|
Alumni Monthly News
July, 2020
|
|
Friends,
The summer tends to be a little quiet in the academic community, a time for rest, reflection, and rejuvenation. I think many are feeling the opposite – there is a weight the current circumstances of our world has left on our shoulders. I hope you will lean on Iliff, our community, and each other as we navigate and activate change going into the fall.
Iliff remains committed to social justice and equity, and as part of Iliff’s response to this moment, please go to our Black Lives Matter page. This page expresses more than this moment in time. It also expresses Iliff’s commitment to participate in generating the mighty stream that will move our country closer to justice.
|
|
In a time where leading with courageous theological imagination is ever so important, I want to wish congratulations to all of our colleagues who were recently appointed or have started serving at a new church, nonprofit, or innovative ministry. Please continue to share your updates with us, we would love to celebrate your accomplishments and milestones with you!
Sincerely,
Kelsey Cochrane
Vice President of Institutional Advancement
|
|
Dr. Ted Vial, Harvey Potthoff Professor of Theology and Modern Western Religious Thought, is taking on a new role at Iliff, Vice President of Innovation, Learning, and Institutional Research.
This position empowers Iliff to navigate the sea change underway in higher education with agility.
Vial will work to bring Iliff's commitment to social justice and deep expertise in the liberal arts, as well as theological analysis and reflection to new partners in learning. He deeply believes that these skills and bodies of knowledge are too important to be restricted to only those who are able to enroll as degree-seeking students.
Vial holds a B.A. from Brown University and a M.A. and Ph.D. from The University of Chicago. He has won several awards for teaching both undergraduate and graduate students. His scholarship is in the areas of religion, race, and gender. Most recently he served as the Associate Dean for Curriculum and Institutional Research at Iliff, and as Senior Researcher and What's a Human Really? Officer at Iliff's Artificial Intelligence Institute. Learn more about Vial.
|
|
Registration Open for Fall Course for Alumni and Community Members, "Ethics in an Age of Plagues, Pestilence, and Pandemics"
|
|
The world is gripped by a deadly pandemic. This is neither the first time, nor will it probably be the last.
What we do know is in the aftermath of such deadly epidemics, the societal bonds that once held community together are frayed, if not completely broken, as radical changes take hold and new ways of being arise.
This self-paced, 10-week course provides a deep understanding and glimpse of our world from an ethical and moral lens following the global pandemic.
Participants will wrestle with the importance of maintaining a moral compass during crisis and an ethical vision as a new reality is constructed. Special attention will be given to how not all suffer equally, and the role racism, classism, and sexism during national emergencies. Finally, the course will assist the student in finding their own ethical voice during a time of hopelessness and desperation.
Pricing
Two registration options are available:
- Self-paced course: $50.00
- Self-paced course, plus five, one-hour live Zoom webinar sessions with Dr. De La Torre: $100.00
Dates and Location
The course begins on September 14, 2020. 10 weeks of material will be offered and each participant will have up to 16 weeks to complete the course. This is a self-paced, online course.
Watch a video introduction to the course by Dr. De La Torre.
|
|
Dr. Miguel De La Torre, Professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies at Iliff, will present at the #RethinkingChurch Virtual Summit, which will be hosted online from July 21 to 24, 2020.
The summit will explore how we “church” in the midst of a pandemic, after the pandemic, and in the future. Think Tank attendees will participate in a video conference group to discuss critical issues and their work will continue for one year after the summit to present research, resources, and tools around their selected topic.
The focus De La Torre’s academic pursuit is social ethics within contemporary U.S. thought, specifically how religion affects race, class, and gender oppression. Since obtaining his doctoral in 1999, he has authored over a hundred articles and published thirty-three books (five of which won national awards). Learn more about De La Torre.
|
|
Betsy Lay, Assistant Director of Academic Program Management in the Iliff Office of the Dean of the Faculty, will be a featured speaker at the June 20 to 31, 2020 Purpose-Driven Business Summit.
This free, online conference's focus is "Be a Changemaker Using the Power of Business for Good!: Discover How Successful Impact Brands Grow Their Business While Making a Difference...So You Can Too!" Twenty thought leaders and brand trailblazers from companies of all sizes will speak about the values and greater purpose woven into their businesses.
Lay is co-founder of Lady Justice Brewing Company, an L3C, community-based, philanthropic brewery that donates its proceeds to Denver organizations that empower women and girls. "Great beer for a better world."
|
|
Rev. Dr. Jennifer S. Leath, Assistant Professor of Religion and Social Justice and Director of the MASJE Degree Program, published an article entitled, "The Perpetual Cycle of However: Soul in the Fight for Racial Justice" in the Gerorgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs' Berkley Forum.
The piece starts, "Justice is a moving target, and with each victory justice claims there is a 'however.' The Emancipation Proclamation was declared in 1863; however, those enslaved in Galveston did not receive word of liberation until 1865. We have celebrated Juneteenth since June 19, 1865; however, the pronouncement did not block the course of racism into the present day."
Leath joined the Iliff faculty in 2015 as assistant professor of religion and social justice. Her research concentrates on the intersection of sexualities and religions in sacred communities and spaces of African Diaspora. Her scholarship also engages the intersection of Afro-Diasporic women’s spiritualities and social activism.
Bridging concerns of religious ethics and African American studies, much of her current writing and teaching focuses on the sexual ethics and economies of historically Black churches and Afro-Diasporic religion in the United States. Learn more about Leath's work.
|
|
Dr. Eric C. Smith (PhD '13), Assistant Professor of Early Christianity and Contemporary Christian Practices at Iliff, recently published a book, Paul the Progressive?: The Compassionate Christian’s Guide to Reclaiming the Apostle as an Ally.
A generation of biblical scholars has sparked a revolution in thinking about the apostle Paul. Now, bible scholar and progressive Christian pastor Eric C. Smith is helping Christians see how that revolution makes a difference for people engaged in the work of justice and inclusion.
|
|
In Paul the Progressive?, Smith revisits an often misunderstood Paul in light of modern biblical scholarship, telling the story of a Paul who challenged the norms of his day, broke down barriers of gender and ethnicity, and re-imagined God’s plan for the world in terms of radical inclusion and salvation available to everyone.
Smith teaches in the fields of the history of Christianity and biblical studies. His research focuses on material aspects of Christianity before Constantine, especially the art, architecture, and communal life of Pauline and Roman churches. Other interests include identity formation, materialist theories of religion, biblical reception and exegesis, and spatial theory. Learn more about Smith's work.
|
|
Dr. Julie Todd (PhD '12), scholar-activist and John Wesley Iliff Senior Adjunct Lecturer in Justice and Peace Studies at the Iliff School of Theology, recently published a book, 50: Thorns & Blossoms.
Todd shares 50 of her writings in the book. Most pieces are in a poetic prose style – a predominantly long-form, stream-of-consciousness writing from journal entries and writing groups – alongside a few lengthier prose essays and previously published works.
|
|
Todd explores her own inner emotional terrain and spirituality and how life in both solitude and community generates creativity, vulnerability, and change. She shares much of her journey from life as an institutional church leader to a wider embrace of spiritual leadership beyond hierarchy and traditional religion. From sweet odes to plant life to encounters with ancestors, from confessions of addiction and abortion to body love and self-hatred, from ongoing self-examination of her own complicity in white, Christian supremacy to rants against racism and heteropatriarchy, many readers will find these writing compelling, provocative, and relatable.
|
|
Rev. Lou Ward (MDiv '17) recently joined the Wesley United Methodist Church in Pueblo, Colorado as pastor.
Ward started his career as a teacher, then in the local business sector as a corporate training manager. Then he was called to the ministry.
He graduated from Iliff and was ordained as an elder in full connection in the United Methodist Church in Billings, Montana, in 2019. Ward served at Walsenburg and Trinidad United Methodist Church from 2015-17, and most recently served at La Junta United Methodist Church from 2017-20.
He also served as a volunteer Colorado State patrol chaplain and served in the Army Reserves’ Chaplain Candidate Program from at Fort Carson.
Moving to Pueblo is a homecoming of sorts. While Ward grew up in East Baldwin, Maine, he moved to Pueblo in 2000 and met his wife Jenna, while they both studied at Colorado State University-Pueblo.
|
|
Pandemic Resources for Leaders
|
|
Iliff offers a curated set of pandemic resources for those serving in leadership, whether in a church or a non-profit. Visit the Pandemic Toolbox at resource.iliff.edu.
|
|
Newly Added:
Pandemic Religion documents the many ways that American religious communities have been challenged and reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of the crisis, religious communities have published many spiritual responses to illness, death, and unemployment. Most of this information, however, will be lost if we don’t retain a record of it.
When historians study the Black Death or the 1918 flu, they rely on materials that generations have preserved, everything from parish documents to church altarpieces to newspapers to personal diaries and letters. Only a fraction of materials survive. Today’s digital age poses unique challenges. On the one hand, a Tweet might circulate long after its author has disavowed it. On the other hand, videos of sermons or church webpages are ephemeral. Please help preserve your memories and materials that will otherwise be lost.
Pandemic Religion collects images, videos, audio files, texts, and more from religious communities and individuals. Here are some ideas of what you could contribute:
- Stories about how your religious practice has changed
- Communications within your religious community
- Documents about decisions or changes your religious community has made
- Links, photos, recordings, or screenshots of religious practice moving to online spaces, such as video and social media
- Stories about how you or your community is helping during, or being hurt by, the pandemic
Pandemic Religion was started by John G. Turner (Department of Religious Studies) and Lincoln Mullen (Department of History and Art History) at George Mason University.
|
|
Student Spotlight:
2020-2021 Iliff Student Senate Co-Chairs
|
|
The Iliff Student Senate is an elected representative body that serves student needs by encouraging individual growth, communal ties, and spiritual development. The Senate supports Iliff's mission by providing a forum for open and civil communication and acting as a liaison between the student body and faculty, staff, alumni/ae, and trustees.
Meet the 2020-2021 Iliff Student Senate Co-Chairs, Sam Fisher and Dash Kees.
|
|
Sam Fisher felt led to pursue full-time ministry in the United Methodist Church for many years.
"I had served in churches as clergy for four years prior to moving to Denver to start my MDiv. Additionally, I worked in and with the Legacy Nebraska Annual Conference prior to it merging with Kansas East and Kansas West. I am and have been for several years very passionate about how the UMC’s connectional system provides resources and training to our clergy and laity."
He explains his choice to attend Iliff by sharing, "For some reason the nudge to look at Iliff came from one of my best friends and many of my colleagues in Iowa who are in the Journey program. Since starting, I have come to realize that Iliff is probably one of the better choices I have made. The focus on social justice, the diversity in belief both Christian and non-Christian, and the overwhelmingly warm community at Iliff is a testament to decades of focused care on creating and sustaining a powerful institution that equips leaders."
"The biggest surprise for me about Iliff is the diversity in experience and belief. I love how we hold personal experiences as part of the journey and honor the spaces people are in. In the culture we live in, it is not common to find places where you can engage authentically with other people."
"I am a pretty big picture kind of person, and I see every class and person at Iliff as part of the larger puzzle in the work of ministry. I love being United Methodist because of our deep commitment to education and the relationships between our institutions of higher education."
|
|
David Dashifen Kees, "Dash," first heard about Iliff from an alumna when seated next to each other on a plane flight. They had both attended the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City, Utah, and were flying home to the Baltimore-Washington area.
Kees shares, "In chatting about our experiences at the parliament, the topic eventually turned toward her time at Iliff. She and I are both a part of the Pagan community, though of different traditions therein, but it let me know that there was a place for me in theological studies."
Kees was drawn to Iliff's Journey program that allows students to earn a degree from their home community. "I can honestly say that the Journey program is amazing. My wife and I have been married for almost 15 years, and she has a nice, stable job as a veterinarian in Virginia. Without the Journey program, we would have had to have a much more fraught conversation about how to accomplish my educational goals vis-à-vis her job in one state and Iliff two-thirds of a continent away."
Kees says, "At Iliff I am surprised by how much I am challenged in my own faith. Most forms of Paganism are very individualistic, by which I mean to say: if you put two Pagans in a room, even from the same tradition or from the same group, you will hear two different ways to be a Pagan. In some ways, this creates a custom-fit spirituality that can be comfy like a favorite sweater, but like that sweater, it may be a bit thinner in some places than others. Studying the great theological debates of the last few thousand years or discussing the intersection between race and racism and religion has forced me to examine and re-examine parts of myself that I thought were built on firmer spiritual foundations."
|
|
Rev. Dwight Habeman (STM '76), Minnesota Conference of the United Methodist Church retired elder, died June 13, 2020. Haberman served Minnesota churches in Akeley, Park Rapids, Ortonville, Kabetogama, Woodbury, and Burnsville. He was the first chairperson of the Palestine-Israel Justice Project. An online obituary may be found here.
|
|
William "Bill" Stevenson (MTS '19), attorney and social justice advocate, died June 14, 2020. Stevenson worked as a corporate attorney for more than two decades. Most recently, he served as the director of cooperative development for Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, a non-profit, progressive, and grassroots organization. He established a Kindness Scholarship at The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT, awarded annually to a student who is dedicated to fostering compassion. View his obituary here.
|
|
Iliff's Professional Information Network (PIFN)
|
|
Iliff hosts an online list of available positions for the community. You can sign up to submit positions directly, too!
|
|
Something You'd Like to Share?
|
|
Connect with us using this online form if you have information you would like us to share in future issues of this alumni newsletter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|