News Detail

ECF's wonderful network of Fellows in seminaries, dioceses, congregations, and communities around the country are doing some inspiring work.

Last week Devon Anderson (2007), Susan Richardson (2008), and Daniel Vélez Rivera (2007) joined ECF President Donald Romanik in NYC at the Episcopal Business Administrators Conference. They presented workshops on effective lay-clergy partnerships as well as leadership development for mission. We used this opportunity to highlight the Fellowship Partners Program with diocesan leaders from around the country, as well as showcase the talent and expertise of some of our newest Fellows. We’re also glad to be collaborating with Cynthia Kittredge (1990) and Mark Richardson (1990) on ECF’s new pilot project. The Barnabas Project will provide training for seminarians and new clergy in the practical aspects of parish life, such as finance and administration.

Below you’ll see a few updates and books from individual Fellows, but please check out all the recent news on Fellows. See the complete list of recent books online.

If you have ideas on how ECF Fellows can be a resource for your ministry in the wider church, please be in touch. If you know talented individuals who might benefit from a fellowship, please spread the word.  ECF invests in emerging scholars and leaders who have the potential to educate and transform future generations through the Church.

Recent Highlights

Anglican Theological Review:  ?The Fall issue of the Anglican Theological Review will showcase ECF's Fellows and the work of the Fellowship Partnership program. “New Dimensions in Theology for the Episcopal Church,” was edited by Charles Robertson (1998), Ellen Wondra (1985) and Stephanie Spellers (2008) and will be available this November. For more information about the Anglican Theological Review, visit www.anglicantheologicalreview.org.

Rima Vesely-Flad (2007):  Rima is a Ph.D. candidate in Christian Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and is the founder of the Interfaith Coalition of Advocates for Reentry and Employment (ICARE). She is passionate about educating communities of faith about the criminal justice system, engaging with them in advocacy for people with criminal convictions, and assisting congregations in developing prison and reentry ministries. She recently co-edited an issue of Fellowship Magazine focusing on interfaith perspectives of the prison system, and her upcoming article in the Anglican Theological Review explores the links between historical punitive theology and U.S. public policy. In May, Rima was awarded the Daniel Day William fellowship from Union Theological Seminary and a 2011-2012 Doctoral Fellowship from the Fund for Theological Education.

Pamela Cooper-White (1995):  Pamela latest book, Braided Selves: Collected Essays on Multiplicity, God and Persons, was published by Cascade Books in June 2011. Pamela serves as the Ben G. and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling and Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, and Co-Director of the Atlanta Theological Association’s ThD program in Pastoral Counseling.

Cynthia Kittredge (1990):  Cynthia gave the fifth Fred B. Craddock seminar “Reading Women in the Gospels” at the Stalcup School of Theology for the Laity at Brite Divinity School in May. Cynthia also organized the Anglican Biblical Scholars Eucharist and Reception at the International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature at King’s College Chapel in London, England, July 2011. She also published the poem Wolf Moon in the Anglican Theological Review’s Summer 2011 issue.

Fellows' Publications Highlights

Flora A. Keshgegian (1980) Time For Hope: Practices For Living In Today’s World. (Continuum, 2006) From the publisher: "Time for Hope re-imagines hope in today’s world. It begins with the premise that there is a crisis of hope, especially in the West. Global conflicts, ecological threats, economic distress, and political disillusion are eroding optimism about the future. Often the religious response to historical despair is to turn away from hope in history and to focus on a better afterlife or to forego ethical action in a search for pleasure and beauty. This book seeks instead to change thinking about hope in history by exploring the narratives of time that shape and determine how human beings understand their lives...It not only proposes alternative narratives of time, but also presents specific practices and habits that will lead to thinking and living differently."

Juan Oliver (1990) Ripe Fields: The Promise and Challenge of Latino Ministry. (Church Publishing, 2009) From the publisher: "With Latino ministries growing around the country in all traditions, and with increasing resource and programmatic offerings being allocated to serve those communities, this highly descriptive handbook profiles the culture, faith, and importance of this emerging minority. Within the book chapters, Oliver surveys topical areas including biblical interpretation, worship, authority and governance, administration and stewardship, and non-Latinos in Latino ministry."

Susan Richardson (2008) Child by Child: Supporting Children with Learning Differences and Their Families. (Church Publishing, 2011) From the publisher: "Integrating children and teens with learning differences into church programs is a growing priority for nearly all congregations, large and small, yet many feel ill-equipped to 'manage' those with special needs in their classrooms, programs and worship. This new guidebook for churches is designed to help integrate children and teens with learning differences—and their families—into the fabric of everyday church life. A useable on-the-ground resource for church leaders with specific suggestions, samples, and processes for adapting curricula, training volunteers, and supporting parents and caregivers, this guide is grounded in theological principles for the inclusion of people with disabilities in the life of a congregation. It begins by focusing on human relationships instead of programs. Expanding the church’s awareness and understanding of inclusion is done with respect and achieved by extending the gospel of welcome to all. An extensive annotated bibliography of support materials is included."