| Katie has taught classes at a Pentecostal seminary, ALIDD (Seminario Emanuel of the Asociación La Iglesia de Dios), and continues to collaborate with ALIDD though no, for the moment, as a professor. ALIDD has no formal economic relations with churches in other
countries. Such independence frees it to determine its own direction,
interests, and ways of doing ministry, but it also constrains
the seminary’s development, since many of the congregations
the seminary serves are in neighborhoods whose residents are too
poor to support the work of the seminary. Most professors teach
part-time and without pay.
Nevertheless, ALIDD churches are active centers in their communities,
with soup kitchens, clothing closets, sewing workshops, and other
outreach activities. In times of natural disasters such as floods
and drought, ALIDD churches are often the focal points through
which ecumenical agencies distribute food, clothing, bedding,
and other necessary items to disaster victims. ALIDD is unique
among Pentecostal seminaries in that it offers a critical (rather
than literal) theological education to students at a popular level.
Students at the seminary struggle to try to understand and minister
the biblical message of salvation and liberation within contexts
of poverty, abuse and delinquency.
Most of Katie's teaching takes place in Buenos Aires, but she
also travels to extension sites to give intensive workshops. "I enjoy the traveling," writes
Katie, "because it helps me to understand the reality of
the living situations for the great majority of the poor in Argentina."
Katie graduated from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts,
with a B.A. in French studies. After college, Katie spent two
years at Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, as a French
instructor and swim coach. She then enrolled in Fuller Theological
Seminary, from which she received her M.Div. degree. While at
Fuller, she was a substitute teacher for the Alhambra Unified
School District in Alhambra and a faculty secretary at Fuller.
After Fuller, Katie attended Princeton Theological Seminary and
received her Th.M. degree in church history with an emphasis on
the Reformation era. While at Princeton, Katie was a teaching
fellow and a research assistant.
Katie is a clergy member of Cayuga-Syracuse Presbytery. She is
married to the Rev. Daniel A. Fratea, pastor of the Asociación
La Iglesia De Dios (ALIDD). They have a daughter, Noelia Nicole
Fratea Griffin, and a son, Brian Daniel Fratea Griffin.
Birthdays:
Katie - September 18
Daniel - November 17
Noelia - December 12, 2003
Brian - September 1, 2006 |
