“A Woman’s Voice” — this year’s Katie Geneva Cannon Lecture and Interfaith Conference at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (LPTS) — will be held Sept. 12-13 on the seminary campus.

The event, sponsored by the Women’s Center at LPTS, “will seek to create holy space and time for women involved in teaching and leadership in religious communities of diverse faith traditions and denominations” and  hopes “to create energy around interfaith learning and worship, reaching across boundaries to share knowledge, spirit, and experience.”

Presenters include:

  • The Rev. Gay Byron, who is the 2010 Katie Geneva Cannon lecturer and Baptist Missionary Training School professor of New Testament and Christian origins at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, NY. She will speak on “Teaching Empires, Interpreting Texts, Redefining Authority.”
  • Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, director of the department of multifaith studies and initiatives and professor of religious studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia. She will speak on “Places of Authority for Women in the Jewish Context.”
  • Suendam Birinci, a Ph.D. candidate at Hartford (CT) Seminary with a focus on comparative theologies and ethics of Christianity and Islam. She has taught graduate courses on different aspects of Islam and interfaith dialogue at several institutions and will speak on “Places of Authority for Women in the Muslim Context.”

These three presenters will also offer workshops on Monday, September 13.

 

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Theological Seminary has announced the election of five new members of its Board of Trustees. They are:

  • The Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong (’99), pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Trenton, NJ., and a Ph.D. candidate at Drexel University.
  • Paul A. Branstad, president and CEO of Safeharbor Advisors in Chicago and a member of Fourth Presbyterian Church there.
  • Sang Chang (’77), president emerita of Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea, and the first woman appointed prime minister-designate of South Korea.
  • The Rev. Ruth Santana-Grace (’94), executive presbyter of San Gabriel Presbytery in Azusa, CA and a D.Min. candidate at San Francisco Theological Seminary.
  • The Rev. Richard Kannwischer (’98), pastor of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, CA, representing the seminary alumni/ae.   

 

RICHMOND, VA — The University Senate of the United Methodist Church has approved Union Presbyterian Seminary’s (formerly Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education) training of United Methodist students for the foreseeable future.

Union has equipped United Methodist Students for ordination and for service in the church for most of its history. Seminary leaders say the seminary “is pleased to receive this accreditation and is proud to have United Methodists as part of our student body. The presence of United Methodists at Union will foster the on-going dialogue on topics such as polity, theology and mission that has existed between the denominations for centuries.”

In its press release about the accreditation, the seminary quoted the Rev. Al Lynch (D.Min. ’74) of St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Richmond: “…whether I have been involved in pastoral ministry or the practice of law or any of the other waystations of my journey, my background at Union has been the anchor for any good that I may have done. This Presbyterian seminary offered me, a United Methodist student, a spiritual environment in which I was encouraged to spread my academic wings with the collegial support of some of the finest scholars in the world…”

 

ATLANTA/PITTSBURGH — The Interdenominational Theological Center — a consortium of seminaries in Atlanta that includes Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary — has elected Pittsburgh Theological Seminary faculty member the Rev. Ronald E. Peters as its new president.

Peters has been on the faculty of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary (PTS) since 1991 and serves as professor of urban ministry and director of the Metro-Urban Institute. Peters will begin his duties as President of ITC Sept. 1.

PTS President the Rev. William J. Carl III said, “Ron Peters has certainly made his mark on Pittsburgh Seminary, the city of Pittsburgh, and the world, in both the classroom and on the street through his leadership of the Metro- Urban Institute. Although we will miss his effective bridging of the word and the world we celebrate with Dr. Peters this new appointment to lead an outstanding theological institution such as ITC and wish him well in this new endeavor.”

 

SAN ANSELMO, CA — The Rev. R. Scott Sullender has taken over as interim director of the San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) Advanced Pastoral Studies Program, which administers the Doctor of Ministry degree.

Sullender also serves SFTS as associate professor of pastoral counseling and is director of the Lloyd Counseling Program. He succeeds Lewis Rambo, APS interim director since January 2009 and former professor of psychology and religion at the seminary for 32 years.

“Scott brings years of experience in pastoral psychology and counseling, and a big heart for ministers and preparation for ministry,” said Dr. Elizabeth Liebert, SFTS dean, vice president for academic affairs and professor of spiritual life. “His years of administering counseling centers and his leadership in the Pastoral Care and Counseling Doctor of Ministry emphasis prepare him admirably for leading the APS program in this crucial transition.”

Raised in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Sullender received his M.Div. and Th.M degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary. After serving a congregation in Pennsylvania, he earned a Ph.D. in pastoral counseling at the School of Theology at Claremont. He has worked in pastoral counseling and psychotherapy for 35 years.

 

CHICAGO — “McCormick Days” — McCormick Theological Seminary’s largest annual gathering of alumni/ae, friends, and members of the campus community — will happen this around the theme “Just Eating: Leading the Exodus from Hunger.”

The gathering will take place Oct. 25-26 and will feature a keynote presentation by David Beckmann, president since 1991 of Bread for the World — the world’s premier faith-based anti-hunger organization. Beckmann, a clergyman and economist was recently named a recipient of the prestigious World Food Prize.

The gathering will include worship led by the Rev. Linda Wygant (D.Min., Class of 2006), workshops on hunger-related topics led by McCormick faculty and alumni/ae, several class reunions, and presentation of the seminary’s 2010 Distinguished Alumnus/a Award to the Rev. Michael McConnell (’71), who is is Midwest regional director for the American Friends Service Committee.  

 

DECATUR, GA — Columbia Theological Seminary is offering several upcoming courses in youth ministry leadership and preaching.

Courses in the Youth Ministry Leadership Initiative (YMLI) Certificate program include “Because the Bible Tells Me So: Putting the Bible Back in Bible Study,” Aug. 27-28, led by Anna Brown and Victor Cyrus-Franklin. Leaders for “Discerning Your Call to Youth Ministry,” Oct. 22-24, are Rodger Nishioka and Neema Cyrus-Franklin.

Courses offered through the seminary’s new Center for Preaching include “Preaching Advent,” Oct. 29-30. Leaders include David Bartlett, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Joseph Roberts, Jr., director of the center. “Preaching: Dialogue on Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation,” is scheduled for Jan. 25-27, 2011. Leaders include Roberts, Columbia faculty members Anna Carter Florence and Pamela Cooper-White and acclaimed preachers Otis Moss, Jr. and James Forbes, Jr.