A quarterly publication of Garrett-Evangelical Theological SeminaryAWAREmagazine

April 2017

Equipping Seminarians for Cross-Cultural Ministries

Pages 4-9

Aware Magazine • April 2017

Table of Contents

3 | Presidential Perspective

4 | Equipping Seminarians for Cross-Cultural Ministries

10 | Four Things You Should Know About the New Master of Divinity Curriculum

12 | Cutting Edges: Intercultural Competency and Discipleship

13 | Gift Annuities: A Good Way to Invest in Garrett-Evangelical

14 | Beloved Faculty Members Announce Retirements

15 | In Memoriam

Aware is published quarterly by the development office for alums and friends of

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, a graduate school of theology related to The United Methodist Church.

Founded in 1853, the seminary serves more than 500 students from many denominations

and various cultural backgrounds, fostering an atmosphere of ecumenical interaction. Garrett-

Evangelical creates bold leaders through master of divinity, master of arts, master of theological studies, doctor of philosophy, and doctor of ministry degrees. Its 4,500 living alums serve church and society around the world.

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary2121 Sheridan Road | Evanston, IL 60201800.SEMINARY | www.Garrett.edu

PRESIDENT

Lallene J. Rector

EDITORIAL BOARD

Ceciley Akins Katharine DukeDavid HeetlandApril McGlothin-EllerKrista McNeilShane NicholsTasha Sargent

PHOTOGRAPHY

Bill Burlingham of Burlingham ProductionsShane Nichols

In almost any ministry, religious leaders are going to have to cross cultural boundaries. So what happened when seven seminarians committed to serving their field education internship in a church where they are the minority?

Page 4

We have recently celebrated the Easter resurrection and the promise of new life. However, I write now during the Lenten season. It is one of my favorite seasons during the liturgical year, a time for engaging in reflection and repentance. It can also be an opportunity for metanoia, a change of heart, when we come to deeper understanding and turn to new, more life-giving directions. During Lent, we revisit the meaning of Jesus’s wilderness experience as he anticipated beginning his ministry. It was a time of claiming identity and preparing heart and mind for the difficult and dangerous work ahead. We, too, examine ourselves before God and one another, reflecting upon our institutional and individual Christian identities, and consider anew what it means to lead faithful lives.

It seems too much of the world feels itself to be in a wilderness. There is distress and fear in the land, and we seek God’s counsel more fervently than ever. At the school, we study how to best teach in the face of growing hatred, violent discrimination, expulsion of “the stranger,” fewer resources for the least of these, and new commitments to strengthen the instruments of war.

At times, we are nearly overwhelmed with despair, and our capacity for hope is challenged daily. Yet, one of the most paradoxical and even vexing aspects of our Christian faith is the call to hope anyway, beyond humanly conceivable reasons to hope. We can do this because we celebrate the mystery of a risen Lord who is the source of our hope even in the shadows of insurmountable obstacles.

Garrett-Evangelical is a hope-based seminary for the church and for the world. We are in the process of admitting a new class for next fall as we put the finishing touches on a new master of divinity curriculum. We are beginning two new programs to address the economic challenges of ministry and the need for innovative young adult ministries. The Styberg Preaching Institute continues to support

this generation of Christian leaders and the next as they take up the mantle of proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel. We are developing new “connectional learning” programs that bring theological education to alumni, clergy, and laity interested in learning more about the faith and about ministry.

This May at our 160th commencement, we will send forth a new group of public theologians who love Jesus and are committed to seeking the well-being of their neighbors. We will confer an honorary doctor of humane letters upon our speaker, Dr. James Hildreth, president of the United Methodist Meharry School of Medicine and College of Dentistry in Nashville, Tennesee. Over the summer, we will again sponsor a Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools program at Family Focus Evanston for third, fourth, and fifth graders. We will continue with classes for doctor of ministry students and course of study students, and we will welcome the Pembroke Institute for high school students. There is no dearth of work to be done.

In the spirit of a risen Lord and of new life, we hope you will enjoy reading about the great work unfolding at Garrett-Evangelical and that you will share our commitment to be a servant seminary to the church and to the world. Each day, we strive to live within the larger purposes of God, giving thanks, always, for your ministries and for your ongoing support!

Presidential Perspective

April 2017 Aware Magazine 3

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10, NRSV)

4 Aware Magazine April 2017

When Rev. Hannah Kardon, the pastor of the Elston Avenue United Methodist Church in Chicago, was invited to be part of the seminary’s pilot cross-cultural field education program two years ago, she didn’t hesitate.

“I said yes because I think cross-cultural ministry and multicultural ministry will define the shape of the church in the 21st century,” Kardon said. “Being cross-culturally competent is an incredibly important skill for any pastor coming up to have.”

Kardon knows this firsthand. Although she recently moved to the Urban Village Church in Chicago, she served as pastor of the Elston Avenue Church, a primarily Filipino church, for three years.

Rev. Linda Misewicz-Perconte (G-ETS 1982) who has been serving the church for 34 years, also saw the importance of participating in the pilot cross-cultural field education program. She is currently the pastor of the Ravenswood Fellowship, a United Methodist Church in Chicago, made up of Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, African Americans, Honduran Americans, and Anglo Americans.

“In almost any ministry today, you are going to have to cross cultural boundaries,” said Misewicz-Perconte. “It is the future of our church and our nation.”

Dr. Ken Ehrman, the director of field education at Garrett-Evangelical, said the faculty and administration wholeheartedly agree that seminary students need to

be culturally sensitive and competent. The student population at Garrett-Evangelical is diverse and so are the churches and organizations the students interact with as part of the curriculum.

A pilot cross-cultural field education program

The idea of creating a pilot cross-cultural field education program originated several years ago. Dr. Karla Kincannon, then director of field education, wanted to create a modified curriculum for a small group of students that would give them cross-cultural training and a cross-cultural church placement as part of their Vocational Formation and Church Leadership (VFCL) class. The hope was the pilot program would help the students develop cross-cultural sensitivity and cross-cultural skills in addition to the other learnings they would get from the course.

Thanks to a $40,000 grant from The United Methodist Church General Commission on Religion and Race, the pilot program became a reality in the spring of 2015. Ehrman and Wendy Kneer, associate director of field education, recruited seven students and seven area churches to participate. They also hired Elina Rodriguez, a cultural consultant and a student at the seminary, to help design the program, teach the sessions focusing on cross-cultural competence, and coach the participants.

The following fall, the seven students began their pastoral internships in churches where they would be a minority. In addition to their cross-cultural church placements, the seven students formed a small group so they would have a place to share their experiences.

In an effort to provide additional support and training for the students and the churches, the seminary also formed a cohort made up of the seven students, the seven pastors, and several members from each congregation. The cohort met for cross-cultural training and Bible study eight times throughout the year.

Because the seminary wanted to be sure to have both qualitative and quantitative measurements, Rodriguez administered the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), an assessment that determines how culturally competent someone is and serves as a guide to create

Equipping Seminarians for Cross-Cultural Ministries

Dr. Ken Ehrman

development plans for each of the cohort participants. She also gave the same IDI assessment to the majority of the seminary’s first-year students taking the VFCL class in order to have a control group.

Positive response from the students and congregations

“By all accounts the pilot program has been a success,” said Ehrman. The students and the congregations have reported greater cultural awareness and understanding, he said. The students have also asked to stay together as a small group to deepen their relationships and cultural understanding (See student stories on pages 6-9).

The quantitative data also shows the program was a success. After their year-long internships, the students retook the IDI. The control group had a statistically minor shift, but the seven students who were part of the pilot program had a marked improvement that was statistically significant, Ehrman said. “They were all more culturally competent.”

“We found that there was a significant difference in the results when we compared the students who were not part of the group to the results of the seven students who were part of the cohort,” explained Rodriguez. “The scores of the students who were not part of the group were pretty much the same at the beginning and the end of the academic year, while the scores of the students who were in the cohort increased markedly, which means they had significantly deepened their sensitivity toward cultural differences and increased their ability to do ministerial work across cultures. They were encountering and addressing cultural differences with greater understanding of their own culture, greater respect for and openness to learn from other cultures, and greater flexibility and adaptability than they were when they began.”

The program was a success for the congregations also. Rev. Warren Smith (G-ETS 2010), the pastor of

the Fisher Memorial AME Zion Methodist Church, a predominantly African American church in Evanston, said the program helped his congregation reach out to the diverse community around the church.

Fisher Memorial, he said, is located in a multicultural community, but his congregation is primarily African American. For several years, he had been pushing his parishioners to consider worshipping with one of the nearby White congregations, but nothing had come of it.

“But right after we started this process, they opened up, and said ‘let’s do it,’” Smith said. During Advent that year, Fisher Memorial formed a successful joint Bible study with a predominantly White Lutheran church.

“Since then, we’ve exchanged pulpits and have done some joint outreach programs,” he said. “It moved us in a direction we had been talking about, but hadn’t gone in before.”

Several of the participating pastors found the training and support from the seminary and support from the other members of the cohort particularly beneficial. “It gave everyone a safe passage through the process,” Smith said.

The fact that the seminary included lay people from each of the churches was huge, said Misewicz-Perconte. Two of the members from her church who came to training were Japanese American and one was White. All three felt their voices were heard, she said. “I think it is a powerful thing to find your voice, and I think that is the beauty behind what the seminary did. They wanted the lay people to come and be heard.”

New cross-cultural course added to the curriculum

According to Dr. Hendrik Pieterse, associate professor of global Christianity and world religions at Garrett-Evangelical, the pilot cross-cultural field education experience highlighted the need to incorporate more cross-cultural experiences into the curriculum.

April 2017 Aware Magazine 5

Rev. Warren Smith

(Continued on Page 6)

“In almost any ministry today, you are going to have to cross cultural boundaries.”

- Linda Misewicz-Perconte

6 Aware Magazine April 2017

“It helped us to see once more that this is a set of skills and an understanding of the world that we cannot ignore or downplay

if we are going to be effective as a seminary

in preparing graduates to lead in a rapidly changing

world,” said Pieterse who also heads the seminary’s Cross-Cultural and International Theological Education Committee.

As part of its curriculum revision, the faculty is in the process of creating a three-credit, one-year intercultural course that will start in fall of 2017. As part of this mandatory course, all incoming master of divinity students and master of Christian education students will take the IDI in the fall of their first year. Their results will be interpreted, and all students will create a personal intercultural development plan.

“The point is, if you have an intercultural plan, you are more likely to work at it,” Ehrman explained. In addition to classroom learning, the course will include an experiential component where cohorts of about six to 10 students will go into a cross-cultural setting, such as a church or religiously oriented non-profit, to observe and practice the skills they learned in the classroom. At the end of the course, students will meet again to process their experiences and retake the IDI.

Currently, all master of divinity and master of Christian education students have to fulfill a cross-cultural requirement by taking a course, participating in a cross-cultural field education assignment, doing an independent study, or going on a seminary-sponsored international trip.

Pieterse said the intent of the new course is not to replace the other cross-cultural experiences but rather to complement them. “Our hope is that as a result of having this course, students will develop a sense of curiosity and a desire to engage in these other cross-cultural experiences as well,” he said.

An opportunity to gain new knowledge and skills

Andy Gilg said he is reserved and careful about making

commitments. So when he first learned about the pilot cross-cultural

field education program, he didn’t rush to sign up.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t intrigued with the idea of a cross-cultural placement. Gilg, who wasn’t certain he wanted to be a church pastor, realized that the knowledge he would gain from the program would transfer to other organizations.

“I thought that if I decided I didn’t want to be in a church, I would still have a great experience and learn something beyond being a pastor,” he explained.

A second-year master of divinity student from rural Nebraska, Gilg was placed at the Elston Avenue United Methodist Church, a predominantly Filipino church in Chicago. He bonded with the congregation over food and their shared agrarian roots. Although he expected to learn a lot from the program’s curriculum and training, Gilg said it had an unexpected benefit – it helped him to adjust to Chicago.

“Coming to Chicago was a cross-cultural experience on its own and then going to the Elston Avenue Church

“Coming to Chicago was a cross-cultural experience on its own and then going to the Elston Avenue Church and a Filipino congregation was yet another cross-cultural experience. Having the curriculum gave me some new ways to articulate and understand the changes I was going through.”

-Andy Gilg

April 2017 Aware Magazine 7

and a Filipino congregation was yet another cross-cultural experience,” he said. “Having the curriculum gave me some new ways to articulate and understand the changes I was going through.”

Although Gilg ultimately decided he didn’t want to be a pastor, he said the experience of knowing what it felt like to be a minority was invaluable.

A chance to build deeper relationships

Master of divinity student Charlotte Hoffmann decided

to extend her cross-cultural field study placement for a second year

because she wanted to deepen her cross-cultural understanding and the relationships she developed at the Ravenswood Fellowship United Methodist Church.

Located near Andersonville in Chicago, Ravenswood Fellowship has a diverse congregation, primarily made up of Caucasians and Japanese Americans. Because the services are in English and most of the members wear Western-style clothing, the cross-cultural differences weren’t as obvious as some of the differences her classmates encountered, Hoffmann said. “But that didn’t mean the differences weren’t there,” she said.

That was particularly true when it came to communication and leadership styles, said Hoffmann, who worked for an environmental organization in the Washington, D.C. area for eight years before coming to Garrett-Evangelical.

In the past, she said, when she called a meeting she would present her ideas first and then ask others what they thought. “Now, I would be more inclined to start the meeting off with the question, ‘What should we talk about?’ and to listen first,” she said. “That is a very different way of doing things.”

She also learned that not everyone speaks up at meetings and that often one needs to have conversations outside of the meeting to be sure everyone had a chance to contribute.

Hoffmann feels her field study experience and additional training has prepared her for her future ministry. “Every church is going to have its own culture,” she said. “Now, I will be able to understand its dynamics better.”

An experience that was new and challenging

The first time S. Jones, originally from Van Vleck, Texas, attended

the predominantly African American church where they were to complete

their field education placement, Jones sat in the back, not certain how they might be received. In addition to being the only White person in the church, Jones is also a member of the LGBTQ community.

“I was worried they wouldn’t accept me into their lives,” Jones remembered. Over the next year, Jones found they needn’t have worried. The members of the Neighborhood United Methodist Church in Maywood, Illinois embraced Jones, offering rides from the train, asking them to speak at a church event, and asking for a block of tickets to their upcoming seminary graduation. “They took an interest in my life and really invested in my growth,” Jones said.

Jones volunteered to participate in the pilot cross-cultural field education program for several reasons. First, they wanted an experience that was new and challenging. “I had never experienced being a racial minority before,” Jones said. “I also wanted to work in a space that I normally didn’t have access to.”

Additionally, Jones recognized the importance of participating in communities where they were a racial minority to confront their own internalized racism. “Being an ally is more than workshops and knowledge,” Jones said. “You have to integrate this work into your experiences and take risks in building relationships with folks who will challenge you.”

Among the many things Jones learned from the year-long experience is how important it is to be open to different ways of doing things. “It’s not about whose way is better,” Jones said.

(Continued on Page 8)

8 Aware Magazine April 2017

A strong bond with her small group

Attending seminary and living in the United States was already

a cross-cultural experience for Sungeun Kim, who grew up in South

Korea and also went to university there. That’s one of the reasons Ehrman thought she would be a good fit for the pilot cross-cultural program.

Kim said she was excited to be part of the group because she wanted to learn about other cultures and backgrounds, and she also wanted to share her own. “I thought it would be a great experience because I had never been in this kind of multi-cultural situation before,” said Kim, a master of divinity student who is considering staying in the United States after graduation. “I also thought it would be good for me to prepare for my future ministry.”

Kim has spent the last two years as a pastoral intern at the North Northfield United Methodist Church, a racially diverse church in Northfield, Illinois. Before this, she said she had virtually no experience with American culture. The cross-cultural program taughther how to interact more naturally with people who have different perspectives and who come from different cultures, she said.

One of the biggest benefits of the program, she said, was the strong bond she developed with the six other students in the program who also met weekly as a small group. “I have really enjoyed that part of the program,” she said. “It helped me feel connected.”

A chance to get out of his comfort zone

Right from the start, Matthew Mariani knew he wanted his

field placement to be in a church that was different from what he was

used to. He said he had noticed that Christianity was looking more and more diverse as time has gone on, especially in the United States, and it was time to try something new.

“I wanted to get out of my comfort zone of being in a stereotypical, white, middle class church and see what it looked like elsewhere,” he explained.

Mariani, a master of divinity student originally from St. Louis, Missouri, was placed at the Emmanuel United Methodist Church, a predominantly Indian church in Evanston with parishioners coming from all the surrounding neighborhoods.

The experience of being a minority, he said, allowed him to examine his own place in the world and be more open to new experiences and other points of view. He also learned how cultural identity can affect and inform one’s faith.

Mariani said he thinks the cross-cultural program is important for Garrett-Evangelical because the church in America is becoming more multicultural. “If we really want to meet people where they are, we have to be able to understand and move through cultures we might not be comfortable with,” he said. “If we don’t have the tools we need, we are not going to be able to reach people the way we need to – in an open and understanding way.”

The support and training she needed

When she heard about the pilot cross-cultural field education

program, master of divinity student Keri Rainsberger knew that this was

what she was looking for.

“I was really interested in cross-cultural ministry, but I didn’t feel equipped for it,” she said. “So I was excited

“If we really want to meet people where they are, we have to be able to understand and move through cultures we might not be comfortable with.”

-Matthew Mariani

April 2017 Aware Magazine 9

to hear about a program where both the students and the people from the field sites would be receiving training and support from the seminary. I knew the extra support would make it a lot easier for us to grow cross culturally.”

Rainsberger was assigned to the Fisher Memorial AME Zion Church, a small African American church in Evanston, Illinois. There she grew as a theologian and as a leader. “I have a very different view of God’s power at work now than I did coming in,” said Rainsberger.

The experience also allowed her to understand herself and her own culture better. “I now have an awareness of who I am, how I worship, and how my own theology helps shape who I am,” she said. “This helps me relate to others who are different because I now know what I am bringing to the relationship.”

The most helpful part of the program, Rainsberger said, was being a part of the larger cohort. “We actually got to meet the pastors from the other congregations and some of the lay members from the churches, and we all knew we were in it together as a group,” she said. “I think that in itself enhanced the experience.”

The realization that culture is complex

Ashish Singh had already been working as a pastoral intern at the

First Vietnamese United Methodist Church in East Albany Park, Chicago

when Ehrman approached him about joining the pilot cross-cultural program.

Singh, a second-year master of divinity student of Indian decent, said he saw the program as an amazing opportunity to learn and grow and happily accepted. “I loved the fact that Garrett-Evangelical was being intentional about this type of cross-cultural ministry, and I wanted to be a part of it,” he said.

For the last two years, Singh has been leading a second church service in English for the American-born children of the Vietnamese immigrants who

attend his church. Being a second-generation Asian-American himself, Singh embraced the opportunity because he understands firsthand how hard it is to walk the line between two cultures.

Because Singh does not speak Vietnamese, the language has been a slight barrier with the older generation, but he has found ways to connect through food. “I’ve discovered that people express themselves and show their love in lots of different ways,” he said.

The training Singh received as part of the cross-cultural program helped him see that he often tried to minimize the differences between cultures. Now, he said, he is more sensitive. “I am more aware of the fact that culture is complex,” he said. “It shapes who we are and how we desire to be treated. In order to more meaningfully relate to others, I learned I can no longer take their culture for granted.”

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary offers students the finest opportunities to discern, test, and refine their call to ministry in a wide-variety of ministry settings. Combining hands-on experience with theological education, the field education program reflects the seminary’s philosophy that students mature into ministry by knowing, being, and doing.

This vital work of the Seminary can only happen because of the vast network of alums, friends, and churches who financially support our mission. Gifts to the Annual Fund are encouraged. To make a gift today, go to www.Garrett.edu/Give. To learn more about directly supporting the work of the field education program, contact David Heetland, vice president for development, at David.Heetland@Garrett.edu or by phone at 847.866.3970.

“I loved the fact that Garrett-Evangelical was being intentional about this type of cross-cultural ministry, and I wanted to be a part of it.”

- Ashish Singh

10 Aware Magazine April 2017

Dr. Luis R. Rivera, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean

Four Things You Should Know About the New Master of Divinity Curriculum

The new master of divinity curriculum, being put into practice in Fall 2017, aspires to address the changing and diversifying needs of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary’s graduates through carefully crafted goals. Throughout the revision process, the faculty arduously attended to reviewing the religious landscape and trends in theological education. They analyzed assessment data collected from students and alumni, and deliberated over the school’s mission, strategic

plan, and accreditation standards. The faculty discussed and cultivated a vision for students and future graduates to help them fulfill their vocations as servant leaders, teachers, justice workers, parish ministers, and public theologians. All of this is skillfully translated into relevant and coherent learning goals and designs that will guide the education and formation of religious leaders who will serve God, the Church, and the world faithfully, courageously, and effectively.

Increased Alignment with the Mission of the School

The new curriculum is rooted in the school’s mission and reflects the renewed call to be a servant seminary. The seminary’s most recent strategic plan states, “Garrett-Evangelical is a servant seminary dedicated to preparing spiritually grounded and prophetic leaders for the church, the world, and the academy who are well equipped to: proclaim the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a religiously pluralistic world, guide others in a life of deep spiritual formation and commitment, serve with culturally sensitive competence, collaborate as public theologians for the wellbeing of all persons and creation, and lead transformative change for the sake of community and the global world.”

Clearer Integration of New Learning Emphases

The revised master of divinity program highlights the following set of learning/teaching emphases affirmed by the faculty.

Knowing• An ability for critical thinking and problem-solving• Clarity about what the Gospel is and how to

communicate it

Doing• The ability to teach and learn in diverse settings • The ability to give accurate and informed testimony

to the activity of the living God

Being• Curiosity, imagination, and courage • Self-awareness and emotional intelligence• Personal, spiritual, and intellectual integration

• Cultivate a robust theological imagination

• Analyze systemic evil, racism, and injustice

• Link practice and theory• Develop critical consciousness• Construct knowledge• Immerse students in a critical

encounter with some reality that evokes theological reflection on the “real”

Student Competencies Pedagogical Principles

1

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INTEGRATIVE

At the heart of the new master of divinity

curriculum are commitments to what the church needs for leadership today: the ability to analyze and respond to the injustice, racism, and brokenness both in our world and in people’s lives out of a well-developed, creative, and faithful theological imagination.

-Dr. Jack L. Seymour, Professor Emeritus of Religious Education

RELEVANT

In the new curriculum,

students will encounter a way in

which to bring together praxis and reflection fruitfully in accordance with their callings, talents, and passions. It will aid them in their explorations of how to respond justly and compassionately in faith, hope, and love to the urgent demands of our time.

-Dr. Nancy E. Bedford, Georgia Harkness Professor of Applied Theology

April 2017 Aware Magazine 11

Greater Relevance to Students’ Multiple Vocations in Ministry

The new curriculum offers the opportunity for students to prepare for multiple contexts of ministerial service (e.g. congregational ministries as well as those preparing for community/public ministry beyond the local church). The first-year foundational courses deliver a solid theological formation to engage in any form of ministry. Also, students will have the opportunity to select from a set of concentrations defined by the faculty or they can combine courses to establish a thematic concentration that fits best their vocations and places of ministry.

Reduction in Time, Costs, and Student Debt

Lowering the number of credit hours from 87 to 80 and increasing online offerings should help more students finish the degree in less time, complete the first year at a distance, and reduce program costs and the need for additional student loans.

Dean Luis R. Rivera

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Through these four goals, the faculty have redefined the focus, requirements, and targeted outcomes of our master of divinity degree. The result is a new curriculum that will be relevant to today’s world, integrative in nature, and flexible in serving the wide-variety of needs of our students.

To learn more about the new master of divinity curriculum or to download the graduation requirements grid, go to www.Garrett.edu/MDiv. If you know of someone considering a vocation in ministry have them contact the Office of Admissions at 847.866.3945.

FLEXIBLE

The new curriculum opens up the way

we think about concentrations to enable ‘student-defined’ concentrations as well as ‘disciplinary’ concentrations. In doing so, it gives significant attention to better preparing students for an integrative program that will prepare them for a variety of ministry settings.

-Dr. E. Byron Anderson, Ernest and Bernice Styberg Professor of Worship

12 Aware Magazine April 2017

Cutting Edges: Intercultural Competency and Discipleship

The demand for interculturally competent graduates has long been a concern for business and government,

where knowledge of cultural values, mores, and practices

are vital for effective trade and successful diplomacy, respectively. As global travel, communication, and immigration and migration have turned societies more diverse, the need for more widespread intercultural literacy has become clear. To flourish, it turns out, today’s pluralistic societies require not only interculturally competent elites but also interculturally literate citizens.

In response, higher education institutions and scholars have produced a raft of innovations—from fresh areas of research, such as globalization and higher education and global citizenship education; to programs and initiatives that expand the institution’s international exposure and impact, such as dual-degree arrangements and branch campuses; to systematic efforts to integrate attention to intercultural competency into all aspects of the institution’s teaching-learning environment (an initiative that has come to be known as “internationalization at home”1). Theological education, too, has sought to engage these challenges over the past three decades. In the United States, the Association of Theological Schools has provided important leadership, as evident, for example, in continual updating of accrediting standards to reflect changing racial, ethnic, and cultural realities. And the landmark Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity unpacks in detail these challenges and achievements on a global scale.2

The commitment to educating interculturally skilled leaders and citizens is both welcome and urgent, as our own stressful times would attest. As Christian leaders take up this commitment, however, we would do well to remember that our efforts at intercultural competency need a firm theological base. If not nourished by the sources of faith, training in intercultural competency will remain a technology, untethered to the practice of discipleship. This would

be deeply unfortunate, since the stress on intercultural competency in fact activates impulses at the heart of the Christian faith. I mention three. First, the claim that all people deserve to hear the gospel makes Christian mission inherently an intercultural activity. To be in mission is to cross boundaries. Faithful witness and cultural discernment, Christians discovered early on, go hand in hand. Second, intercultural engagement is a theological imperative before it is a social desideratum. Its source is the Incarnation. In taking on creaturely form, God chose to dwell with us in and through our cultural particularity and not despite it. The one Word dwells with us only in and by means of the many words of our cultures.3 For Christians, then, the Incarnation provides the deepest motive for intercultural competency. Third, God’s decision to share our cultural life reveals something about divine power. God wishes our company by invitation, not coercion. Invitation signals a curiosity to learn and a willingness to receive. This invitational posture characterizes the quest for intercultural competency at its best. Far from a desire to control, “competency” denotes the disposition and skills needed for intercultural encounters that transform. In this sense, intercultural competency is the antidote to cultural tourism.

The need for intercultural competency, therefore, should come as no surprise to Christians. That it does is testimony to our repeated, often shameful, failure to embrace the radical implications of an incarnational faith. Perhaps, then, the primary challenge in the growing demand for interculturally educated graduates is not pedagogical but theological. It is nothing short of a call to recover intercultural engagement as a defining feature of Christian discipleship. I, for one, am thankful to be part of a seminary community committed to taking up that call. I am particularly grateful for our determination to make it concrete throughout our life, most recently in our revised curriculum.

1 See John K. Hudzik, Comprehensive Internationalization: From Concept to Action (Washington, DC: NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 2011).2 Dietrich Werner, David Esterline, Namsoon Kang, and Joshva Raja, eds., Handbook of Theological Education In World Christianity: Theological Perspectives, Ecumenical Trends, Regional Surveys (Regnum Books International, 2010).3 See Andrew F. Walls, The Missionary Movement In Christian History: Studies In the Transmission of Faith (Orbis, 1996), 26-42.

Dr. Hendrick R. Pieterse Associate Professor of Global Christianity and World Religions

April 2017 Aware Magazine 13

Taking out a gift annuity at Garrett-Evangelical

Theological Seminary just made good sense to Elizabeth Johnson. To begin with, the gift annuity would help train future church

leaders, and second, it would give her a charitable deduction

and income for her lifetime.

“I was looking for a place where my money could earn money and where I could support one of the two projects I care about – medicine and education,” she said. “A gift annuity to Garrett-Evangelical was the answer.”

Johnson started giving to the seminary in 2014. Her associate minister, Rev. James Thomas, was celebrating 60 years in ministry, and he and his wife, Joyce, were also celebrating 60 years of marriage. The church wanted to honor them with a scholarship at Garrett-Evangelical in their names, and the congregation was invited to contribute.

Although she knew of Garrett-Evangelical since she was a lifelong Methodist, she had no personal interactions with the seminary.

“I certainly wanted to support the scholarship,” she remembered, “but I didn’t know enough about Garrett-Evangelical to decide.” She asked some ministers who had gone to the seminary and some other people in her congregation about Garrett-Evangelical’s reputation and decided that the seminary was a place she wanted to invest her money.

“When Garrett-Evangelical came along, I looked into its programs,” she said. “I might not agree with every single thing the seminary does, but it was pretty close to a perfect fit. I thought it was the best place I could find to support.” And so she made her first gift to Garrett-Evangelical.

In February 2014, she met David Heetland, vice president for development at Garrett-Evangelical, when he came to Arizona to celebrate the establishment of the James and Joyce Thomas Scholarship. She talked

with him about giving another gift annuity to the seminary and decided to establish the Elizabeth M. Johnson Endowed Scholarship to provide much-needed financial support to deserving seminary students. In the last two and a half years, Johnson has continued to give to this scholarship. Today, it is one of Garrett-Evangelical’s leading scholarships.

While she was thinking about establishing a scholarship, she said she had been thinking about how she might make an impact. “I decided I wanted to give my money to two things – education and medicine,” she said.

Johnson spent 44 years as a registered nurse, first in Minnesota and later in California and then back again in Minnesota. She finally retired at 70 years old and moved to Arizona, where she met her husband, Dr. Clyde Johnson, who passed away from lung cancer after 12 years of marriage.

To make good on her second wish to support medicine, she gave an outright gift to a building addition to the Mayo Medical School in Arizona.

A gift annuity is an attractive giving vehicle, Johnson said. “It provides income, and when I’m gone, the remainder of the gift will be where it will continue to support what I want it to support.”

There are a wide variety of ways one can support Garrett-Evangelical. The seminary welcomes outright and planned gifts of all kinds. The seminary’s planned giving program encourages giving through bequests, gift annuities, trusts, pension plans, IRAs, and insurance policies. To learn more about planned giving, go to Garrett.edu/PlannedGiving.

To inquire about setting up a gift annuity at Garrett-Evangelical, email David Heetland, vice president for development, at David.Heetland@Garrett.edu or call him directly at 847.866.3970.

Gift Annuities: A Good Way to Invest in Garrett-Evangelical

With a combined 35 years of teaching experience at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Dr. David A. Hogue and Dr. Pamela J. Holliman

have announced their retirements. Holliman, associate professor

of pastoral theology and pastoral psychotherapy, will retire on June 30, 2017, and Hogue, professor of pastoral

theology and counseling, will retire on January 1, 2018.

In the classroom, and as a mentor to students, Hogue (G-ETS/NU 1985) is known for his commitments to critical reasoning and creative approaches for justice and social change. His interdisciplinary approach to pastoral care challenged students to actively incorporate theology, ethics, science, and liturgy into their studies and work. Hogue has also done invaluable work for the seminary around institutional assessment and accreditation, as well as held many governance posts leading to the strengthening of the life of the faculty and shared governance between the board of trustees and the faculty.

A licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Illinois, Hogue is founding director of three counseling centers in Evanston located at First Presbyterian Church, Samaritan Pastoral Counseling Center, and First United Methodist Church. He is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and served as the pastoral counselor for Community Church of Wilmette and First Congregational Church of Wilmette for more than 15 years.

“Garrett-Evangelical has been my professional home as student and faculty member for more than 32 years,” said Hogue. “The seminary’s commitment to social justice, informed by the Gospel, has nurtured in me a clear sense of vocation that I intend to live out in the days and years ahead. I will be forever grateful for students committed to ministry and to study, for colleagues and friends who have enriched my scholarship and teaching, and for the encouragement to make contributions beyond the school to the academy, the church, and to theological education around the world.”

Holliman’s (G-ETS 1973, 1977 and G-ETS/NU 1985) teaching has been rooted in the reality that ministry is primarily a relational vocation. She has equipped her students with the knowledge and resources to recognize the complexity of human experiences and how best to implement empathic pastoral care that offers hope in a relational God. In addition to her nine years of teaching, Holliman served as Garrett-Evangelical’s director of digital learning for four years and director of institutional assessment for eight years.

Prior to teaching at Garrett-Evangelical, Holliman, a clinical psychologist, served in the local church and later in the Des Moines Counseling Center. Holliman also spent a year directing research at the Pastoral Ministries Institute in Washington, D.C. before joining the staff at the Samaritan Counseling Center in Philadelphia.

“I have appreciated the opportunity to teach at Garrett-Evangelical these past several years. I have served with dedicated colleagues who share a passion for ministry and scholarship,” said Holliman. “It has been a joy to be with so many thoughtful, curious, and bright students through my work in the classroom and as an advisor. Garrett-Evangelical has been central to my life in providing a foundation for my professional and personal development through the years. I remain humbled and grateful for the many influences.”

“Doctors Hogue and Holliman have a deep love for the school and have made tremendous contributions to the life of the seminary. Dr. Holliman brought experience in administration, fundraising, teaching, clinical expertise, and national leadership in pastoral counseling training and service delivery,” said Garrett-Evangelical President Lallene J. Rector.

“Dr. Hogue has engaged in the formation of countless church leaders and scholars. His work among us included thoughtful care for the ethical dimensions of our life together, a love of teaching, national service in accreditation work, creative scholarship, and a ministry of pastoral counseling to the surrounding community,” Rector said. “Garrett-Evangelical will miss them greatly, and we wish them God’s richest blessings in retirement.”

Beloved Faculty Members Announce Retirement

14 Aware Magazine April 2017

In MemoriamOur Christian sympathy is extended to the family and friends of the following alums who have died in Christ.

April 2017 Aware Magazine 15

1940s

Warren G. Studer, ETS 1945, Santa Barbara, CA, died July 18, 2016.

Thoburn Anderson, GBI 1948, Heber Springs, AR, died December 3, 2016.

Robert Smyres, GBI 1948, Albany, NY, died May 14, 2014.

1950s

William Barrett, ETS 1950, Concord, CA, died January 14, 2016.

Marvin Bean, GBI 1950, Westerville, OH, died February 8, 2016.

Robert Trobaugh, GBI 1950, Mount Pleasant, WI, died January 22, 2017.

William Berney, GBI 1951, Lacey, WA, died January 31, 2017.

JC Grandlienard, ETS 1953, Phoenix, AZ, died October 28, 2016.

Richard Nesmith, GBI 1953, Framingham, MA, died March 2, 2017.

Edgar Webb, GBI 1955, Bloomington, IL, died January 18, 2017.

George Kibbe, ETS 1956, Baltimore, MD, died February 13, 2017.

Paul Truran, ETS 1956, Inver Grove, MN, died June 17, 2016.

William Stone, GBI 1957, Venice, FL, died January 14, 2017.

William Cutshaw, ETS 1957, Franklin, IN, died January 19, 2017.

Richard “Dick” Chrisman, GBI 1958 & 1959, Danville, IL, died January 13, 2017.

1960s

Benjamin Owre, GTS 1962, Portland, OR, died in February 2016.

Wayne Schaub, GTS 1963, Anacortes, WA, died January 31, 2017.

Forrest Risberg, GTS 1968, Maylene, AL, died January 10, 2017.

1970s

Eric Johnson, GTS 1972, Onawa, IA, died February 3, 2017.

1980s

Robert Lesher, G-ETS 1982, Itasca, IL, died December 30, 2016

1990s

Robert L. Weaver, G-ETS 1991, Columbia, SC, died December 16, 2016.

2010s

Wayne Hull, G-ETS 2012, Waupun, WI, died December 4, 2016.

Rabbi Herman Schaalman, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary’s longest serving

adjunct professor, died in his home on January 31, 2017 at

the age of 100. The longtime leader of Emanuel Congregation in Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood, former president of the nation’s reform rabbis, and an interfaith pioneer taught at Garrett-Evangelical from 1957 to 2015.

Among Schaalman’s numerous awards and recognitions, the seminary conferred an honorary doctorate of humane letters at the 147th Commencement Service in May 2003. He was also awarded the Eliza Garrett Distinguished Service Award, and this past fall, the seminary awarded the first-ever

Rabbi Herman E. Schaalman Social Leadership Award in his honor.

Reflecting on his work in the academy at a number of institutions including Garrett-Evangelical, Schaalman said, “In these years, several thousand students, virtually all of them preparing for one phase or another of Christian ministry, have taken courses ranging from Liturgy of the Synagogue, Introduction to Rabbinic Judaism, to Modern Jewish Life and Thought.”

Schaalman’s list of achievements extends well beyond Garrett-Evangelical. To read more about his exemplary life, go to www.Garrett.edu/Schaalman. We give thanks for Rabbi Schaalman and the impact he has had on countless seminarians in his years of service to the academy.

Remembering Rabbi Herman Schaalman, Longest Serving Adjunct