seminary & church

Erica Knisely, director of educational design in the Office of Education Beyond the Walls, delivers a profound metaphor. She’s talking about EBW Cookies—scone / cookie hybrids that are wholesome, nourishing, and a little sweet. She says, “We craft our workshops a lot like we make our cookies—as hybrids of practical experience and the latest Christian scholarship …” In an instant, we’ve moved on from cookies to workshops; and from workshops to ethical dimensions that sustain, in these pandemic times, such a great variety of caregivers and justice-seekers. In the halls and meetings and creative programmatic life that buzz throughout the EBW Offices, Erica and her colleagues who dream into being this rolling metaphorical river of energetic and imaginative faith-talk are forever coloring (or paddling?) outside the lines—to the glory of God. Erica is joined in this issue of Windows by Martha Lynn Coon, Mónica Tornoé, Melissa Wiginton, and Mikala McFerren, and I dare you to read their descriptions of what is going in this seedbed of vocational creativity without wanting to know more. Hint: it’s edgy! Look for such words as creativity, intersections, community, and diversity. Like I said, it’s edgy. “Here at the edges,” writes Melissa, “our work catches up many strands of learning and locations, people and practices.” The rolling river is heading toward new life for the church and the world! The greatest measure of this issue of Windows is devoted to what is going on in these halls of creativity.

Read also of the latest news from campus. Meet the Reverend Keatan King and alumna Denise Pierce, Austin Seminary Board’s new Chair and Vice-Chair; and celebrate Dr. Philip Browning Helsel’s recent chairing service in which he was inducted into the Nancy Taylor Williamson Distinguished Chair in Pastoral Care. Nan Williamson and her husband, Hugh (the donor of the chair), joined us virtually, by the way, to celebrate the occasion. Read of senior students receiving various fellowships during our virtual MidWinter Lectures, and of ASA Awards honoring two distinguished grads—the Reverend Cindy Kohlmann, and the Reverend Steve Miller. Note the births, the ordinations, commissions, and the passings of various alumni and their families. Celebrate various faculty accomplishments and new publications by Professors Suzie Park, Carolyn Helsel, and Bill Greenway, enjoy Professor Bobbie Kaye Jones’ recommendation of a good read, and welcome faculty member Andrew Zirschky who shares with us a pandemic-era reflection on “presence.”

All of what follows, really, is a treasure-trove of scone/cookie hybrids: wholesome, nourishing, and a little sweet!

Faithfully yours,

Theodore J. Wardlaw President