Stories from the ECF Fellowship Partners Program: Spring 2014
Liza Anderson (2011) is one of four Fellows that ECF profiled in the lead up to the 2014 Fellowship announcement. In her interview, Liza reflects on her ECF Fellowship and speaks passionately aboutleadership development and vocation in the Episcopal Church. Anderson is convinced that we need to diversify our understanding of vocation and what it means to be a leader in the church. “We say we value all kinds of leaders and ministries, but we don’t really..." Read the full profile here. Liza also traveled to Liberia in March as part of the Episcopal Church's Covenant Committee with the Episcopal Church of Liberia and presented papers at the North American Patristics Society and the International Congress on Medieval Studies. Liza is writing her dissertation and teaching classes at Yale Divinity School.
Pamela Cooper-White (1995) published an article, “Why Didn’t Freud Reject Pfister?” in the latest issue of Pastoral Psychology 2014 (Vol. 63:91-95), and 5 entries in the “Countertransference,” “Intersubjectivity,” “Melanie Klein,” “Bridget, Saint,” and “Birgitta of Sweden,” in the Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, 2nd ed., (New York: Springer Science, 2013; online at SpringerReference.com, 2012.) She was the featured speaker at the 2014 Pastoral Health Conference at Baptist Health, Jacksonville, FL on May 2. On June 14 she will be a plenary presenter at the Society for Pastoral Theology annual study conferencespeaking on her Fulbright research work-in-progress: “‘Dirty Old Gods’: Religion and Freud’s Wednesday Night Psychological Society from Habsburg Vienna to the Holocaust”. She recently signed a contract from Fortress Press for a book on “Ministry Practices” to be co-authored this summer with Dr. Michael Cooper-White, President of Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary, for a new Fortress series Foundations in Ministry for persons discerning about seminary and a call to ministry. Read more and view new photos about Pamela’s 2013-14 Fulbright sabbatical at the Sigmund Freud Museum on her Vienna blog. Pamela is the Ben G. and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA and Co-Director of the Atlanta Theological Association’s joint ThD program in Pastoral Counseling. She serves as Assisting Priest at Holy Trinity Parish in Decatur, Georgia.
Joseph Duggan (2008) will return to Mt. Calvary Retreat Center in Santa Barbara, California June 23 - 27 to lead "From Annunciation (Call) to Resurrection (Mission) in 5 Days.” The retreat emphasis will be "to name, deepen and celebrate where our call, hidden life, public ministry, passion/death, and resurrection intersects with Christ's journey.” Further information about the retreat can be found here. Joseph is Priest-in-Charge of St. Francis Episcopal Church, Fair Oaks, California.
Nancy Frausto (2013) was featured as the first-ever guest to appear in the Monday Madness video of the popular Lent Madness series offered by Forward Movement. In the video, Nancy speaks about how she uses Lent Madness/Locura de Cuaresma in her bilingual congregation, having developed resources about various saints for their Wednesday night discussion. Nancy serves as Priest-in-Charge at Trinity Church, Los Angeles a bilingual congregation in a collaborative partnership with St. Mary’s Church.
Jeffrey Gill (2000) became Rector of Trinity Parish in Seattle, Washington in late 2012 after having served for 25 years in the Diocese of Massachusetts. Since making his transition, he has also been asked to chair the Global Episcopal Mission Network for the Diocese of Olympia. Jeffrey has also been invited to work with South Sudanese clergy in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya on issues around conflict resolution and peace building in light of the recent violence in South Sudan.
Gary Hall (1983) is one of four Fellows profiled leading up to the announcement of the 2014 Fellows. In his interview, Gary speaks about the future of leadership formation in the Church. "We’re not producing people who want to come into a faith community and figure out what its mission is, what its context is, and how to revitalize it to fit its current context... 'What we really need,' he says, 'are people who can size up congregations, size up a community, and who can really work in groups.'" Read the full profile here. Gary is the Dean of Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Hughes (2001) published an article, "God-Bearers on Pilgrimage to Tepeyac: A Scholar of Religion Encounters the Material Dimension of Marian Devotion in Mexico," in Religion and the Arts 18 (2014) 156-183. Jennifer has been to studing religious festivals, immigration, and globalization in California, after having been awarded a $75,000 grant last fall from The Henry Luce Foundation. The grant continues through 2015. The Henry Luce Foundation seeks to bring important ideas to the center of American life, strengthen international understanding, and foster innovation and leadership in academic, policy, religious, and art communities.Jennifer is Associate Professor of History at the University of California Riverside, founding co-chair of UC Riverside’s Institute for the Study of Immigrant Rights, and co-chair of the Religion in Latin America and Caribbean Group of the American Academy of Religion. She serves as Assistant Priest at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Santa Ana, California.
Cynthia Kittredge (1990) is one of four Fellows profiled leading up to the announcement of the 2014 Fellows. In her interview, Cynthia reflects on her ECF Fellowship, her new position as Dean and President of the Seminary of the South, and academic and leadership development in the church today. “She doesn’t see scholarship and parish life as opposites. “I try to encourage our students and graduates to maintain a connection with the scholarly world to help them in their preaching and pastoring,” she says, “and to use the very best resources for their theological reflection.” Read the full profile here. Cynthia is Dean and President of the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas.
Robert MacSwain's (2004) recent essay, "'Scripture in the Toolshed': A Report from North America," has been included in the collection of essays The Bible in the Life of the Church. This volume is part of the Canterbury Studies in Anglicanism series, and was published by Canterbury Press / Morehouse Publishing in 2013. Robert is Assistant Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics at Sewanee.
William Petersen’s (1970) Good Friday homily, “The Challenge and Choices of Good Friday,” has been selected by the American Interfaith Institute as an exemplary 2014 sermon and published on their web site. The American Interfaith Institute is dedicated to fostering good Jewish-Christian relationships. 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.
Titus Presler (1998) has returned to the United States after having been threatened and attacked in Islamabad, Pakistan this past February. He wrote an account of the February 14 incident in an update published on the Episcopal Digital Network and in email updates to family, colleagues, and friends. An article in the Anglican Communion News Service documents the difficulties and dangers Titus and others at the college have faced. Titus had arrived in Pakistan in 2011 and served as Principal of Edwardes College in Peshawar, Pakistan. In his most recent email update, he says that, “Exile is the apt concept, for being deprived of documentation meant that I could return neither to the college ministry in Peshawar nor to my family and home. It was an involuntary geographical restriction.” While his time in Pakistan was brought to a close far too soon, even while in exile, awaiting documents to return to the United States, Titus was still able make significant impacts in his work. One highlight was attending the 2014 gathering of the US-Pakistan Inter-Religious Consortium, an initiative sponsored jointly by Intersections International at Marble Collegiate Church in New York City and the Institute for Research and Dialogue at International Islamic University in Islamabad. He closed his update by imploring us to not give up on Pakistan and its people, that the fate of its people is of importance to the future of our global 21st century. “In that spirit I celebrate that it was the hospitality of a Muslim household in Islamabad that made it possible for the exile to be safe and fruitful, a family that supports justice for the rights of Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan. I am very grateful to them. The dialogue, mutual appreciation and support we have together are, I hope, a harbinger of the future.”
C.K. Robertson (1998) was conferred a Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa by the General Theological Seminary at its 192nd Commencement on May 14. He also has written "Barnabas vs. Paul: To Encourage or Confront?" that will be published this fall through Abingdon Press, as part of a "versus" series. This publication will be highlighted at American Academy of Religion Conference and Society for Biblical Literature’s Annual Meeting this coming November. Chuck serves as the Canon to the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church.
Albert Rodriguez (2013) has completed the spring semester on his course, “The Emerging Ministry Among American Born Latinos” at the Seminary of the Southwest (SSW). This is a new course designed for the Hispanic Church Studies concentration at SSW. Al has also had the opportunity to present this theme at the Dioceses of San Diego, Newark, and Texas. Additionally, he presented an ECF webinar, “The American Born Latino: An Expanding Mission Field for the Episcopal Church,” click here to view a recording. Similar workshops are planned in the Diocese of New York, in partnership with the Rev. Anthony Guillén, Episcopal Church Officer for Latino/Hispanic Ministries. Please email Al to request a sample power point presentation providing a summary of this emerging Latino ministry, entitled, “Trans-Generation Latino/Hispanic Ministry.” Al is particularly interested in knowing about Latino ministry across the country which is done either bilingually or in English. He is one of four Fellows profiled by ECF in the lead up to the 2014 Fellowship announcement. In his interview, Al speaks of the need for lay and ordained leaders to be entrepreneurial and his mission and vision for the American Latino Episcopal Outreach. Read the full profile here. Al is currently Adjunct Instructor at the Seminary of the Southwest and Assisting Priest at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas.
Allen Shin (2003) was ordained and consecrated Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of New York on May 17. The service was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as chief consecrator, more information and photos are available here and here. The Diocese of New York consists of over 200 congregations encompassing Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City, and the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester. Prior to becoming Bishop Suffragan of New York, Allen served as Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Huntington, New York.
Edwin Chr. van Driel (2003) was installed this May as the Directors' Bicentennial Associate Professor in Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and delivered the installation address on "Gospeling: Paul, Protestant Theologians, and Pittsburgh Theological Seminary." The lecture title reflects his continuing research on a theological reading of contemporary Pauline exegesis, which also resulted in his essay "Salvation History, Apocalyptic Invasion, and Supralapsarian Theology” in Galatians and Christian Theology (Baker Academics, 2013) and a paper on “Paul’s Implied Gospel Narrative: John Calvin and the New Perspective in Conversation” that will be delivered at the International Congress on Calvin Research in Zurich, Switzerland, in August. His other current research is focused on ecclesiology, seeking to offer an alternative for the voluntarism deeply imbedded in American Church life. This spring he spoke at the Presbyterian Church (USA) Moderator’s Third Colloquium on Ecclesiology at Fuller Theological Seminary, on “Outside the (United) Church is No Salvation.” Additionally, Edwin published “On The Theological Vision That Shaped Glory to God” in Call to Worship 47.2 (April 2014), 3-10. An ordained Presbyterian Church minister, Edwin has served on the committee that put together the recently published new Presbyterian hymnal Glory to God and was the primary writer of the committee’s Theological Vision Statement and Statement on Language.
Joseph Wolyniak (2012) will offer an upcoming ECF webinar, entitled “Overcoming the Conflict Myth: Engaging Science, Technology, & Faith at the Grassroots," on June 3 from 7 to 8PM ET. As vice chair of the Executive Council Committee on Science, Technology & Faith, he attended the Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology & the Church hosted by the Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City May 7 - 10, at which ECF Fellow W. Mark Richardson (1990) offered the keynote address. Joseph is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford and visiting scholar at the University of Denver.
Jesse Zink (2013) presented the International Partnership keynote presentation on March 1 for the Companions in Mission Conference of the Diocese of Connecticut. Click here to view a recording of the keynote. Jesse also led an ECF webinar on mission and evangelism lessons from the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. Click here to see a recording of this webinar. Jesse is a priest in the Diocese of Western Massachusetts and a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge.