Connections July 2017 | Volume IV
Islamophobia Our Common Responsibility
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Table of Contents
President’s Message | 3 Cover Story | 4 Class Notes| 6 In Memoriam|22
President’s Message
To some casual observers, Islamophobia might seem like a recent phenomenon, a prejudice precipitated by the events of 9/11. Yet those of us who know better acknowledge that the roots of fear and distrust run deep. We also know that the most powerful antidote for hatred is education, which is why Hartford Seminary has remained at the forefront of Christian-Muslim relations for more than a century. Thousands of our graduates have spent their lives sowing seeds of peace and mutual understanding among the many faith traditions. One such graduate returned this spring as our graduation speaker. The Most Reverend Josiah Idowu-Fearon, a Nigerian Archbishop appointed in 2015 as Secretary General to the Anglican Communion and a Doctor of Ministry alumnus, challenged our graduates to build bridges in an increasingly troubled world. “The voices of disrespect and intolerance are loud and growing louder,” he said. “Social injustice is bad and getting worse. Politicians and religious leaders all over the world are encouraging us to gather in our tribes. Build walls. Tear down the bridges. That is the message we are hearing.” In stark contrast, he noted, Hartford Seminary trains leaders to resist those trends, to enlist knowledge in the battle against ignorance.
3 The cover story in this issue of Connections details the myriad ways our faculty and students help to combat Islamophobia. A common theme, of course, is dialogue. Through open conversation, people gain an appreciation of the other faiths and become more deeply proud of their own. As we read in Christian scripture, Jesus encourages his followers to go beyond their own communities in order to build relationships of reciprocity and mutual respect. Likewise, the Qur’an states in Surah 49.13, “God made you into nations and tribes so that ye could know each other.” And let us not forget Leviticus 19:18 from the Hebrew Bible: “…you should love your neighbor as yourself.” Our Christian, Muslim and Jewish students, as well as those from other religious traditions, thus seek to know one another not in spite of their own faith but because of it. These days I hear colleagues at the Seminary using the phrase “We were built for this time,” a variation on a verse from the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Esther. Given the political and social climate Bishop Idowu-Fearon described, it is easy to see the relevance. But our brand of education, our core message, is not just timely but timeless. When is the search for common ground among all humanity not of paramount importance? I hope you enjoy this issue of Connections and take pride in the accomplishments of your alma mater, much as we take pride in yours. As always, I encourage you to stay connected to Hartford Seminary and actively participate in the life of this remarkable institution. You will find, I am certain, an invaluable return on that investment. Sincerely,
Heidi Hadsell, Ph.D.
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Islamophobia Addressing the Fear of Difference with Education
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2017 study conducted by the Pew Research Center asked Americans to rate members of nine religious groups on a “feeling thermometer” from 0 to 100, with 0 reflecting the coldest and 100 the warmest. The results? Americans rated Muslims on average at 48 degrees, lowest of the nine categories and a few degrees below that of atheists. In 2015, Pew Research estimated that about 3.3 million Muslims lived in the United States, but more than six in 10 Americans say they have never met a Muslim. Most Americans admit knowing little or nothing at all about Islam, and it is currently the least accepted religion in the country. With a history in Christian-Muslim relations dating back to the 19th century and five full-time faculty members in its Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Hartford Seminary is drawing on its expertise to enlighten an American public often misinformed about Islam. “It is our common task and responsibility, as people of faith and as an educational, dialogical institution, to address this together – Christians, Muslims and Jews,” President Heidi Hadsell said. “What we are addressing is fear of the other.” Against a well-documented backdrop of rising anti-Islamic hate crimes, the Seminary is taking an increasingly important role in the fight against Islamophobia by promoting education, understanding and the benefits of a religiously diverse society. Our student population, with about 35-40 percent Muslim students, is a testament itself to how people of different faiths can create a successful community together. Exploring differences, as our tagline says, leads to a deepening of faith, not a dilution of it.
5 In ways both large and small, Hartford Seminary has tried to address Islamophobia in the community and to mitigate its effects. Here are just a few examples:
Sanctuary Status In March, by a unanimous vote of the Board of Trustees, Hartford Seminary officially declared itself a “Sanctuary Seminary” in keeping with the religious meaning of the term as a sacred place of refuge or safety. Board of Trustees members said it was important to declare sanctuary status as a sign that Hartford Seminary will continue to welcome students, faculty and staff from around the world and to provide them with a secure environment, as well as to send a message that students of all faiths are welcome here. Rabbi Herbert Brockman, a former trustee, led the discussion, recalling his own family’s need for sanctuary during World War II. The statement, in part, read: “We affirm and recognize religious differences that exist in the world and support faithful living in a pluralistic and multi-faith environment. We are and will stay a welcoming institution eager to educate and engage leaders to promote peace and acceptance across religious and citizenship divides.”
Luce-Hartford Conference on Christian-Muslim Relations With support from the Henry Luce Foundation, Hartford Seminary launched in May the first of a series of conferences addressing issues related to Christian-Muslim relations. The conference tackled the refugee crisis in Europe and the U.S., including a panel that directly
Dr. Reza Mansoor, a Hartford Hospital cardiologist who recently finished serving as First Vice Chair of the Hartford Seminary Board of Trustees and has founded several statewide Muslim organizations, agrees. "Ultimately, Islamophobia is all about being misunderstood. I think there are a lot of people who don’t know Muslims and there’s an industry of hate. It has manufactured this fear of Islam,” he said, “When they meet a Muslim, they realize [people] are all the same.”
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Class Notes Dina Al-Malki Al-Hussayni, MA ’15, has focused her activities on public speaking, teaching, and interfaith activism. She writes, “I speak at churches, synagogues, women’s groups, Sunday school and adult programs, as well as public libraries, hospitals and college campuses. My specialty is Islam, including Islam in America, women and Islam, and introductions to Islam. I teach at Texas Christian University’s Extended Education department. My topics are all introductions to Islam aiming at educating and informing.” As an interfaith activist, she belongs to several interfaith groups, including the Daughters of Abraham as well as neighborhood alliances. She tells us, “One of them is the Arlington Interfaith Consortium that I personally co-founded with a Rabbi and a Lutheran Pastor. Part of this activism is to plan and attend dialogue events, friendship and fellowship meal-sharing events, and submitting opinion editorials to the media. I have succeeded in getting my own faith community involved in this outreach effort and I have been appointed as a board member in my mosque. In addition, I am collaborating with a former classmate, Grayson Robertson, in a new interfaith project called EMEP, or the Evangelical Muslim Engagement Project."
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Aaron Spiegel Teaches and Writes about Making Technology Work for Congregations Aaron Spiegel, D. Min. ’15, works for the Center for Congregations in Indiana. His work includes resource consulting with congregations to enhance effectiveness and efficiency. He also manages the Center’s in-house information systems. Together with Nancy Armstrong, he developed a course-series entitled Computers and Ministry: Making Technology Work for Your Congregation, which resulted in publication of the book (with co-authors Nancy Armstrong and Brent Bill) 40 Days and 40 Bytes: Making Computers Work for Your Congregation. He is also the author of the book Synagogues Matter, based on his doctoral research. Before relocating to Indianapolis in 1996, Aaron served several congregations in South Florida. A transdenominational rabbi, he has a B.A. in comparative theology from the Union Institute & University in Miami, rabbinic ordination from The Rabbinical Academy of Mesifta Adath Wolkowisk, and a D.Min. in Congregational Studies from Hartford Seminary. Currently he is co-chair of the Indiana Board of Rabbis (IBOR).
Kaiser Aslam, MA ’15, works as the Muslim Chaplain at Rutgers University through the Center for Islamic Life. Kaiser is the first full-time Muslim chaplain at Rutgers, which makes him one of the first at a public university in the U.S.
Terrlyn Curry Avery, Coop M.Div. ’07, reports: “In 2010, I completed my Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School. I was ordained as a Presbyterian Pastor in 2011 and opened my private practice, Sacred Intelligence, LLC, that same year. I provide psychological and spiritual guid-
7 ance to individuals, couples, and groups. I also conduct workshops, facilitate trainings and engage in public speaking. In 2015, I published my first book, Sacred Intelligence: The Essence of Sacred, Selfish and Shared Relationships.” Sami Aziz, ICP ’15, is a public educator and spiritual peacemaker who is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry at Hartford Seminary. Founder and President of CommonGroundServices.org, he is committed to spreading the message of peace to various locations across Connecticut. He also serves as the Muslim Chaplain at Wesleyan University and an Assistant Imam at Bloomfield Muslim Community Center. Jawad Bayat, ICP ’15, completed a yearlong chaplain residency at Morristown Medical Center and was ecclesiastically endorsed as a Muslim Chaplain by the Islamic Society of North America.
Jawad Bayat
He currently serves as a multifaith Staff Chaplain at Greystone
Park Psychiatric Hospital, while also fulfilling the role of imam for the Muslim patients. Charles Beckett, MA ’92, continues to work at The Beckett Center for Christian Understanding of Islam in Virginia, promoting interfaith dialogue in various capacities. Andrew Bierkan, MA, M.Div. ’74, “retired” in 2007 but hopes to truly retire after completing his fourth interim ministry since then. He also celebrated 45 years of marriage. Robert L. Bradley Sr., BMP ’93, is married to Phyllis Thomas Bradley of Birmingham, Ala. He is the proud parent of three, Robert, Tracey and Derrick, grandparent of eight, and great grandparent of 15. He is the Pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Albany, N.Y., where he has served for the past 21 years. The Rev. Dr. Bradley retired from a Fortune 500 Company (Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., now National Grid) as a Corporate Human Resources Director. He is a past member of many boards and past chair of the Rev. Dr. Martin L. King Jr. Scholarship Program for the Capital District Council of Churches of Albany, N.Y. James K. Brown, STM ’64, though now retired, stays active serving as Trustee, Deacon and Treasurer of United Church of Acworth in New Hampshire.
He and his wife, Frances Joann Brown, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on Feb. 3, 2017. Suzanne Carnes, MA ’06, left her position at an international nonprofit to pursue preparation for chaplaincy. She has been employed as a staff chaplain at Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford since 2009 and works primarily with oncology patients. She became Board Certified by the Association of Professional Chaplains in 2013 and recently completed a two-year term as moderator of First Church in West Hartford. Betty Lou Carthon, BMP ’06, is ordained as an Elder in the AMEZ Church. She writes: “I was appointed as the Supply Pastor in March 2016 to the Workman Memorial AMEZ Church, Torrington, Conn., by the Right Reverend Mildred B. Hines and as Pastor to Goodwin Memorial AMEZ Church, Amherst, Mass., on June 12, 2016, by Bishop Hines. This is a historic church located in the Pioneer Valley, which has served in that community for years in partnership with Amherst College.” Barry Cass, D. Min. ’96, is a pastor at Somers (Conn.) Congregational United Church of Christ. He has two grandchildren and another on the way and has been dabbling with photography and genealogy in his spare time.
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For Janice Lautier, ‘The World Opened Up’ at Hartford Seminary As it does for many alumni/ae, Hartford Seminary holds a special place in the heart of Janice Lautier of Southington, Conn. Like many alums, the story of how she found the school has its roots in heeding a call from God. Janice was a special education administrator when she felt the beginnings of a calling to “devote my life to what God was looking for in me.” Since she wasn’t sure exactly what that was, she took the path of discernment, beginning to recognize and affirm what she was feeling as it became grounded in a contemplative prayer practice. The path unfolded in a way she would not have expected nor could have imagined. Her journey helped her to realize that Catholic women could be chaplains, which intrigued her as a way of answering God’s calling. The search for training in that field eventually led her to Hartford Seminary, where she asked to sit in on a class in 2011. That class turned out to be pastoral counseling with Ben Watts, Faculty Associate in Religion and Community Life. “As soon as I sat down, it went beyond the experience of being inspired academically,” she said. “There was a joy there. I was mesmerized.” Before long, Janice had enrolled in the Master of Arts with a focus in Spirituality. Classes with Professor Miriam Therese Winter and President Heidi Hadsell, she said, were transformative in a way that went way beyond the classroom. She also met students of all ages from different countries and different faiths. “It brought the world to me,” she said. Janice earned her MA and went on to become board certified through the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. She did her Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at Griffin Hospital in Derby, and in short order, was hired as a chaplain there. She is now the Director of Spiritual Care and Education. Janice credits Professor Winter with helping her to understand that “everything unfolds.” “The beauty of being here is that I met people of many faiths and was offered a multitude of perspectives,” she said. “It led me to a deeper sense of spirituality. … It changed the way I saw things and so many doorways opened.”
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Dr. Mahan Mirza From the Dynamics of Machines to the Dynamics of the Heart Ask Dr. Mahan Mirza how he benefited from a Hartford Seminary education, and he will mention three skills he acquired here: “The ability to listen, the ability to find my own voice, and the practice of peacemaking.” Dr. Mirza graduated in 2003 with an MA focusing on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations. Since his days at Hartford Seminary, he has completed his Ph.D. in religious studies from Yale University, helped develop America’s first accredited Muslim liberal arts college (Zaytuna College), and is currently a Professor of the Practice in the Contending Modernities program at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Mirza credited Hartford Seminary with giving him the ability to thrive at different institutions among those practicing different faiths. “Hartford Seminary prides itself in peacemaking,” he said. “I can understand the need to have fidelity to a tradition that binds you, but also invites you to be creative, and even though the faith commitments are different, it’s the emotions I can identify with and relate to in spite of difference. In today’s world, that is very refreshing.” Dr. Mirza’s undergraduate degree was in mechanical engineering. Then he learned about Hartford Seminary. “I had two friends studying [at Hartford Seminary], and they said it was a great place that would receive me and where I would begin to have some great conversations.” He worked as a mechanical engineer part-time to put himself through school, and when asked about such a unique transition, he said, “I went from the dynamics of machines to the dynamics of the heart.” Reflecting on the journey he’s taken since studying at Hartford Seminary, he said the most challenging elements were “coming to terms with the depth, sincerity, humanity, coherence, and even beauty of beliefs other than my own.”
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10 for Courage & Renewal, a nonprofit organization that assists people of many different professions in getting back in touch with their calling and their purpose.
Islamic Chaplaincy Graduate Asnage Castelly Wrestles for Haiti in 2016 Olympics Asnage Castelly, a 2014 graduate of Hartford Seminary’s Islamic Chaplaincy Program, represented Haiti in the 2016 Rio Games as the country’s first-ever Olympic wrestler. He also carried the flag for Haiti in the opening ceremonies, something he called “a great honor and totally unexpected.” Castelly is a U.S. Army chaplain who also coaches wrestling. According to his Olympic bio, he was born in Haiti and moved to the United States at the age of nine. In high school, he wrestled for the Irvington (N.J.) Blue Knights and was an All-American. He then competed as a Division II wrestler at American International College in Springfield, Mass. At the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, he wrestled in the 74kg freestyle competition. As a military chaplain, he counsels military personnel, arranges for and conducts workshop services, and provides pastoral care, among many other duties.
Bobbie Chapman, MA ’96, retired as Pastor of Founders Congregational Church, Harwinton, Conn., on April 23, 2017, after more than 16 years. David Christensen, M. Div. ’68, was a UCC pastor from 1968 to
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2007. From 2001 until the present, he was also a missioner to Ghana. Terasa Cooley, D. Min. ’04, has moved to Seattle from Boston and started a new position as Executive Director of the Center
Linda Curtis, BMP ’98, has served as an associate minister for 18 years at Community Tabernacle of Deliverance in Stamford, Conn., where she has also headed a singles ministry. She continues to pursue her education in the field of theological and Biblical studies with an online program at Regent University. Elena Dini, IPP ’14, writes: “After graduation I came back to Italy, where I was a Russell Berrie fellow for a Graduate Certificate in Interreligious Studies at the Pontifical University Saint Thomas Aquinas. I then started working at the communications office of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre while I also continued my education studying for a degree in Catholic theology at the Jesuit Pontifical University in Rome, the Gregorian. I also continued my collaboration with the state university ‘Roma Tre,’ where I am called to teach some classes on dialogue and Islam. I taught in a number of seminars and workshops for students at the master’s level in other institutions and organizations. At the grassroots level I am the person in charge of interreligious meetings between young Italians and young refugees within a larger
11 project of refugee integration. I am also part of a group leading Scriptural Reasoning sessions once a month, and I am among the organizers of a series of meetings on the interreligious reading of Rumi. Finally, I have been working in cooperation with the office for the teaching of Catholic religion in schools of the Vicariate of Rome to do training courses for teachers of religion on the theme of teaching religious and cultural diversity.” Jane Ellingwood, MA ’09 and International Ph.D. ’16, writes: “After my Ph.D. in theology was awarded in 2016, I became an independent scholar and theologian. I give presentations and sermons, and I offer workshops and adult study programs, many of which are focused in the areas of eco-theology and creation care. I also am a leader on the yearround planning committee for the annual Craigville Theological Colloquy. I continue to be the Licensed Parish Associate at the First Congregational Church of Bethel (Conn.), United Church of Christ. Claudia Fryer, BMP ’08, retired in 2007 from the U.S. Naval Hospital in Groton, Conn., as a medical clerk. She recently graduated from Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, Conn., with a dual degree in human services and science. She is a minister, preacher and the head of resources for the Outreach Ministry at Shiloh Holistic
Empowerment Center, New London, Conn. Jennifer Gingras, Coop. M.Div. (YDS) ’07, was called in 2011 to be the 50th Senior Pastor of Monroe (Conn.) Congregational Church, UCC. She is the first woman to serve in that role in the church’s 250-year history. She just completed a three-month term in East Jerusalem as an Ecumenical Accompanier with EAPPI, a World Council of Churches initiative for building peace in Israel/Palestine.
organization promoting appreciation of Vine Lake Cemetery, founded in 1651. Charles Gross, M.Div. '78, D.Min., is retired after 40 years of ministry in three UCC churches. He does volunteer work with the local Council on Aging and works with Amnesty International and Bread for the World.
Ruth Shilling Hainsworth, WLI ’07, completed her Master of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School in 2011. She continues to work at the United CongregaRob Gregg, Parish Ministry ’69, tional Church of Westerly (R.I.), retired from the ministry after United Church of Christ, a small serving churches in Hartland, Vt., church with big dreams and a and Medfield, Mass., and worked mighty vision for making a difin high-tech sales and marketing ference in the community. before starting his own antique and specialty chair business in Richard A. Hasler, Ph.D. ’64, 1992, which just closed in is retired and writing a book for CSS Publishing Co., tentatively titled The Last Days, based upon the last chapters in the Gospel of Luke.
Rob Gregg
Kate Heichler, D.Min. ’13, moved to Washington, D.C., last summer to take a position at St. Columba’s, the largest parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, where she oversees worship and outreach.
Donald Helm, M.Div. ’62, January. A hobby of solo bagpipe reports: “For the past two years, competition has given way to I have been writing a three-part, vegetable gardening and family 18,000-word scientific paper history research. He is president entitled Hydrofracking and the Upof Vine Lake Preservation Trust, ward Escape of Methane Gas into the a nonprofit charitable Atmosphere through Geologic
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12 Material. This enterprise has been my primary activity over the past two years.” Bill Helmstetter, MA ’15, works annually with Medical Ministry International. Also active as a lay speaker in the Methodist Church, he works with a local food recovery ministry, Loaves and Fishes, and as a soup kitchen cook. He has five grandchildren, including one set of twins. James Humphrey, M.Div., MCE ’64, is a retired pastor with five interims. Along the way, he has become an advocate for social justice, attending conferences and UCC General Synods, and staying active in the church and community. He writes, “Faye and I love our family life and keeping up with 10 marvelous grandchildren.” Karen G. Johnston, Coop M.Div. ’14, was called to settled ministry in 2016 by The Unitarian Society, a Unitarian Universalist Congregation in East Brunswick, N.J. The society announced that it was “thrilled to have called a dynamic, energetic and thoughtful minister in Pastor Karen, and we are greatly looking forward to the shared growth this next (ad)venture will bring forth.” Upon receiving the call, Pastor Karen had this to say: “The chance to believe this congregation into being is thrilling. I couldn’t have landed a better first pastorate.”
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The Rev. Marisa Brown Ludwig is Drawn to Bridge-Building The Rev. Marisa Brown Ludwig spent four years in the Cooperative Master of Divinity program at Hartford Seminary from 2004 to 2008, including in her coursework the Women’s Leadership Institute and Building Abrahamic Partnerships I and II. She completed her Master of Divinity at Andover Newton Theological Seminary in 2010, and then did a year of Clinical Pastoral Education. She was called to her first ministry as Associate Pastor of First Church of Christ in Longmeadow, Mass., UCC, and was ordained in 2013. “I love many aspects of pastoral ministry, but particular passions of mine are growing church that is safe and inclusive for LGBTQIA community and building a local family of interfaith communities who connect in worship and mission together,” she said. “Both of these things are flourishing for me in Western Mass.” The Rev. Ludwig is the Communications Coordinator for the Interfaith Council of Western Mass and Chair of the Task Force on Ecumenism & Interfaith Relations for the Massachusetts Conference UCC. She co-launched a weekly interfaith clergy/community coffee hour at a local Starbucks, inviting conversation with a faith presence. “I always was drawn to bridge-building work, but it was Hartford Seminary that fostered and equipped me to be a leader in these ministries,” she said. “Building Abrahamic Partnerships and the Women’s Leadership Institute both gave me deep relationships with interfaith peers and mentors, and helped me learn what my personal gifts are as a faith leader who is also a woman.”
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Dr. Mark Caruana – Embracing Change Ever since he first started at Hartford Seminary in 1999, Dr. Mark Caruana has embraced change. He was a case worker for the Salvation Army emergency shelter in Hartford before he learned of the Seminary at a public lecture, and then became interested in attending because of its focus on congregational studies. Now, after serving at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Utica, N.Y., for 17 years, Dr. Caruana is taking on a new challenge: Dean at Houghton College Utica. “Houghton College Utica’s target population is refugees, immigrants, and other new Americans. It will offer these students Associate of Arts classes grounded in Christian tradition from a fully accredited and nationally acclaimed private college.” Dr. Caruana credits Hartford Seminary with giving him resources to draw upon when he first began at Tabernacle Baptist Church of Utica, N.Y., before his work with Houghton College. Upon his arrival, the church “averaged 110 people in weekly worship with about 30 children and teens in Sunday School, as well as a dozen in youth group." When he concluded his ministry in January, Tabernacle Baptist Church was 90 percent ethnic Karen and 10 percent Euro-American church, and averaged approximately 400 people in its weekly English language worship service, 250 in its Karen language worship service, 300 in Sunday School, and 150 in its youth group. “Hartford Seminary provided me not only with the theory and tools to lead a congregation through significant change, but it provided me with an environment and community in which I could reflect on my leadership of a religious community. The seminary gave me the tools to really understand the demographics of a changing community and helped me to master some skills and enabled me to lead a congregation through significant change.” Dr. Caruana's favorite Hartford Seminary memories include time spent with those who helped him during his work toward his doctorate. “Kelton Cobb encouraged me to embrace a more positive understanding of the potential of institutions to embody values that shape our common life. A conversation with Richard Valantasis in a critical moment of decision, about the nature of spiritual discernment, had a much greater impact on my life than he probably realized. My thesis advisor, the late Carl Dudley, offered me great personal warmth and consistently insightful, pragmatic critique of my work. I am thankful for each of these, and so many others, who made my time at Hartford Seminary so enriching and of such enduring value.”
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14 Robert M. Johnston, Biblical Studies ’77, retired from the Seventh-Day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University in 2002, but continues to work there on a contract basis. James E. Jones, D.Min. ’89, President of the Islamic Seminary Foundation, was recently promoted to full professor at Manhattanville College, where he has served on the faculty of World Religions and African Studies for 25 years. In addition, he was recently honored by the Martin Luther King Institute for Nonviolence in White Plains, N.Y., for being a “Champion Educator for inspiring students to live Dr. King’s ‘Beloved Community.’” In spring 2016, he was elected to a second two-year term as Secretary of the National Board of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Hyun Mi Kang, MA ’12, returned to her hometown of Seoul, South Korea, to write her dissertation and will be awarded a Ph.D. from Exeter University in July. The title of her dissertation is “Suggesting an Eco-feminist ‘God of Land’ Model from Feng Shui Cosmology: A Hermeneutic Reinterpretation of the Trinity in an Asian and Eco-feminist Perspective.” She plans to apply for a teaching position at divinity schools in Seoul. “I am so proud of being a part of Hartford Seminary,” she writes.
Rochelle Bayless Opens ‘Pay What You Can’ Café in Kentucky Rochelle Bayless has had a long association with Hartford Seminary, starting in 2001 with the Women’s Leadership Institute. “[WLI] had a profound effect on me and how I view service. I was going through a very difficult time in my life and WLI led me to want to be of use to the world,” she said. After first getting her undergraduate degree, she graduated from Hartford Seminary in 2013 with an MA in Religious Studies. “I really wanted to understand more about the history and social impact of religion and theology,” she said. “I found all of the coursework at the Seminary fascinating. And, I wanted to work more closely with [Professor] MT Winter." A dream then emerged from her master’s thesis, A Theology of Food: Seeing Food as Acts of Grace (Hartford Seminary 2013). In 2015, she opened the Grace Café in Danville, Ky. The cafe operates as a non-profit and serves locally sourced, healthy food with only suggested prices on the menu. Patrons pay what they can anonymously or contribute volunteer time to the cafe. “A phrase in Hebrew that means to repair the world resonates very deeply with me,” she said. “It’s our calling, our mitzvoth.”
Thomas Kermes, MA ’71, has directed various childcare programs and is currently Clerk of Session for Rockledge (Fla.) Presbyterian Church. Jonathan Lee, D. Min. ’11, is currently the Philanthropy
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Officer for the Pension Boards of United Church of Christ, Inc. Robert Loesch, MA ’71, D.Min. ’87, tells us: “I retired in July 2016 after serving as pastor of 10 United Church of Christ congregations in Connecticut,
15 Massachusetts and New York since ordination in 1966. During that parish career, I was also employed as a manager with three human service agencies, Census 2000 manager with the U.S. Bureau of the Census and regional coordinator with AFS Intercultural Programs. I’m now living in downtown Springfield, Mass., and enjoying active retirement, volunteering with several organizations including a UCC congregation, Interfaith Council of Western Mass., and Campaign Nonviolence of Western Mass.” Ibrahim J. Long, ICP ’14, is now married with one daughter, living in Edmonton, Alberta, which he describes as a “hidden gem in Canada.” Acmad Macarimbang, IPP ’10, lives and works in Singapore and began interfaith and intercultural programs there. He also volunteered for three months in the West Bank and Jerusalem as an International Observer to the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel. Currently, he works as a Program Officer in a social investment organization based in the Philippines. Valerie Maness, BMP ’92, retired from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in 2014 after working there since 1972 as a computer technician. She has pastored four churches in Connecticut and in September 2016 was
appointed to St. Matthew AME Zion Church in Rock Hill, S.C.
also engaged as a spiritual director in my home.”
Linda Mayo-Perez, MA ’11, retired from a career in nonprofit management. She is involved in a social activist movement involving her church and 29 other churches in Charleston, S.C. She performs wedding ceremonies and is studying shamanism, medicinal plants and essential oils. She has also been working as an extra on a TV series filming in Charleston.
Mohamed Moustafa, MA ’15, turned his MA thesis into a paper that was accepted for publication in the NAZARİYAT Journal for the History of Islamic Philosophy and Sciences, Issue 6 (May 2017). He works in Cairo for AlAzhar University.
Salahuddin Mustafa Muhammad, D.Min. ’10, writes: “Since graduation I have moved to Raleigh, N.C. I have been the Sergio Mazza, MA ’03, recently president for the Association of Muslim Chaplains for the past started teaching International four years. I have been an execuManagement and will add Busitive board member for Hartford ness Ethics next semester at Seminary, as well as the president Northern Arizona University’s of the Alumni Council. In this Franke College of Business. capacity I have been very actively supporting the Seminary. I have Martha McKnight, Religious been on the speaking circuit Education ’53, writes: “My husband and I moved in 1997 to Up- teaching the fundamentals of the religion of Al Islam. I have been lands Village, a retirement community in Pleasant Hill, Tenn. We standing up for social justice issues, fighting against Islamhave been to India once and to Cuba twice, both extremely inter- ophobia and racism. I have been working hard to build capacity esting trips. I am currently servfor the Association of Muslim ing a second term on the Board Chaplains. I have been busy of the Art Circle Public Library trying to bring real change to in Crossville, a nearby town. We are members of the Pleasant Hill the world. I am working very closely with the Senior Imam of United Church of Christ, and I As Salaam Islamic Center as his am on the church’s library comAssociate Imam. We are getting mittee.” very close to building our Islamic Center from the ground up. This Christine Milner, GC ’12, reports, “I am currently facilitating is an indigenous Muslim days and evenings of retreat and initiative.” writing a book entitled A Seasoned Life, sharing my longtime celebration of the four seasons. I am
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16 Norm Mundhenk, Linguistics ’68, worked from 1965 until 2008 with the United Bible Societies, located at different times in Thailand, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, as a consultant for teams doing Bible translation.
have access to and interact with residents and all staff, sometimes functioning as a ‘safe space’ to speak to, counsel, and/or advise on personal or professional concerns and try to improve situations as I am able. My role with residents often takes the form Meliani Endang Murtiningsih, of what some of my Hartford MA ’10, works at the American Seminary classmates have someIndonesian Exchange Fountimes described as the ‘Ministry dation (AMINEF) as associate of the Peaceful Presence.’ I have program officer. She is also a found I have a gift for simply guest lecturer in Islamic studies making people feel better, espeat Sumba Theological Seminary. cially those experiencing anxiety over either transitioning as a new Abdus-Salaam Musa, ICP ’08, resident moving in, accepting is a certified Diplomate (Supervi- physical challenges as they progsor) for Clinical Pastoral Educaress and even those in hospice tion with the College of Pastoral care. I am sometimes called to Supervision and Psychotherapy rooms of residents experiencing (CPE). He has been with St. anxiety as an interventional alterJohn’s Episcopal Hospital in New native to medication. Sometimes York on and off since 2009 as a all I do is hold their hand and be trainee and now as a staff chapa calming presence. Although I lain. He anticipates working on a made a lot more in salary than I Doctorate in Islamic Indigenous do now, I do not miss my former Clinical Pastoral Education. corporate life at all. There is not one day that goes by that I don’t Jean-Pierre (John) Parent, feel I have made some positive MA ’15, writes: “I am presentimpact to someone on my drive ly Director for Recreation and home each night. I am glad I Wellness at Shady Oaks Assisted took a ‘Quantum Leap of Faith’ Living, a small assisted living to follow my path and find my home for seniors in Bristol, purpose. My purpose is simply Conn. My job involves all areas to make a positive difference in of wellness from coordinating people’s lives. It was never as or administering spiritual care, complicated as I thought.” activities, decor, and one-on-one counseling. My supervisor is a George Peters, D.Min. ’81, tells former Marine Captain who has us: “My wife Jan and I are enjoya Master’s degree from Yale and ing our retirement! Our children, a Ph.D. from Harvard in Interna- Amy and Justin, are married to tional Relations. He describes my wonderful people and between function as that of a chaplain. I them have given us three
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beautiful granddaughters. We are fortunate to have a winter home in Fort Myers, Fla., where, for the first time, we spent the full winter this past year. I’m already looking forward to next winter. Recently, I was notified that Chapel Street Congregational UCC has elected me as Pastor & Teacher Emeritus.” Craig Phillips, MA ’12, is a user experience designer based outside Washington, D.C., where he has worked with the National Geographic Society for the past year. He will be relocating to Dublin with his family in the summer of 2017. Craig and his wife Mahdiye welcomed their first child, Cian, last May. They look forward to welcoming any HartSem staff or alumni with plans to visit Ireland in the next few years! Joyce Antila Phipps, D.Min. ’15, is the Executive Director of Casa de Esperanza, a community-based legal services organization serving immigrants and their families. She is the Chair of the Public Policy Committee of the New Jersey Council of Churches and has held seminars for pastors at Hartford Seminary on immigration issues facing churches. Richard Pierce, Linguistics ’67, served briefly as an American Baptist pastor, then had a long career as a classroom teacher at the high school and college levels. Currently he is serving as
17 president of his local historical society and holding down a couple of positions at First Baptist Church in West Hartford. Robert Polk, M.Div. ’55, retired in 1997. He is the author of two books and has established the Robert L. Polk Lectureship at his alma mater, Doane College. He lives in a retirement community in Philadelphia.
Jay Resnick, MA ’73, retired to Annapolis in 2012 after a law career, including a stint in the Office of White House Counsel in 2011. He enjoys taking classes, riding his horse, golf, and local theater, symphony and opera. This past fall, he taught a class on Yiddish Lit at the local community college. He is currently studying Yiddish at the University of Maryland.
Luthfi Rahman, MA ’15, has been back home in Indonesia since 2016 and has been teaching at Walisongo State Islamic University, Semarang, Central Java. He has a tenure track position in the university as a lecturer. He has also been working with friends to initiate programs on theology and ecology, local wisdom and anti-Muslim radicalization.
Dan Riley, MA ’72, is a writer and editor based in Vista, Calif.
John Martin Ramsay, Kennedy School of Missions ’52, retired from his position as Director of Recreation Extension at Berea College in 1995. He is living in St. Louis where, he tell us, “I have been teaching English as a Second Language, putting to use what I learned at HSF from H.A. Gleason’s Phonetics class!” He currently has an ESL booklet ready for sharing.
Dan Riley
He has his own publishing company, The Nobby Works. Richard N. Rinker, M.Div. ’95, has been retired since 1992. He published Michael F. Rinker, Pioneer Pastor in 2012 and recently published his fourth book, Holy Scope—Dimensions of God.
Sr. Marie Roccapriore, MA ’15, Amy Reichman, MA ’14, has writes: “I continue to serve in served as deacon for St. Michael’s Parish Ministry at St. Thomas Parish, as well as the coordinator Church, Southington, Conn. and of the food pantry there. direct the Children’s Music Ministry – Spirit Joy. Currently we have three CDs and one DVD
of our group singing with the accompaniment of Jose Feliciano. I have also produced a book: Moments in the Spirit to Pause, Ponder and Pray, published by Leonine Publications." Robert Rock, BD ’68, writes: “My wife and I have moved to Homewood Retirement Center in Frederick, Md. After retirement in 2006, I did pulpit supply for 18 months at various churches. Then I was the pastor of Mount Pleasant UCC for eight years. After a year off, I am now the supply pastor at Faith United Church of Christ, Frederick. Since my initial retirement I have taken up painting - pastels and watercolors, and my wife and I have done some traveling.” John Rogers, M.Div. ’62, is now retired. He continued to serve congregations all over the world before becoming a resident of Pilgrim Place in Claremont, Calif., in 2007. His spouse, Barbara, an educator, passed away in 2016 after almost 58 years of marriage. J. Barrie Shepherd, MA ’72, has been writing and guest speaking since his retirement. His 16th book, Destination Bethlehem – Daily Meditations, Prayers and Poem to Light the Way to the Manger, was published in 2016. Close to 200 of his poems have appeared in Christian Century magazine over the years. Based in Maine, he plays euphonium with the Casco Bay Wind Symphony.
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18 Kathleen Smits, MA ’04, completed a Digital Arts Certificate and continued her career path as an artist and educator. In 2012, she served as the original curriculum developer for CPTV’s Institute for Advanced Media. She remains adjunct faculty there and continues to work on her art. Susan S. Strand, WLI ’06, retired from consulting in 2010. She is the organist, bell choir director and drum choir director at Church of Christ Congregational in Goshen, Conn. Kimberly Strother, BMP ’15, delivered her initial sermon on September 25, 2016, and was licensed as a Minister of the Gospel at Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Springfield, Mass., by the Rev. Dr. W.C. Watson Jr. She writes: “I am currently working as the youth director in the church and with the support and prayers of my Pastor, community, family, and church family, I held the first ever Youth Summit called ‘Showdown at the Summit’ on October 8, 2016. God is continuing to enlarge my territory, for which I am thankful and will praise him forever more. Hallelujah and all Glory to the King!” Dianna Sullivan, MA ’15, continues working as a Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice and a hospice chaplain for Constellation Hospice Services. She also serves as Pastor for the Ecumenical Church of
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The Rev. Gordon Bates Writes Book On Connecticut Prison Association The Rev. Gordon Bates, who graduated from Hartford Seminary in 1964 with a master’s in Sacred Theology, has written a book called The Connecticut Prison Association and the Search for Reformatory Justice that hit bookstore shelves in January. Published by Wesleyan University Press, the book “looks at the role the Connecticut Prison Association played in the formation of the state’s criminal justice system.” The Rev. Bates said he started volunteering in prisons and eventually became the executive director of the Connecticut Prison Association, now called Community Partners in Action (CPA). The organization “was formed to ameliorate the conditions of criminal defendants and people in prison, improve the discipline and administration of local jails and state prisons, and furnish assistance and encouragement to people returning to their communities after incarceration.” After retiring in 1997, the Rev. Bates said, he resolved to write a history of the organization. “I started in the 19th century and worked up to today,” he said. Hartford Seminary, he discovered, became very active in the criminal justice scene between the 1930s and the 1950s. William DeLuce Barnes, a professor of theology at Hartford Seminary, was “a key part of the whole transition” within the prison association from 1930 to 1956, serving as Agent and Secretary as well as a state legislator for two terms. The Rev. Bates now works part-time as the Minister of Visitation at First Church of Christ Congregational in Glastonbury, Conn.
19 Hartford, worshipping at the Hebrew Home in West Hartford. Dianna writes: “Although the congregation is small, we have outreach to the Women’s Prison Ministry and Homeless Veterans. We have invited Iman Sami Aziz and his wife Vjosa, as well as Rabbi Daniel-Braune Friedman with Gary Johnson, Interim Director of Hebrew Healthcare, to speak during our service. We are an open and affirming community, inclusive in nature.” Bob Sweet, BD ’62, D.Min '78, is beginning his 17th year of retirement. His Sweet Journeys’ retirement travel business is winding down after leading groups to 50 countries and numerous states. He is active in the Federated Church of Marlborough (N.H.), Library Trustees and the Habitat Building committee. He and his wife just returned from Costa Rica where they traveled with two “kids” and spouses to celebrate their 80th birthdays (zip lines included!). Kristen Provost Switzer, Coop. M. Div. ’13, was called as the Associate Pastor of Youth and Mission, a new position at Newtown Congregational Church, on Aug. 1, 2016. She spends her days doing anything from working with the youth to helping to resettle refugee families and facilitating the on-site food pantry. Lester Van Essen, MA ’61, is now retired but continues to
serve as an interim. Married to Elaine Last, he has five children and 12 grandchildren. Thomas Walsh, Coop M.Div. ’07, serves as in-patient palliative care chaplain at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Lawrence. A Washburn, BD, D.Min. ’59, just retired from a 12-year part-time pastorate in Florida. At 85, he is still traveling in an older RV, going back every year to Rhode Island, where he and his wife had a pastorate for 34 years. He has four children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Sandra Watts, BMP ’08, is a per-diem Chaplain at Gaylord Hospital and Lee Way / HIV Home. She has also started her own business, Remember the Lilies Florist. Charles West, BD, MA ’53, is retired but continues to worship, serve on committees and lead adult discussion groups at the 1st
sent to his mother as a source of what he thought, felt and experienced. At 91, he is greatly blessed and very thankful. Kathleen Wheeler, MA ’06, retired from UTC/Pratt & Whitney a few months after graduation, returning to Utah where she works part time as the treasurer of Hilltop United Methodist Church. She also volunteers at the Utah Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. David C. Williams, Parish Ministry ’64, has been a self-employed capital campaign consultant with UCC, UMC, ABC, and Community Churches in New England and Pennsylvania since 1980. In 2013 his wife Patricia joined him in marriage and consulting. Gail Williams, MA ’15, is the founder and Executive Director of Anita, Ava House for Women, Inc. She also works in Bloomfield Public Schools in Special Education. She writes: “I have continued to work alongside (Professor) M.T. Winter in the Christmas Toy Ministry for five years now.
Charles West
Congregational United Church of Christ in Angola, where he is close to his youngest daughter. He is currently writing of his experiences serving in Europe in World War II, using the letters he
Gail Williams
We blessed 1,989 children with gifts in 2016.
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20 I also volunteer for the Greater Hartford Urban League as a Youth Advisor and for Dress For Success. I am a co-facilitator for the State of Connecticut in the Community Action Network to help the homeless. I continue to stay active in our communities to help elevate and encourage all of God’s people.” Cynthia Yee, MA ’63, retired in December 2014 after five years as a hospice chaplain in Vermont with the Rutland-Area Visiting Nurse and Hospice Association. She now trains people to become lay visitors for congregations and offers volunteer pastoral care for her congregation, First Church of Christ Congregational in Farmington. Joy Kattner Wilson, Religious Education ’47, tells us: “In 1947, I became Conference Director of Children’s Work for the West Virginia Methodist Conference. In 1948, I was married to the Rev. Elmer Wilson. I taught in public school for five years before we moved to Florida in 1969. I taught in Lee County for 10 years before retiring in 1984. We moved to Port Charlotte, Fla., in 1987 to a retirement community where I still live. I have four sons, seven grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and one great-great granddaughter. I am a widow now and will be 95 in July 2017.” Jan Youga, MA ’13, is retiring from Keene State College after 25 years teaching English there and 37 years in the profession.
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Imam Adeel Zeb Named First Muslim President of National Association of College & University Chaplains Hartford Seminary alum Adeel Zeb has been elected as the first Muslim President of the National Association of College and University Chaplains. Imam Zeb earned his MA in Religious Studies with a focus in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations in 2012 and his Graduate Certificate in Islamic Chaplaincy in 2013. He is the Muslim Chaplain at the Claremont University Consortium in Southern California where he serves the chaplaincy needs of seven institutions. He will act as volunteer President for the National Association of College and University Chaplains for one year, beginning this summer. The National Association of College and University Chaplains is a multifaith professional community supporting spiritual and ethical life in higher education. The association’s mission is, among other things, to further the spirit of ecumenicity and understanding among all religious groups as they relate to the university environment. Imam Zeb and the association have a great interest in expanding the religious diversity of those in chaplaincy, the majority of whom are Christian chaplains, and in even higher positions, such as deans or heads of religious departments.
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In Memoriam The Rev. John Robert “Bob” Achtermann passed away on Nov. 27, 2016, at age 81. Notably, Bob lived in Nuremburg, Germany, from 1946 to 1950, while his father, who spoke fluent German, served as a chaplain to prisoners and witnesses in the war trials there. He graduated from high school in Anchorage, Alaska. He earned degrees from Franklin and Marshall College and Hartford Theological Seminary. He engaged in post-graduate research and study at the University of Oxford, UK, and Temple University. He taught at Tougaloo College in Mississippi and Temple University. In 1963 Bob was ordained as a minister of the United Church of Christ. His ministries were marked by a commitment to social justice and human service. A brief stint as a Labor Relations specialist for the U.S. Navy served to reinforce his primary commitment to ministry within the Church. He served multiple UCC congregations as full-time, supply or interim pastor from 1965 to 2000. The Rev. Richard W. Ingle, 93, of Prophets Riverview Good Samaritan Center in Prophetstown, formerly of West Bend, Wis., died Sept. 10, 2016, at the center. Richard was born May 14, 1923, in Baxter, Iowa, to George and Alma (Peterson) Ingle. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Hartford
Theological Seminary. Richard married Betty J. Watson on Jan. 25, 1946, in Emmetsburg, Iowa. He served as a pastor for 39 years in the United Church of Christ in various communities, including McCook, Neb.; Quincy, Mass.; Westchester, N.Y.; Neenah, Wis.; and Medina, Ohio. Richard enjoyed fishing, reading, and traveling and was an avid Iowa Hawkeyes fan.
time. Following graduation from Amherst, he decided to train for the ministry like his father and grandfather at Hartford Seminary, where he met his two closest friends: Bill Inderstrodt and Fidelia Augur. After marrying Fidie, they spent a summer together in North Dakota working with children through churches on Native American reservations. Bob was ordained in 1952, and his first job as a minister was in Sister Barbara Anderson, SL, Baraboo, Wis., where his chil87, of Nerinx, Mo., died March dren Bill and Becky, were born. 8, 2017, at the Loretto MotherHis second parish was in North house Infirmary. She was born Branford, Conn. His final parish Jan. 23, 1930, in Springfield, was in Enfield, Conn., from 1967 Mass., to the late Karl Erie (K.E.) to 1990 for the United Church of Walter Anderson and Edna Christ Congregationalist Church, Victoria Clow Anderson Munwhere he was made Pastor Emersell. She entered religious life in itus after retiring. He was active 1968 and received her final vows in the Hartford Seminary Alumni in 1977. She earned master’s Association. Bob welcomed fun degrees in Religious Education and he served as the Dean for from Hartford Seminary Founchurch summer camps including dation and the University of one on board a sailboat. He enCalifornia. She earned a master’s joyed sailing, reading, stamp coldegree in Education from Unilecting, light carpentry, camping versity of Arizona and a master’s with his family, playing with his degree in Rehabilitation Counsel- grandchildren (Anna, Toby and ing from Graduate Theological Robin), and traveling. He was Union in California. Her assignwith his family in Maine reading ments were in California, Misand chatting on the porch days souri and Arizona. before he returned to his retirement home in Cromwell, where The Rev. Robert Chase Lane he died peacefully in his sleep in died peacefully in his sleep on his 90th year of a very full life. Aug. 15, 2016. He was 90 years old. He majored in math at Am- The Rev. George Pierson herst College (‘49) until the outDominick, a native of Pittsbreak of WWII when he enlisted field, Mass., died peacefully at his and spent two years in the army. home on Jan. 1, 2016. He was 97 He was stationed in Japan years old. As a child, George did during the declaration of peace cross-country skiing in the
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22 beautiful Berkshire Mountains and pole vaulted while studying philosophy at Oberlin College. He received his Master’s in Theology from Hartford Seminary. He was baptized, confirmed, and then ordained (1945) in the Congregational Church. He pastored a church in Concord, N.H., but felt his true calling as clinical chaplain in the service of others. He was the first Protestant chaplain at St. Louis Hospital. He also worked in federal corrections, mental hospitals, and alcohol/ drug addiction. George had a way of helping others grow and learn as he supervised a training program for chaplains at the Georgian Clinic (now DeKalb Addiction). His last job was Director of A & D programs for DeKalb County. He also served as a Supervisor in ACPE and was head of chaplaincy certification for the U.S. He was a wonderful cook and enjoyed sharing food and talk with family and friends around his table. He made his own sauerkraut and vinegar, cured hams, kept bees and carved wood. He tended gardens, koi ponds, and bonsai trees (some over 50 years old). He was rarely angry and always full of grace.
graduated from Cairo Evangelical Theological Seminary in 1956. His further graduate studies were at Hartford Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary, San Francisco Theological Seminary and Johns Hopkins University, where he received a master’s and a Ph.D in Semitic Languages. Albert’s life was devoted to serving God. In Egypt, he served as Pastor of the Evangelical Church, as a professor, and school principal in Ismailia. A graduate fellowship brought him to Hartford Seminary in 1960, where he taught Arabic and earned a Bachelor’s in Theological Studies and Master’s in Christian Education. It was there that he met his wife Jean.He then became Assistant General Secretary of the Bible Society in Egypt, served as Elected General Secretary of the Near East Council in Beirut, Lebanon and Elected General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches. From 1985-1989 he was President of the Cairo Evangelical Seminary and Professor of Biblical Literature. He had several elected positions in the Synod of the Nile and served on a panel of elder ministers. He served for 24 years as Editor, Arabic Edition, of the Upper Room Devotional Magazine and wrote many articles in religious periodicals in Egypt and overseas. His major project was the Arabic translation of the illustrated Children’s Bible, now in its sixth editionand distributed worldwide.
Albert Isteero Farag passed away at El Salaam Hospital in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 22, 2017. He was born March 16, 1930, in Port Said, Egypt, the seventh of nine children of Isteero and Irada Kaldus Farag. He completed secondary school in Port Said and studied engineering at Cairo University School of Engineering The Reverend Dr. Evans F. but was called to the ministry and Sealand, Jr., 87, of Simsbury, beloved husband of Evelyn
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(Jackson) Sealand, passed away peacefully on December 29, 2016, at John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington. Evans was born on October 5, 1929, in Brooklyn, N.Y., son of the late Dr. Evans F. Sealand, Sr., MD, FACS and Marion (Gray) Sealand and lived in Canton, Conn., for 53 years prior to moving to Simsbury five years ago. He was a graduate of Kew-Forest School, Forest Hills, N.Y., and was awarded a B.A. degree in American Civilization from Rutgers University. After completing ROTC training and graduation, he served in the U.S. Army in the Ordnance Corps, stationed mainly in Korea during the Korean War.After his discharge from the military, Evans attended the Oberlin Graduate School of Theology in Ohio and was awarded the Master of Divinity and the Master of Sacred Theology degrees. Later in life, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from the Hartford Seminary Foundation. Evans began his ministry as a student pastor in the North Monroeville Congregational Church and the LeRoy Universalist Church, both in Ohio. His first and only full-time pastorate was with the First Congregational Church, Canton Center, where he was ordained into the United Church of Christ (UCC) in 1959. He served for 35 years until his retirement in 1994, when he was designated as Pastor Emeritus. Evans was active in the Connecticut Conference of the UCC as a leader of youth, serving on the Board of Directors, Board of Church and Ministry, Committee for Continuing Education,
23 Committee on Aid to Ministers and was Interim Visitor for the UCC Pension Board. For the Hartford Seminary he was the Chair of the Alumni Fund Committee, Vice President and Interim President of the Alumni Council and a member of the Board of Directors. Dorothy “Dottie” Ethelyn Seest Pate, 88, of Chattanooga, Tenn., passed away on Nov. 26, 2016. Dorothy was born on Sept. 19, 1928, in Newburg, Mo. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Indiana University in 1950 and later earned her master’s degree at Hartford Seminary in 1956. Dorothy served as a United Methodist Missionary in Hiroshima, Japan, from 1950 to 1953. Dorothy had a passion for coordinating Sunday school educational materials for churches. She taught at Hiroshima Jogakuin Girls’ School while in Japan and later retired. She enjoyed playing piano and being a member of the Murray Hills Garden Club. While in Japan, Dorothy won the trophy as the shuffleboard champion of the Pacific.
Send Us Your Updates We want to hear from you! Updates on jobs, books, children, weddings, academic achievements, etc. Please send your updates to alum@hartsem.edu. Photos are welcome and encouraged.
Nancy Carroll Butler: ‘A Pillar of Strength and a Guiding Force’ Pastor Nancy Carroll Butler, who served on the Seminary’s Board of Trustees from 2006-2009, passed away on Dec. 7, 2016. She had been diagnosed with ALS in 2015. Nancy took a number of courses at Hartford Seminary before joining the Board of Trustees. She earned her Master of Divinity from Yale University and, in 2008, planted Riverfront Family Church, a rare breed that is both progressive and evangelical. Before becoming a pastor, she worked primarily in marketing and human resources. “I give thanks for Nancy’s creative and faithful and lively spirit, her many talents and her abounding love for all,” President Heidi Hadsell said after her passing. The President of Hartford Seminary’s Board of Trustees, Vanda B. McMurtry, praised Nancy’s work on the board. “Nancy Butler was a pillar of strength and a guiding force on the Board of Trustees of Hartford Seminary for many years. We are experiencing bountiful success today in no small measure due to her critical and strategic thinking about our future. This was thinking that Nancy, as a natural and very gifted leader, was able to translate into action. We would be so much less than what we are had God not given us the grace of her presence among us.” In an evening program at Hartford Seminary on Jan. 12, 2016, Nancy talked about the strong connection she had to the Seminary and how enriched she was by knowing people of other faiths.She also spoke about trying to plant a church, her initial failure in making it a success, and finally learning that she had to ask for help. In a similar way, she said, her disease had a positive impact on her connection to God. “It’s in these dark valleys that our prayers are answered," she said. "And we come to know Christ.”
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addressed the issue of Islamophobia. Members of that panel talked about the rising level of hate speech and both the positive and negative effects of the political and cultural climate of 2017. On the one hand, they all decried the fear they can sometimes feel while interacting with the public. One participant said that two of her Muslim friends had stopped wearing hijabs because they were concerned about how they would be treated if people could immediately identify them as Muslim. On the other hand, panelists were unanimous in sensing an outpouring of support for them and an increased interest in understanding more about Islam.“With every negative trend there is always a positive one that happens as well,” said panelist Maryam Bittar, a research assistant for Hartford’s Commission on Refugee & Immigrant Affairs and a native of Syria. “When I look around me, I see love and respect.”
Introduction to Islam for Non-Muslims In response to requests from the community, Hartford Seminary now offers an introductory course tailored to those who would like to learn more about Islam. It is designed to address the significant need today for basic information about a religion followed worldwide by about 1.6 billion people. The course covers topics such as Mulim beliefs, scriptures, the vital roles women play in Muslim communities, and Muslim realities in the United States. It also introduces students and auditors to area mosques and religious practices that embody the lived reality of the faith. “With the expertise and resources we possess at Hartford Seminary, we knew it was imperative that we offer such a course to give our students and the larger community a thorough understanding of Islam, especially at
this critical moment in history,” Academic Dean Scott Thumma said. “Not only have we offered it this summer across four Saturdays in June, but we intend to teach the course annually beginning this fall in an online format to broaden the reach of the message.” Students in the first iteration of the course have found it valuable and enlightening. "I've been most surprised by the diversity of belief and religious expression within Islam,” student Sara Brosnan said. “There's much less uniformity among Muslims than I thought before taking this course."
Dialogue in a World of Difference Dialogue in a World Difference is a required course for all students enrolled in a Master of Arts program at Hartford Seminary, and its importance has only grown in recent years. The class gives students the tools to explore in-depth principles and the practice of dialogue in a pluralistic world. Each year, the course is taught by one Christian (most often President Heidi Hadsell), one Jewish and one Muslim professor, with guest speakers providing additional perspectives. Students also visit a place of worship from each of the Abrahamic faiths to familiarize themselves with the spiritual practices of each faith. Students are introduced to critical substantive issues related to interfaith relations in today’s society that will prepare them for their experiences at Hartford Seminary. The goal of the course is to foster an understanding for one another and to learn how to discuss potentially divisive issues constructively and without animosity.
Honest Conversations with Muslim Neighbors For more than a year, the Connecticut Coalition for Interreligious Understanding has been traveling the state with this program, which seeks to promote a better understanding of the Muslim population with an open dialogue format. Hartford Seminary and the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut are co-sponsors, and the Seminary often provide faculty members, graduates or students to participate on the panels of Muslims who answer questions from the audience.
25 The initiative provides a way to counteract false narratives about the Muslim community. In settings such as schools, churches, synagogues and community centers, the program encourages honest questions and promotes relationships with the Muslim community. "They have very good discussions about concepts like Sharia and jihad, discussed by Muslims. It alleviates a lot of fear,” Dr. Mansoor said.
Abraham’s Daughters: An Interfaith Conversation Abraham’s Daughters is a program that encourages women of different religious backgrounds to share their personal journeys and what they cherish about their faith. Its founders -- Carol Ascher, Eileen Epperson, Nancy Latif, and Vjosa Qerimi -- met in 2016 at a weeklong Hartford Seminary intensive for Jews, Christians and Muslims called Building Abrahamic Partnerships. Abraham’s Daughters hopes to inspire the interest and desire for more people to engage in interfaith conversations. During the presentation, the participants each discuss how they came to their own faiths and what they appreciate about the faiths of the others. “It’s very important that we come out and share our stories to make us more understood,” Carol Ascher said during a presentation at Hartford Seminary in February. “We hope that this raises the tolerance level at a minimum.”
Common Ground Common Ground services is a non-profit Islamic consulting firm founded by Hartford Seminary Doctor of Ministry student Imam Sami Aziz. Common Ground serves to build bridges and educate communities on myriad hot-button topics surrounding Muslims. Imam Aziz travels to hospitals, universities, churches and high schools throughout the Northeast to lecture and educate communities. He speaks on Islamophobia, the basics of Islam, ISIS, Women in Islam, as well as other topics. He gives presentations, facilitates dialogue, holds trainings, and collaborates with organizations on how to best meet their individual needs. The main goal is for the audience to reach an understanding of what
Islam is and isn’t while engaging in interfaith conversations and building in-depth communication. The challenges in this young organization so far have come from both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. Imam Aziz battles the notion in some Muslim communities that interfaith work is incompatible with being a good Muslim, while from outside the Muslim community, the challenges arise from people equating Muslims to ISIS or believing every negative thing they read about Islam. The organization is growing, providing services to businesses and institutions and receiving calls each week to facilitate discussions or present on specific topics.
‘An Open Table’ Those are just some of the ways that Hartford Seminary is working to reduce the fear and misunderstandings still prevalent among people who know little about Islam. Dr. Mansoor, who wrote a book on the topic called Stigmatized: From 9/11 to Trump and Beyond— An American Muslim Journey, believes that Hartford Seminary has a key role in educating the community about Islam and in combating Islamophobia. “Hartford Seminary has been an amazing institution where the welcome has been very warm, he said, "When you feel like you’re a part of the conversation, you can open up dialogue on these issues, whereas when you feel alienated and rejected, you’re not going to come to the table. Hartford Seminary is an open table where there are chairs kept for all faith communities to come and be a part of the conversation, which is beautiful.”
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Fall Courses 2017 Fall Courses Begin September 5, 2017 Online Courses * Arts & Ministry
Doctor of Ministry
• D.Min. Colleague Seminar I (DM-710); Thumma (205, 77 Sherman) 9/11; 10/9, 10/30; 11/27; 12/18; 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. • D.Min. Colleague Seminar III (DM-720) Schaper (206, 77 Sherman) 9/11; 10/9, 10/30; 11/27; 12/18; 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• The Art of Preaching (AM-575) Monday, 4:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.; Watts • * Psychology of Trauma (AM-649); Keshavarzi • The Vital Vintage Church – How Traditional Congregations Thrive! (AM-628); Piazza 9/12, 10/10, 10/31; 11/28; 12/19; Scripture • The Foundations of Qur’anic Studies: The History, Form, 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. and Content of Islam’s Holy Book (SC-580) Monday, 4:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.; Salem Ethics • New Testament Survey (SC-531) Monday, 7:00 p.m. - 9:45 • * Islamic Business Ethics: Principles and Contemporary p.m.; Smith Applications (ET-521); Moghul • Hebrew Bible (SC-522) Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.; • Theological Ethics and the Personal Life (ET-545) James Grant 9/7; 10/12; 10/26, 11/9; 12/14; 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. • Introduction to Shi’i Islam (SC-533) Tuesday; 4:00 p.m. Interfaith Dialogue 6:45 p.m.; Kara • Dialogue in a World of Difference (DI-530) Wednesday; • * “She Did That!”: Women’s Agency in New Testament 4:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.; Hadsell/Grant/Salem Texts (SC-553); Smith • * Introduction to Islam for Non-Muslims (DI-501); • * Images of Jesus in Christian and Muslim Sacred Writings Blackburn (SC-636); Mosher
Religion and Society
• * Religion as a Social Phenomenon: The Sociological Study of Religion (RS-536)
Language
• Readings in New Testament Greek I (LG-661) Tuesday 3:15 p.m. - 6:15 p.m.; Duffy (80 Sherman) • Quranic Analysis I (LG-720) Theology • Introduction to Christian Theology; The Basic Components Thursday 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.; Laher • Intermediate Arabic I (LG-650) of Christian Faith and Life (TH-505) Thursday, 4:00 p.m. Monday & Wednesday (twice a week) 4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.; 6:45 p.m.; Awad Blackburn • Classical Arabic I (LG-710) History Wednesday 4:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.; Laher • Islamic History I (HI-624) Tuesday & Thursday (twice a week for 12 weeks), 7:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.; Michot • Luther, the Jews and the Turks: The Reformation in its Interreligious Contexts (HI-653) Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. - 9:45 Special Pricing for Alumni/ae The non-credit audit fee for courses is $575. A special audit fee p.m.; Grafton of $385 is available for the following groups: donors of $250 or • Muslims in North America and Europe: Discourses and more, persons age 60 and older, persons 55 and older receiving Practices (HI-627) Thursday, 4:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m.; Yuskaev • * Muslims in American Religious History: Comparative Per- disability income, graduates of Hartford Seminary degree prospectives on Race, Gender, and Politics (HI-628); Yuskaev grams or the Cooperative Master of Divinity, and Hartford Seminary adjunct faculty. There is a limit of one course per academic year for all groups except those 60 or older, for whom there is no limit. To register, please contact the Registrar at 860-509-9511 or email registrar@hartsem.edu.
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