ECF Fellows News: December 2017
Jennifer Adams-Massmann (2017), a doctoral candidate in American religious history/church history (University of Heidelberg) was a guest speaker at the Faculty of Divinity in Cambridge, lecturing and discussing her research for members of the Faculty of Divinity as well as interested members of the public. Hosted by the World Christianities Senior Seminar and the Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide, the one-hour long presentation was entitled ‘I felt a Power from his Wounds and Blood': Native American Women and Female Missionaries in early Moravian Missions in British North America. Jennifer received a preliminary acceptance of a journal article for a special edition on women and religion in early America by a top ranked journal, although final publication will be subject to peer-review and space considerations. Another article was also accepted for a proposed book collection on Soul Travel and Spiritual Journeys in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, tentatively planned for publication in 2019. In the upcoming Lent Term (Jan-March 2018), she will teach a live online course for ordinands on church history (English and Continental church history) for the Cambridge Theological Federation.
Claude Barbre (1995) was invited to present two papers at the 2017 International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis (ISPS) in Portland, Oregon November 17-19. The first paper was entitled Anthropocene States, Trauma, and the Biosocial Causes of Psychosis that focused on climate change and cultural trauma; the second paper, Psychosis and Initiation: The Unfolding of Life Through the Liminal Space of the Uncanny explored the transformative experience of illness while deconstructing the stigma of psychosis. On December 1-2, Claude will present on three panels at the 2017 International Conference on Gender Studies: Identity, Alterity, and Gender Normativity, Cambridge University, UK. He will present a paper, Plenty Good Room: Gender, Race, and Identity Studies in the Clinical and Cultural Writings of Margaret Morgan Lawrence; and another paper, Revaluating Gender, Alterity, and Identity in Lynne Layton’s Concept of Normative Unconscious Processes. He will also chair and participate in a panel entitled Gender Activism and Feminism. In addition, Claude will present a paper, Earth-Dreaming and the Mystical Milieu of Spirit in Matter: Religious Perspectives on Anthropocene Trauma and the Earth’s Subtle Body at the International Oxford Symposium on Religious Studies, Oxford University, UK—a paper that will focus on spiritual responses to the age of the Anthropocene. Finally, Claude has been invited to speak in January at the 2018 Fifth International Psychoanalytic Conference in New Delhi, India, presenting two papers on identity, trauma, and oppression. He is Full Professor of Clinical Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago IL, and a psychoanalyst in private practice.
Derek Minno Bloom(2016) helped co-found The Racial Justice Projectin collaboration with Food Justice at Trinity with the understanding that as long as racism exists, hunger will always follow; to end hunger one also must organize to end racism. This summer and fall, the Racial Justice Project organized a Racial Justice speaker and film series. We organized the following popular education events: The movie 13th about the Prison Industrial Complex with guest speaker Jenifer Lewinski founder of Asbury Park Black Lives Matter; I Am Not Your Negro, hosted by Nicole Harris of Black lives Matter NJ to talk about sexuality and racial justice; The Muslims Are Coming with guest speaker Tarek Sharaf of the Islamic Society of Monmouth Country; Columbus Day Legacy to launch a city wide campaign to celebrate Indigenous peoples day instead of Columbus Day; and Harvest of Empire: The Untold Story of Latinos in America to discuss how US imperialism effects migration hosted by Dr. Rumu Dasgupta, an Indian immigrant and professor of Sociology at Georgian Court University. All of these events were followed by break out sessions and community discussions. Derek is the Social and Food Justice Director at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asbury Park, NJ.
Stewart Clem (2017) gave two presentations at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion in Boston, MA (November 2017). The first talk, "A Nonviolent Grammar of Sacrifice: Girard and Aquinas in Conversation," was presented in a panel sponsored by the Colloquium on Violence & Religion. The second talk, "Sins of Speech in a Post-Truth Age," was presented in a panel on the ethics of truth and post-truth. In early November, Stewart gave an address at the annual fall meeting of the ECF Board of Directors in New York City. The message focused on the important role of the Episcopal Church and the significance of truth in contemporary society. He also gave a presentation on the opportunities and challenges of teaching moral theology in the Episcopal Church. Stewart's article, "Post-Truth and Vices Opposed to Truth," was published in the Fall/Winter 2017 issue of the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics. He is currently writing the final chapters of his dissertation, which draws on the thought of Thomas Aquinas to develop a framework for the ethics of lying and truth-telling. Stewart serves as assisting priest at St. Paul's Church(Mishawaka, IN) and is a PhD candidate in Christian ethics at the University of Notre Dame.
Pamela Cooper-White's (1995) new book Old and Dirty Gods: Religion, Antisemitism, and the Origins of Psychoanalysis, will soon be released by Routledge Press, in the "Psyche and Soul" Series - series editors Marie Hoffman, Jill Salberg, and Melanie Suchet. This book is the product of her Fulbright fellowship in 2013-14 at the Freud Museum in Vienna. Book events are planned for the William Alanson White Institute, New York in February and the Freud Museum, Vienna, in May. In the book, Pamela argues that antisemitism, reaching back centuries before the Holocaust, and the acute perspective from the margins that it engendered among the first analysts, stands at the very origins of psychoanalytic theory and practice. In other news, Pamela will receive the Helen Flanders Dunbar Award for Significant Contributions to the Clinical Pastoral Field from the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy in Oakland, March 18, 2018, and will be giving the Woman and Religion annual endowed lecture at Creighton University, Omaha, April 9, 2018. She has also been invited to contribute as a senior scholar in pastoral theology to the University of Pennsylvania's "Humanities and Human Flourishing Project." Co-sponsored by the Positive Psychology Center and the Department of Religious Studies, they will present papers at an interdisciplinary symposium in Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA in May 2018. Pamela recently taped an interview for the Episcopal Church on "Canon Law as Gift of Grace," relating to the new mandate that all clergy be trained in professional ethics according to Title IV. This video will be on display at the 2018 General Convention of the Episcopal Church. This interview and many others are part of the new Title IV training materials being developed by the Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, Constitution & Canons of the Episcopal Church. Pamela is the Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York, NY and an assisting priest at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Natalie Finstad (2014) has been named Director of Programs and Engagement with Episcopal City Mission in Boston, MA. This position will allow Natalie to continue leading the Leadership Development Initiative's (LDI) formation programs but expand her work so that she is able to adapt LID's current program models so they strategically support grassroots movements that are building relationships of power which bring about more just communities.
Rene McKenzie-Hayward (2017) Renee will present a workshop entitled A Faith-Based Trauma Informed Approach to Community Healing at the FORMA Annual Conference on January 24-26, 2018 in Charleston, South Carolina. The workshop will explore how attendees can develop ministries of healing and wholeness in traumatic environment. Renee is the Vicar & Chaplain at Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, PA.
Jennifer Scheper Hughes (2001) is back as an Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of California, Riverside after a year at the Radcliffe institute for Advanced Study at Harvard working on her book project, titled “Contagion and the Sacred in Mexico.” The book explores the religious dimensions of the collapse of the indigenous population in the 16th century. Based on close reading and analysis of archival ecclesial manuscript sources relating to the 1576–1581 epidemic of hemorrhagic fever in central Mexico, the project probes the ambivalent origins of Christianity in the Americas.
John Lewis (1997) has been named Director of Formational Outreach and Lecturer in New Testament and Spirituality at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, TX. In this new position, John directs the Iona Collaborative, an innovative alliance of 21 Episcopal dioceses dedicated to training and forming clergy in their local diocesan settings. He also oversees many of the seminary’s other non-degree programs, including continuing education and lay formation. John joined the seminary faculty and staff in 2016 after serving as an adjunct instructor there since 2003. John is the author of Looking for Life: The Role of ‘Theo-Ethical” Reasoning in Paul’s Religion (Continuum 2005), and also teaches courses in New Testament, Christian formation, and spirituality throughout the wider church. With ECF Fellow Jane Patterson (1994), he serves as Co-Director of St. Benedict’s Workshop in San Antonio, TX, a ministry he founded with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in 2001.
Robert MacSwain (2004) presented his 2016-17 sabbatical research project, "The Hagiological Argument for the Existence of God," at the Appalachian College Association's annual Summit Conference, held in Kingsport, TN, on September 29, 2017. His sabbatical was funded in part by a Post-Doctoral Faculty Fellowship from the ACA and this presentation was one of the conditions of the fellowship. On November 7, 2017, he delivered a lecture at Sewanee titled “Rational and Imaginative Persuasion: The Ambiguous Legacy of C. S. Lewis.” This was the second annual Tom Watson Lecture, sponsored by the Friends of DuBose Library, University of the South. In the current issue of Princeton Theological Review (Volume 21, Number 1, 2017) he published "Sacramentality and Sub-creation.” This is his contribution to “Art as a Voice for the Church: A Festschrift for Gordon Graham,” a symposium with Makoto Fujimura and Nicholas Wolterstorff on Gordon Graham’s book Philosophy, Art, and Religion: Understanding Faith and Creativity (Cambridge University Press, 2017), with a response from Graham. Rob is Associate Professor of Theology at the University of the South.
Kyle Matthew Oliver (2016) has a few upcoming events. The first will take place on December 15 in New York City. It is a launch party for the Media and Social Change Podcast, for which he serves as lead producer. This event will be held in the state of the art Learning Theater at Teachers College, Columbia University and will feature excerpts of my story about religious education in the new media ecology. In January, Kyle will take part in two events. One on January 12-13 in Alexandria, VA at the e-Formation Flagship Gathering. He will be leading two workshops; "Digital Literacy and/as Religious Leadership," "Leading Hybrid Faith Formation: Increasing participation in person and online." The other will be on January 23-24 in Charleston for the e-Formation Bootcamp at 2018 Forma Conference. He will lead three workshops there: "Social Media 101: Introduction to tools and strategies," "Hybrid Faith Formation: Facilitating in-person + online learning," "Increasing Engagement: Principles and ideas for getting people talking online."
David Peters (2017) recently has his ministry featured in a video, which can be viewed here. He prays it is a blessing to you and your ministry. In the video, David speaks about the growing number of veterans who are suffering from moral injury and how the Episcopal Veterans Fellowship is helping them find healing. David is the founder and director of the Episcopal Veterans Fellowship and serves as Assistant to the Rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Austin, TX.
William Petersen (1970) has a new book What Are We Waiting For? Re-Imagining Advent for Time to Come (Church Publishing) which was just released in mid-September. In this book, he argues for an ecumenical liturgical renewal in the life and mission of the Church by proposing an expanded seven-week observance of Advent, taking its cue from the shape and substance of the Revised Common Lectionary and the Ordo Lectionum Missae, while noting (and critiquing) the Church's complicity in the 'Christmas Culture'. Bill is Emeritus Dean and Professor of Ecclesiastical and Ecumenical History of Bexley Hall Seminary, Consultant to the Ecumenical Office of the Episcopal Church, and the founder and convener of The Advent Project.
Jane Shaw (1991), Dean for Religious Life and Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University, gave the 2017 Sarum Lectures in Salisbury Cathedral in April and May. These will be published as Pioneers in Modern Spirituality by Church Publishing (USA) and DLT (UK) in 2018. In July, she spoke on the importance of the arts at the founder's day celebrations at Gladstone's Library in Wales and was delighted to have meals and conversation with ECF Fellow Robert McSwain who was serving as chaplain there at the time. In July, she chaired, with Professor Linda Woodhead, the annual Modern Church conference in London, on the theme of 'God: none, one, two, three or many?' She has recently published The History of a Millennial Movement: The Southcottians (I B Tauris; edited with Philip Lockley), and an article on mysticism: “Varieties of Mystical Experience in William James and other Moderns” in History of European Ideas (Vol. 43, Issue 3, 2017).