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August 25, 2016 News

ECF Fellows News: August 2016

Claude Barbre (1995) will present a clinical case supervision at the 2016 Clinical Day, September 18th, organized by the Chicago Center of Psychoanalysis (CCP) for psychology faculty and students in Chicago. In October, Claude will present two papers at the 2016 Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society (APCS) international conference, October 13-14, Rutgers University. The first paper is entitled, “An American Brand of Torture? Alterity and American Contributions to a Psychology of Interrogation,” and a second paper is entitled, “The Wheels of the Gods Grind Exceedingly Slow but Fine: The Cost of Activism and the Wages of Sacrifice.” He will also chair a panel at the APCS conference entitled, “Refugee and Migrant Dreams” that addresses the dreams and nightmares of the immigrant experience. In addition, he will serve as the 2017-18 Chair of the Graduate Student Scholars Awards Committee for the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 39 (Psychoanalysis). Claude’s book chapter, “The Contrapuntal Play of Paradox: Likeness and Difference in the Theories of Otto Rank” will appear next month in Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Identity and Difference: Navigating the Divide, Brent Willock, Rebecca Coleman Curtis, and Lori C. Bohm (Eds.), pp. 192-207, Routledge Press, 2016. Finally, he has been invited to write a number of encyclopedia articles for the Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, David Leeming (Ed.), Springer Press, 2016, including on the following subjects: neoliberalism and religion; Otto Rank’s psychology of religion; the fundamentalist mindset and religion; genocide; accedia, and Margaret Morgan Lawrence, M.D. The articles are drawn from his extensive research in these areas. Claude is Professor of Clinical Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Chicago IL., and Board Member and Training Supervisor at The Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis.

Kelly Brown Douglas (1983) was the moderator for “What the White Church Must Do”, a panel discussion hosted at Washington National Cathedral and held in partnership with the March on Washington Film Festival. This event continues a series of public discussions on racial reconciliation hosted by the Cathedral which has received press coverage. Click here to read more; a recording of the discussion is available on YouTube. Kelly was the plenary speaker at the 2016 Union of Black Episcopalians Conference held in New Orleans, LA. Also in July, Kelly was quoted in an article, “Historically black church explores faith and justice in gentrified Washington, D.C.”, for the facilitation she did with Calvary Episcopal Church. Kelly is professor of religion at Goucher College and Canon Theologian at Washington National Cathedral, and is the author of several books including Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God.

Ian Douglas (1986) is undertaking numerous projects while on sabbatical from July through September. Starting in mid-July he participated in the study course "Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management" at Harvard Business School. In July and August, he will be a Fellow at The Criterion Institute, a think-tank located in Haddam, CT dedicated to understanding how economic decisions intersect with matters of gender, and how the Church is an economic entity. In addition, he has been asked to be a Visiting Professor at Berkeley Divinity School for the fall 2016 semester teaching a course on the history, polity and canon law of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. Finally, Ian will embark on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with the President and Executive Director of the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem. Ian is Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut.

Natalie Finstad (2014) accepted the position as the Interim Executive Director of the Leadership Development Initiative (LDI) in Boston, MA. The mission of the Leadership Development Initiative is to awaken the Church and enable it to live into its true vocation of social justice and reconciliation through the transformation of individuals, communities, and the larger world by the power of Christ. Read the full announcement here. Prior to LDI, Natalie was co-founder and Executive Director of the Tatua Community in Kenya and, since returning to the United States, has been working to establish the Katallasso Movement to work with communities of faith who, like Tatua, are trying to join in the work of reconciliation.

William Haugaard (1966) died July 30 in Oviedo, Florida. Bill retired as professor of church history and academic dean of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in 1994. A Requiem Mass was held at St. Richard's Episcopal Church in Winter Park, FL on August 13 at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to St. Richard's Episcopal Church. Click here for the obituary page. Please pray for William, his wife Louisa and their family, and those who mourn.

John Houghton’s (1990) latest novel Like a Noise in Dreams was published and is available in paperback. John describes the book as a contemporary fantasy in the vein of Charles Williams. The book is a sequel to John’s earlier novel, Rough Magicke, and follows Bishop Jonathan Mears and his family as they, “uncover not only the roots of their own craft but darker secrets as well." John is the Firestone Endowment Chaplain and Chair of Religious Studies and Philosophy at The Hill School in Pottstown, PA.

Elisabeth Rain Kincaid (2016) presented a paper entitled "Francisco Suárez and the Attempt to Avoid Adverse Effects of Resistance” at a symposium entitled “Daño Colateral: La responsabilidad ética y juridica por los efectos malos indirectos” at the School of Law of the Pontifical University of Chile. She is also a regular contributor to the Covenant blog of The Living Church. Elisabeth is a Ph.D. candidate in Moral Theology/Christian Ethics at the University of Notre Dame.

Cynthia Briggs Kittredge (1990) was the coeditor with Ruthanna Hooke of the Spring issue of the Anglican Theological Review, which featured the topic of Anglican women and prayer. In June, she was a speaker with Barbara Rossing, Gordon Lathrop, and Samuel Torvend at the Pacific Lutheran University Summer Conference in Pastoral Theology. In September, Cynthia will lead a retreat, Walk the Road in the Gospel of Mark: Scripture and Poetry, at Adelynrood Conference Center in Byfield, MA. Those on the retreat will employ poetic modes of travel, immerse themselves in the story of Mark, attend closely, so they can see its striking images, hear its echoes and prophecies, and grapple with its stubborn paradox. Cynthia is Dean and President and Professor of New Testament at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, TX.

Robert MacSwain (2004) will be a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School and a resident at the Harvard Center for the Study of World Religions from August 2016 through May 2017. While there, he will be researching what he calls the "hagiological argument" for the existence of God--the argument from holiness or sanctity. From Aug 29 - Sept 9, Syndicate Theology will host a symposium on Rob’s book Solved by Sacrifice: Austin Farrer, Fideism, and the Evidence of Faith (Peeters, 2013), featuring commentaries from Olli-Pekka Vainio, Darren Kennedy, Leigh Vicens, and Paul Griffiths, with responses to each from MacSwain. Rob is Associate Professor of Theology at the School of Theology of the University of the South.

Derek Minno-Bloom (2016) has been organizing with the Educational Justice Collective in Asbury Park, NJ. The collective has held several popular education events for the Asbury Park community. Topics have included “Race, Sexuality, and Gender”, “Ending White Supremacy in the U.S”, and “Black Lives Matter and Racial Justice.” Derek also helped found the Racial Justice Project at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asbury Park. This summer, the Racial Justice Project has hosted a discussion series called “Is It Racist?” on race and popular culture. The Racial Justice Project also hosted an event on youth, incarceration, and the prison industrial complex featuring a talk by Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Initiative. He recently was published in Evangelicals for Social Action with the piece, “Prayer as an Act of Resistance”. Derek is the Director of Food Justice at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asbury Park, NJ. The Food Justice Program serves 3,000 meals a month to community members who are hungry and experiencing homelessness while also providing free social workers and holistic healthcare providers as well as job training. Derek has also been working to build connections with local farms to provide healthy food for guests at the soup kitchen and food pantry and has also initiated an urban garden at Trinity. Trinity’s garden was part of a city wide urban garden tour in July that talked about food justice, food security, and the importance of growing your own food.

Sarah Nolan (2012) and Nicolle Janelle (2014) are featured as part of the Abundant Table Farm Project in the one of the Episcopal Church’s Thursdays at 2 video series. Click here to watch the video. The Abundant Table’s mission is to connect the land with spirituality and community in the Diocese of Los Angeles. The Thursdays at 2 series features a new video each week illustrating the work of congregations and individuals and is posted on the Episcopal Church's Facebook page here.

Kyle Matthew Oliver (2016) received the Bell-Woolfall Fellowship, awarded by Virginia Theological Seminary, for students pursuing a post-seminary academic degree with the intention of teaching one of the theological disciplines in a seminary. He has also begun serving as an assistant priest at St. Michael's Church in New York where he will be contributing to their liturgy, communications, and faith formation. Kyle will be presenting numerous workshops this fall, including, "To Infinity and Beyond: Baptism as an Invitation to Adventure" at Nuevo Amanacer, Aug 29 – Sept 1; "Social Media for Beginners," "Social Media in Church Communications Planning," and "Social Media as Both Context and Content in Faith Formation Ministries" at the Diocese of Massachusetts’ Resource Day, October 1; "Digital Media for Ministry Asset Mapping: Preliminary findings from a qualitative study in theological education," "Digital Badging and Faith Formation" at the Religious Education Association Annual Meeting, Nov 4 – 6; and he will be providing a workshop and consultation at the Province VIII e-Formation Boot Camp and Consultation Day, Nov11 – 12. A recent post by Kyle for the Diocese of North Carolina, "Digital Ministry Has a New Name: Ministry" was published in May and he has launched the Learning, Faith, & Media newsletter for updates and learnings.

Titus Presler (1988) is among the confirmed speakers for “Jesus Amidst the Many Mosques: Christian Witness, Muslim Contexts”, a one-day conference on Saturday, Oct 22 at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul in Los Angeles. Click here for more information and to register. Titus published an article, “Terrorism and religion: A link we must acknowledge, not deny” that challenges common reactions that those who commit religious violence are not genuinely religious or religiously motivated and how religious communities might counter such extremism. Titus is currently based in Vermont, where he serves St. Matthew’s Church in Enosburg Falls, and continues as Principal-in-exile of Edwardes College in Peshawar, Pakistan at the request of Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz Peters.

Greta Ronningen (2011) will be co-leading "Into Silence," a guided contemplative retreat, Sept 8 - 11 at Mt. Calvary Monastery in Santa Barbara, CA. Contact Mount Calvary for more information and to register. Earlier in August, she led a six-day yoga retreat at the monastery that focused on relaxation, meditation, and spiritual formation. Greta is a member of the Community of Divine Love in San Gabriel, CA, serves as a chaplain working with both men and women in Los Angeles County jails, is a spiritual director and retreat leader on Christian mysticism, the beguines, and encountering divine love.

Regina Walton's (2005) article "The Identity of the Friend and the Role of Spiritual Direction in George Herbert's 'Love Unknown'" appeared in the latest issue of the George Herbert Journal. Her poems have appeared in the most recent issues of Asheville Poetry Review and Spiritus. Her first collection of poems, The Yearning Life, won the inaugural Phyllis A. Tickle Prize for Poetry and will be published by Paraclete Press this fall. Regina is Pastor and Rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Newton, MA.

Joseph Wolyniak (2012) was ordained to the transitional diaconate in the Diocese of North Carolina and appointed chaplain to The Episcopal Church at Princeton, a faith community in the Diocese of New Jersey that worships at Princeton University Chapel and includes students, seminarians, faculty, and staff from Princeton University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Westminster Choir College. As an outgrowth of the Episcopal Church Foundation's Vital Teams Leadership Colloquium in the Diocese of Los Angeles this past April, Joseph is working with ECF on a Roanridge Trust-supported initiative to address the theological education and ministerial formation of leaders in small, rural churches. That initiative will include a gathering of diocesan and seminary representatives to examine current pedagogical models, exploring opportunities for greater collaboration between dioceses and Episcopal seminaries.

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