Vantage Spring 07

VA N TA G E

Spring 2007

Redeeming Creation T

h e s e d ay s , a l ot i s b e i n g s a i d a b o u t o u r e n v i ro n m e n t - i n - c r i s i s .

We need to be, and can be, better stewards of God’s abundant creation.

Global warming and a host of problems in the natural world are recognized as real and really serious issues: we humans are destroying God’s creation. So now, regardless of political or theological bent, we’re all talking—in newspaper and magazine articles, television reports, documentaries, and Sunday sermons—about how we need to be, and can be, better stewards of God’s abundant creation.

This is not a new conversation for most of us. Ages ago, the psalmist wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it” (Psalm 24). For at least the last 30 years, in A Declaration of Faith, we Presbyterians have publicly acknowledged our responsibility to “hold the earth in trust for future generations of living things.” We affirm our understanding that “the Lord forbids us to plunder, foul, and destroy the earth.” And we are clear about what the Lord expects of us: “to produce, to consume, to reproduce in ways that make the earth’s goodness available to all people and reflect God’s love for all creatures.”

For nearly as long, with A Brief Statement of Faith, we have confessed that “we threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care. We deserve God’s condemnation. Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.”

In this issue of Vantage, you will find numerous examples of how members of Columbia’s extended family are responding to the call to hold the earth in trust. You will see how God is working through them to redeem creation, and I pray you will be inspired to act. “For God has given us dominion over the works of God’s own hands and has put all things under our feet. O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth” (Psalm 8).

L aura M endenhall President

L ectures at M ontreat, J uly 23-27

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Religion and the South

ulitzer Prize winner Dan Carter is the first speaker in a series of five lectures, Religion and the South, sponsored by Columbia and Montreat Conference Center, in Montreat, NC, this summer. Montreat College is providing the meeting space at the Chapel of the Prodigal. Admission is free and open to the public.

Carter is the Education Foundation Professor of History at the University of South Carolina. He has been the Pitt Professor in American History at Cambridge University and has appeared frequently on NPR and PBS. Marcia Riggs, the J. Erskine Love Professor of Christian Ethics, and Erskine Clarke, professor of American religious history, will present lectures, along with Sam Hill and Mary McClintock Fulkerson. Hill, who is considered the “dean” of religion in the South studies, is the author of numerous books and is the editor of the new Encyclopedia of Religion and the South. Fulkerson is associate professor of theology at Duke University. Her recent work includes studies of Appalachian women and religion.

Clarke, author of the highly acclaimed book “Dwelling Place: A Plantation Epic,” is the organizer of the lectures series, the inaugural event in programming which is being developed by Columbia’s faculty and Center for Lifelong Learning as a result of the seminary’s involvement with the Montreat Historical Collections. A significant portion of the collections, including personal papers and church records, is being transferred to the seminary as a result of the closing of the Presbyterian Historical Society’s location in Montreat. Holdings transferred to Columbia include archival, library, and museum materials of Presbyterian history and the worldwide Reformed tradition. The collection includes a large manuscript division, a library of bound books, and material artifacts of 500 years of Reformed history.

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< Monday, July 23 Dan Carter Is There Still a Dixie: Race, Religion and Politics in the 20th Century South

uesday, July 24 Marcia Riggs T When and Where I Enter: African-American Women on Race, Religion, and Social Reform in the 19th Century

ednesday, July 25 Sam Hill W Endlessly Fascinating: Southern Religion Was, Is, and (Ever Shall Be)

Thursday, July 26 Mary McClintock Fulkerson Religion and Women in Appalachia

Friday, July 27 Erskine Clarke “I See No Obstacle To The Elevation Of The African”: John Leighton Wilson, Pioneer Missionary in West Africa

VANTAGE Spring 2007

Class of 2006 Placements A s s o c i at e P a s t o r

Katie Heard Day, Palms Presbyterian Church, Jacksonville, FL Joe Evans, Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, Lilburn, GA Meg Flannagan, First Presbyterian Church, Dunedin, FL Sharol Hayner, Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA Brandon Hood,Valley Presbyterian Church, Paradise Valley, AZ Abby Keller, Greenville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Greenville, TN Patrick Laney, First Presbyterian Church, Tuscaloosa, AL James Rogers, First Scots Presbyterian Church, Charleston, SC

C h apl ain/Int er nships & R e s i de nc i e s

Kathy Burton, Emory Healthcare, Atlanta, GA Stephanie Coble, chaplain-volunteer services, Emmaus House, Atlanta, GA Kaye Florence,Veterans Administration Hospital, Jonesborough, TN Kate McGregor Mosley, Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA Mindy Serafin, chaplain, Indian River Medical Center,Vero Beach, FL

New Trustees Appointed to Board The Board of Trustees has elected two new members.

They are Richard A. “Rich” Oglesby and Sue S. Williams, both of Atlanta, GA. Rich Oglesby is a lifelong member of Central Presbyterian Church, where his grandfather served as pastor. A banker, his church and volunteer activities include service as an Elder and as a member of the personnel and endowment committees. He also serves on the board of Children’s Literature for Children. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University. He and his wife, Caye, have four children, two of whom are away in college.

Sue Williams is a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church. A retired musician and teacher, her church and volunteer activities include Sunday School teacher, Elder, Clerk of Session, chair for worship and music ministry, chair of the arts committee, and the Church Relations Council for Warren Wilson College. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and earned the master of music degree from Georgia State University. She and her husband, Neil, have two grown children.

C l i n i c a l P a s t o r a l E d u c at i o n Scarlette Bostick, Charleston, SC Christina Hicks, Grady Hospital, Atlanta, GA Karen Miller, Atlanta, GA

Director

o f C h r i s t i a n E d u c at i o n Dorothy Blackwelder, Dorchester Presbyterian Church, Summerville, SC Brandon Brewer, Winter Park Presbyterian Church, Orlando, FL Bill Searight, Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, Philadelphia, PA

G rad uat e S tudy

@ this point The church is on the move . . .

Russ Blackwelder, pre-med student, College of Charleston (SC)

Other

Manikka Bowman, lead organizer, Massachusetts Interfaith Committee, Boston, MA Ani Goodenberger, Christian Ministry in the National Parks, Grand Teton National Park, near Jackson Hole, WY Karen Jolly, registered nurse at children’s residential psychiatric facility, Viera, FL Bethany McKinney, special education teacher, Los Angeles, CA John Richardson, vice president of development, Montreat Conference Center, Montreat, NC Sarah Searight, assistant director of urban ministries, Old First Reformed United Church of Christ, Philadelphia, PA

Pastor

Maryellen Hittel, Rockmart Presbyterian Church, Rockmart, GA Katie Hudson, Middle Presbyterian Church, Mt. Pleasant, PA Jerry Long, First Presbyterian Church, Andalusia, AL April Love-Fordham, Calvary Presbyterian Church, Marietta, GA Mike Sorsen, First Presbyterian Church, Emporia, KS Cory Stott, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Meridian, MS Craig Topple, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Santa Fe, NM

Youth

and Families Michael York, interim director of youth and families, Alpharetta Presbyterian Church, Alpharetta, GA

VANTAGE Spring 2007

New issue coming in May!

Church without walls.

Church as going out, rather than coming in.

Church as blog.

New movements are shaking up “church business as usual” with new kinds of worship, mission, evangelism, community. Will this be the church of our children and grandchildren? What do our “brick and mortar” churches have in common with these unique communities?

Join Professors Steve Hayner, Martha Moore-Keish, and others for an introduction to these emerging movements—their practices, worship, community, mission and theology.

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The current issue, on Fear, is still available at www.atthispoint.net!

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Integrating Creation Care into the Life of Faith J ulie L ehman , ‘ 9 2

U nless your denial skills are uncanny and extend to all things seen and heard, you are probably aware that the world is in bad shape. Those of us who have been paying attention to the overwhelming

evidence realize that for the first time in human history humans are capable—and apparently willing—to threaten not just their own survival but that of all life on the planet. With that possibility becoming accepted by the mainstream culture, faith leaders are now called to exercise their prophetic role above all others.

Our denomination exercised this prophetic role itself back in 1990 at the 202nd General Assembly by adopting the policy report Restoring Creation for Ecology and Justice. From that report evolved the movement we now know as

Presbyterians for Restoring Creation. Their belief is that God calls the Presbyterian Church (USA) to “…respond to the cry of creation by engaging in the effort to make the 1990’s the ‘turnaround decade.’” Further, they assert that restoring creation is a “…central concern of the church, to be incorporated into its life and mission at every level.”

As an environmentalist and theologian, I can easily agree with the statements and assertions above. As a person of faith, I find myself wishing it was 1990 again!

Sustainability as a Spiritual Discipline While some experts now predict it may be too late to turn things around, such news does not excuse us from heeding our call as the people of God, but rather demands a more urgent and courageous response. As I have wrestled with how to reverse the trend towards global self-destruction, I have come to believe that we must begin with a personal and community response. By elevating sustainability to the level of spiritual discipline, we can replace despondence with faith and powerlessness with activism. continued on next page

OLLOQUIUM07 APRIL 16-18

The Word for a Warming World: T H E B I B L E , T H E C H U R C H , A N D T H E G R O A N I N G S O F C R E AT I O N ALUMNI/AE REUNION CLASSES 1956 and before 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2006

Colloquium 2007 focuses on the church’s encounter with global ecological crisis.Through plenary presentations, panels, and workshops, we will explore the broad contours of the crisis, develop biblical perspectives for Christian care of the creation, and offer resources for ministry in times of travail.

WORKSHOPS The Seven Ways of Creation: A Field Guide to the Cosmogonies of Scripture Nature and Culture: Why We Think the Way We Think About the World Greening Your Congregation: Making People of Faith People of Action The Wilderness/The Cultivated Land: Expressing Isaiah’s Images Through Art Greening the Church, and We Don’t Mean Advent!: Music and Liturgy for Worship Sustaining Creation: Practices for a Healthier World

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K E Y N OT E P R E S E N T E R S Terence Fretheim author of God and World in the Old Testament: A Relational Theology of Creation Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Barbara Rossing author of The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in The Book of Revelation Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, IL.

PREACHER Barbara Brown-Taylor author of Leaving Church Piedmont College, CTS adjunct faculty.

Register by March 29!

Details and registration form online at www.ctsnet.edu > What’s New or contact Barbara Poe poeb@ctsnet.edu or 404-687-4566

VANTAGE Spring 2007

2006 holiday float promoting compact fluorescent bulbs, sponsored by NC Interfaith Power and Light, and NC Council of Churches.

Walking Yourself into Creation Care I have often found that actions can steer the soul when it is unable to lead us. Starting earth stewardship in the most local and personal realm, namely our homes, will begin us walking humbly with God. Simple and concrete acts such as replacing the light bulbs in your own home with compact fluorescents can open your eyes to what God calls us to do in these excessive times.

In a recent clergy environmental breakfast in Asheville, a Lutheran pastor shared how he had recently called his representative to register his voice. He described being immensely rejuvenated after hanging up the phone, and wondered why he had not done so 20 years ago! As those called to lead the people of faith, our example can be a powerful witness. Seeing the minister practicing sustainability compels others to follow. I was profoundly moved to understand the spiritual nature of sustainable living when I noticed a minister whom I highly respected drinking water from an old Diet Coke bottle!

Walking Your Church into Action I am involved in a Sunday school class at my church, First Presbyterian Church of Asheville. We call it the “Greening of the Church” class. Meeting to prepare the 12-week series, the planning team jokingly named ourselves the “Green Guerillas.” Worrying that this name might scare people away from attending, we decided to change our name to the “Green Gorillas.” Upon learning of the change, our pastor encouraged us to hold fast to the concept of green guerilla (possibly aware that sometimes making important changes in the church requires guerilla tactics!). His support and the enthusiastic response of the participants allowed us to become a permanent faith development opportunity.

The class now functions as regular planning and strategizing time for the greening of our church. We discuss projects big and small, individual and communal, within the church and in the broader community. We keep each other informed of local advocacy and informational events and report back to the class on what we’ve learned. The primary goal for the class has become to make our class obsolete!

Many resources are available to help your congregation become more earth conscious. My favorite is the “Greening Congregations Handbook” published by Earth Ministry out of Seattle (www.earthministry.org). Also having your church join Presbyterians for Restoring Creation doesn’t cost much, but allows your church to support our denomination’s national movement, as well as accessing resources to assist your own congregation’s greening efforts.

An impressive national interfaith organization devoted to deepening the connection between ecology and faith is the Regeneration Project. Its recent campaign, known as Interfaith Power and Light (IPL), mobilizes people of all faiths to recognize and fulfill their responsibility for the stewardship of creation.

Specifically, the IPL campaign is mobilizing a national religious response to global warming while promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation.

To connect with your state’s chapter, or to help establish one if yours doesn’t yet have one, visit www.theregenerationproject.org.

VANTAGE Spring 2007

One final way for any church to quickly become green and promote sustainability on a national scale is to purchase renewable energy credits (RECs) from one of the many providers on the market today. Renewable energy credits offset your church’s power use by subsidizing clean energy sources, helping them someday become available to all across our national power grid. A document explaining the specifics of this opportunity is available off the EPA’s Web site at www.epa.gov/greeningepa/content/energy/pdf/greentags.pdf.

With the increasing number of ways to get your church connected with effective ways to practice responsible and caring earth stewardship, being complacent is no longer acceptable. While environmentalism might still be an issue that evokes conflict, it’s well worth our attention.

Julie Lehman is Director of Church Relations at Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC

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try to keep creation care in the forefront of my congregation’s collective mind. First, I frequently include these issues in our prayers of confession and intercession as well as referring to environmental issues and concerns when appropriate in the sermon. We’re in the mountains of western North Carolina and our summer population swells with weekenders and summer residents. Therefore, last summer I preached a series of sermons about our “spiritual geography” in an attempt to “hallow the hollers and magnify the mountaintops.” We took a big step this fall when we participated in the North Carolina Council of Churches’ showing of the film An Inconvenient Truth. It was a small, but important, step in raising the moral/ethical/spiritual concerns regarding global warming.

And last but not least, we adopted one of the busiest (and trashiest) miles in the county for monthly litter control. Before entering seminary I had a brief career as an environmental consultant and my call to care for creation is one of the main reasons I entered Columbia. It’s an issue close to my heart and integral in my sense of call.

B illy R o bins o n ’ 9 7 Pastor Mount Jefferson Presbyterian Church West Jefferson, NC

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In 2004 my father had a heart attack and a stroke. After recovering from both, he slid into the creek that runs through my parents’ yard and broke his leg. My mother was exhausting herself overseeing his care, so I stepped in to help. The experiences we are sharing have awakened my internal voice, and it seems that it won’t shut up. I have written several pieces about those experiences.

What follows is an excerpt from “Road Kill.” At that time my parents were 87 and 90. Early in 2007 my father will celebrate his 92nd birthday. Later on, if she is still oriented enough to understand, my mother will celebrate her 90th. Over the years, as my husband and I have struggled to meet both our own and my parents’ needs, we have come to appreciate the meaning of the word “long” in the phrase “long-term care.”

— Julie Cline

“Road Kill” is included in Heating and Air, a collection of essays Julie Cline has written about caring for her parents. You can read the essays online at web.mac.com/marylamar.

Links are on the lower left side of the page.

Road Kill

J ulie C line ’ 9 5

I began the automatic drive from my parents’ house to the hospital: two turns right, a turn left, left again and some distance before the turn onto the hospital’s road. At the elevator doors another visitor asked me which floor the cafeteria was on. I had to think—which hospital was I in? “It’s on the second floor—the Terrace Garden I think they call it.” Or was that the hospital where my mother had had her shoulder surgery? Or perhaps one of two hospitals where dad was treated for his heart attack? No I was right, this was the hospital of the Terrace Garden.

I found my mother awake and anxious. I helped her scoot up in the bed. I readied her tray table for the evening meal. The nurses had given her Ativan before I arrived. Afternoons were the worst for her. Her depression deepened and her anxiety rose more than at any other time of day. I stayed with her until her meal came and the Ativan kicked in. She dismissed me to go feed my father.

It was growing dark and I was ready to reverse the automaticity of the drive to the hospital.

I made the first turn without thinking and would have continued on in this robotic manner, had I not seen the body of a dead raccoon in the middle of the main road. It had just been hit. Its fur was ruffling in the breeze generated by passing cars. It was beautiful and wild—and quite dead.

I cried for the raccoon all the way to my parents’ house. When I arrived there, I tried to call the city to have the body picked up, but the offices were closed.

On my return trip to the hospital, my headlights revealed that the raccoon’s body was still intact. It remained that way through my last drive that night. Inevitably, I thought, it would be hit again, and the next day, in the early morning, when I drove in to catch the doctors on their rounds, the creature’s intestines were exposed and escaping its body. Later, as I drove back to check on my father, the body of the raccoon had been spun around so that its intestines were no longer visible.

On Sunday morning, as I had approached the rise on which the raccoon had met its death, I was elated to see that the body was gone—and then devastated when I realized that, no, it was still there. It had been smashed flat. As a young adult I had seen the car in front of me hit a sleek, brown and black dog. The dog went down on the pavement, the car roared on. I stopped. The dog was dead. I dragged him to the sidewalk for his family to find him. Passing the flattened raccoon, I tried to articulate some philosophical statement about a culture that, on a daily basis, ignores the deaths of beautiful creatures, but mostly I just wanted the raccoon and that sleek young dog to be alive again.

Dorchester Presbyterian Church, in Summerville, SC, is home to a 46-acre wildlife sanctuary with three quarters of a mile of walking trails. The land was purchased at the very low sum of $12,000 from Westvaco Corporation in 1990 with the understanding that the land would remain perpetually undeveloped as a nature preserve. The wildlife sanctuary adjoins the Dorchester State Park thus maintaining a natural travel lane for wild animals.

The wildlife sanctuary is home to whitetail deer, raccoon, opossum, cottontail and marsh rabbits, gray fox, and an occasional bobcat. The preserve has the only remaining original creek bed for the Saw Branch Creek which the Army Corp of Engineers turned into a canal in the late 1960s.

As development continues in the area with more and more woodlands giving way to shopping malls and subdivisions, Dorchester will be the keeper of 46 acres of natural wetlands and hardwoods.

Come and take a walk on the trails!

R ichard C ushman ’ 6 5 | Pastor

www.dorchesterpresbyterian.org/wildlife_sanctuary.htm 6

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or the past two summers, I have led mission teams to Chimaltenango, Guatemala, to plant trees and build low-cost, energy-efficient wood stoves through the Alliance for International Reforestation (AIR). The trees help to prevent erosion, and the stoves use less than half of the wood that the natives normally use on ground fires to cook their food as well as ventilate smoke out of their tiny homes. AIR was begun more than a decade ago by Anne Hallum, head of the political science department of Stetson University in Deland, FL, and a member of First Presbyterian Church, in Deland.

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hile she is on sabbatical this term, Kathy Dawson, assistant professor of Christian education, is studying early childhood education programs that are connected to churches. In Westlake, CA, she visited the Westminster Presbyterian Church Preschool, which has a new outdoor education classroom inspired

by Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from NatureDeficit Disorder. The outdoor learning space includes an extensive sand area with sand toys and real pots and pans, a playhouse, nature sorting area, and rolling hill. Soon there will be a rock creek for water play. Musical instruments played on the outdoor stage are “waterproof,” and a marimba is on the way.

The program director’s slogan is, “There’s no bad weather, only bad clothing.”

The goal is for the children to choose freely whether they are outside or inside with perhaps equal time spent in each area.

For more information, go to www.wpcwestlake.org and click on Preschool.

Resources for Green Living on Campus

http://ctsecology.wordpress.com

R ay m o nd G uterman ’ 8 0 Senior pastor First Presbyterian Church, Ocala, FL

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ur church is trying to practice R-R-R: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Our missions team includes Jackie Baxley, an environmental engineer, who guides us in “baby steps” of awareness and action, such as the daycare center’s composting program, collecting paper products for recycling, and using paper plates. For Furman University’s Center for the Theological Exploration of Vocation, I recently taught a course titled “Does God Recycle? Theology and Ecology.” For the course, biblical, theological and liturgical resources give clarity to the relationship between nature, human nature and God. A l M asters ’ 7 6 (D.Min.’91) | Pastor St. Andrews Presbyterian Church | Taylors, SC Al Master’s course outline, with many useful resources, is available online at www.ctsnet.edu > News and Events > Vantage. During Colloquium ’07 he and Columbia students will lead the workshop “Sustaining Creation: Practices for a Healthier World.”

S arah W alker C leaveland ’ 0 7

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t all started this past fall when I scheduled two classes for the same time. I’m not sure what I was thinking, but the result was me standing outside the registrar’s office trying to select a new course that would fit into my already over-packed schedule. By then, the choices were limited and none screamed my name. After a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally picked two six-week courses thinking if I didn’t like them at least they were only six weeks.

The first course, taught by associate professor Stan Saunders, was titled New Creation and Ecology: Practicing in the Garden. Honestly I wasn’t all that excited about it. But in six weeks, this course changed how my husband and I live and how I think about ministry.

In class, we read and heard and talked about the state of the earth today and the ways we are blatantly abusing this gift that we have. We talked about how much pollution we create by turning on lights and leaving them on. We talked about the benefits (for the earth and our health) of organic food. We talked about the value of spending time outdoors, the value of darkness (real dark, where you can see the stars), the value of being in balance with the world around us. We talked about how blessed we are with what’s literally right outside our door, and how little we take advantage of it (let alone care for it).

We also shared ways we are trying to live more ecologically-friendly and sustainable lives. I was surprised by how many people were already doing little things (and big things) to make a difference. We created a Web site, New Creation and Ecology (http://ctsecology.wordpress.com), to share our ideas and inspire new ones. Starting as a class project, the site has morphed into a resource for “green living” on campus. It contains some of the course’s final projects, and each week I post new information I’ve found either online or by word-of-mouth that can help us all live “ecologically-friendlier” lives.

It’s just a start, but when I think about ministry, now it’s more than people and congregations. I think about the world as well. The Bible is clear about the benefits and gifts of the earth. As ministers, we need to be models in our stewardship of the earth. We need to lift up the beauty of the earth in our sermons and liturgies; we need to talk about environmental issues in our session meetings; we need to make sure our congregations are turning off the lights, recycling their cans, and doing the little things that make such a big difference when all is said—and done.

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Sheppards and Lapsley Presbytery

Removing the Marvel Slab R o bert H ay ’ 8 4 Associate Executive Presbyter for Nurture We have a great story to tell from Alabama and Sheppards and Lapsley Presbytery, and it includes many Columbia graduates. We are creating a new camp and conference center, Living River, on four miles of the Cahaba River, one of the most diverse streams in the world. We have been working closely with the Cahaba River Society and The Nature Conservancy to be good stewards of the river and the environment. Part of our stewardship, as we develop Living River, involved the removal of an old dam from the river.

For this work, Presbyterians for Restoring Creation presented the presbytery with one of two awards they gave last year at General Assembly, in Birmingham. The article below explains the project, and here are the Columbia graduates who have been involved with me in all of this: • R ick Atkerson ’93, presbytery treasurer, Birmingham; treasurer for Living Rivers Board • Richard Brooks ’80, interim pastor, Eastminster Presbyterian Church, Birmingham; trustee of the presbytery • Sid Burgess ’90, pastor, Edgewood Presbyterian Church, Birmingham; Living River Campaign Committee • Frank Covington (D.Min. ’92), pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Auburn; Living River Campaign Committee • Elizabeth Goodrich ’03, Gardendale Presbyterian Church; Living River Board • C ary Speaker (D.Min.’76), pastor, Mountain Brook Presbyterian Church, Birmingham; Living River Campaign Committee • Dan Stephens ’04, associate pastor, Shades Valley Presbyterian Church, Birmingham; Living River Board • Ron Stone ’82, pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Selma; Living River Campaign Committee • Dana Waters ’58, past interim presbytery executive and retired from South Highland Presbyterian Church, Birmingham As our Campaign for Living River spreads into congregations, these additional members of the Columbia “family” are working at the congregational level.

• • • • •

Charlie Durham, Columbia trustee and pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Tuscaloosa Denny Read ’02, associate pastor, South Highland Presbyterian Church N oelle Read ’99, associate pastor, South Highland Presbyterian Church J im Stanford ’70, pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Sylacauga R achel Winter ’00, associate pastor for campus ministry, First Presbyterian Church, Auburn

Earth Covenant Ministry Columbia faculty members William Brown, Mark Douglas, and Stanley Saunders are among the organizers of Earth Covenant Ministry, a partnership among congregations of the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta and other faith-based organizations and individuals responding to the biblical and denominational call to renew right relationship with God’s Earth.

This ministry will provide support and oversight for an ordained minister who will work among the presbytery’s congregations to • Integrate the call to care for God’s creation into the church’s teaching and ministry of the Word and Sacrament • Provide resources for education, worship, spiritual renewal, and practical application • Nurture the growth of a creation-care network across the presbytery • Create presbytery-wide and ecumenical events for education, action, public witness, and advocacy • Work with national and local faith-based networks as well as local environmental organizations

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n 2001, the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley purchased 440 acres with four miles of river frontage on the Cahaba River, in Alabama. We immediately began working with the Cahaba River Society and The Nature Conservancy to remove a dam commonly called the Marvel Slab. For years, these conservation groups had been working to get the dam removed, but the presbytery was the first landowner willing to join them in the effort.

The Marvel Slab, in northern Bibb County, had been built by a coal company in the 1960s to allow trucks to cross the Cahaba easily as they transported coal to Birmingham from strip mines in that area. The slab was an obstruction to fish that needed to move upstream to feed, breed, and elude predators. For almost a halfmile upstream, the dammed-up water drowned riffles and shoals that should have been teaming with life.

Seven endangered fish and mollusks are found in this reach of the river.

Surveys for fish found many types in great numbers crowded below the dam and much fewer above the barrier. Scientists had seen redhorse (bottom-feeding fish known for their stamina) banging their heads against the concrete barrier in futile efforts to get to their ancestral breeding grounds. Snails and mussels had been virtually eliminated from the river for some distance downstream while they thrived in the unaffected habitat upstream. The incredible Cahaba lily no longer populated the area around the Marvel Slab.

In 2004, the Marvel Slab was successfully removed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in partnership with the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley, The Nature Conservancy, the Cahaba River Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Bibb County Commission.

To minimize harm to animals during the dam’s removal, experts snorkeled for three days removing mollusks within 10 feet of the dam. Scientists hand-picked and identified more than 12,000 snails and mussels, including more than 4,000 that were protected by the Endangered Species Act, then carried them a short distance out of harm’s way. Shortly thereafter, demolition began, and by the end of October 2004 the water flowed gently across bedrock shoals and boulders.

This extraordinary work, which protects interests of landowners, the state, and river conservationists, has been described by The Nature Conservancy as one of the most ambitious river restoration projects in the Southeast. Throughout this part of the country, thousands of abandoned small dams and diversions still exist on waterways. We hope the Marvel Slab removal sets a precedent.

For more information about Living River: A Retreat on the Cahaba, go to www.livingriver.org or www.pslpcusa.org.

We are grateful to numerous sources for information used in this article, including Presbyterians for Restoring Creation, Randy Haddock of the Cahaba River Society, and the Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley. For more information about the Marvel Slab Project, see Vantage Online at www.ctsnet.edu > News and Events > Vantage.

Contact: Allen Jenkins at chattahoochee.ruah@earthlink.net

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Inside Out

T o m R o ddy ’ 6 1 , D M in ‘ 8 4

This new phase of my life began on a dark February afternoon with a routine angiogram to see if the cardiologist could get some more blood flow to my legs so they would not hurt when I ran. “While we are in there let’s take a look at your coronary arteries.” In my semiconscious state I remember him saying, “Oh dear, we are going to need a surgeon for this.” In three days I was back for a triple coronary artery bypass.

While recovering in the hospital my youngest daughter said that she knew some people who could help stop artery disease. “Anything to keep me from having to do this again,” I said. One of the persons she connected me with was David Wolf, a natural food advocate. He said things like “if you pollute the inside you will pollute the outside and that the best way to make the environment healthy is to become incredibly healthy yourself.” I was introduced to the world of good fats (olive oil) and bad fats (transfats, hydrogenated oils). I saw beakers full of greasy white stuff that represented the fat content of a Whopper. I had watched my salt and caffeine levels, but this was a whole new ballgame. I learned that high heat can cook the life out of vital enzymes and minerals in those pretty green leafy vegetables. I learned how sugar can send the body on a daily roller coaster ride.

There are even fruits that are high in sugar. Avoid bananas and carrots? This is crazy, I thought. In restaurants, I would ask that my fish be grilled without salt using only olive oil. Much of this information is mainstream now, but when I started it seemed that I was kooky. At Bodies the Exhibit I saw clogged arteries as well as clean arteries. It does not take much plaque to make a stroke. I thought that my body was an intricate filtering system. It is but I overloaded it. I have good genes so why worry? My granddad lived until he was almost 91. But he lived on a farm and raised many of his own vegetables. There were more trees and open space, fewer cars and factories, and fewer chemicals in the air and food.

If I do not want to pollute my body, I become immediately interested in how my fruits and vegetables are grown. Are they full of chemicals? If they are organic, how can I know? Where can I buy organic? We began visiting a Saturday market where local organic farmers sell their crops. What about the water I drink?

for

God’s

creati o n

I am concerned about the air and the number of trees that are cut down for development. I want to save the trees we have and the woodlands that are taken over by English ivy. We started a vegetable garden hidden among the ornamentals so neighbors will not think they are living next to a farm.

In a few months we will have tomatoes and lettuce! It does not take much land for our family to supplement the organic vegetables we buy. I wonder how the neighbors would feel if I raised a beef steer? I would need their grass.

A DeKalb County (GA) public service ad asked residents not to put grease, oil, and fats down their disposals. Our human sewer system is developing sewer-pipe sclerosis, hardening and narrowing our vital pipes that carry our waste. I did the same thing to my environment that I did to my body. Pollute the inside, pollute the outside.

What am I doing for my environment? I am putting my grocery money behind growers of organic fruits and vegetables; supporting food-processing companies whose products are low in fat, sugar, and salt. I am releasing land by not buying red meat. Now that I am cleaning up my body, I am able to see much more I can do to preserve this earth that supports us. The body and the environment are linked together. Pollute one. Pollute the other. Clean up one.

Clean up the other.

In the dusk of this winter afternoon, I walked by the stream that formerly ran through a thicket of privet before I rooted it out. I leaned against the ancient trunk of a giant oak that I had rescued from rusted barbed wire cutting into its flesh and the thick ivy roots that snaked up to its canopy competing for a place in the sun. The stream and the oak seemed to thank me. Reward enough.

Tom and his wife, Alexandra, are former missionaries in Brazil. Tom was associate pastor of North Avenue Presbyterian, in Atlanta, and is president emeritus of the Atlanta Resource Foundation.

V anta g e C o ver credits “ Whole World in God’s Hand” Oil pastels on construction paper. Drawing by Sophie Crosby at the age of 6. She is the daughter of Dan and Deidra Crosby ’07.

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VANTAGE Spring 2007

Here are two things you can do to help care for God’s creation: • A fter you read this issue of Vantage, pass it along to a friend or colleague; or • T ake it to your neighborhood recycling center.

9

Brian Wren

Poet

B rian W ren ’ s retirement as C onant P rofessor

W orship this M ay and his subsequent move to Massachusetts will mark the conclusion of the day-to-day relationship between the seminary and this remarkable man, whose genius, warmth, and good humor have blessed us so richly. If the Old Testament “seven year” cycle of prosperity holds true, we have truly feasted at God’s board since Brian joined the faculty in 2000, and through his continued work in hymnody and worship, even at a distance, the banquet will continue.

Much of what the Christian world believes about congregational song and worship, from the theology behind the practice to the actual words on our lips, Brian has taught us. Some years ago, Erik Routley, the renowned hymnologist from Princeton and one of the catalysts of the “hymn explosion” of the 1970s, remarked that Brian Wren is “the most frequently sung hymn writer since Charles Wesley!”

And that’s because Brian is not a rhymester, but a poet who composes from his heart.

If indeed we write most intuitively and instinctively about those people, places, and things we know most intimately, then Brian Wren and God must be the best of friends! And through Brian’s exquisite poetry, we have come to know God in ways we surely would have missed. What Brian has told us in his hymns, we already know, but his words have made God—Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit— more real, more insistent, more accepting, and more loving than we could ever have expressed in our own words.

As a hymn writer, Brian has given us what we expected—not only songs to celebrate the seasons of the church year, but also the Gospel imperative to live and serve by Christ’s example. The genuine delight of Brian’s hymns is getting what we don’t expect—the y l Seminar a ic g lo choice of a particular word, or an unusual turn o e h T Columbia to u o y s e of phrase—which enables us to see and hear and vit cordially in dents u st d n articulate the familiar in new and provocative ways. a , culty, staff join the fa The God of Genesis becomes the “Womb and r as we hono Birth of time,” the “Carpenter of new creation.”

Jesus in the course of his life is at times ren ip n sh r a o the “Welcome Door,” the “Welcome Guest,” i W r f Professor o t n a n o C the “Wind of Change,” the “Worker Friend,” Miriam e faculty the “Light of Love,” the “Travel Guide,” the John and th m o fr t tiremen n of his re o si a “Rock of Care.” c c o e on th The indwelling of the Pentecostal Spirit 7 il 12, 200 r p A y, a sd becomes an active and not a passive presence: Thur of

B

A. W

5:00 p.m.

Worship Festival of el Hall Chap Campbell

ome esidents’ H r P e th t a following Reception 0 y March 3 R.S.V.P. b 4521 404-687-

Great nesting Spirit, sheltering with mighty wings your chattering, demanding brood, deep, restless love, come, stir us, show us how to fly, till, heading for tomorrow’s sky, we soar together, God-renewed.

These aren’t the commonplace images to which we are accustomed in so much of the poetry of our hymns, but carefully and skillfully crafted impressions to capture our attention and spark our imagination.

It is not only Brian’s command of language which makes him an enduring spirit among poets, but his understanding and commitment to living out his faith which sets him above the rest.

10

of

Faith

by Michael Morgan

Educated at Oxford University and ordained in Britain’s United Reformed Church, Brian is steeped in the tradition of the church, and knows the importance of tradition in worship—the words, the imagery, the movement, the call and response of praise and confession and penitence and pardon, of celebration and reflection. But reaching his maturity during that twentieth century period of enlightenment and heightened awareness of social injustice, sexism, racism, economic disparity and exploitation, Brian was not content to leave his faith buried in the tradition of a former time, but was compelled to let it speak—and speak eloquently—to a changing world.

In an interview for Reformed Worship this “Poet of Faith” observed: “There is a double vocation in being a poet in the church. One vocation is to write poems of faith which people will pick up and sing and say, ‘Yes, this is exactly the way I think,’ or ‘Yes, this is what I believe, although I’ve never put it this way.’ The other vocation of the poet is to try to speak truth by stepping beyond the church’s limits of comfort and convention. I usually know when I have written a ‘breadand-butter hymn’—a hymn that people will be able to sing and say ‘Yes.’ I also know when I’m writing over the margin, although the margin is different for different people.”

This is where Brian’s contribution to congregational song combines courage with commitment —the boldness to voice in his poetry what he believes in his soul is right and just and holy in the face of narrow margins and narrow minds. It is here that this diminutive man derives his stature among the Reformers and crusaders, and where his texts gain their true and lasting strength. (One has difficulty comprehending a heart so big and all-embracing contained in so humble a frame!)

Who else ever invited us to sing: I f your faith brings you pain, scarred and scorned for doing right, God will dignify and bless, saying yes, and yes, and yes. or reminded us that God transcends the labels we may assign: od is not a she, God is not a he, G God is not an it or a maybe.

God is a moving, loving, knowing, growing mystery. that death inevitably comes with a blend of agony and hope: hen grief is raw, and music goes unheard, W and thought is numb, we have no polished phrases to recite.

In Christ we come to hear the old familiar words: “I am the resurrection. I am life.” that being called “Christian” without action is not enough:

Half the world is hungry, Lord,Christian people, sleekly fed, Christian comforts can afford— worship, faith, and heavenly bread.

Others crave for earthly food; starving, have no strength to pray.

Glib, we sing how God is good— we shall eat and drink today.

VANTAGE Spring 2007

For the Record that even in the face of AIDS the church must show compassion:

Our prayer for Brian is best expressed in his own benediction:

hen illness meets denial and rejection, when friends recoil, W and faces turn to stone, Christ of our Sorrows, raise us from dejection, to travel on, assailed, but not alone. orgive your Church’s searing, numbing silence, F unholy huddles, muddles and delays.

Forgive our zeal to hide the fear that drives us with harsh, unloving words, unhealing ways. or enticed us with delicious humor: nward, Christian Rambos, spoiling for a fight, O wave the flag for Jesus, knowing that we’re right!

We could not have asked for the blessing of a better companion these seven rich years than Brian Wren. He may not be leaving us a better singing community —for a few of us, making a “joyful noise” is something we take literally! But we are a community singing a better song because of his presence, not only among us, but in churches around the globe who sing their praises to a loving and demanding God.

Alumni/ae 1940s Hoge Smith ’42 reports that at age 92 his ministry at Sunnyside Presbyterian Retirement Community in Harrisonburg,VA, continues in personal relationships and in writing occasional litanies for special services.

May the Sending One sing in you, May the Seeking One walk with you, May the Greeting One stand by you, in your gladness and in your grieving.

May the Gifted One relieve you, May the Given One retrieve you, May the Giving One receive you, in your falling and your restoring.

May the Binding One unite you, May the One Belov’d invite you, May the Loving One delight you, Three-in-One, joy in life unending.

Quotations are from Piece Together Praise: A Theological Journey (Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing Company, 1996). Michael Morgan is the seminary musician, and he is organist at Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta.

the faculty at McCormick Seminary in Chicago as professor of theology. She is on sabbatical completing her second book, Down to Earth: A Christian Theology of Nature…..

David Carriker ’79 has accepted a call as pastor at Waxhaw (NC) church.

1980s Maake Masango ’81, who teaches at the University of Pretoria, visited Cuba recently, participating in Fidel Castro’s 80th birthday lectures. He asks that we 1950s continue to pray for that country as changes are coming and church leaders need Robert L. Montgomery ’53 recently had a book published: The Spread of Religions: encouragement…..Robert ’81 and Laurey ’82 Murphy have moved to Houston, TX, A Social Scientific Theory Based on the Spread of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. Long where Laurey is pastor of the Spring Branch church…..Mark Jumper ’82 recently Dash Books, 2007…..Robert S. Dendy ’57 is serving as stated supply at First church, retired from the U.S. Navy as a commander in the Chaplain Corps, after 24 years Maxton, NC. He also acts as chaplain for Holland America Cruise Lines once or twice of service (21 active duty). His final assignments were the Naval Chaplains School a year…..Fred W. McDaniel ’58 recently enjoyed a trip with his wife to visit family in in Newport, RI, and the U. S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. He is now Nuremberg, Germany. senior pastor of Hope Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Libertyville, IL, and is a Ph.D. candidate at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. He and his wife, Ginger, with their 1960s seven children (ages 4-14), live in Waukegan, IL…..Robert McCully (D.Min. ’84) is Bobby Earl Pettit ’62 was confirmed as pastor emeritus of First church, Anderson, a full-time drug counselor at the Charlotte (NC) Rescue Mission, while serving as a SC, by Foothills Presbytery and is serving as stated supply of Glenn Springs (SC) part-time interim pastor and part-time college instructor..…Joe Wendorph ’86 is church…..Robert A. Wilson ’64 is retired and doing part-time interim work….. pastor of Markham Woods church, Lake Mary, FL…..Karen Whelchel-Redwine ’87 Sanders Read ’65 was honorably retired February 28, 2006, participated in the University of Georgia Chamber Choir in its from Shiloh church in Raeford, NC. He has served several ur church has about 35 members June ’05 tour of Scotland and England. churches in South Carolina and also served with the Board of (20 active) representing seven families, World Missions (PCUSA). plus about five winter visitor families.

1990s Last year we decided to bring food each Sara Burress ’91 is serving for a year as a volunteer at the 1970s Sunday for HELP (the local ministry Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, Bill Lancaster ’73 was one of the leaders of the Greenville, for needy families/persons) and with AL, which has a new experimental program allowing women SC, area mission work of the PCUSA, and among 14 volunteers HELP’s guidance determined what to experience monastic life, and receive room and board in who traveled in late August to the Ninth Ward in New Orleans foods were needed. So one month we exchange for work, for up to a year…..Chris Carson ’96 is to salvage a disabled house before bulldozers leveled it….. bring rice, another powdered milk, etc. pastor of Madison church, Madison, GA…..Laurie Valentine Etta Rossman ’76 has served 30 years as a Presbyterian This little church provides an amazing ’96 is parish associate at Trinity church, Winston-Salem, NC….. minister and pastoral counselor. She is chaplain at the Virginia amount of food each month. Several Becky Burton ’97 (D.Min. ’05) has a new call as pastor/ Correctional Center for Women, Goochland,VA, and pastor of other churches heard about what we head of staff at Peace Memorial church, Clearwater, FL…..

Hawkins Memorial church, Ford,VA…..Michael Winters ’76 were doing and joined in. The result Joe Clifford ’97 is pastor of First church, Dallas, TX….. is pastor of Morton Grove (IL) church and serves as Moderator is amazing!...The church is a leader in Beth Grimshaw ’97 is director of pastoral care at Inghamn of the Presbyterian Hunger Program for the General Assembly. local efforts to support “Relay for Life” Regional Medical Center, Lansing, MI. She has a grant from Working on behalf of the “Joining Hands Against Hunger” Cancer Research....We provide water the Formation and Education of People of Faith Valparaiso program, he has made a special appeal for justice for the hungry for walkers, a place for rest, plus pledge Practices Project to write a book on youth ministry. The book in Cameroon, where he spent two weeks in January…..John $1,000 for the cancer drive. is titled 12 Baskets—Celebrating Youth Practicing Their Faith…..

Thomason ’77, minister of Hamilton Old Parish Church in Bear Graham ’98 has been ordained and is pastor of Good Scotland, has published his first book, Can These Bones Live?

J ack Tay l o r ’ 6 2 Hope church, Iva, SC…..Stephen Hannah (D.Min ’99) has It tells the 16-year story of the building of a new Reformed Part-time stated supply pastor accepted a call as pastor at Ridgecrest church, Stanfield, NC. church for the Hungarian-speaking community in Oradea, First Presbyterian Church Romania…..Anna Case-Winters ’78 is in her 20th year on Fort Meade, FL

O

VANTAGE Spring 2007

11

For the Record

I

n 2005, I retired from full-time parish ministry. I was invited to serve as an adjunct professor at Florida Community College in Jacksonville, leading two “World Religions” classes and two in “Introduction to Religion.” When I began teaching, I did not realize the extraordinary new ministry into which the Lord was leading me.

I continue to rejoice at the incredible hunger for God and the things of God I have found among my students...Each day I marvel at the searching for God...from those students who practice some type of faith, and from those who seek to find faith.

My joy has been to lead them in this search....

I am not now nor have I ever been much of an evangelical, and yet in this teaching ministry I am an evangelical. I lead my students to see that the revelation of God is much broader than they could have ever imagined, that God is revealed in all the great religions of the world, and that the great religions have more in common than they have ever recognized... ...God dances with us in life, leading us into ever deepening and diverse ministries to serve the purpose of God. The college is now my parish, and I rejoice.

R ichard M . T urk (D.Min.’02) | Retired rector St. Andrews Episcopal Church | Jacksonville, FL 2000s Sherry Edwards ’00 and her husband, Steve, are moving to Libby, MT, where she is serving in a Tent Maker congregation…..Kazy Blocher Hinds ’00 is serving as interim pastor at Brentwood church, Brentwood, NY. Joe Hinds ’99 serves as pastor of Springs Community church, East Hampton, NY…..Connie Weaver ’00 began in January as associate pastor at First church, Asheboro, NC…..Joan Martin ’00 gave the prayer of invocation at the Carolina Panthers vs. St. Louis Rams game at Bank of America stadium, in Charlotte, NC. She is serving at Union church, Gastonia, NC…..Rick Olson ’01 is pastor of Covenant church, Tuscaloosa, AL…..

Dorie Griggs ’02 has a monthly column in the e-bulletin of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association….. Elizabeth Goodrich ’03 has accepted a call to Gardendale (AL) Presbyterian Church and will be ordained March 11 at South Highland church, Birmingham….. Martin Nabor (D.Min. ’03) is a teacher at the Ramsayer Lay Training Center at Abetifi in the Eastern Region of Ghana…..Stacy Welsh Cavanaugh ’05 is pastor of Westminster United Presbyterian Church, Galena, IL. Stacy married David Cavanaugh on September 23, 2006, in St. Louis…..Francis Njoroge ’05 has been appointed director of theological education by extension. He was appointed by the General Assembly of Kenya shortly after his return to that county in June 2005…..

Teri Peterson ’05 was ordained October 29, 2006, and is associate pastor at Ridgefield-Crystal Lake church, Crystal Lake, IL…..Jeff Ross ’05 has been called to active duty as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. He and his wife, Britt, have moved to Oceanside, CA…..Matt Schlageter ’05 was ordained October 22, 2006, at his home church in Daytona Beach, FL, and was received as a member of Greater Atlanta Presbytery in November. His call is to senior residency in pastoral services for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta…..Devon Ducheneau ’06 received the master of social work degree from the University of Georgia in December…..Fred Wise ’06 married Jami Moss, director of annual giving, December 30, 2006, at Oakhurst church, Decatur, GA.

Births Laurie Valentine ’96 and Scott North

twin daughters, Erin Linnon and Allison Claire, January 20, 2006.

David Kwon ’01 and Hyo Jin

a son, Isaiah O., August 21, 2006.

Pen Peery ’03 and Lindsey

a son, Wells Campbell, December 18, 2006.

Stuart Higginbotham ’05 and Lisa

a daughter, Evelyn Clare, January 11, 2007.

Mike ’05 and Devon ’06 Ducheneau

a daughter, Emma Marie, January 24, 2007.

Tricia ’06 and Clay ’05 Thomas

a daughter, Fields Katherine, December 27, 2006.

12

In Memoriam Charles Benz ’50 December 8, 2006 Kirk Nesbit ’51 February 15, 2007 Bursell Munro ’54 May 20, 2006 J. Gordon Bradford ’57 October 7, 2006 Hugh D. Bowers ’61 October 26, 2006

Faculty and Staff Charles Campbell, Peter Marshall Professor of Homiletics, preached at the Daita Church in Tokyo, Japan; lectured and preached at the Sekkyo-Juku (“School of Preachers”) Symposium in Tokyo, Japan; led a session retreat and preached at Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis, TN; gave the Percy Institute Lectures and preached at First United Methodist Church in Pensacola, FL…..Dent Davis, dean and vice president for Lifelong Learning, presented a paper, “Enacting the Story: Pilgrimage, Learning and Renewal in Ministry” at the annual meeting of the Religious Education Association/Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education; lectured at the University of Tennessee on “Personality Development and the Theory of Carl Jung;” spoke on “Leadership, Learning, and Ministry in the 21st Century” at the Presbytery of Middle Tennessee; met with the Educator Certification Council of the National Leadership Division, Leadership and Vocation office of the General Assembly; and led a workshop, “Leading the Church in Change,” as a part of the Savannah Presbytery Leadership Development Conference…..Laura Mendenhall, president, preached at Spanish Fort Presbyterian Church, AL; participated in a synod event for executive presbyters, chairs of committees on ministry, and committees on preparation for ministry; participated in the Presbyterian Seminary Presidents and Chairs of Board seminar on shared governance; was a leader for a Presbyterian Association of Musicians gathering; led the Association of Theological Schools task force on the relationship between the church and the seminary; preached at First Presbyterian, Covington, GA; led the Committee on Theological Education PC(USA); preached at the National Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC…..William Brown, professor of Old Testament, taught a three-week adult Sunday School class on “Advent and the Cosmic Christ” at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Atlanta; gave a paper titled “Retrieving the Liturgical Voice of the Many Waters in Psalm 42” at the Society of Biblical Literature meeting in Washington, DC; served as a resource theologian for the Creation Covenant Ministry within the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta…..Carlos F. Cardoza Orlandi, associate professor of world Christianity, preached at the 50th anniversary of his mother church, La Iglesia Cristiana (Discipulos de Cristo) in Villa Las Lomas, giving the closing sermon of a yearlong celebration “Witnesses of Hope”; gave a presentation titled “The New Agents of Mission and Evangelization: Renewed Theology and Practice of the Gospel” at the World Evangelism Consultation at Candler School of Theology, Emory University; his book, Mission: An Essential Guide, was translated and published in Korea…..David Forney, associate dean of faculty and director of institutional research, chaired the Peace Unity and Purity report task force for the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta; published “To the One Outside the Gate: A Missional Approach to Polity” in the Journal of Religious Leadership; taught “You Can’t Outgive God: The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard,” at First Presbyterian Church, Atlanta; taught a “PREPARE/ENRICH Workshop” at the seminary…..Erskine Clarke, professor of American religious history, taught Sunday School classes at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Atlanta; lectured for the Georgia Humanities Council in Brunswick, GA; preached and delivered the Preston Lectures at Shandon Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC; spoke to a gathering of friends of Columbia at the Palmetto Club, Columbia, SC; was interviewed by Walter Edgar for his program “Walter Edgar’s Journal” on South Carolina Public Radio…..John A. Clark, communications specialist, taught a six-week course titled “The E-Word (Evangelism)” at Church of the Redeemer in Atlanta and a five-week continuing education course for Evening at Emory titled “Postmodernism Primer”…..Marcia Riggs, J. Erskine Love Professor of Christian Ethics, was a speaker for a reception honoring Dr. Peter Paris sponsored

by The Fund for Theological Education at the November meeting of the American Academy of Religion; wrote an essay, “Forgiveness as a Virtue in the Practice of Religious Ethical Mediation,” read at the Society of Christian Ethics meeting…..

VANTAGE Spring 2007

Richard Blake, public services librarian, leads the theology and literature discussion group in Lifelong Learning; attended the SBL/AAR Annual Conference in Washington, DC; preached at the Chinese Community Church in New York City on December 31, 2006, with translation provided by his wife, Weishiuan Chen (Sandy Blake)…..Sarah Erickson, associate director of Lifelong Learning, led a confirmation retreat, “Intown and Interfaith,” for North Decatur Presbyterian Church, and shared a program “Tips and Tools for Evaluating Music in Educational Ministry” for the monthly meeting of the educator group hosted by the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta…..Walter Brueggemann, professor emeritus, addressed the Conference of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Care and Counseling Center of Georgia in Tampa, FL; was the “McClendon Scholar-in-Residence” at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC; lectured at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, Dallas, TX; received an award citation of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion at the University of California at Davis; published The Theology of the Book of Jeremiah (Old Testament Theology; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007) and Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007); published “An Indispensable Upstream Word: The Gift of Prophecy,” Reflections Yale Divinity School 93:1 (Winter 2006)…..Barbara Brown Taylor, adjunct professor of Christian spirituality, preached at Harvard,Yale, and Princeton universities during the fall semester; participated in two panels at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Washington, DC. Her most recent book, Leaving Church, received the 2006 award for Best General Interest Book from the Association of Theological Booksellers; led a week-long writing workshop with memoirist Nora Gallagher at Mount Calvary monastery and retreat house in Santa Barbara, CA…..

Steve Hayner, Peachtree Associate Professor of Evangelism and Church Growth, was the conference plenary speaker for the Association of Presbyterian Mission Pastors in Louisville, KY; hosted the “Pastors and Church Leaders’ Track” at Urbana 06 Student Missions Conference in St. Louis, MO; was the discussion moderator for the seminar “Searching for God Knows What” at the Montreat College Conference, Montreat, NC.

Students Mike Manaugh ’07 is teaching the confirmation class at John Knox Presbyterian in Marietta, GA…..Sheena Mayrant ’07 is doing a yearlong internship with AMIS, Inc. (Atlanta Ministry with International Students) under the supervision of Fahed AbuAkel ’74 at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA .....Reggie Weaver ‘07 has been invited to preach at the Montreat Conference Center on June 3. He will be the first preacher in Montreat’s nationally recognized Summer Worship Series.

Transitions Thanks!

Golden Griffieth, who has worked in the maintenance department for 14 years, received the Betsy Burgess Staff Award “for faithfulness, dedicated service, and Christian character upholding the seminary’s purpose and mission.” He is among the first to arrive on campus each morning, making sure that facilities are ready, and with his quiet, friendly greeting, he is an inspiration to us all.

Welcome (back)!

Chip Carter has returned to the Atlanta area and to the seminary as support technician for information technology. He had served in that position for two and onehalf years before moving last year to West Virginia.

Susan Thomas ’05 has been named staff associate in Lifelong Learning, where she had been working in a part-time capacity. She has also served as staff associate in the Office of Communications.

Godspeed Congratulations—and Godspeed—to John Knapp (MATS ’95) and the entire staff of The Southern Institute of Business and Professional Ethics, who have moved to their new offices at Georgia State University. Late last year, the institute became part of the university’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business. Since 1996, Columbia had provided office space and other services at no cost to the institute. In addition, the seminary had been a supportive partner in the development and production of many of its programs and educational resources.

VANTAGE Spring 2007

Lifelong Learning Events For more information about the courses listed below and to download a registration form, go to www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong/calendar/index.asp.

For additional information contact Pat Roper, registrar, at 404-687-4587, or roperp@ctsnet.edu. Unless indicated otherwise, all events are on the seminary campus in Decatur, GA. March 9–10 YMLI Soul Tending: Finding Spirituality in Your Ministry. Offered in conjunction with the Youth Ministry Certificate. Occasional students are welcome.

Leader: Anne H.K. Apple, parish associate at Idlewild Presbyterian Church, Memphis Presbytery. Facilitated by Neema Cyrus-Franklin and Sarah Erickson. Program fee: $150 (includes two meals; housing available for an additional cost).

March 11–16 Certificate in Spiritual Formation—Psalms:The Gospel in a Nutshell.

An exploration of the Psalms as a pastoral resource and consideration of ways the Psalms interface with public issues and call us out beyond all that is conventional in faith. Leader: Walter Brueggemann. Program fee: $350 March 18–22 Contemplative Retreat for Women. At the Benedictine Spirituality and Conference Center, Sacred Heart Monastery, Cullman, AL. Leader: Carol Byrd.

Program fee: $275 (includes housing and meals) March 19–20 St. Andrew Presbytery Event. Open to members of the Presbytery of St. Andrew; this event takes place in the fall and spring at Camp Hopewell. Leader: Beth Johnson April 16–18 Colloquium—Word for a Warming World:The Bible, the Church, and the Groanings of Creation. See ad on page 4. For additional information and to register, contact Barbara Poe, poeb@ctsnet.edu in the seminary’s office of Alumni/ae Relations.

April 22–27 Immersion Experience: An Invitation to a Deeper Spiritual Life. This course is the starting place for the Certificate in Spiritual Formation. Occasional students are welcome. Leaders: CTS Faculty. Program fee: $400 April 30–May 4 Guthrie Scholars. CTS Alumni/ae Class of 1992. The Guthrie Scholars Program is offered twice a year: in the spring, for alumni/ae only; in the fall, open enrollment. The seminary covers all costs, except travel. For more information, go to www.ctsnet.edu > Lifelong Learning > Continuing Education.

May 4–5 YMLI Because the Bible Tells Me So: Putting the Bible Back in Bible Study.

One of the courses in Youth Leadership Ministry Initiative certificate program.

Occasional students are welcome. Leaders: Beth Johnson, Bill Brown, and Jennifer Williams Wilson. Please bring a Bible (NRSV preferred). Program fee: $150 (includes two meals) May 6–11 Contemplative Retreat for Men. At the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, Conyers, GA. Enrollment limited to 20 individuals. Leader: David Guthrie. Program fee: $350 (includes housing and meals) May 20–24 Faith(s) and Foreign Affairs. Travel seminar to the U.N. and New York City.

Leaders: Mark Douglas, Kim Clayton Richter, and staff of the Presbyterian UN Office. Enrollment limited to 18. Program fee: $950 (includes tours, Broadway show, accommodations, some meals; airfare and most ground transportation extra). See article on p. 14.

May 29–June 2 Evangelism in Ministry: So What Is the Good News, Anyway? Thompson Scholars event. Leader: Steve Hayner. All-inclusive program fee (housing at Holiday Inn and meals): double room – $150; single – $290. Register by April 1. Details online at www.ctsnet.edu > Lifelong Learning > Courses and Events. Click May 29 on the calendar.

June 11–13 Above & Beyond: Hearing the Call of Jonah & Ruth. (Presbyterian Women’s Bible Study Training). Leader: Joyce MacKichan Walker. Program Fee: $90 includes lunch. Also offered August 3-4 and August 24-25 on campus; August 20-24 at Roswell Presbyterian Church. See article on page 14.

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Lifelong Learning Events

Spring Retreats at Monasteries The Center for Lifelong Learning is offering two contemplative retreats at monasteries this spring – one retreat for women and one for men.

For women, a five-day retreat will be led by Carol Byrd at the Benedictine Spirituality and Conference Center, Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, AL (between Birmingham and Huntsville), March 18-22. The $275 program fee includes housing and meals. Please call 404-687-4562 to see if space is still available.

For men, a six-day retreat will be led by David Guthrie, at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA, May 6-11. Enrollment is limited to 20 people. The $350 program fee includes housing and meals. Deadline to register is April 6.

To register for a retreat, go to www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong/ calendar/index.asp Then click on the date of the event on the calendar.

Walter Brueggemann

Leading Summer Scholars Program Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggeman will lead this year’s Summer Scholars program, July 23-25 on the seminary campus.

Called “An Invitation to the Contemporary Church: Opening Ourselves to Wonder/Practicing Risky Faith,” Brueggemann’s course will offer insights, challenges, and hopeful directions for the church (and congregations) seeking to live the faith with courage in this tumultuous time.

Based on his new book, Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church, Brueggemann’s presentations will focus on the biblical witness and theological claims that call us out of fear and desire for safety into awe, wonder, and daring discipleship.

This conference is for all persons —clergy, educators, and laity—who are concerned with the church’s witness and work today. For more information, go to www.ctsnet. edu/lifelong/calendar/index.asp Then go to the date of the event.

14

Preparing to Teach the Horizon Bible Study Course

Hearing God’s Call in Jonah and Ruth

New York City and the U.N.

Faith(s) and Foreign Affairs, May 20-24 The Center for Lifelong Learning is offering a seminar at the United Nations and in New York City May 20-24, 2007. Participants will also visit Ground Zero and St. Paul’s Chapel, used as a respite center for workers and volunteers involved in the recovery effort following the tragic events of September 11. The seminar package also includes a tour of the new Museum of Biblical Art and tickets to a Broadway show.

Cost of the trip is $950, which includes four nights’ accommodations at the Crowne Plaza New York City at the United Nations (double occupancy only), daily breakfasts, and two lunches. Other meals, most ground transportation, and airfare are not included. Participants make their own flight reservations on the airline of their choice and join the group in New York at the hotel.

Hosts for the seminar are Mark Douglas, associate professor of Christian ethics, and Kim Clayton Richter, interim director for Lifelong Learning events, in coordination with the staff of the Presbyterian United Nations Office (PUNO).

Registration is limited to 18 participants. A brochure, with registration form, is available online at www.ctsnet.edu > What’s New.You may also register online at www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong/ calendar/index (then click on May 20). Or call 404-687-4587.

“The Book of Jonah is not just a fish story, nor is the Book of Ruth simply a Cinderella tale,” says Carol Bechtel, Old Testament scholar at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, MI. “Both these Old Testament stories offer us insight into what it means to hear and to heed God’s call.” Bechtel is author of the 2007-2008 Horizons Bible study course, Above & Beyond: Hearing God’s Call in Jonah and Ruth.

At first glance, Jonah and Ruth might seem to be an “odd couple,” Bechtel says. “After all, their main characters couldn’t be more different. But these books have more in common than meets the eye. With their shared fascination with foreigners and their openness to God’s love of foreigners, these stories speak to our own age, with its fear of foreigners. They offer us an opportunity to examine our fears together and broaden our minds a bit.

“Both bear witness to a God whose love will not let us go. And both call us to a deeper commitment of faith—a faith in which we serve God by loving others above and beyond the call of duty.”

The Center for Lifelong Learning will offer a study of this course four times this summer—a weekday course and two weekend courses on the seminary campus, and a weekday course at Roswell Presbyterian Church, in Roswell, GA. Participants will explore the biblical texts, make personal connections with the themes, and receive practical ideas for teaching this series.

For dates, leaders, program fees, and how to register, see the Lifelong Learning calendar on page 13.

Four More Courses This Year

Youth Ministry Leadership Initiative A partnership between the Presbytery of Greater Atlanta and Columbia Seminary, the Youth Ministry Leadership Initiative (YMLI), offers a youth ministry certification program. The program is designed for lay leaders and pastors who are committed to developing strong programs for youth within churches.YMLI will offer four more courses in the certification program this year at Columbia Theological Seminary: May 4–5 Because the Bible Tells Me So: Putting the Bible Back in Bible Study, with by Beth Johnson, Bill Brown, and Jennifer Williams Wilson. The $150 program fee includes two meals.

August 24–25 How Presbyterians Talk About God:Theology and Polity, with Martha Moore-Keish and David Forney. The $150 program fee includes two meals.

October 5–7 YMLI Beginning Retreat, with Rodger Nishioka and Neema CyrusFranklin. The $150 program fee includes two meals. This weekend will allow participants to ask important questions about their particular call to youth ministry and youth ministry as a whole.

December 7–8 Know Where to Turn When the Youth Turn to You, led by experienced professionals in the fields of youth development and counseling. This course will focus on practical pastoral care with youth and families. The $150 program fee includes two meals.

Occasional students who do not wish to complete the full certification program are welcome to register for courses. For registration details, see the Lifelong Learning calendar on page 13.

VANTAGE Spring 2007

Correction The topic of

the Thompson Scholars Program, May 29–June 2, is Evangelism in Ministry: So What Is the Good News, Anyway?, not Good News at the Margin, as reported in the winter issue.

For more information, go to www.ctsnet.edu/lifelong/ calendar/index.asp. Then go to the date of the event.

Apply by April 1!

Vantage (USPS 124-160) Vol. 98, No. 3, Spring 2007 Published quarterly by Columbia Theological Seminary Periodicals postage paid at Decatur, GA Circulation: 13,000 The Office of Institutional Advancement

Apply by April 20 for S3 Project Funding In four years, the S3 Project has grown to include more than 200 clergy, educators, and church leaders. Funded with a $1.3 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, the project offers opportunities for pastors of all denominations, working in peer learning groups, to develop models for sustaining excellence in the practice of ministry. This will be the final year of the S3 program as administered under the current grant, which is one of only 63 “Sustaining Pastoral Excellence” grants awarded by the Lilly Endowment in 2003. Three other seminaries of the Presbyterian Church (USA) also received grants.

Columbia’s S3 Project awards participants $1,000 each per year for two years to fund self-directed group work that focuses on aspects of Sabbath, study, and service. Each participant may receive up to $300 in need-based aid for travel to the program orientation and subsequent annual meetings, held each August. Applications for funding are due April 20. Groups will be notified of acceptance by mid-May. For application information, go to www.ctsnet.edu >Lifelong Learning >Continuing Education.

Or contact Sarah Erickson (404-687-4526 or ericksons@CTSnet.edu).

Before and After: Letters about Mary’s Place

S3 “service” for Terry Hart and the 11 other members of her S3 Project group includes an ongoing relationship with Mary’s Place and the Church of Mary Magdalene, a Seattle ministry for homeless women. Last year, group members visited the ministry three at a time to learn about the program and lay the groundwork for future ministry. Hart, who is pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Tulia, TX, wrote letters to her congregation about her experience.You can read those letters and learn more about this S3 group on the Web site of the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence program: www.divinity.duke.edu/programs/spe/articles/200612/mary.html

Editor: Genie Addleton Assistant Editors: John Clark, Sarah Chamberlain ’08, Karen Fleming ’08 Design: Lucy Ke Cover Design: Amy Baer ’08 C o n tr i b u t o rs John Bell ’88 Erskine Clarke ’66 Sarah Walker Cleaveland ’07 Lee Carroll ’68 Julie Cline ’95 Sophie Crosby John Daniels ’90 Kathy Dawson ’94 Sarah Erickson ’03 Jane Gleim Judy Graves Ray Guterman ’80 Robert Hay ’84 Judy Hightower Ron Kerr Julie Lehman ’92 Kim LeVert ’04 Cheryl Mack ’05 Al Masters ’76 (D.Min.’91) Nelda Mays Laura Mendenhall Linda Moore Michael Morgan Linda Morningstar (MATS ’98) Jami Moss Marissa Myers ’08 Barbara Poe Kim Clayton Richter ’84 Billy Robinson ’97 Tom Roddy ’61 (D.Min.’84) Linda Sabo Jody Sauls Jack Taylor ’62 Susan Thomas ’04 Richard M.Turk (D.Min.’02) Postmaster: Send address changes to Vantage Columbia Theological Seminary P.O. Box 520 Decatur, GA 30031-0520

VANTAGE Spring 2007

Currently available from the CTS Bookstore No. of Copies Retail Price

Columbia Price Prices subject to change

C o llo q u i um S peakers

Terence Fretheim God and World in the Old Testament:

A Relational Theology of Creation

$29.00

$24.65

Exodus. Interpretation Commentary Series.

$29.95

$25.50

Barbara Rossing The Rapture Exposed:The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation

$15.00

$12.75

Barbara Brown Taylor Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith

$23.95

$20.40

$21.25

New P u bli cat i o ns by Fac u lty

Anna Carter Florence Preaching as Testimony

$24.95

Walter Brueggemann The Theology of the Book of Jeremiah

$19.00 (paperback); $50.00 (hardcover)

Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church

$19.95

$17.00

TOTAL AMOUNT FOR BOOKS SHIPPING AND HANDLING: Orders under $20, add $4.50; orders from $20 to $49.99, add $6; orders $50 and over, add $7.50.

$1.00

Add $1 for residential deliveries.

All books shipped United Parcel Service.

Georgia residents: add seven percent (7%) sales tax on books and shipping.

TOTAL DUE METHOD OF PAYMENT (Please check one):

O Check payable to CTS Bookstore (included with order)

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Please print information below: Visa/MasterCard/Discover #

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Please send this completed form to: CTS Bookstore, P.O. Box 520, Decatur, GA 30031 | Fax 404-687-4658 | E-mail bookstore@ctsnet.edu

Telephone

15

The Challenge of Good Stewardship Whenever environmental issues come up within the

When you make a gift to the Columbia Annual Fund, you can also be a good steward of natural resources! Save paper and postage by making your gift online at www.ctsnet.edu > Supporting the Seminary

church, we often discuss them in terms of stewardship: How can we be “good stewards” of the natural resources God has given us? The same question also emerges whenever we talk about money: How can we be “good stewards” of the blessings God has provided?

These questions are not as straightforward as they may seem. We jokingly say we are being “good stewards” when we use the back of envelopes for scrap paper and refuse to throw away worn-out clothes, but this notion of stewardship is incomplete.

The good steward does not hoard resources for the sake of preserving and storing them away. The good steward preserves resources to enable generosity and create abundance. If you want to consider what happens to those who merely hoard what they have been given, look at the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14 – 30).

Here Jesus shows us that gifts are useless when we squirrel them away. In contrast to the worthless servant who buries the master’s talent (money), the good servants take the talents they are given, trade them, and make more. And—perhaps most importantly—they give them back.

VA N TA G E

Spring 2007

P.O. Box 520 Decatur, GA 30031 404-378-8821 www.ctsnet.edu

Contents President’s message. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Montreat Lectures: Religion and the South. . . . . . . . . . 2 Class of 2006 placements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 New trustees appointed to board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 C a r i n g f o r C r e at i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Julie Lehman ’92. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Billy Robinson ’97. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Julie Cline ’95. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Richard Cushman ’65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Kathy Dawson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Ray Guterman ’80. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Al Masters ’76 (D.Min. ’91) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sarah Walker Cleaveland ’07. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Robert Hay ’84. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Earth Covenant Ministry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Tom Roddy ’61 (D.Min. ’84) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Retirement Tribute: Brian Wren. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 For the record. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Lifelong Learning events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 From the bookstore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

J ami M o s s Wi s e | Director of Annual Giving

The same is true of our natural resources.Yes, it’s important to preserve what God has provided, but the point is to enable and create abundance for the future— so that our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy God’s gifts as we have.

And the same is true of our money. With the Columbia Annual Fund, the seminary lives out this principle every day. We receive gifts from alumni/ae and others who are committed to Columbia’s mission to prepare leaders for Christ’s church—and then we pour those gifts into our students to make sure that they are prepared for ministry in the years ahead.

As you consider the opportunities you have to be a good steward of God’s blessings, please consider a gift to the Columbia Annual Fund.

Periodicals Postage Paid at Decatur, GA Publication No. 124160