Hussel, wife of Oscar Hussel; and Kay Philips, wife of Davison Philips.

MARDIA BROWN 1923-2018 Mary (Mardia) Hopper Brown died on April 10, 2018, at Park Springs Retirement Community in Stone Mountain, GA, at the age of 95. She was the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries to Korea, the wife of a Presbyterian minister, and a missionary to Korea herself. She married George Thompson (Tommy) Brown, at the age of 20 and he remained her “darling” for 71 years.

At age 16, Mardia enrolled in Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, graduating in 1943. Her brother Joe’s roommate at Davidson College was Tommy Brown.

They were married in Montreat, NC, in 1943.

Their primary work together was as missionaries to Korea from 1952 to 1973. In Gwang ju, Korea, they were instrumental in founding Honam Theological Seminary, today a very large and successful Presbyterian seminary. Their last five years in Korea were spent in Seoul where Mardia led Bible classes in

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several Korean churches and was active in Korean girls’ education.

In 1973, Tommy was appointed Director of World Missions for the Presbyterian Church US. They moved to Decatur, GA, where he later became Professor of World Christianity at Columbia Theological Seminary.

Mardia was one of the first female elders of Decatur Presbyterian Church. She also ran the Mission Haven Clothes Closet, was active in supporting Asian refugees, and served on the Board of the Atlanta Ministry with International Students. She edited her husband’s many books, and co-wrote Face to Face with him.

She is survived by her five children: Mary Brown Bullock, George Thompson Brown Jr., and Bruce Perrin Brown of Atlanta, William Barron Brown of Herndon, Virginia and Charlotte Brown Hill of Austin, Texas; their spouses, sixteen grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren.

SHIRLEY ANN HUSSEL 1930-2018 Shirley Ann Hussel passed away on January 7, 2018, at her residence in Mentone, AL, at the age of 87. She was born on July 7, 1930, to Harvey F. and Ruby Muncie Lanter in Cincinatti, OH. She was a member of St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church and an active member in the community, volunteering for clubs and events.

She was wife of Oscar Hussel, Professor of Christian Education and Dean of Faculty at Columbia Theological Seminary during a decade of remarkable

BROWN

HUSSEL

growth for the institution. During their time at Columbia, Shirley hosted many faculty dinners at their home in Avondale and played an important part in nurturing a strong collegial spirit among faculty and staff. During a sabbatical spent at Seoul Presbyterian Theological Seminary, the Hussels developed great affection for Korean culture and people—an affection demonstrated in the hospitality they showed to Korean visitors and Shirley’s love for and experiments in Korean cuisine. Their retirement home reflected their admiration for Korean architecture and furnishings.

She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Paul and Melissa Hussel; daughters and sons-in-law, Amy and Grant Gordon and Karen and David Blaine; grandchildren, Jacob, Sara, Elizabeth, Melissa, Valerie, Jeffrey, James, and Jason; great-grandchildren, Adeline Marie, Holden, Eli, Eloise, and Leo. K AY P H I L I P S 1921-2018 Katherine “Kay” Wright Philips passed away on February 5, 2018, in Black Mountain, NC, near Montreat. She was born in 1921 in Jacksonville, FL, to Gordon and June Wright. Kay graduated from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, in May 1942, one day after becoming engaged to J. Davison Philips, who was a student at nearby Columbia Theological Seminary.

They were married a year later, and remained each other’s faithful companions for the next 69 years, until Davison’s death in 2012.

PHILIPS

Following their marriage and Davison’s tour as a Naval Chaplain, the couple moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, where Davison pursued his theological education. Davison was later called to Decatur Presbyterian Church in Decatur, GA, which they called home for most of the next 57 years. Kay was a constant presence, partner, supporter, and advocate of Davison during his time as pastor at Decatur Presbyterian Church, President of Columbia Theological Seminary, and interim pastor at several area churches. A talented chef and tireless hostess, Kay catered countless dinner parties at her home for friends, family and church and seminary gatherings.

In 1970, Kay and Davison bought a home in the Presbyterian community of Montreat, in the western NC mountains near Asheville. Later in life, she and Davison were affiliated with and were frequent Sunday attendees at nearby Black Mountain and Montreat Presbyterian Churches.

Kay is survived by her daughter, June Peel, and son-in-law, Bob Peel, of Augusta, GA; her daughterin-law, Donna Philips, of Highlands, NC; her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and many beloved extended family and friends.

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FACULTY & STAFF P U B L I C AT I O N S A N D A C T I V I T Y

Upcoming Engagements

2018 June–July, Tim Hartman Serve as a pastor-in-residence at the Volmoed Youth Leadership Training Programme in Hermanus, South Africa. Present paper on “‘What Happened to Me?’: Revisiting Kwame Bediako’s theological contributions one decade later" at the annual meeting of The Theological Society of South Africa in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

July 1, Sarah Erickson Preach at North Decatur Presbyterian Church.

July 4, Bill Harkins Give the Invocation at the Peachtree Road Race. This will be Bill’s 42nd consecutive race!

July 8, Sarah Erickson Preach at North Decatur Presbyterian Church.

July 16–20, Raj Nadella Participate in the Society of Asian Biblical Scholars conference in Malang, Indonesia.

July–August, John Azumah Present lectures and seminars in Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast over the summer with senior staff of ScholarLeaders International.

July 13, Raj Nadella Facilitate a planning meeting for the 2019 International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (ISBL) in Bangalore, India.

July–December, Tim Hartman Serve as visiting scholar at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa.

July 15, Sarah Erickson Lead worship at Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek, GA.

July, Israel Galindo Accreditation reviewer for The University Council of Jamaica.

July 22–29, Anna Carter Florence Lecturer and Workshop leader for the Ghost Ranch Biblical Preaching Event, Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM.

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July 25–27, Brennan Breed Present a paper “The Eras of Empires: Four Kingdoms Motifs in Ancient Historiographies” at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany.

July 25–27, Martha Moore-Keish Presenting at Luther Seminary Re-Thinking Stewardship Event in Minneapolis, MN. July 30–August 3, Brennan Breed International SBL meeting in Helsinki, Finland.

August, Brennan Breed Begin new position as Theologianin-Residence at First Presbyterian Church in Marietta, teaching a weekly class on Sunday mornings during their educational hour.

August 6–8, Israel Galindo Colloquy for Rural Church Clergy, Decatur, GA. August 13–15, Israel Galindo Leadership in Ministry Faculty Gathering III, Decatur, GA. August 25, Leanne Van Dyk Preach at STEPS conference for Christian educators, Charleston Atlantic Presbytery.

August 29–30, Anna Carter Florence Lecturer for a Pastors' Conference in Rekjavik, Iceland: Áhugahópur um guðfræðiráðstefnur.

September 17–19, Israel Galindo Leadership in Ministry, Portland, OR. September 24–26, Israel Galindo Leadership in Ministry B, Lynchburg, VA. October 1–3, Israel Galindo Leadership in Ministry, Boston, MA. October 1–3, Mindy McGarrah Sharp New Directions in Pastoral Theology Paper Presentation, Princeton Theological Seminary.

October 2–3, Anna Carter Florence Lecturer and Workshop Leader for event sponsored by the University of Winnipeg and Canadian Mennonite University.

October 6-8, Leanne Van Dyk Lead weekend learning event at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Clearwater, FL. October 8–11 Israel Galindo Transition into Wellness Retreat, Decatur, GA. Bill Harkins Transition into Wellness Retreat, Clinical Faculty, Decatur, GA. October 9–11, Anna Carter Florence Lecturer and Workshop Leader for the ELCA Missouri Bishop's Conference.

October 15–17, Israel Galindo Leadership in Ministry A, Lynchburg, VA. October 19–20, Justo and Catherine González Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC will host the next Justo and Catherine González Lecture

Series, convened by the Asociación para La Educación Teológica Hispana (Association for Hispanic Theological Education or AETH) highlighting the role of Hispanic/ Latino ministry in the United States with the theme of “The Public Witness of the Hispanic/Latino Church.”

October 19–21, Bill Harkins 2018 AAPC Southeast Region Clinical Conference, Workshop Presenter, Kanuga Conference Center, Hendersonville, NC. October 21–25, Tim Hartman Present paper on "African religions as ‘parables of the Kingdom’?: Karl Barth and Kwame Bediako on Revelation and Culture” at the International Karl Barth conference at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa.

October 22–24, Israel Galindo Leadership in Ministry, Kansas City, MO. October 26, Martha Moore-Keish Presenting at South Alabama presbytery “Equipping the Saints” weekend.

October 30–November 5, Bill Harkins Episcopal CREDO, Psychological Health Faculty, Waycross Episcopal Conference Center, Indiana.

November 1–4, Sarah Erickson 2018 Religious Education Association (REA) Annual Meeting, Beyond White Normativity: Creating Brave Spaces in Washington, DC. Host dinner on November 1 featuring Diana Butler Bass as speaker, and preside over the annual meeting of the Association of Leaders of Lifelong Learning for Ministry (ALLLM) on November 3. ALLLM is now a “related learning organization” of the REA, and will offer three workshops and facilitate a work group session on Sunday.

November 5–8, Anna Carter Florence Lecturer and Leader for the St. Clement's College of Preachers, Toronto, ON.

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FACULTY & STAFF P U B L I C AT I O N S A N D A C T I V I T Y

November 17-20 Annual American Academy of Religion (AAR) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) conference in Denver, CO. Brennan Breed Presenting a paper at SBL on the topic of “Rethinking Reception” on the use, influence and impact of the Bible section on November 17.

Serving on a panel hosted by the Ethnic Chinese Biblical Colloquium in honor of ChoonLeong Seow celebrating his Festschrift, When the Morning Stars Sang, co-edited by Christine Roy Yoder on November 19.

William Brown Presenting three papers for SBL, titles TBA. Mindy McGarrah Sharp Journal of Pastoral Theology Annual Publishing Meetings at AAR.

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November 12-14, Israel Galindo Leadership in Ministry, Decatur, GA. December 4-10, Bill Harkins Episcopal CREDO for Bishops, Psychological Health Faculty, Beckwith Episcopal Conference Center, Weeks Bay, Alabama.

Recent Awards and Honors Leanne Van Dyk, President and Professor of Theology, was appointed Chair of the Board of Commissioners at the Association of Theological Schools Biennial in Denver, CO on June 19.

Dr. John Azumah, Professor of World Christianity and Islam, along with ScholarLeaders International, based in Chicago, have been awarded a grant of $309,000 by the John Templeton Foundation and The Blankemeyer Foundation.

The grant was formally approved in March 2018 for a feasibility study titled: “Engaging the Mosque and the Church in West Africa: Objectives, Strategy and Feasibility,” with Dr. Azumah as leader of the project. The exploration of the project started in the last quarter of 2017 and will conclude March 2019.

Kelly Campbell, Associate Dean for Information Services and Director of The John Bulow Campbell Library, was named as the Chair of the International Theological Librarian Education Taskforce for the American Theological Library Association.

Brandon Maxwell, Vice President for Student Affairs and Community Life and Dean of Students, received certification to be a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory.

Doug Oldenburg, President Emeritus, received one of this year's Excellence in Theological Education awards given by The Committee on Theological Education and the Theological Education Fund honoring leaders in theological education at the 2018 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) Rev. Katie Ricks (’02), Associate Director of Vocation and Spiritual Formation, received certification as a Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) in June 2018.

Jeffery Tribble, Associate Professor of Ministry, was elected “PresidentElect” of the Academy of Religious Leadership at the annual meeting,

held April 12-14, in Minneapolis. As a result of this election, he will serve on the Steering Committee for the next three years in the offices of President Elect, President, and President Emeritus.

William Brown, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament, “Knowing Creation in the Light of Job and Astrobiology,” in Knowing Creation: Perspectives from Theology, Philosophy, and Science, ed.

Andrew B. Torrance and Thomas H. McCall (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018), 139-52.

Recent Publications John Azumah, Professor of World Christianity and Islam, “Jesus as God’s Revelation in Christian-Muslim Relations,” in Theological Issues in Christian-Muslim Dialogue, Charles Tieszen, ed. (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Press, 2018).

Brennan Breed, Assistant Professor of Old Testament, notes for the book of Ecclesiastes, The New Oxford Annotated Bible, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, April 2018).

Anna Carter Florence, Peter Marshall Professor of Preaching, Rehearsing Scripture: Discovering God's Word in Community (Eerdmans, July 2018), based on her 2012 Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching at Yale Divinity School.

Kevin Park, Associate Dean for Advanced Professional Studies and Assistant Professor of Theology, “Beyond Ornamental Progress: An Interview with Kevin Park” in the spring edition of Reflections, A Magazine of Theological and Ethical Enquiry from Yale Divinity School.

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“EVERYTHING YOU NEED; NOTHING YOU EXPECT” 2 0 1 8 C O L U M B I A B A C C A L AU R E AT E K E Y N O T E A D D R E S S

B Y T. D E N I S E A N D E R S O N , C O -M O D E R AT O R O F T H E 222 N D G E N E R A L A S S E M B LY I N 2016 O F T H E P R E S B Y T E R I A N C H U R C H ( U S A )

“ . . . Nobody knows what the future holds . . . . Now let me confirm something for you: no, you have no idea what to expect. However, be encouraged, because you have everything you need.”

You can find the entire address at www.youtube.com/user/ctsmedia

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BEST OF THE BLOG

MARCH 26, 2018 THE HIDDEN POWER OF MULTIGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION

BY ISRAEL GALINDO

The Bowen Systems Theory concept of multi-generational transmission in families, although often difficult to accept at one level, is logically appreciated at another. Families pass along habits, traditions, beliefs, grudges, feuds, genes, and emotional process down the generations. That force can be as powerful as a tidal wave, or as subtle, though influential as an undercurrent. Most of us can readily appreciate how past generations affect contemporary family systems and the individuals in it.

However, I find that many have difficulty appreciating the same for a congregation. This is despite ample evidence of how congregations get stuck, or have conflict, over issues in the past generations (even from many generations past). Generations and members have come and gone since “the incident,” yet new members, who have no direct experience of or connection with (and sometimes no awareness of) the issue, will find themselves acting out the same conflict. How is that possible?

APRIL 2, 2018 SPOUSES TOO ARE CASUALTIES IN CHURCH CONFLICTS

BY ANONYMOUS

I have had many restless nights and feel the Lord is nudging me to tell my side of what actually happened to my husband and me. Many people have been hurt by the termination of my husband from the church he pastored. I need to tell my story for two reasons. I want to offer some insight so people who serve on the church staff committee will “step up to the plate” and claim ownership of what is happening in their church.

And, I need catharsis in order to move on.

Imagine with me that Monday afternoon in a late September. My husband received a call from the head of church staff relations telling him the committee wishes to meet with him that same night. Imagine with me that night when my husband comes home and tells me that he was literally “chewed up and spit out” by the committee members. They told him how awful he was at most everything he did, and they strongly suggested he update his profile. Updating his profile meant that he should begin looking for a new job.

MAY 1, 2018 LEARNING TO LOVE THE “HABIT” OF PRAYER

BY CARL McCOLMAN

We human beings are creatures of habit.

We brush our teeth in the same direction, we take the same route to work, we fold our clothes or make our beds in pretty much the same manner day after day. We like to sit in the same pews at church and eat the same kinds of candy bars. We shop in our favorite stores and sometimes we even have a particular method of shopping (look at the clearance rack first, then go for the new arrivals, and finally zero in on the item we actually need).

Maybe you don’t do all of the above, but I suspect most people reading this blog have at least some of these habits.

We want to break our bad habits (there are those candy bars again) and learn some new ones (why is the treadmill so boring?). We laugh at how predictable we are, and we excuse our grandparents because they are “set in their ways.” But truth be told, a five-year-old can be just as anchored in habits (good or bad) as any octogenarian. If we love a habit, we say we’re in our groove, and when it makes us restless, we decide we’re in rut. But either way, our habits shape our days.

For the full stories and more, please visit www.CTSnet.edu/columbia-connections.

SUMMER 2018 / VANTAGE /

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The Healthy Transitions Wellness Retreats for Ministers and Spouses provide a relaxed atmosphere and confidential setting for healing and encouragement to ministers and their families who have experienced termination, or for those in conflicts possibly leading to termination. Space is limited, so register early.

WHEN October 8-11, 2018 COST The cost is $100.00 per person, or $150.00 per couple.

This fee includes housing and meals.

CTSnet.edu/healthy-transitions