NETWORK

The Magazine of Union Theological Seminary | Fall 2015

 NETWORK
Vol. 1, No. 1 | Fall 2015 On the Cover
Benjamin Perry ’15 (left) and Shawn Torres (right) at
Published by a December 18, 2014 street demonstration (die-in) at
Broadway and Reinhold Niebuhr Place (120th Street),
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
New York.
3041 Broadway at 121st Street
New York, NY 10027 A week after a New York City grand jury announced
kmcgee@uts.columbia.edu that no charges would be filed against police officers
212-280-1590 involved in the death of Eric Garner on Staten
Island, Union hosted a multifaith prayer breakfast
on December 18 convened jointly by Union, Auburn
Editors-in-Chief Graphic Design Seminary, The Riverside Church, Interfaith Center
Marvin Ellison and Kevin McGee Ron Hester Design of NY, Milstein Center For Interreligious Dialogue,
and the Drum Major Institute. At breakfast, speak-
Editor Principal Photographers ers included Martin Luther King III and Rev. Traci
Jason Wyman Ron Hester Blackmon along with organizers from Ferguson,
Richard Madonna MO: Jelani Brown, Tara Thompson, and Johnetta
Class Notes/In Memoriam Kevin McGee Elzie (who was named by Fortune magazine in March
Leah Rousmaniere Rebecca Stevens 2015 to its World’s 50 Greatest Leaders list). Union
Tom Zuback students Benjamin Perry ’15 and Shawn Torres also
Writers Union Theological Seminary spoke about their starkly different experiences after
Emily Brewer ’15 Photo Archive being arrested in November while participating
Elizabeth Call in the same NYC street demonstration. The prayer
Jamall Calloway Visit us online: breakfast concluded with participants holding a
Todd Clayton ’14 utsnyc.edu die-in as pictured on the cover.
Marvin Ellison ’81 Like us on Facebook:
Karenna Gore ’13 facebook.com/unionseminary Cover Photo by Richard Madonna
Kevin McGee Follow us on Twitter:
Derrick McQueen ’09 twitter.com/unionseminary below left, l-r: Mary Foulke, Carol Ann Jenson, and
Candace Simpson Watch us on YouTube: Catherine Bowers Class of 1989 at their 25th Reunion;
below right: Students at work in the “Love Hub.”
youtube.com/unionseminary
Donate to Union: opposite page, left: Commencement Day 2015 hug between
utsnyc.edu/donate Zachary Walter and Lindsey Nye; opposite page, right: Love
in Action: NYC demonstration with Rashad Moore ’15 (left)
and Itang Young ’12 (right).

2 union network | fall 2015

 CONTENTS
Feature Articles 3 #LoveInAction and the Love Hub
5 #LoveInAction: Archiving the History
18 The Center for Earth Ethics
19 Travels in Peru

Departments 2 President’s Message

ALUMNI/AE 6 Launching the Union Alumni/ae Network

7 Alumni/ae Profiles
24 Class Notes
29 Union Days

FACULTY 10 Faculty Publications

12 Faculty Comings and Goings

STUDENTS 23 Union at a Glance

COMMENCEMENT 13 Photos of the 177th Commencement

17 Union Medal Recipients 2015

DEVELOPMENT 20 Annual Giving

21 Caritas Donors

27 In Memoriam

union network | fall 2015 1

 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The Center for Earth Ethics and she reminded a packed James Chapel
In September 2014 we hosted Religions that all people of faith and conscience
for the Earth, a two-day international need to work together to affirm the dig-
conference that gathered over 200 nity of every human life.
religious leaders in advance of the UN
Summit on Climate Change. Out of this Union on the Hill
gathering was born the Center for Earth We continue our faithful public witness
Ethics, whose mission is to articulate by launching our Union on the Hill series,
a moral response to the threat that which explores the relationship between
ecological destruction and climate faith, politics, and government. Our first
change pose to vulnerable communities event in January focused on the dynamic
and degraded ecosystems. In order to between faith and governing, attract-
survive, we need a conversion of spirit ing over 200 participants, including four
in our relationship with the earth. members of Congress and one senator,
speaking to Union’s commitment to shape
Scholars/Activists-in-Residence national conversations.
In our long tradition of engaging preemi-
Dear Alumni/ae and Friends, nent thinkers and activists, we hosted the A Growing Community
Right Rev. Disani Christopher Senyonjo, Thanks to a generous grant from the
welcome to Union Network! I am thrilled M.Div. ’66, S.T.M. ’67 and Rev. Dr. William Templeton Foundation, author and
to share news from the Union commu- Barber II as pastor-activists in residence. scholar Robert Wright joined us last
nity. Eight years into my tenure I am still Bishop Senyonjo has been a strong spring as Visiting Professor of Science
amazed by the courage and diversity of advocate for LGBTQ safety in his home and Religion. This fall the Rev. Dr. Andrea
our beloved Seminary. country of Uganda, as told in the docu- White and the Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper-
In September 2014, our student senate mentary film God Loves Uganda, and he White will join us as professors in the
adopted “Love in Action” as its theme for was recognized with the Clinton Global fields of theology and psychology & reli-
the year. We’ve embraced it in this inau- Citizen Award. Dr. Barber is president gion, along with the Rev. Richard Landers
gural issue, for it is our charge as people of the North Carolina NAACP, pastor of as Senior Director of Special Initiatives.
of faith: to be agents of love in a world Greenleaf Christian Church (Disciples of After seventeen years at Nineteenth Street
desperate for its revolutionary power. Our Christ) in Goldsboro, NC, and architect Baptist Church in Washington, the Rev.
love cannot be passive. It must be a force of the Moral Monday–Forward Together Dr. Derrick Harkins ’87, former Director of
that motivates us to better scholarship, Movement. He has catalyzed a new pro- Faith Outreach for the Democratic Party
smarter activism, and a deeper commit- gressive movement that brought together and advisor to President Obama, joined
ment to justice. This is the heart of Union. the largest demonstration in the South Union as our Senior Vice President for
since the Selma-to-Montgomery marches. Innovations in Public Programming. And
#BlackLivesMatter Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee just this July Martin Duus became our
Weeks before our year began, Ferguson, will come to Union as Distinguished Vice President of Development.
MO erupted in protests after the Scholar-Activist Fellow in 2015, and You can’t visit Union without encoun-
murder of Michael Brown, and the Mindahi Crescencio Bastida Muñoz and tering the vibrancy of this community,
#BlackLivesMatter movement was born. Geraldine Ann Patrick Encina will join and you can’t miss Union graduates
Our students were involved, some going the Center for Earth Ethics as scholars- when you meet them in the world. Union
to Ferguson, many organizing in New in-residence. These three join the Rev. leaders shine. They are rooted in the
York, all of them wrestling with the evil Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook, M.Div. ’83, Third resources of faith and equipped to guide
of white supremacy. When news broke United States Ambassador-at-Large for in times of moral confusion. The world
that the officer responsible for Eric International Religious Freedom under needs Union now more than ever.
Garner’s murder had not been indicted, President Obama, who has already arrived
the nation’s attention swiveled to our as a Distinguished Scholar-Activist Fellow. Peace,
city. Instantly at the movement’s center, Michelle Alexander joined us in March Serene
our students emerged as some of its as our Judith Davidson Moyers Women of
leaders. They marched, Tweeted, sang, Spirit lecturer. Alexander wrote The New
got arrested, and had their stories told in Jim Crow, which brought wide attention
The New York Times. Our campus protest to the issue of mass incarceration and its The Rev. Dr. Serene Jones
center, the Love Hub, made resources disproportionate effect on people of color. President and Johnston Family Professor
available to people engaged in protest. Overflow crowds came to hear her speak, for Religion & Democracy

2 union network | fall 2015

#LoveInAction and the Love Hub:
Demanding a Not-Yet World BY CANDACE SIMPSON

During the fall 2014 semester, Dr. James H. Cone, Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, delivered the last lecture for his
ST103/Foundations in Christian Theology I class at Union’s “Love Hub.”

I
n September 2014 we learned that the Student Senate, We knew not everyone would be able to participate in street-
with input from student caucuses, chose “Love in Action” based protest. We came to view this space as a means of practic-
as its guiding theme for the academic year. The commit- ing responsive pastoral presence. We needed to be present in
ment we’ve shared is the process of love. How do we show love? spirit while our friends were protesting. On the evening of the
What does love actually do? When do we feel loved? How do we first mass mobilization, I chose to stay in the Hub. My job was
bring love to those who need it most? to relay messages about the location of protests to our teams.
How does love respond to grief and trauma? And can we While doing so, I had the privilege of watching the community
define love beyond that feel-good cotton candy fluff that lacks come together. Families brought pasta dishes. Students came
substance and only leaves cavities? to pray and chant. Professors brought snacks and offered moral
As the year progressed, the timeliness of this theme became support. There were laughs, tears, and yes, arguments.
clearer and clearer. If anything is to be learned from the creation of the Love Hub,
With humble responsibility to the #BlackLivesMatter move- it is that oppression is everywhere, even in the institutions where
ment, and particularly in response to the non-indictment deci- we ground our work. As people of faith, we try to imagine our-
sions in the cases of Michael Brown’s and Eric Garner’s killings, selves as helpers, but too often we get it wrong. More than that,
the Union community gathered to determine our response. we offend. We cause harm. We traumatize. On several occasions
Students emailed professors to ask for grace because we were I have been overwhelmed with the task of addressing injustice
missing class to attend a protest in Union Square, only to hear from a theological perspective in this Hub at this school. I’m tired.
“I’ll be going, too!” as an enthusiastic response. We found that Yet there is value in exercising these muscles in community. I
many members of the community wanted to be in solidarity pray that members of this community, including myself, con-
with local protest actions. In order to encourage safer protest, tinue to be transformed as a result of this Love Hub.
we established a phone line to help facilitate jail support, As a team, our task is to ask: What are we doing, and what do
provided quick trainings on what to do if arrested, and set up a we want?
buddy system. We collected contact information of those head- Ultimately we are fighting the sin of white supremacy. We
ing out, set up an “on-call schedule,” asked for some cots to be fight against multiple oppressions that feed each other. As sem-
delivered to our headquarters, and prayed. Thanks to the quick inarians we must be responsive to real questions of real people.
mobilizing of students, administrators, and staff, we chose to We do not have the luxury of doing theology only for theology’s
occupy classroom AD 30, which would come to be called the sake. As we organize, I hear Dr. Cone’s advice, “You got to work
“Love Hub.” yourself out of a job!”

union network | fall 2015 3

 This advice could easily be lost. I don’t think Dr. Cone or learned to set up boundaries and step back when the load gets
anyone else is asking that we work ourselves past human limits. too heavy. Thankfully, I trust my comrades to support me as I
There is indeed a difference between consenting to commit to support them. That too is love in action.
the Struggle and being spent by it. Unfortunately, we know a For this reason, living in this body and inheriting this legacy
larger truth. Black women like myself are easily used as cur- presents a challenge and an incentive. Yes, I would like to work
rency and mules in organizing work. Too often we are forgot- myself out of this job because I cannot see myself working at
ten from narratives of police brutality. In the last year I have this pace for too long. We work as intensely as we do because we
hope for a day that has not yet arrived. We imagine a world that
has not yet appeared, for the sake of the Movement and for the
sake of our own survival.
Still, I have been questioned in church pews and at rallies.
“Why are you protesting this as a Christian?”
Protest and justice advocacy are part of my tradition as a
Black Christian. I read the Beatitudes as a litany of demands.
As the story goes in the fourth chapter of Matthew, Jesus
proclaims to a crowd of sick people who represent a disen-
franchised demographic. He preaches, “Blessed are the poor in
spirit” and “blessed are the meek.” As I read from my context,
these sound like protest chants. I can imagine him lifting pro-
test signs bearing the names of Mya Hall and Freddie Gray and
holding a bullhorn on his hip. Jesus sounds like an organizer
inspired by Afro-Futurism. He sounds like he’s read Walidah
Imarisha, who argues that social justice is the result of imagin-
ing “worlds that do not currently exist… collectively dreaming
up one means we can begin building it into existence.”
Jesus insists on a new world order. I like to believe that Jesus
is not offering fluffy progressive platitudes on reconciliation
An action on December 18, 2014 at Broadway and Reinhold Niebuhr Place without reparations or forgiveness without repentance. I hear
(120th Street) him making demands of this world. An insistence that these
people are “blessed” is heard in the assertion that “Black Lives
Matter.” The forgotten are blessed. They matter.
Union students, brought together as a multicultural, mul-
tifaith people, resist injustice because that is what theology
looks like for us. It is what love in action looks like. We ground
ourselves in a host of traditions, represent a variety of back-
grounds, and bring gifts of many kinds to the table. But what is
central for us all is love.
What can this Love Hub space be? What must we be?
We must provide transformative places for people to locate
themselves in the intersection of their spiritual gifts and the
world’s needs. This is an urgent time. As we return to campus
this fall, we will continue to utilize this responsive space for
organizing and planning. Because Union imagines itself as an
institution that holds faith-based justice advocacy as sacred,
we will believe in, and act with, “love in action.” We must move
as Angela Davis once pleaded: “Whoever you are, wherever you
are, whether you are a student, a teacher, a worker, a person
The Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts ’75 (left), Senior Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist involved in your church, an artist, there are always ways to
Church, and Dr. Cornel West (right), Union’s Professor of Philosophy and gear your work toward progressive radical transformation.” U
Christian Practice, march arm-in-arm at a demonstration in NYC.

editor’s note: M.Div. student Candace Simpson is Student Senate co-chair for 2015-2016 along with M.Div. student Gregory Simpson.

4 union network | fall 2015

#LoveInAction:
Archiving the History of Student-led Activism at Union
An interview with Elizabeth Call, Public Services Librarian, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary,
Columbia University Libraries

How did this project start?

During the 2014-15 academic year, Union’s Student Senate,
inspired by Professor Cornel West’s reminder to “never
forget that justice is what love looks like in public,” chose
#LoveInAction as its guiding theme, which beautifully embod-
ies the activist spirit of Union’s students, faculty, and alumni/ae.
As Public Services Librarian at Burke Library, I immediately
saw possibilities of linking current students to materials in
Union’s archives. With the support of library director Beth
Bidlack, I recruited current M.Div. student Benjamin Van Dyne,
Ph.D. student Carolyn Klaasen ’13, and M.Div. student Timothy
Wotring to curate three exhibits for the library’s first-floor dis-
play cases to help tell the story of Union’s rich activist history.

What is the focus of these archival exhibits?

Each student is curating an exhibit that narrates Union’s activ- Public Services Librarian Elizabeth Call, Burke Library Director Beth Bidlack,
ist history in a particular area. Timothy is focusing on the and Ph. D. student Carolyn Klaasen ’13 view a #LoveinAction archive case.
East Harlem Protestant Parish (EHPP), an interdenominational
ministry that provided leadership in the development of com- Wessel-McCoy ’07 works with the Poverty Initiative. Alumnus
munity life and serves as an excellent example of an ecumeni- Chris Shelton ’03 is pastor of the Broadway Presbyterian Church.
cal ministry in a local, inner-city setting. The EHPP (1942–2007) M.Div. student Candace Simpson is co-chair of the Student
records at Burke Library offer a rich testament to a very pow- Senate. The panelists were asked to reflect on questions around
erful ministry in the East Harlem neighborhood. Timothy’s the guiding philosophies of the EHPP’s two creators, who were
display cases are on view from May to the end of September. both Union students at the time. The Rev. Dr. Don Benedict
With assistance from Burke staff, Benjamin is using our ’49 and the Rev. Dr. George “Bill” Webber ’48, ’64 stated, “[This]
archives on student-led activism to examine the many ways church… will be a militant, aggressive organization, unafraid to
Union students have voiced and documented their dissent fight for justice on economic and social levels.”
to the injustices suffered both by students and society-at- To kick off the second #LoveInAction display, the library will
large. Benjamin’s display cases will be on view in October and host a panel with two alums and two students discussing the
November, including during Union Days. ways Union has prepared them for their activist roles. The event
Carolyn’s focus on education has her digging into the will take place in the library’s main reading room on October 9,
Student Interracial Ministry (SIM) records (1960–1968), and from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., as part of Union Days.
also into the archives relating to the Free University and the
Union Commission. SIM was a student-driven program that Haven’t you also created a website?
placed theological students into Black churches in the South to Yes, in order to help students document all their work that
serve as assistant pastors living within the community. These embraces the theme of #LoveInAction, we have created a web-
students often experienced similar discrimination and rebukes site (bit.ly/Love_In_Action) where members of the Union com-
that their hosts suffered. Carolyn’s display cases will be on view munity can contribute images, documents, and audio/video
from January through early April 2016. materials for public view. The site will serve as an archive for
collecting important documentation as well as celebrating the
What are you planning in addition to the displays? tremendous amount of #LoveInAction that the Union commu-
Each display case will be accompanied by a related public nity continues to put forth into the world.
program. Our goal is not only to celebrate the archival work of These outreach efforts are already bringing more attention to
the student-curators, but also to make connections between the library from Union students, and I’m confident we can build
current Union students and alumni/ae. on this foundation in the upcoming semesters. We also hope to
We kicked things off with the unveiling of Timothy’s display foster stronger ties between students and the amazing array of
cases on May 1 accompanied by a panel. The panelists are at Union alumni/ae. Please tell people to send their questions or
various points in their careers. Union Ph.D. candidate Colleen comments to me at elizabeth.call@columbia.edu. U

union network | fall 2015 5

 Launching The Union Alumni/ae Network
“union benefits greatly from its wonderfully loyal and live-streaming, podcasts, and access to library resources through
generous alumni and alumnae,” observes the Rev. Dr. Marvin ATLA; and by participating in local Network chapter events.
Ellison ’81, Director of Alumni/ae Relations, who serves its Alum chapters are in various stages of development in Metro
5,000 alums in the U.S. and its 500 international alums, “but New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Cleveland,
the irony is that Union has not had a formal alumni association Chicago, Maine, North Carolina, San Francisco, and through an
until very recently. Yes, Union keeps teaching its students to informal network of Unitarian Universalists who gather at their
organize everything from congregations, to the academy, and annual General Assembly meeting. Additional chapters will
to our communities at every level, but somehow Union forgot to soon be initiated in Atlanta, Minneapolis, and Seattle. Typically,
organize itself—or at least develop an alum association. What’s chapters hold two events annually, one for networking and
now emerging, to everyone’s delight and appreciation, is the socializing and the other for an educational program, often a
Union Alumni/ae Network.” visit with a Union faculty member on the road. An online sur-
The Network’s mission is to connect alumni/ae to one vey of alums, conducted last fall, indicates that alums show the
another and to provide opportunities for service and support greatest interest, by far, in hearing current Union faculty speak
to each other, to current Union students, and to the Seminary. and share their cutting-edge research.
Together alums are creating a robust culture of “going back and Union alums also find multiple ways to “give back” through
giving back.” Alums can “go back” to Union by attending on- recruiting prospective students, mentoring current students
campus events, including Union Days each October; by turning and recent graduates as they launch their ministries, and
to the recently upgraded Union website for resources through through their social justice engagements. The latter is often
done in connection with the Poverty Initiative (now the Kairos
Center), the Center for Earth Ethics, and other Union Forum
programs. Union alumni/ae also make a significant difference
PLANNED GIVING: DREAM SCENARIOS by contributing financially to the Annual Fund and to spe-
cial fundraising efforts, such as helping to endow the Eunice
If all 5,000 Union alums based in the U.S. each
Jackson and Ella Mitchell Fund to guarantee that the Union fac-
made a legacy gift to Union of $10,000, it would ulty will include Womanist scholars to teach and mentor Union
total $50 million, which would provide tuition- students far into the future.
Even without a formal alum association, almost 25% of
free education, plus a living stipend, for all
Union’s graduates contribute to the school financially. “While
current students. If every alum left a $25,000 some of us may discount the importance of our personal
planned gift, that accumulated giving would total donations, especially in comparison to deeper-pocketed major
donors who make $1 million gifts,” Ellison notes, “Union taught
$125 million, which would pay for upgrading
us to work collaboratively and to claim our social power to
Union’s aging physical plant and also maintain make a difference together, so it’s wiser to think about how
it well into the future. alumni/ae collectively can make a huge impact.”
Alumni/ae connections to and service for the Seminary are
For information, contact Kevin McGee at 212-280-1590 supported by the Office of Alumni/ae Relations in conjunction
or kmcgee@uts.columbia.edu. with the Alumni/ae Council, comprised of approximately 20
volunteers who seek to encourage as many alums as possible to
participate in Union’s ongoing life and programing in multiple,
mutually beneficial ways. For those alums interested in serv-
ing on the Council or in suggesting the name of a classmate
to serve, an online nomination form is available on the Union
website at utsnyc.edu/alumniae-council-nominations. And
for suggestions on how to strengthen the Union Alumni/ae
Network or bring it to your area, contact the Director of Alumni/
ae Relations at mellison@uts.columbia.edu. U

Members of the Class of 2004 at their 10th reunion, Union Days 2014:
bottom row,(l–r): Mim Warden, David Lewicki, Andrea Watson, Dennis
Patterson, Kelly Murphy Mason, Carol Dufresne; top row, (l–r): Miller Jen
Hoffman, Eugene Palmore, W. Franc Perry, Denise Janssen, Nancy Neal

6 union network | fall 2015

ALUMNI/AE PROFILES
A new feature on Union’s website is a rotating roster of alumni/ae profiles. These profiles connect
alums with each other and help create a strong network through sharing common interests and
diverse ministries. Profiles also help prospective students imagine how Union can prepare them for
a variety of vocations in church, academy, and society.

A sample of these profiles appears on the following pages. We invite you to contribute your
own voice to this important collection by filling out the very easy form on Union’s website,
found at utsnyc.edu/alumniae-profiles. Or, to be interviewed, contact Marvin Ellison ’81, Director
of Alumni/ae Relations at mellison@uts.columbia.edu.

The Rev. Nicholas S. Richards, M.Div. ’09

Assistant Minister for Global Outreach
Abyssinian Baptist Church
New York, NY

What do you do?

I’m one of the ministers at The Abyssinian Baptist Church in New
York. I’m Abyssinian’s Minister for Global Outreach, and I’m also the
Executive Secretary for the Foreign Mission Board of the National
Baptist Convention. Lastly, my job with the National Baptist Convention
also focuses on international development, mostly in Africa and South
America, where we support schools, hospitals, and community develop-
ment projects.

What’s the best thing about your job?

The best thing about my job is that I am doing the work I love. There’s
nothing better. I love being able to think about big problems and then
organizing around the world to make a difference.

Union stresses a really broad How did Union prepare you for this?
Union stresses a really broad understanding of the Christian faith, and

understanding of the Christian faith, it stretched me to appreciate a truly broad Christianity. I found Union
to be a free environment intellectually, culturally, personally, and in
almost every other way. Union encouraged me to step out of my comfort
and it stretched me to appreciate a zone and think outside of the box, and fortunately, Abyssinian sees
itself as a teaching parish.
truly broad Christianity. I found Union How have you stayed connected to Union?
to be a free environment intellectually, Abyssinian keeps bringing on new Union students as interns. Right
now I’m mentoring a Union field education student, and I occasionally
preach in chapel. And you’ll find me in Burke Library regularly, espe-
culturally, personally, and in almost cially when it’s time for me to write a sermon.

every other way.” What would you say to someone applying to Union?
Union offers the best theological education in America, especially in
terms of intellectual breadth and the focus on the lived experience of
theology in community.

union network | fall 2015 7

 When I think of my
Union education,
I remember that every class
period, every conversation,
there was this awareness
by everyone that there was
something at stake.”
The Rev. Dr. Amy E. Greene, M.Div. ’86 The Rev. Preston A. Davis, M.Div. ’11
Director of Spiritual Care Minister to the University
The Cleveland Clinic High Point University
Cleveland, OH High Point, NC

What do you do? What do you do?

I am the Director of Spiritual Care at the Cleveland I pastored at First United Methodist Church in Bessemer City, NC, for two
Clinic, which means I oversee a team of chaplains, years and joined the staff at High Point University in the summer of 2013.
Clinical Pastoral Education students, holistic nurses,
and family liaisons who care for patients, families What’s the best thing about your job?
and staff, especially around issues of death, grief There is nothing quite like working with college students. By virtue of
and trauma, but also in everyday matters. I co-teach their age and the season of their lives, they are asking questions that mat-
a course on spirituality and medicine in the Clinic’s ter the most: what am I called to do with my life? What does a worthy life
medical school, and I serve on many committees. look like? If I can help them with these questions, while also helping them
I am also involved at the national level with the transcend their own vocational questions to be passionate about making
Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. the world a more just and compassionate one, then I’ve had a good day.

What’s the best thing about your job? How did Union prepare you for this?
I get to help define what ministry/chaplaincy looks When I think of my Union education, I remember that every class period,
like in the 21st century in a world-class medical insti- every conversation, there was this awareness by everyone that there was
tution, and I have the most amazing team of caregiv- something at stake. Theological study was rooted in a passion to address
ers on the planet working with me to do it. and alleviate suffering in the world, to be an ally to those hurting. Union
helped me to be relevant, to ask questions that matter, to remember that
How did Union prepare you for this? there is something at stake—and to do all this with love for the person
Union prepared me by asking me better questions and and community in front of me.
by teaching me to ask better questions.
How have you stayed connected to Union?
How have you stayed connected to Union? In the summer of 2014, I was fortunate to participate in Union’s Millennial
Mostly through the personal friendships formed Leaders Conference. I have made it a priority to give financially to Union
there. I recently became involved in the Union each year, even when I don’t have much to offer. The habit is important.
Alumni/ae Network. We had an event in Cleveland, I’ve also made it a priority to bring Union to High Point University, so
and it was so impressive to see a gentleman in his 80s to speak. Union alumni/ae and representatives, such as Eboni Marshall
show up and say some of the same things that I say Turman ’05, ’10, Raphael Warnock ’06, and President Jones have all been
about Union. to High Point, helping our students see faith as an indelible foundation to
being a just and loving actor in the world.
What would you say to someone applying to Union?
Don’t go unless you want to be challenged to change What would you say to someone applying to Union?
the world. Don’t go unless you are ready to get a fire in Union prides itself on being a prophetic institution, and it is. Union fac-
your bones that may not let you rest much. ulty, staff, and students take up this banner. But I think all of this pride
comes from a place of humility. The ability to speak prophetically first
comes from listening attentively.

8 union network | fall 2015

 What’s fascinating
about my work is my
ability to attend to the
classroom and its rigors
while simultaneously and
creatively nourishing the
spirits of students….”
The Rev. Dr. Eboni Marshall How did Union help to prepare you for Dr. Marilyn Keiser, S.M.M. ’65,
Turman, M.Div. ’05, Ph.D. ’10 this work? S.M.D. ’77
Assistant Research Professor of Theological Union stretched and expanded me in Director of Music
Ethics, Black Church Studies, and African particular ways, especially through field Trinity Episcopal Church
& African American Studies and Director of education where you are exposed to Bloomington, IN
the Office of Black Church Studies the workings of congregations as well
Duke Divinity School as non-profits. When I first came to What do you do?
Durham, NC Union, I never imagined myself serving I am the Director of Music at Trinity
the church, in large part because I had Episcopal Church in Bloomington,
What do you do? not seen any models of Black women in Indiana and Chancellor’s Professor
I’m in my second year of teaching church leadership. I am especially grate- Emerita of Music at the Jacobs School of
theology, ethics, and Black church ful that a Union education addresses Music, Indiana University where I taught
studies at Duke Divinity School. In social difference as a central theological organ and church music from 1983-2008.
addition, as an ordained clergywoman, issue and deeply values a multiplicity of
I have a thriving preaching ministry identities in the midst of very complex What do you like best about what
that takes me all over the nation and social indicators. you do?
the world. Through my LLC, I work to I love making music with other people,
encourage women’s empowerment How have you stayed connected and my work with choirs of adults and
in church and society by planning to Union? college students brings me great joy. I
conferences, workshops, and retreats It’s so hard to disconnect from Union often tell the choir that if the whole world
that support women in living lives that because Union is on the cutting edge of could hear them sing, wars would cease.
are consistent with their vision of their theology! I want to stay connected and
best. I also write and publish. need conversations that are provocative How did Union prepare you for this?
and induce responses from the church. I learned what it meant to be a Minister
What is the best thing about your job? I stay connected by serving on the of Music as a pastoral presence to a
The very best thing is teaching and Alumni/ae Council, engaging students church choir and a colleague to the clergy
encouraging future pastors, religious on and off campus, networking, recruit- and lay staff.
leaders, and community leaders to ing, and sharing my experience. I’ve
think theologically about their lives also lectured at Union, participated on How do you stay connected to Union?
and about the pressing social issues of various panels, and been a guest lecturer I contribute regularly to the Annual Fund
the day. I truly love teaching. What’s in classes. I also donate to Union. And at Union, and I read news from UTS with
fascinating about my work is my ability sometimes I just stop by and walk the real interest and joy.
to attend to the classroom and its rigors halls, especially the Burke Library.
while simultaneously and creatively What would you say to someone
nourishing the spirits of students and What would you say to someone applying to Union?
others who are inspired by the richness applying to Union? I loved living in New York City where it
of African-American religious traditions, Go, go, go! My time at Union included was possible to attend so many musical
broadly speaking, especially those some of the best years of my life. The events and sacred concerts on Sunday
who are called to serve communities of diversity and intellectual sophistication afternoons and evenings. U
African descent. of the faculty were unparalleled.

union network | fall 2015 9

 FACULTY PUBLICATIONS SINCE 2011
The list below includes books authored or edited by Union faculty members published from 2011 to date.
A more complete listing of Union faculty books, magazine articles, book reviews, and editorial entries
can be found by visiting Union’s website at utsnyc.edu and each individual faculty page.

Sarah Azaransky | Assistant Professor of Pamela Cooper-White | Professor of Esther J. Hamori | Associate Professor of
Social Ethics Psychology and Religion Hebrew Bible
• Religion and Politics in America’s • Exploring Practices of Ministry. • Women’s Divination in Biblical
Borderlands. Plymouth, U.K.: Lexington Pamela Cooper-White and Michael Literature: Prophecy, Necromancy, and
Books, 2013, ed. Sarah Azaransky. Cooper-White. Minneapolis: Fortress Other Arts of Knowledge. Anchor Yale
• The Dream Is Freedom: Pauli Murray Press, 2014. Bible Reference Library; New Haven:
and American Democratic Faith. New • The Cry of Tamar: Violence Against Yale University Press, 2015.
York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Women and the Church’s Response.
2nd revised edition. Minneapolis, MN: Jerusha Tanner Lamptey | Assistant
Mary C. Boys | Dean of Academic Affairs Fortress Press, 2012. Professor of Islam and Ministry
and Skinner and McAlpin Professor of • Braided Selves: Collected Essays on • Never Wholly Other: A Muslima
Practical Theology Multiplicity, God, and Persons. Eugene, Theology of Religious Pluralism. New
• Redeeming Our Sacred Story: The Death OR: Cascade Books, 2011. York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
of Jesus and Relations between Jews and
Christians. New York and Mahwah, NJ: Samuel Cruz | Assistant Professor of John Anthony McGuckin | Ane Marie and
Paulist Press, 2013. Church and Society Bent Emil Nielsen Professor in Late Antique
• Christianity and Culture in the City: A and Byzantine Christian History & Professor
Euan K. Cameron | Henry Luce III Professor Postcolonial Approach. Lanham, MD: of Byzantine Christian Studies, Columbia
of Reformation Church History Lexington Books, 2013, ed. Samuel Cruz. University
• The European Reformation, second • The Concept of Beauty in Patristic and
edition. Oxford: Oxford University Gary J. Dorrien | Reinhold Niebuhr Byzantine Theology. Saarbrucken:
Press, 2012. Professor of Social Ethics Scholars Press, 2014, ed. J.A. McGuckin.
• Enchanted Europe: Superstition, Reason • The New Abolition: W.E.B. Du Bois and • Orthodox Monasticism Past and
and Religion 1250-1750. Oxford: Oxford the Black Social Gospel. New Haven, CT: Present. New York: Theotokos Press,
University Press, 2010; paperback Yale University Press, forthcoming 2015. 2014.
edition 2011. • Kantian Reason and Hegelian Spirit: • The Concept of Beauty in Patristic
The Idealistic Logic of Modern and Byzantine Theology. New York:
David M. Carr | Professor of Old Testament Theology. Chichester, West Sussex, Theotokos Press, 2012, ed. J.A.
• Holy Resilience: The Bible’s Traumatic UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012; paperback McGuckin.
Origins. New Haven: Yale University edition 2014. • The Orthodox Church. An Introduction
Press, 2014. • The Obama Question: A Progressive to Its History, Theology & Spiritual
• The Formation of the Hebrew Bible: A Perspective. Plymouth, U.K.: Rowman & Culture. Oxford and New York:
New Reconstruction. New York: Oxford Littlefield, 2012. Blackwell-Wiley, 2008. h.b. 2010,
University Press, 2011. p.b. 2012.
Roger Haight | Scholar in Residence • Biserice Ortodox. Editura Institutului
James H. Cone | Charles Augustus Briggs • Christian Community in History, III, Biblic. Bucharest: 2013. (Romanian
Distinguished Professor of Systematic Ecclesial Existence. New York, London: edition)
Theology Continuum, 2008; second edition,
• The Cross and the Lynching Tree. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2014.
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2011. • Spirituality Seeking Theology.
Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2014.
• Christian Spirituality for Seekers:
Reflections on the Spiritual Exercises of
Ignatius Loyola. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis
Books, 2012.

10 union network | fall 2015

Union’s faculty authors and their books. front row, l–r: Esther Hamori, Serene Jones, Mary Boys, Chung Hyun Kyung, Daisy Machado;
second row, l–r: Sarah Azaransky, Su Yon Pak, Brigitte Kahl, Roger Haight, John Thatamanil, Troy Messenger, Jerusha Lamptey, John McGuckin,
David Carr, James Cone, Gary Dorrien, Samuel Cruz, Janet Walton, Aliou Niang; not pictured: Euan Cameron, Cornel West, and Robyn Whitaker

• I Believe in One Lord Jesus Christ. • Theories of Ideology: The Powers of in James Chapel since its renovation
Ancient Christian Doctrines: Volume 2. Alienation and Subjection. Amsterdam: in 1979. The project includes history,
Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2009; Brill, 2013; paperback edition, Chicago: principles that guide their work in the
Chinese edition, Hanghzou: Campus Haymarket Books, 2014. chapel, and many examples of their
Evangelical Fellowship Press, 2012; • Max Weber: Modernisierung als passive findings. Both the video and the book
Russian edition, Moscow: Theological Revolution: Kontextstudien zu Politik, will become part of the Union archives.
Commission of the Moscow Philosophie und Religion im Übergang The video is nearing completion and
Patriarchate, 2012. zum Fordismus. Hamburg and Berlin: will be available for congregational use
• Two Akathists. (Editor and Translator). Argument-Verlag, second edition with a through Union’s website.
New York: Theotokos Press, 2011. new preface, 2013.
• The Ascent of Christian Law: Patristic • Pedagogy of the Poor: Building a Cornel West | Professor of Philosophy and
and Byzantine Reformulations of Movement to End Poverty. New York: Christian Practice
Antique Civilization. New York: SVS Teachers College Press, 2011 , with Black Prophetic Fire. In dialogue with
Press, 2012. Willie Baptist. and edited by Christa Buschendorf.
• Prayer Book of the Early Christians. Boston: Beacon Press, 2014.
Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2012. Janet R. Walton | Professor of Worship The Radical King. Edited and with an
• Orthodox Monasticism Past and Troy Messenger | Director and Visiting Introduction by Cornel West. Boston:
Present. New York: Theotokos Press, Assistant Professor of Worship Beacon Press, 2015.
2014. • James Chapel Worship: Renovation
and Renewal. For two years, Professors Andrea White | Associate Professor of
Jan Rehmann | Visiting Professor for Critical Janet Walton and Troy Messenger have Theology
Theory and Social Analysis been creating a video and, along with The Scandal of Flesh: Black Women’s
• Max Weber: Modernization as Passive Susan Blain ’86, an accompanying Bodies and God Politics. New York:
Revolution, A Gramscian Analysis. book presenting what has happened Palgrave MacMillan, forthcoming 2015.
Amsterdam: Brill, forthcoming 2015.

union network | fall 2015 11

 Faculty C0mings & Goings BY JAMALL CALLOWAY

U
nion prides itself on the accomplishments of its alums First, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Pamela Cooper-
and faculty, both inside and outside the institution. We White and Dr. Andrea White to the Union community. After an
have students and faculty who challenge us to uphold intensive search for the position in the psychology and religion
our ideals as a community through spiritual insight, analytic department, Dr. Cooper-White was selected for the Christiane
rigor, and matchless passion for justice. Simultaneously, outside Brooks Johnson Memorial Chair in Psychology and Religion.
the institution our same students, faculty, and alums help chal- Before arriving at Union, Dr. Cooper-White served as the Ben G.
lenge the larger national and global community to be more just, and Nancye Clapp Gautier Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care
ethical, and compassionate in our relations with one another. and Counseling at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur,
As a community we take our vocation seriously. Because of this GA and co-directed the Atlanta Theological Association’s Th.D.
ethos and our shared mission, we are always excited when new program in Pastoral Counseling. The Rev. Dr. Pamela Cooper-
faculty members arrive to teach and contribute to the rich com- White is an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church, and was
munity we strive to cultivate. This fall, in addition to welcoming formerly an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.
two new faculty members, Union congratulates a beloved com- Not only was she ordained in two denominations, she also
munity member on her retirement. holds two doctoral degrees, one from Harvard University and
the other from The Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago,
IL. She is the first theologian to hold the title of Fulbright-Freud
Visiting Scholar of Psychoanalysis through the Sigmund Freud
Foundation and Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna. She is
the author of many publications, including The Cry of Tamar:
Violence Against Women and the Church’s Response, 2nd revised
edition, and Braided Selves: Collected Essays on Multiplicity, God,
and Persons.
After a rigorous and lengthy search in the theological field,
Dr. Andrea White has been appointed as a tenured Associate
Professor of Theology. Before arriving at Union, Dr. White was
Assistant Professor of Theology and Culture and associated
faculty in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality
Studies at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
She brings specializations that will enrich our conversations
and push us forward intellectually. Dr. White has also engaged
in activism and ministry outside of the academy. She worked
with The Carter Center’s Human Rights Defenders Policy Forum
on Faith, Belief, and the Advancement of Women’s Human
Rights. She is an ordained American Baptist minister and has
served as a pastor and hospice chaplain in the state of New York.
She has written two forthcoming books, Black Women’s Bodies
and God Politics: A Womanist Theology of Personhood and The Back
of God: A Theology of Otherness in Karl Barth and Paul Ricoeur.
As we welcome new arrivals, we also want to celebrate the
retirement of Union alumna Penna Rose ’68 from the James
Chapel staff as Director of the Union Choir. She has played an
invaluable leadership role in the Union community because
of her expertise, experience, and generosity. Ms. Rose con-
tinues as Director of Chapel Music at Princeton University.
Outside of Union and Princeton, she has conducted at Seija
Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood and Carnegie Hall. She was the
Assistant Conductor and pianist of the New York Choral Society
and Director of Music at the First Congregational Church in
top: Pamela Cooper-White (left) and Andrea White (right) join the faculty; Stockbridge, MA. In 1968 she received a Master of Sacred Music
bottom: Troy Messenger presents Penna Rose ’68 with a commemorative gift degree from Union, and in 2008 she received a well-deserved
on the occasion of her retirement at the 2015 Commencement ceremony. Unitas Distinguished Alumna Award. We wish to congratulate
Penna Rose on the occasion of her retirement as we continue to
embrace her as one of our own. U

12 union network | fall 2015

177TH COMMENCEMENT
On May 15th, Union students and their families, faculty, and staff congratulated
the graduating class of 2015. To watch video of the ceremony, visit unon.in/20com15.

Foster Pinkney Elizabeth Assenza with her fellow graduates Natalie Perkins

Dean Mary Boys Jay Hooper Board Chair Wolcott B. Dunham, Jr., Dr. Stewart J. Everett,
and Prof. Janet Walton

President Serene Jones The Seminary Choir performing Aimme Rogers, Lindsey Nye, and Bridget Kelso Anthony

union network | fall 2015 13

14 union network | fall 2015
CLASS OF 2015
union network | fall 2015 15
 177TH COMMENCEMENT
After the ceremony, graduates, faculty, alumni/ae, and family gathered for a reception
and posed for photographs to commemorate the event.

Paul Knitter, Maggie Jarry, and Gary Dorrien Jason and Emily Wyman Ranwa Hammany and Mandy Carter

Shawn Torres, Shay O’Reilly, Sindy Eunice Morales Garcia with family Samantha Gonzalez-Block, Matt Hoffman
Kathryn Berg

Emily Brewer and family Michael Crumpler, James Cone Pilar Millhollen and family

16 union network | fall 2015

Union Medal Recipients 2015

On May 15, 2015, former Vice President Al Gore and LGBTQ equivalent of an honorary degree. Previous medalists include
activist Mandy Carter received the Union Medal, the high- Archbishop Desmond Tutu, William Sloane Coffin Jr., Marian
est honor awarded by Union, at the 177th Commencement Wright Edelman, and Judith and Bill Moyers, among others.
exercises. Both recipients this year were given, in addition to the actual
In responding to this honor, Mr. Gore said, “Union Union Medal, a framed citation in beautifully handwritten
Theological Seminary is a unique and truly extraordinary insti- calligraphy. Vice President Gore’s citation reads: “Al Gore, you
tution that educates, inspires, and empowers leaders uniquely have been an elected official of the United States Government,
suited to help humanity embrace and successfully deal with serving in turn as Congressman, Senator and Vice President; a
the greatest moral challenges of our time. I am deeply honored best-selling author, Oscar winner and Nobel laureate; but most
and genuinely humbled to receive the Union Medal.” Gore is co- importantly, you have been the single, most resolute catalyst for
founder and chairman of Generation Investment Management, action against global warming. You have roused and inspired
a senior partner at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers, and the environmental activist in each of us…. Your life and your
a member of Apple, Inc.’s board of directors. He spends the activism embody the highest ideals and aspirations of Union
majority of his time as chairman of The Climate Reality Project, Theological Seminary…. For your unremitting courage in
a non-profit organization he founded to focus on solutions for uncovering and delivering the truth, for your tireless campaign
the global climate crisis. to put climate change on every personal and political agenda,
Mandy Carter describes herself a southern, African- and for mobilizing a global, multi-faith network that will sup-
American, lesbian social justice activist with a 47-year move- port ongoing environmental activism and commitment to the
ment history of social, racial, and LGBTQ justice organizing. cause, we award you Union’s highest honor, the Union Medal.”
She helped co-found two groundbreaking organizations, Ms. Carter’s citation reads: “Mandy Carter, you have been
Southerners On New Ground (SONG) and the National Black the unsurpassed coalition builder of a generation. You remind
Justice Coalition (NBJC). SONG, founded in 1993, is about us every day, and every hour of every day, that we are, all of
building a progressive movement across the South by creat- us—every single individual on the planet—in this together; and
ing transformative models of organizing that connect race, that there is no justice unless there is justice and equality for
class, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and gender iden- all…. Your life and your activism embody the highest ideals and
tity. Specifically, SONG integrates work against homophobia aspirations of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New
into freedom struggles in the South. Ms. Carter served as its York. For your stellar coalition building; for creating transfor-
Executive Director from 2003-2005. mative models of organizing that truly connect; for being ‘out,
In her remarks, Ms. Carter said, “I am constantly reminded visible and vocal’ as the face and voice for those who cannot be
that changing ‘hearts and minds,’ the work of spiritual renewal out themselves; and for continuing to ask, over and over, ‘Are we
and transformation, is always central to social justice move- about justice or are we about “Just Us?”’—we award you Union’s
ments whether based on race, gender, class, culture, ability, highest honor, the Union Medal.”
sexual orientation, or gender identity. That’s why I am honored President Jones spoke for the entire Union community in
to receive the Union Medal from an institution committed to saying, “I’m thrilled to honor two people who so beautifully and
this crucial work.” consistently exemplify the spirit of Union’s mission. At a school
The Union Medal was established in 1991 to recognize with a rich tradition of faithful activism rooted in bold scholar-
people engaged in works of ministry in congregations, public ship, I can’t imagine having two people who more fully encap-
service, government, business, education, and the arts. It is the sulate who we are at Union than Al Gore and Mandy Carter.” U

union network | fall 2015 17

 The Center for Earth Ethics BY K ARENNA GORE ’13

O
n Earth Day Union launched a new initiative designed belief systems have played in creating this damage. How did we
for students and the public square. The Center for Earth begin to define issues involving air, water, soil, and other living
Ethics grows out of the Seminary’s longstanding com- beings as “environmental,” something separate from people? To
mitment to social justice, the eco-theology work done here by what extent has missionary Christianity, in suppressing place-
Larry Rasmussen ’70 and other scholars, and the Religions for based spiritualities, exacerbated the problem? Why do so many
the Earth conference Union hosted September 2014. believe in an afterlife of heaven or hell, away from the Earth?
That watershed conference (unon.in/rfeyoutube) gathered We need carefully wrought theological tools for the transforma-
over 200 religious leaders from around the world on the occa- tive work at hand.
sion of the UN Climate Summit and the People’s Climate March. The Center for Earth Ethics regards our ecological crisis
The goal was to reframe climate change as a moral issue and as the consequence of a deeper malady: dominant measures
galvanize faith-based activism. Among the luminaries who of success value short-term profit and growth over long-term
addressed the conference were three remarkable Union gradu- well-being of the whole. Drawing on Union’s convening power
ates: Dr. Mary Evelyn Tucker ’85, whom I proudly introduced as and broad ecumenical reach, the Center cultivates the public
“the godmother of this movement,” Rev. Fletcher Harper ’91, the consciousness needed to change policy and culture. Through
founder of Greenfaith, and Rev. Dr. Melanie Harris ’06, whose course offerings and public programs, Union is educating a
eco-womanist speech elucidated deep connections between vio- wave of ecologically conscious leaders in ministry and public
lence against the Earth and violence against people of color. In service and modeling best practices for an ecologically and
addition, Dr. Rasmussen, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus socially just community. U
of Christian Social Ethics, penned a beautiful declaration, which
continues to be read around the world (see sidebar for excerpt).
The basic science of the climate crisis has been clear for
some time, but we have not always addressed it as an ethical DECLARATION FOR AN AWAKENED
imperative. Global warming, severe weather events, and rising KINSHIP WITH EARTH
sea levels are obviously tied to human behavior, yet the very
people who bear the brunt of it—the poorest inhabitants of the We commit our lives to these principles and actions:
poorest nations—are those least responsible.
More and more, we are also aware of the ground-level costs ~ Our religious communities will join the urgent
of extreme extraction from the Earth, including the harm global conversation about climate change and
inflicted on those who live near strip mines, power plants, and speak on behalf of the voiceless.
fracking sites. Violence done to the earth is violence done to the
most vulnerable and oppressed people. This is especially true of
~ We will join forces to help brothers and sisters who
the slow violence done by the poisoning of air, land, and water.
are in harm’s way that stems from global warming.
This ethical picture is complicated by the fact that many
do this damage in the name of progress and growth, driven
by the conventional metrics of a successful society. To shift to ~ We will mobilize our faith communities to sup-
sustainable energy for all, we must adopt a new bottom line for port those leaders who promise to engage these
economic development that considers planetary boundaries issues and deliver on their promises.
and human well-being when calculating the cost of goods
and services. ~ Whenever entities become destructive of these
Climate change demands a more precise articulation of ends, placing private needs over planetary well-
Earth ethics, about who we are and what we value. Religious being, we support the right of the people to ask that
and spiritual traditions are called to lead the way in this time of they forfeit their power.
crisis when business models and politics have failed. Interfaith
dialogue clarifies shared values and bonds people of faith to
~ Our places of worship will be living examples of
one another across nations and cultures. Pope Francis’ encycli-
how to design spaces more in harmony with nature.
cal Laudato Si’ is playing an epic role in shifting conversation
as have messages from Bishop Desmond Tutu and indigenous
spiritual leaders. ~ We will love ourselves and each other enough to
Organized religion must lead the way toward a solution change in the name of Earth.
because it has been a large part of the problem. Faith as a social
construct expresses people’s fears and prejudices as well as
their hopes. The Union community interrogates the role that read the full declaration: unon.in/ceeras12

18 union network | fall 2015

Travels in Peru BY EMILY BREWER ’15

T
he first time we saw it was from about three miles away. site. The Incas themselves are thought to have used Machu
We walked into the Llaqtapata ruins in the Sacred Valley Picchu as a place of refuge for a time after the Spanish invaded
of Peru after hiking about 38 miles over three days and the area capital of Cusco. Almost six hundred years later, the
with over 8,000 feet of elevation change. Machu Picchu was stones of the buildings sit silently, witnesses to stories we could
off in the distance, but we could see it clearly, framed perfectly only try to imagine as we quietly wandered for hours around
by precisely constructed stone doorways that led in and out of corners and curves of these buildings.
the main building of the Llaqtapata ruins. It was hazy, but we Finally arriving at Machu Picchu felt to us like the end of a
could make out hillside terraces and the tall Huayna Picchu pilgrimage. We had hiked four days and 50 steep miles to get
Mountain, whose picture had become familiar after months of here. At the risk of sounding cheesy or contrived, I have to say
planning this trip and years of longing to go to this 15th century that our trip to Peru also felt like the end of a seminary pilgrim-
Incan site. age. We walked together at some points, and at other times
Matt Hoffman ’15 and I had become friends during our orien- one of us would go ahead and wait for the other. We encour-
tation week at Union in 2012. Not long after, we discovered we aged each other, joked, argued, and sometimes walked for long
both had been fascinated by Machu Picchu since we were kids, stretches in silence. We learned about ourselves and other
and we joked that we would go together if we ever graduated. people, and we learned that there is much we will never know. U
Then in January of this year, when it looked like we might actu-
ally graduate, we bought our plane tickets from New York to
Lima/Cusco to leave two days after graduation and made plans
to hike the Salkantay Trail, named for the 15,000 foot glacial
mountain we would summit before descending through a cloud
forest to the rain forest and then back up to Machu Picchu.
Little did we know that Kevin McGee, of Union’s Development
Office, was simultaneously planning his trip to Machu Picchu.
We learned that we would unfortunately miss meeting him by
one day.
I had read a lot about Machu Picchu in the weeks before we
left. Matt, who has his Bachelor’s in Latin American studies and
an encyclopedic memory of things he’s read, had been telling
me about Incan cosmology for days. Yet the magnificence of the
Incas was overwhelming when I walked through the back door-
way of Llaqtapata and saw Machu Picchu framed by the front
doorway. What’s more, these doorways also perfectly align
with the summer solstice, so that one day a year the sun shines Matt Hoffman ’15 and Emily Brewer ’15 above Machu Picchu with
directly through the doorways toward Machu Picchu. Many Huayna Picchu in the background.
of the Inca sites are connected to the sun, the Milky Way, and
to each other, with Machu Picchu as the central place toward
which all the others are oriented. I had read about this, but see-
ing it made it both more real and more mysterious.
Llaqtapata is thought to have been a resting place for those
who were traveling to Machu Picchu, so we also rested there for
a few minutes before continuing our own journey. We arrived
at Machu Picchu around 7 a.m. the next day along with several
hundred other tourists and guides who had arrived via the alter-
native Inca Trail or by bus or train. This was not like the January-
term trip Matt and I had taken to El Salvador with Professor
Janet Walton, nor was it like the journey Professor Chung Hyun
Kyung ’89 recently made to walk for peace across the demilita-
rized zone in Korea. Our trip to Peru was certainly educational,
but we went as tourists to see one of the wonders of the world.
While in Peru we saw and talked often about the problems
that tourists like ourselves create, but it is not difficult to under-
stand why so many people flock to this religious and cultural Kevin McGee on Huayna Picchu with Machu Picchu below.

union network | fall 2015 19

 2014–15 Annual Giving Report july 1, 2014 – june 30, 2015

since the 1840s, Union has conducted annual

fundraising outreach to support the ongoing work
of the Seminary. Some donors, in early years known
as “subscribers,” prompted by fond memory, pride in
education, faith in the work of justice making, or a
simple sense of gratitude, hope, and giving back, made
a financial pledge they fulfilled each year. Today, very
much in that tradition, the Annual Fund offers one
important way that you may fulfill your generosity
in service to our Seminary.
On June 30, Union closed the 2014-2015 Annual
Fund. Thank you to all Union alums and friends for
their generous support! Our faithful Annual Fund
donors continue to astonish, with almost 25% of Union
Alumni/ae making donations to the fund this year.
They are joined by our trustees, faculty, staff, friends,
and supporting churches who also play very significant
roles year after year.
Small gifts and large gifts, made once a year or
monthly by “sustaining” donors—the 21st century The Class of 1964, as part of their 50th Anniversary Class gift, paid for the
equivalent to the 19th century “subscribers”—become installation of an automatic door at Union’s main entrance, at Broadway and
121st Street. A theme for the reunion was “accessibility,” remembering the
the foundational fund that enables the Seminary to Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s and the many challenges of accessibility
carry forth its mission. Among other things, your over time and remaining today. The door was dedicated on October 9, 2014,
during the reunion, with words offered by Garry Hesser ’64. (A class photo
generosity helps to keep our historic buildings sound, and additional information appear on the inside back cover.)
provides access to 21st century technology in the class-
room, and ensures Union’s presence on the metropoli-
tan, national, and global stages.
Union is now beginning its 180th academic year!
You help to keep Union a living tradition. Thank you. U

GIVE TO THE ANNUAL FUND

Please continue to be as generous as you can.
For further information, please contact:

• Kevin McGee, Annual Fund Director

kmcgee@uts.columbia.edu
212-280-1590

• Martin Duus, Vice President of Development

mduus@uts.columbia.edu
212-280-1426 M.Div. student Kendrick Kemp, Disability Justice Caucus chair, at the
dedication of the automated door with President Jones and Executive Vice
President Fred Davie.

20 union network | fall 2015

CARITAS DONORS
The “Caritas” giving level at Union recognizes donors to Union Theological Seminary who made gifts of
$1,000 and above during the last fiscal year, from July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015. These gifts are also listed
online at utsnyc.edu/caritas.
The word Caritas is the third word found in the center of Union Seminary’s Seal and follows Unitas and Veritas.
These three words express what the spirit of the Seminary should be—that of harmony, of supreme fidelity to
truth, and of love. The Seminary Community wishes to express our great appreciation to all of our donors.

Tower Associates $25,000 – $49,999 Katharine C. Shinn (died April 4, 2015)

$500,000 AND ABOVE Estate of Jean Petronas Angus Carol S. Wheeler
The Ford Foundation ASG Foundation Anonymous Donor
John Templeton Foundation Hagedorn Fund
Anonymous Donor Imago Dei Fund Union Associates
Institute of International Education $5,000 – $9,999
$250,000 – $499,999 Kalliopeia Foundation John M. Ankele 1967 and Mary Alix Ankele
Virginia Kreyer Trust Ann Mallouk Kendall C. Baker 1964 and Sonia E. Baker
The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc. Marisla Foundation William Candelaria
Anonymous Donor Estate of Eleanor J. Miles Estate of Cora K. Dice
National Academy of Sciences General Board of Global Ministries – UMC
$100,000 – $249,999 New York Community Trust David W. Hornbeck 1966
Elizabeth L. Carl 1990 and Victoria C. Hill Trinity Church, New York, NY Nancy Steeger Jennings 1995
Wolcott B. Dunham, Jr. and Christopher L. Jones 2013
Joan Findlay Dunham Founders’ Associates Edward L. Long, Jr. 1948
Estate of John H. Fish $15,000 – $24,999 Craig C. Malbon 2010 and Hsien-yu Wang
Forrest Church Fund for the Advancement Estate of Harold S. Eberhard The New World Foundation
of Liberal Religion
Cynthia A. Fields and Herbert Fields Estate of John G. Pack
International Institute of Islamic Thought
Blake T. Franklin 1988 and Thomas Getgood John A. Pecoul, Jr. 1964 and
David H. McAlpin, Jr. 1953 Ellen Rasche Pecoul
Catherine M. George and Paul E. Cain
Helmar Nielsen Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, KY
Bill and Beverlee Lehr Fund #2 of the
NoVo Foundation Foundation for Enhancing Communities Mary C. Ragan
The Unitarian Church of All Souls, Jacqueline Livingston Virginia H. Richards 1951
New York, NY
William T. and Kathleen G. Reiland John E. Sallstrom 1964
Laurance S. Rockefeller Fund Donald W. Shriver, Jr. and Peggy Leu Shriver
$50,000 – $99,999
James H. Russ 1966 Thomas L. Stiers 1964
Armour-Lewis Family Foundation
James S. Sligar and Diana M. Sattelberger Christopher H. Strayhorn 1983
The Association of Theological Schools
Marian Marcus Warden 1998 Arthur E. and Katharine R. Trotman
Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works
Arthur Williams Charitable Trust United Church of Christ, Cleveland, OH
Anne Hale Johnson 1956
Myrle H. Wall
Mary Lindsay
$10,000 – $14,999 John C. B. Webster 1960 and
Bill Moyers and Judith Davidson Moyers Penny Lee Stearns Webster
C. Douglas Ades 1969 and Elzbieta Dec
Patricia Nicholson Mary H. White, M.D.
Estate of David J. Maitland
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund David O. Woodyard 1958 and
Calvin M. Mew 1973 and Mary F. Crawford
Joanne A. Woodyard
Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation
Anonymous Donor

union network | fall 2015 21

 $2,500 – $4,999 Karyn Carlo 2005 David Shepherd King 1958
Helen F. Andrew 1964 Covenant Baptist Church, Washington, DC Peter Kinoy
David J. Callard 1967 and Mary R. Morgan Ellis B. and Bettsy W. Cowling Charles O. Klawitter
Lindley G. DeGarmo 1999 and Joanne F. Cox 1971 Betsy F. Koester 1992
Sarah J. Finlayson Larry R. Cox 2013 Ernest F. Krug III 1971 and Sarah D. Krug
Anne Gartner Frederick A. Davie and Michael Adams Larchmont Avenue Church, Larchmont, NY
Karenna A. Gore 2013 Rosamond Arthur Dean Linda Lear
Marybelle B. Hollister 1991 and Robert C. Douglas 1961 and Ginny Douglas Martin C. Lehfeldt 1965
Don Gardner Martin Duus Sara Lindholm and George Surgeon
Heidi Hudnut-Beumler 1985 and Marvin M. Ellison 1981 and Marian M. Logan 1956
James D. Hudnut-Beumler 1983 Franklin L. Brooks Thomas R. W. Longstaff 1973 and
Harriet C. Hunter 1947 Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Advent, Cynthia C. Longstaff
Serene Jones New York, NY Richard A. Lundy 1957
Dennis Keller and Connie Keller First Presbyterian Church, New Canaan, CT Mary Rose Main
Robert P. Keller First Presbyterian Church, New Haven, CT Kathryn M. Marion
James H. Miller 1961 and John Paul Frelick 1948 Carol E. Matheis-Kraft
Margaret C. Miller 1966 Barbara J. Gaddis 1978 and Paul B. Volker David M. McAlpin
Samuel A. Nickols 1967 Ruth Garwood 1996 George D. McClain 1964 and
St. James’ Church, New York, NY Annabeth M. Gay 1949 Tilda A. McClain 1966
St. Lawrence Foundation for Faith E. Gay and and Francesca Zambello Constance C. Coles 1971 and
Theological Education William B. McKeown 1971
Lorna Goodman
James H. Stentzel 1968 and Lelan D. McReynolds 1964 and
Amy C. Gopp Vigne 2005 and Frédéric Vigne
Catherine F. Stentzel Joy McReynolds
Clifford J. Green 1964
Anthony J. Tambasco 1979 Paul Mojzes
Dorothy A. Greene 1986
The Charles T. and Marion M. Thompson Christopher L. Morse 1968
Foundation Dennis W. Haas 1959 and
Thomsa Stewart Haas 1958 Robert P. Noble, Jr. 1965
Philip N. Yang 1960
D. Bruce Hanson 1961 Su Yon Pak 1999 and Kathleen T.
Anonymous Donor Talvacchia 1992
Dale C. Harris 1958 and Carla M. Harris
Daniel E. Pellegrom 1969 and Sara S.
Amy M. Heinrich 1985 and
President’s Associates Pellegrom 1968
Robert K. Heinrich
$1,000 – $2,499 Karen M. Peters 1995
Thomas J. Herin 1974 and
Johanna E. Alpert and Laurent Alpert Miriam MacFarlan Herin Rebecca Todd Peters 1996 and
LaVonne Althouse 1959 Jeffrey C. Hatcher
Garry W. Hesser 1964
S. Wyndham Anderson 1964 and William M. Polk 1966 and
Carter Heyward 1971 and Sue Sasser
Huldah Anderson LuAnn S. Polk 1966
Carolyn S. Hopley 1979
Barclays Educational Matching Gift Program Michael T. Price 1964
International Business Machines
Dorothy C. Bass 1972 and Mark R. Schwehn Susan S. Purdy 1978 and Peter J. Purdy
Corporation
Craig C. Berggren 1996 Paul H. Randall 1962 and
Darcy R. James 1963
Margaret W. Randall 1961
Bethany Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY Kevin B. Jennings and Jeffrey Davis
Larry L. Rasmussen 1970 and
Phyllis A. Bird 1964 Jewish Theological Seminary Nyla L. Rasmussen
David L. Bourns 1966 and Thomas S. Johnson and Ann W. Johnson Petero A.N. Sabune 1981 and
Ruth W. Bourns 1964
Bruce W. Jones 1959 and Alice Cook Maureen Fonseca Sabune
Jo Ana Elise Brown 1989
Joe R. Jones and Sarah Jones Roy I. Sano 1957
Lora Lee Brown 1965
Peter R. Kellogg Jean E. Schmidt
Glenn R. Bucher 1965 and Mary K. Bucher
Frances Kennedy Marilyn Seven 1962 and Theodore Yanow
Frederick Buechner Center

22 union network | fall 2015

Susan L. Sgarlat 2007 and Charles Fels Alfred W. Tate 1972 and Susan C. Tate Paula Tusiani-Eng 2001
Farley Snell 1958 and Ann Snell Elizabeth A. Theoharis 2004 United Church of Christ, Houston, TX
John W. Sonnenday III 1971 and Ellis and Bettsy Cowling Donor-Advised United Way of King County
Kristine A. Haig Fund of the Triangle Community Dawn Van Denend
St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Foundation
Jacquelynn C. Van Vliet 2008
Greenwich, CT Phyllis Trible 1963
Mary Jo Walters 1955
St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, OH
H. Mitchell Watson, Jr. and Kate Watson
New York, NY David R. Trower 1973 and Carol Trower
Charles C. West 1945 and Ruth C. West
William H. Steward 1974 and Darla Dee Turlington 1979 and
Nancy L. Steward Peter S. Wilson
R. Donald Turlington
Anonymous Donor U

UNION AT A GLANCE 2014–15

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION DEGREES
27 Different Denominations/Religious Affiliations Total Candidates for All Degrees 231
Master of Divinity (incl. M.Div. and M.S.S.W.) 138
African Methodist Episcopal Zion 2 Master of Arts 48
Association of Vineyard Churches 1 Master of Sacred Theology 9
Baptist 20 Doctor of Philosophy 36
Buddhist 2 Non-degree 4
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ 3 Enrolled from Other Institutions 34
Christian Science 1 Auditor and Visiting Scholars 18
Church of the Nazarene 1 Total number of registered 287
Disciples of Christ 1
Episcopal Church 33 POPULATION
Friends (Quakers)/Brethren/Mennonite 4 American Indian or Alaska Native 3
Hindu 1 Asian American 12
Interdenominational/Multidenominational 5 Black/African American 53
Jewish 2 Hispanic 23
Lutheran 9 Multiracial 8
United Methodist 17 White 125
Non-denominational 18 Undeclared 63
Orthodox (Coptic, Eastern, Greek, Russian) 3
Other 10 GENDER
Pagan 1 Male 137
Pentecostal/Apostolic/Assemblies of God/ Female 150
Church of God/Four-Square 9
Presbyterian 18 AGE
Reformed Church in America 1 20-24 42
Roman Catholic 14 25-29 53
Seventh Day Adventist 1 30-34 40
Unitarian Universalist 23 35-39 35
United Church of Christ 15 40-49 27
Undeclared or Unaffiliated 20 50-64 34
65+ 4
Undeclared 52

union network | fall 2015 23

 CLASS NOTES
1950s 1960s
transferred part of its funds to the Polish-
William J. Nottingham, M.Div. 1953, Lawrence W. Althouse, part. 1961, American Freedom Foundation. Ades
Ph.D. 1962, and co-author Charles Harper retired from the United Methodist served on Union’s Board of Trustees from
have published Escape from Portugal—the Church since 1994, celebrated the 60th 2005 to 2012.
Church in Action: the Secret Flight of 60 anniversary of his ordination on April
African Students to France. The story of a 23, 2015. He is in his 51st year of writing
dramatic clandestine operation in June a weekly syndicated newspaper column, 1970s
1961 sponsored by the World Council of “The Bible Speaks,” based on his Uniform
Churches and the French human rights Lesson Series of the National Council of Ronald L. Grimes, Ph.D. 1970, was
organization CIMADE, will be made into Churches Division of Education, and is awarded an honorary doctorate by the
a documentary. Many of the students the author of several books, among them University of Lund in Sweden, for major
later became leaders in their home You Can Save Your Breast: One Woman’s international contributions to the inter-
countries—two presidents, two prime Experience with Radiation Therapy (W.W. disciplinary field of ritual studies.
ministers, a bishop, several ambassadors, Norton 1982), written with his late wife,
and many government ministers. Valere; and Sixty Days with Luke: A New Dominic V. Monti, S.T.M. 1971, cel-
Devotional-Study Excursion Through the ebrated 50 years as a friar and member of
J. Heywood Thomas, S.T.M. 1953, has Third Gospel (2011, Trafford). On October Holy Name Province, the largest com-
published Theology and Issues of Life 19, 2014 Althouse married Katherine munity of Franciscan friars in the United
and Death, Cascade Books, Oregon 2013; (Katy) Lasater Freiberger, a composer, States. From 2005 to 2014 Provincial
and Legacy of Kierkegaard, Cascade pianist, and poet. Vicar of his order, Monti is currently
Books, 2011. He is Emeritus Professor stationed at St. Bonaventure University in
of the University of Nottingham, Edward E. Clark, S.M.M. 1965, marked western New York, where he is a distin-
England, where he was also Head of the 50 years as organist at First Church guished professor of Franciscan Studies.
Department of Theology and consecu- of Christ, Farmington, CT (and more
tively Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean of recently as Minister of Music), with cele- Joseph Komonchak, S.T.M. 1969, Ph.D.
the Arts Faculty. He holds a D.D. from brations by his 362-year-old congregation 1976, was awarded an honorary doctorate
the University of Wales and has been of “Half a Century of Joyful Noise.” Clark by the Aquinas Institute of Theology, St.
awarded the honorary degrees of D.D. has served as organist for the Hartford Louis, MO, on May 8, 2015. An ordained
Edinburgh and D.Litt Wales. He has Symphony since 1984, and also teaches at Roman Catholic priest, he is now retired
also been elected Fellow of the Learned the University of Hartford’s Hartt School after having taught for nearly 45 years,
Society of Wales. of Music. most recently at the Catholic University
of America, where in 1996 he was named
Finley Schaef, M.Div. 1957, was recog- Judith Bledsoe Bailey, M.R.E. 1966, the first occupant of the John C. and
nized by the New York State Bipartisan received her Ph.D. in American Studies Gertrude P. Hubbard Chair in Religious
Pro-Choice Legislative Caucus and from the College of William & Mary on Studies. He assists at Sunday Masses at St.
Concerned Clergy for Choice as a pioneer- May 11, 2014. John the Evangelist Church, Goshen, NY.
ing champion for women’s reproductive
health. Among other notable accomplish- Charles Douglas Ades, M.Div. 1969, Howard B. Major III, M.Div. 1976, has
ments, Schaef co-convened the Clergy was awarded the Officer’s Cross of the retired from the ministry after serving
Consultation Service on Abortion with Polonia Restituta by the Polish American a church in New Paltz, NY, for 20 years.
the Rev. Howard Moody. On May 22, 1967, Freedom Foundation, for supporting He is now pursuing a master’s degree in
The New York Times carried a front page the transformation of Poland, at the communications at New York University.
announcement of the Service, includ- Presidential Palace in Warsaw on May 14,
ing the names of Rev. Schaef and other 2015. Ades, the Senior Consultant of the Warren H. Stewart, Sr., M.Div. 1976,
clergy, and their offer to refer women Polish-American Freedom Foundation, was inducted into the 30th Martin Luther
for safe and affordable abortion. By the had worked for over twenty years for the King, Jr. College of Ministers and Laity at
time of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Polish-American Enterprise Fund estab- Morehouse College. He is the author of
Wade decision, more than 1,400 clergy lished at the initiative of the President Victory Together for Martin Luther King,
had joined the Service, having referred George H. Bush with the goal of support- Jr., and is presently the senior pastor of
100,000 women for abortion without a ing the market economy in Poland. After the First Institutional Baptist Church of
single fatality. completion of its operations, the Fund Phoenix, AZ, where he has served since
July 1, 1977.

24 union network | fall 2015

 2000s
Kenneth L. Sehested, M.Div. 1978, pub- David J. Tombs, S.T.M. 1988, was
lished In the Land of the Willing: Litanies, appointed to the Howard Paterson Chair Wallace McPherson “Macky” Alston
Prayers, Poems, and Benedictions, with a in Theology and Public Issues at the III, M.Div. 2000, has been named by
forward by Walter Brueggemann ’61, University of Otago, North Dunedin, New the Center for American Progress as
who notes that Sehested sustains his Zealand. Previously he was Assistant one of its top faith leaders to watch in
evocative poetic imagination and capac- Professor of Conflict Resolution and 2015. The leaders and faith advocates
ity “for finding the right text at the right Reconciliation at the Irish School of selected “remind us how important
time.” Sehested is one of 3 co-pastors Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, faith voices are as we work together to
of the Circle of Mercy Congregation in undertaking that work in Belfast as direc- create a more just and equitable nation,”
Asheville, NC. Until he stepped down tor of Trinity’s Centre for Post-Conflict said the Center. Alston is Vice President
in 2002, he was the founding executive Justice. for Strategy, Engagement, and Media
director of the Memphis-based organi- at Auburn Seminary, and an award-
zation BPFNA (Baptist Peace Fellowship Chung Hyun Kyung, Ph.D. 1989, Unitas winning filmmaker. He continues to
National Association), a national network Distinguished Alumna 1994, crossed lead movements addressing the most
of Baptists involved in personal causes the demilitarized zone from North Korea pressing issues of our time, including
from health care to hunger, nuclear dis- to South Korea on May 24, 2015, along LGBTQ rights, racial equality, and climate
armament to gay rights. with 29 other female peace activists, call- change.
ing for an end to the Korean War. Chung
is Associate Professor of Ecumenical Michael David Ellick, M.Div. 2000,
1980s Studies at Union. has been called to First Congregational
Church in Portland, OR, as Senior
Alice Carol Burnett, M.Div. 1982, was Mary L. Foulke, M.Div. 1989, Ed.D. 1996, Minister.
honored to be a member of the United was called to serve as Rector at St. Mary’s
Methodist Women’s delegation to the Church Manhattanville in New York City. Letitia M. Campbell, M.Div. 2003,
59th annual United Nations Commission Previously she was senior associate for has accepted a new position at Emory
on the Status of Women (CSW-59) in New Christian formation at the Church of St. University’s Candler School of Theology.
York City in March 2015. Her article about Luke in the Fields (Episcopal), New York Beginning this fall, she will serve as
it appears in the July/August issue of City. Director of Contextual Education I and
Response magazine. Burnett is Executive Clinical Pastoral Education, and Senior
Director for Moore Community House in Program Coordinator for the seminary’s
Biloxi, MS. 1990s new Laney Legacy in Moral Leadership
Program.
Katie Geneva Cannon, Ph.D. 1983, was David P. Gushee, Ph.D. 1993, Distin-
lauded by the Literary Awards Committee guished Alumnus 2012, published Dionne P. Boissière, M.Div. 2004,
of the Black Caucus of the American Changing Our Mind, about his personal participated in the 59th annual United
Library Association, which chose The theological journey as he changed his Nations Commission on the Status of
Oxford Handbook of African American mind about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and Women (CSW-59) in New York City in
Theology, edited by Katie G. Cannon and transgender inclusion in the Church. March 2015. An article about the confer-
Anthony B. Pinn, as its 2015 Honor Book Gushee is Distinguished University ence written by Carol Burnett, M.Div.
winner in the nonfiction category. Professor of Christian Ethics and Director 1982, appears in the July/August issue of
of the Center for Theology and Public Life Response magazine. Boissière is Chaplain
Derrick Harkins, M.Div. 1987, joined at Mercer University. He was at Union in of the Church Center for the United
Union’s staff as Senior Vice President February to offer a short lecture and Q&A Nations.
for Innovations in Public Programming. during a lunch gathering.
Previously he was the pastor of the Darrell Ezell, M.A. 2004, was appointed
Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Winnie S. Varghese, M.Div. 1999, the inaugural Program Director for
Northwest Washington, DC, and a mem- was appointed Priest and Director of Interfaith Action at Claremont Lincoln
ber of the Seminary’s Board of Trustees. Community Outreach at Trinity Church University. He is an expert in interre-
He has a long history of working for at Wall Street in New York City, where ligious affairs, conflict resolution and
social justice in both the church and the she will focus on Trinity’s social justice diplomacy, and is the author of Beyond
public square. ministries. Previously she was Rector of Cairo: U.S. Engagement with the Muslim
St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery. World, in which he explores the roles and

union network | fall 2015 25

 impacts of U.S. public diplomacy in the Preston A. Davis, M.Div. 2011, and for the Association to Benefit Children,
Middle East during the Arab Spring. his wife Dorsett welcomed twins, where she continues to serve on the
Christopher Andrews Davis and Jordan board. She has also been a writer for Slate
Ian Stuart Cliffe, M.A. 2008, and his Phillips Davis, born on All Hallows’ Eve. magazine and other publications, and
wife Ellie Martin Cliffe welcomed a baby is the author of Lighting the Way: Nine
boy, Rowan Thomas, born on September Peter C. Herman, M.Div. 2011, and his Women Who Changed Modern America.
16, 2014. wife Janine Calabro welcomed a son,
Oscar Rocco Herman, on June 27, 2015. William Bonner Owen, M.Div. 2013, was
David Frederic Greder, M.Div. 2009, clothed as a Novice in The Order of the
received his Ph.D. from the University of Angela Parker, part. 2012, was Holy Cross on Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at
Iowa on May 15, 2015. appointed Assistant Professor of Biblical Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY.
Studies at the Seattle School of Theology
Karilynn J. Morris, M.A. 2009, pub- and Psychology. She completed her Ph.D. Ashley Amber Birt, M.Div. 2014, has
lished The Girl Who Could See, her debut in New Testament studies at Chicago been called by Rutgers Presbyterian
coming-of-age novel for tween girls. Theological Seminary, and her primary Church to be their Director of Christian
Morris is a writer, actor, filmmaker, and focus in research and academic pre- Education. Birt has worked with youth
teaching artist. She lives in New York sentations has been reading the Bible groups in several Presbyterian Churches
City. through the lenses of womanism and in Pennsylvania and New York, and also
postcolonialism. brings a background in music, theater,
and LGBTQ advocacy.
2010s Karenna Aitcheson Gore, M.A. 2013,
was appointed Director of the Center for Todd Andrew Clayton, M.A. 2014, has
Martin E. E. Malzahn, S.T.M. 2010, was Earth Ethics at Union. Previously she been appointed Senior Development
appointed Chaplain at Wagner College, worked as a lawyer for Simpson Thacher Associate for Grants and Major Donor
Staten Island, NY. & Bartlett and Sanctuary for Families, Relations at Union. Previously he was
and as Director of Community Affairs Executive Assistant to the President. U

Hortence Whetstone, Owner of Spotless Drycleaning, Retires

“Just call me Miss Hortence,” I heard her saying to so many customers once they
came back to Spotless Drycleaner a few times. That’s what she told my family
when I introduced them to her (she always made sure to have a holiday calendar
and pen for all my family!). She used to ask me about students that moved and
told me that in her over 30 years in that store, she had come to love and know so
many of us here at Union, this of course being her second job. From the moment
I crossed Broadway and walked in, she called me “Rev. Derrick” and always asked
about my church and how it was doing. She knew all the churches in Harlem very
well. I only remember her closing once and that was when the last of her sisters
passed away in South Carolina. After that I often spent time sitting in her chair for
about an hour or so, just to check on her. She will be missed, but we are so glad
that we got to know her and her ministry of dry cleaning with a momma’s heart.
Best wishes, Hortence! — Derrick McQueen ’09

26 union network | fall 2015

IN MEMORIAM as of august 15, 2015

ALUMNI/AE

Yerby R. Holman ’39 Donald W. Morgan ’53 Peyton L. Palmore ’60

Roberta Tucker Clair ’41 Henry Jameson ’54 Ralph S. Carpenter ’61
Robert M. Grant ’41 May Sweet Lord ’54 Donald F. Jensen ’61
Herbert E. Pickett, Jr. ’42 Paul L. Reynolds ’54 Charles R. Zweizig, Jr. ’61
Margaret Rinck Rideout ’42 James R. Tanis ’54 Robert S. Magee ’62
Maxine Thornton Denham ’42, ’43 Dallas W. Young ’54 Richard J. Wood ’62
Henry Stimson Harvey ’43 Benjamin L. Armstrong ’55 James L. Boeringer ’63
Charles W. Forman ’44, ’47 Charles Robert Croghan, Jr. ’55, ’67 Clifford C. Schrupp ’63
Kenneth A. Friou, Sr. ’44 Harold G. Deal, Jr. ’55 John Frederick Woolverton ’63
James E. Bean ’45 Malcolm Boyd ’56 Mary Fisher Andrews ’64
Doris Jones Trebat ’45 Hobart A. Burch ’56 Leo J. McDonald ’64
Kenneth R. Robinson ’46 Barry Frank Cavaghan ’56 Monroe Peaston ’64
Jack T. Barron ’47 Albert S. Chappelear III ’56 Richard Reid ’64
E. John Yuells ’47 Alexander H. Easley ’56 Richard W. Carlson ’65
John E. Ensign ’48 Franklin M. Elliott ’56 Roger W. Freudigman ’65
Betty Reid Mandell ’48 Isabelle V. Haeseler ’56 Donald N. Oberdorfer ’65
David H. Newson ’48 James N. McCutcheon ’56 John F. Chappell ’66
Raymond O. Ryland ’48 Otto Schneider ’56, ’67 Jerry K. Fisher ’66
E. John Harle, Jr. ’49 Owen C. Thomas ’56 Leslie Douglas Fullerton ’66, ’66
Kenneth W. Mellinger ’49 F. Benjamin Carr ’57 John R. Sharp ’66
William C. Schram ’49 H. Dana Fearon III ’57 David Alden Steere ’66
William Kilmer Sites ’49 Hugh F. Hardin, Jr. ’57 Lloyd August Svendsbye ’66
Harold F. Eberhard ’50 Seth W. Newton ’57 Almus M. Thorp, Jr. ’66
Henry Shirley Fusner ’51 Arden Brock Yakimow ’57 Marcus J. Borg ’67
William D. Geoghegan ’51 John W. Ackerman ’58 James L. Anderson ’67
Birger T. Johnson ’51 William Edward Farley ’58 Harold E. Decker Charles ’67
Charles F. Kriete ’51 Paul Leroy Kerlee ’58 Roy L. Horton ’67
Winifred Jean Porter McGillivray ’51 J. Robert Meyners ’58 Daniel H. Krichbaum ’67
Jack L. Noble ’51 John G. Truitt, Jr. ’58 William P. Epke ’68
Edgar A. Raynis ’51 Kunnath V. Varkey ’58 Sidney D. Skirvin ’68
Helen Allan Archibald ’52, ’55 Herbert D. White ’58 Robert L. Barrows ’70
Paul J. Carpenter ’52 RoseMarie Schutte Wildman ’58 Samuel Kelton Roberts ’70, ’75
Austin B. Coe ’52 Coleman Barr Brown ’59, ’79 Gordon Dicker ’71
Wells B. Grogan ’52 John Dyson Cannon ’59 Elva E. Manuel-Douthat ’71
James A. Hand ’52 Hal H. Hargreaves ’59 Joan C. Bender ’73
C. Harvey Lord ’52 Joseph L. Roberts, Jr. ’59 Clyde Barrington Holloway ’74
Marilyn R. Penner ’52 Robert Suydam Borden ’60 Holland L. Hendrix ’75, ’75
Donald V. Roberts ’52 Charles E. Lange ’60 Madeline L. McDonald ’78
Joseph Bertalan ’53 David R. Lewis ’60 Jonathan E. Currier ’84
William Gillies Kalaidjian ’53 J. Ralph Marshall ’60 Paul William Bradley ’02
Ercell V. Lynn ’53

union network | fall 2015 27

 FACULTY, STAFF, TRUSTEES,
AND FRIENDS OF UNION
Union Mourns
Marie C. Ackerman
Katharine C. Shinn
Mary L. Clifford Wife of Reinhold Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of
Frank J. Coyle Social Ethics, Roger L. Shinn
Doris Denning unon.in/unnews45
Ollie G. Friou
Doris Bennett Haring The Rev. Gardner C. Taylor
Stephen Hayner Union Medalist 1984
J. Louis Martyn nyti.ms/1fGauQL
Sally Dallam McAlpin The Rev. Dr. Joseph L. Roberts, Jr., M.Div. 1959
Dorothy Haughey Miller Unitas Distinguished Alumnus 2004
Anne E. Mouer on-ajc.com/1hf1C5v
Elizabeth “Betty” Bull Noyes
John G. Pack The Rev. Malcolm Boyd, S.T.M. 1956
Rene A. Pingeon Unitas Distinguished Alumnus 2005
Jerome M. Pollack nyti.ms/1Pyyrpe
Robert P. Richardson, Jr.
Dr. James Louis Martyn
William H. Scheide Edward Robinson Professor Emeritus of Biblical Theology
Katharine C. Shinn unon.in/loumartyn
James D. Skillen
George Stevens Dr. Holland Lee Hendrix, M.Div. and S.T.M. 1975
Karl W. Switzer President Emeritus of Union
Gardner C. Taylor utsnyc.edu/?p=1928
Frances Thompson
The Rev. Sidney D. Skirvin, part. 1968
D. Alexander Tyree former Dean of Seminary Life
Ned E. Weller unon.in/unnews45
John C. Whitehead
Stephen A. Wise

The Union Quad, because of the Facilities Staff’s wonderful care, is enjoyed by the Seminary community,
including a mother duck and her brood of 11 ducklings.

28 union network | fall 2015

UNION DAYS OCTOBER 8–9, 2015
Union Days, the annual two-day gather-
ing that brings Union alumni/ae back
to campus for stimulating presenta-
tions, conversation, and sharing the
latest Seminary news, will take place on
Thursday, October 8 and Friday, October
9, 2015. The theme this year is “Why We
Still Can’t Wait: Race Matters, Earth
Matters,” and the featured plenary speak-
ers are Womanist theologian Dr. Kelly
Brown Douglas ’82, author most recently
of Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the
Justice of God, and Dr. Robert Jones, CEO
of Public Religion Research Institute and
the author of the forthcoming The End of
White Christian America.

All alums and their guests are welcome,

2014 unitas honorees, l-r: Katherine Henderson ’82, Marge Pols ’64, Calvin Butts ’75,
and Anne Elliott ’91 wearing their Union alum baseball caps! most especially graduates from the
Classes of 1965, 1990, and 2005, who will
be celebrating their 50th, 25th, and 10th
anniversaries respectively. To register
for Union Days, please go to the Union
website or contact Kevin McGee at 212-
280-1590 or kmcgee@uts.columbia.edu
with any questions.

Union Days 2014 concluded with

the Unitas ceremony and a banquet
to honor four distinguished alums,
pictured above left.

The Seminary Community is very grate-

ful to the members of the Class of 1964.
The photo at left is of reunion attendees
in October 2014. Class members, who,
encouraged by a lead gift of $50,000
made by Wyndham Anderson ’64 and
his wife, Huldah, collectively raised a
total of $46,841.23 during the anniver-
sary year! This gift has established an
the class of 1964, front row, l–r: Wyndham Anderson, John Pecoul, Jack W. Jones, Linda
Brebner, Marge Pols, George McClain, Helen Fischer Andrew, Margaret Cooley Hsaio, Carolyn emergency fund to assist students who
Childs Shadle; back row, l–r: Thomas Stiers, Lee McReynolds, Barnett Shepherd, John find themselves in unexpected financial
Sallstrom, James Daugherty, Thomas Laws, Martin Lehfeldt
distress. In addition, the Class of 1964
gift also covered the cost of installing an
automated door at the Seminary’s main
Register online for Union Days 2015: entrance, which guarantees accessibility
utsnyc.edu/uniondays2015/registration to members for the Seminary and wider
community. U
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
3041 Broadway at 121st Street
New York, NY 10027-5792

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WOMEN OF SPIRIT LECTURE 2016

On April 13, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe,
climate scientist, communicator,
and educator, will give the 2016
Judith Davidson Moyers Women
of Spirit lecture at Union. Please
watch your e-mail for the date
registration will open, expected Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
in early March 2016. delivered the annual Women of Spirit Lecture on
March 4, 2015. View the lecture in its entirety at
photo: Ashley Rodgers utsnyc.edu/michellealexanderlive.