Aware Magazine | April 2016

AWARE A quarterly publication of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

magazine April 2016

Celebrating 45 Years of the Center for the Church and the Black Experience

Aware Magazine • April 2016

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Table of Contents 3 | Presidential Perspective: Sweet Evangelical Spirit with a Passion for Progressive Social Justice 4 | Celebrating 45 Years of the Center for the Church and the Black Experience

“Together, with other like-minded and like-spirited people, within and beyond the church, CBE can be on the forefront of creating a world in which all human beings live in dignity.”

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6 | Center for Music and Worship in the Black Church Experience 8 | Forty-Five Alums in Honor of Forty- Five Years of the Center for the

Church and the Black Experience 10 | Pacesetting Gift to Endow CBE’s Center for Music and Worship 11 | Securing the Legacy of the Center for the Church and the Black Experience 12 | Cutting Edges: A Different Type of Violence

“Jesus spoke out against the injustice in his society, including the power brokers of Roman occupation.

In his name, we are called to speak out against all violence and the injustice it represents and work for real and lasting justice for the whole people of God.”

AWARE MAGAZINE

13 | Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century 14 | In Memoriam and Alum News

PRESIDENT

Lallene J. Rector

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.

PHOTOGRAPHY Bill Burlingham of Burlingham Productions Sean Crews Shane A. Nichols

EDITORIAL BOARD

Ceciley R. Akins Katharine Duke David L. Heetland April K. McGlothin-Eller Krista J. McNeil Shane A. Nichols Tasha N. Sargent

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary | 2121 Sheridan Road | Evanston, Illinois 60201 | www.Garrett.edu

Presidential Perspective Sweet Evangelical Spirit with a Passion for Progressive Social Justice A few weeks ago, we celebrated the Evangelical Theological Seminary Heritage Reunion event on the Here, we see the Holy Spirit at work in attention to campus of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. preaching, in the deep reliance upon the Scripture for daily Now that we are 42 years beyond the guidance, and in prophetic participation 1974 merger with Garrett Theological in society. CBE supports not only the Seminary, it is good to reflect upon seminary’s Black students and faculty, that “arranged marriage,” as our life but it also supports the Black church and trustee member, Tom Babler (ETS community through the preparation of 1973) has called it. We reminisced and excellent spiritual leaders who serve in remembered from whence we have the academies of higher education. come. We gave thanks for the many gifts ETS has contributed to GarrettIt is not enough, however, to bask in Evangelical Theological Seminary the glory of days gone by or even in knowing that we stand on a firm the successes of the current moment. In foundation. We also considered how this yearlong celebration of CBE, we Garrett-Evangelical may best serve the are also facing painful realities as we twenty-first century needs of the church find our country struggling with deeply and the world. rooted racism and continuing forms of Lallene J. Rector White supremacy. We are caught in a In all of it, we laid claim to a strand of new iteration of a civil rights movement, institutional DNA that runs through each of our founding in protest against police violence and larger systemic schools, namely, the gift of a progressive evangelical spirit powers that take Black lives, literally and incrementally. grounded in the practice of vital piety. I believe this gift Many directly suffer the oppressions of economic and continues to be met with support and commitment, and it educational discrimination, mass incarceration, poor health is alive and well in the current mission and everyday work care, and food deserts. This is the air that too many of our of Garrett-Evangelical. I see it in the vision statement of Black brothers and sisters who can breathe are forced to our new strategic plan, in our determination to be a servant inhale every day. seminary that prepares leaders who can “proclaim the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a religiously There is no question that we still have a long way to go. pluralistic world.” I see it in the master of divinity Real justice and real social change are agonizingly slow, curriculum revision and our concern for spiritual formation and yet, we must persist in our ministries to care for combined with the development of effective leadership the well-being of all persons, to fight against injustice skills for the church and the wider community. And, I see wherever we find it, and to persevere in faith. It is in this it in the work of the Center for the Church and the Black context that we find our celebration of CBE’s 45th year an Experience (CBE). especially compelling time to listen closely to our God who declared all of creation as good, in its origin.

This issue of Aware is dedicated to CBE and to our celebration of the 45th anniversary of its founding. In Our hope is in Jesus the Christ who has commanded us his remarks at the 2005 fall convocation, Ted Campbell, to love God with all our heart and soul and strength and former president of Garrett-Evangelical, named our mind. And so, we ground ourselves in the practices of vital founding institutions’ commitment to racial and ethnic piety and in that “sweet evangelical spirit” that strengthens inclusion: the German American community served by and sustains us in the love of neighbor.

United Biblical Institute and Evangelical Seminary; the Danish and Norwegian communities served by the Chicago I know you will find inspiration in this issue of Aware, and Training School for City, Home, and Foreign Missions; I fully expect you will feel proud to be part of the Garrettand the beginnings of the African American community Evangelical Theological Seminary community. May you being served by Garrett Theological Seminary. President be blessed during this season of Eastertide.

Campbell suggested that CBE is perhaps the most evident location of “that sweet Evangelical spirit” with its “passion for progressive social justice . . . made available to the larger church community through that Center.”

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CBE

CENTER FOR THE CHURCH AND THE BLACK EXPERIENCE Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

45

YEARS

BLACK LIVES

In celebration of the 45th Anniversary of the Center for the Church and the Black Experience, Aware recently sat down with Angela Cowser, director of CBE and assistant professor of the sociology of religion, to discuss the legacy of the Center at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and its current focus and objectives for the Church, the academy, and our world.

also sponsor Israel and Palestine Peace and Justice Study tours. We hope to add South Korea in 2018. We have worked for the past three years with Bishop Linda Lee and other clergy and denominational leaders to create Sacred Sisters, which is a regular gathering of Black United Methodist clergywomen who gather for education, support, worship, and organizing.

God’s Children Transforming Church and World What is the current mission of CBE?

The mission of CBE as it exists right now is to do research, action, and reflection on Black life and Black religious life in the Midwest. The way in which that mission Angela Cowser statement is lived out is through conversation with student leaders, faculty, Garrett-Evangelical graduates, and community leaders, so that the problems and issues we confront emerge from a variety of sources.

As this issue of Aware goes to press, key CBE leaders are currently working to craft a new three-year strategic work-plan.

What are some of the activities of CBE? Every year, we do a Black History Month celebration that features education, edification, teaching, preaching, and art. Through SBC21 – Strengthening Black Church for the 21st Century (UMC), we help sponsor master of divinity students on their field education sites within historically Black churches in the city of Chicago. We

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We also sponsor art projects on Black art and Black religious art. We lift up and invite Black preachers to come to Garrett-Evangelical to speak to the entire community. We have created a reading and writing center for Black students or any seminarian who needs help strengthening his or her writing skills.

In September 2015, we helped organize a first-ever conference at Third Baptist Church (Chicago) on Black depression, Black rage, Black trauma, and Black post trauma. It was attended by clinicians, pastors, lay people, divinity school students, social workers, and the general public. Our hope is that all of these projects will continue, as well as additional works that are currently being considered in our new three-year strategic plan.

How has CBE enriched the scholarship on race in the American Protestant church?

For 45 years, CBE has worked at the crossroads of race, faith, and religion to create courses, programming, funding, and scholarship on Black life and Black religious life. CBE’s existence at the seminary continues to support and the funding helps to stimulate the creation of courses, new research ideas, vocational trajectories for students, and groundbreaking research.

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Is there any other scholarship coming out of CBE? The scholarship that I am working on is looking at Black police officers and how they make sense of evil, suffering, death, and hope. I am also looking at Black entrepreneurs and the connections between wealth, faith, and business. The research, action, and reflection works emerge from the organic conversations that I have with faculty, students, graduate students, and community people. I listen to what they say and what issues are of interest and concern to them. Along with the issues and concerns on my heart, these ideas come together to shape what CBE does.

What would you consider some of the high points for CBE since you’ve been there?

I think pulling together for the past two years all incoming Black students and doing an orientation session for them featuring the Black faculty has been important. I think that everything we do for Black

History Month is crucial because if we do not keep Black life in front of people, it disappears. Whatever we do for Black History Month, our work breaks new ground. Finally, creating a space where Black students can gather regularly for support and edification is important, and the same space is needed for our Black faculty to gather, reflect, and support each other. It is important to have a space that anyone can use or access, but it is a Black space.

How can alumni and friends of Garrett-Evangelical help CBE? Alumni and friends can support our field education students, help us fund and endow scholarships for generations-to-come of people who are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. They can help us raise $1 million on our endowment campaign, so that this work of illumining, researching, and strengthening Black life continues long after we are dust.

Integrating the Black Experience into the Seminary Larry Murphy, professor of the history of Christianity, came to Garrett-Evangelical in 1974 just four years after the seminary established the Center for the Church and the Black Experience (CBE). One of CBE’s mandates was to make Larry Murphy sure there was a Black faculty member in each academic department at Garrett-Evangelical, Murphy remembered. “We had someone in theology, preaching, Bible, ethics, church administration, and pastoral psychology and counseling. The one slot that had not been filled as of 1974 was in the area of history. That is why I was hired,” he said.

Many schools and seminaries introduced courses in Black studies, later to be called African American studies, as adjuncts to their regular curricula, Murphy said. “We took a different approach.”

The mission of CBE in the early days was to integrate the Black experience into the total life and learning of the seminary, and in that, Garrett-Evangelical was well ahead of its time, Murphy said. “I had colleagues all over the country in seminaries and universities, and none of them could talk about the kind of institutional commitment that we have experienced at Garrett-Evangelical in terms of the Black experience,” he said.

According to Murphy, one of the most significant results from CBE is Garrett-Evangelical’s ongoing commitment to diversity. “Because of CBE, other racial identities and groups were able to claim their legitimate place at the table,” said Murphy, who served as the director of CBE in the 1990s. “CBE fostered that, encouraged that, and ultimately made that part of the institutional life of the seminary.”

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“The administration understood that all of the diversity of humankind is integral to God’s concern, and thus to the ministry and the Church. We wanted to make the African American experience integral to the seminary experience. This was not a matter of having a course here or there but of conceptualizing the institution in such way that it gave a regular place to the Black church and concern for people of African descent,” he said. Every aspect of the seminary was reflective of the legitimacy of the Black experience, including faculty hiring, student recruitment, development, trustee board membership, church placement, and worship life.

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Center for Music and Worship in the Black Church Experience From the Washington National Cathedral to South An extraordinary artist, Wilson performs everything Africa, Canada, and Denmark, excitement for Garrettfrom Handel to Mahalia, and from Bach to Boogie. She Evangelical Theological Seminary’s new Center for has toured Europe and performed at several festivals of Music and Worship in the music and recording concerts in Black Church Experience has Argentina, Brazil, Copenhagen, spanned the globe since the Denmark, a Spirit-filled concert Center was announced this for the World Council of past January. The Center for Churches in Brighton, England, Music and Worship in the and a memorable fundraising Black Church Experience, tour in Seoul, South Korea established in collaboration sponsored by Africa University. with Garrett-Evangelical’s While serving on the faculty Center for the Church and the at Fort Worth Conservatory of Black Experience, is a onePerforming Arts, Wilson taught of-a-kind North American and mentored the dynamic Cynthia Wilson institute that will provide gospel artist, Kirk Franklin. She training in the sacred music of also mentored the award-winning the Black church and beyond to musicians and worship contemporary gospel artist, Minister Byron Cage. leaders for the enrichment of congregational worship in diverse contexts.

Wilson’s extensive discography includes ministry with

Donald Vails and the Choraleers, a renowned gospel choir Cynthia Wilson, assistant vice president of student life in Detroit, Michigan. Her profound solo interpretation of and dean of students at Garrett-Evangelical, serves as “With A Made Up Mind,” which she co-wrote, helped director of the Center. Wilson, ordained deacon in The win the Choraleers a Grammy nomination. Her most United Methodist Church, holds a doctor of philosophy recent collaborative project is the Emmy Award-winning in liturgical studies from Garrett-Evangelical, as well documentary, Reflect, Reclaim, Rejoice: Preserving the as a bachelor of arts in music education from Dillard Gift of Black Sacred Music.

University and a master of sacred music degree from Perkins School of Theology.

“Over the last several decades, I have become aware of the shortage of musicians who are called, equipped, and “This Center is a dream come true for me,” said Wilson. sent forth to lead in the areas of music and worship,” “Worship in the Black church has always been the Wilson said. “More specifically, while most musicians coming together of God’s people for celebrating rituals, and worship leaders serving in the average Black Church creating rhizomatous connections, and acknowledging setting would not be inclined to enroll in a seminary how God has been and is at work in particular ways with degree program, they would appreciate opportunities for and for particular peoples.” sharpening skills, retooling, even reimagining church for

the twenty-first century.”

As a child, Wilson developed an ear and love for The Center will provide just such an opportunity. Wilson all kinds of music. She grew up in New Orleans, is joined at the Center by nationally and internationally Louisiana and comes from a family of gifted singers acclaimed professors and professionally trained experts and musicians. Reflecting on the rich nuances found in various genres she grew up with (ranging from zydeco, and practitioners, who will serve as faculty members.

Additionally, the Center is committed to being a creole form of music, traditional spirituals, and intentionally attentive and appreciative of the gifts hymns to contemporary gospel, the blues, and sacred youth and young adults bring to the work of worship. jazz), Wilson said: “The music of African American communities knew no separation between the secular and the sacred. Music functioned as the sound track for “I’m deeply concerned that youth and young adults gain a clearer picture of how their creative, innovative all of life in the Black community.”

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artistic contributions connect to Black church history,” Wilson said. “The Center for Music and Worship in the Black Church Experience will help establish ways of preserving that history.”

organ and piano accompaniment, vocal technique, digital musical equipment, composition, African American hymnody, and more. Registration for the first seminar will be opening soon.

Through fundamental and advanced course offerings, the Center aspires to restore and revitalize the ethos and pathos of corporate music and worship. Courses will be offered during four-to five-day intensive seminars focusing on music theory, choral conducting,

For more information on the Center for Music and Worship in the Black Church Experience, including a listing of its faculty and programming, visit us online at www.Garrett.edu/MusicWorshipCenter.

CBE’s Commitment to the Church After retirement from the United Methodist episcopacy in 2012, Bishop Linda Lee came to GarrettEvangelical as bishop-inresidence. Since then, she has worked closely with the Center for the Church and the Black Experience Bishop Linda Lee (CBE) sharing her many gifts as well as a genuine love for the Church and God’s people. Aware sat down with Bishop Lee to learn more about her work and her hopes for CBE’s future.

How has CBE made a difference in your work?

The Center for the Church in the Black Experience has assisted my work by providing new connections with pastors and community leaders working directly with the challenges faced by congregations and communities in Evanston and on the South Side of Chicago. Through the relationships begun and information shared, I have gained insights regarding the positive and impactful contributions of African Americans and others whose lives have been a witness to equity and justice. This has assisted my work as one who holds and keeps before us a vision of ways the Church can be God’s vessel of love in the world in the 21st Century. As I work with individuals and institutions, I am able to provide a hope grounded in reality that helps us all to “not get weary with well doing” but rather to run this “race” toward justice for all, to the end.

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In addition, CBE has supported the vision and actualization of the work of the North Central Jurisdiction Sacred Sisters, a body whose purpose is to build strong, healthy Black clergywomen who serve God and the Church with excellence through peer support groups and learning. This is a pilot ministry we will be sharing with other leaders in The United Methodist Church, ecumenically, and possibly in interfaith settings.

What is your vision for CBE’s future?

I envision CBE being a catalyst for social healing and relevance in at least three ways: 1) by being a resource which preserves the greatest strengths of the Black church from the past, providing a foundation for creating a future church which has the capacity to meet the needs of its communities and congregations, 2) by developing leaders, in the present, competent to lead congregations and communities to address the realities resulting from White supremacy, injustice, and oppression, and 3) by providing an atmosphere of creativity in which new ideas, strategies, and theological understandings are birthed. I can see these ideas, strategies, and understandings being those which will transform the church, academy, and the world into a place where the presence of the incarnate Christ binds up wounds and sets the captives free.

Together, with other like-minded and like-spirited people, within and beyond the church, CBE can be on the forefront of creating a world in which all human beings live in dignity.

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Forty-Five Alums for Forty-Five Years of CBE In honor of CBE’s 45th Anniversary, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is recognizing 45 outstanding Black alums who were nominated by their fellow alums, peers, and the administration. The 45 alums were chosen for their character, their outstanding ministries, and their heart for justice. To learn more about each of our outstanding Black alums, we encourage you to visit the website, www.CBE45.com.  Edsel A. Ammons

(GBI 1957) Bishop, The United Methodist Church; Professor, Director of Student Life, Founder of CBE, Garrett-Evangelical

Homer Ashby, Jr.

(G-ETS 1978) Professor; Clinical Psychologist; Pastoral Care Counselor

 Archibald J. Carey, Jr.

Alexis L. Felder

Iva Elaine Carruthers

Walter E. Fluker

(GBI 1932) Pastor, African Methodist Episcopal Church; Civil Rights Activist; Circuit Court Judge; Alderman

(G-ETS 2001) General Secretary, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc.

Michelle A. Cobb

(G-ETS 2002) Minister of Ministry Operations, New Faith Baptist Church International

(G-ETS 1980) The Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership, Boston University School of Theology

Charley Hames, Jr.

(G-ETS 1980) Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Vanderbilt University

(G-ETS 1983 and 1989) District Superintendent, North Central District, Indiana Conference, The United Methodist Church

Gessel Berry, Jr.

 Susan A. Collins

(G-ETS 1982) Senior Pastor, St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church

Lewis V. Baldwin

(GTS 1971) Pastor, Sherman United Methodist Church

Reginald Blount

(G-ETS 2006) Assistant Professor of Formation, Youth, and Culture, GarrettEvangelical; Pastor, Arnett Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church

 William Holmes Borders (GBI 1932) Pastor, Baptist Church; Civil Rights and Community Activist; Public Speaker and Radio Commentator

 Jonathan C. Brewer

(GBI 1907) Pastor, Superintendent, Presiding Elder, Chicago African Methodist Episcopal Conference

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(CTS 1895) Missionary Worker in Quéssua, Angola, Africa, Women’s Foreign Missionary Society

 Cecil W. Cone

(GBI 1961) Pastor, African Methodist Episcopal Church; Dean, Turner Theological Seminary; President, Edward Waters College

James H. Cone

(G-ETS 2000) Senior Pastor, Beebe Memorial Cathedral

Jesse D. Hawkins, Jr.

Gregory G. M. Ingram

(G-ETS 1975) Bishop and Presiding Prelate, First Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Church

Charles Wesley Jordan

(GBI 1960) Bishop, The United Methodist Church

(GBI 1961 and 1965) Charles Augustus Briggs Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology, Union Theological Seminary

Jonathan D. Keaton

Carmichael D. Crutchfield

John Wesley Zwomunondiita Kurewa

(G-ETS 2010) Associate Professor of Christian Education and Youth Ministry, Memphis Theological Seminary; General Secretary, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

 denotes deceased

(GTS 1971 and G-ETS 1979) Bishop, Illinois Great Rivers Conference, The United Methodist Church

(GTS 1967 and 1971) The Kurewa Chair, E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism, Vice Chancellor Emeritus, Africa University

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Felicia Howell LaBoy

(G-ETS 2001 and 2010) Associate Dean of Black Church Studies and Advanced Learning, Assistant Professor of Black Church Studies, Louisville Seminary

Pamela R. Lightsey

(G-ETS 2005) Associate Dean for Community Life and Lifelong Learning, Clinical Assistant Professor of Contextual Theology and Practice, Boston University School of Theology

Debra Mubashshir Majeed (G-ETS 2002) Professor and Chair in the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department, Beloit College

Tracy H. Smith Malone

(G-ETS 1993) District Superintendent, Chicago Southern District; Dean of the Cabinet, Northern Illinois Conference, The United Methodist Church

B. Herbert Martin

(GTS 1971) Senior Pastor, Progressive Community Church

Myron F. McCoy

(G-ETS 1982) Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple

Joy Jittaun Moore

(G-ETS 1989) Assistant Professor of Preaching, Fuller Theological Seminary

Karen E. Mosby

(G-ETS 1985) Executive Director, Programs, Good News Partners

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 Ethel L. Payne

Julius Calvin Trimble

 Maceo D. Pembroke, Sr.

Albert Dillard Tyson, III

(CTS 1934) Journalist, Columnist, Lecturer, and Civil Rights Advocate

(GBI 1948) Senior Pastor, St. Mark United Methodist Church

Beverly J. Shamana

(G-ETS 1980) Bishop, The United Methodist Church

Julia M. Speller

(G-ETS 1983) Bishop, Iowa Conference, The United Methodist Church

(G-ETS 1980) Presiding Elder, North District, Chicago Conference, African Methodist Episcopal Church

Kentina Washington

(G-ETS 2013) Chaplain, Presbyterian Homes

(G-ETS 1985) Kenneth B. Smith Professor of Public Ministry, Associate Professor of American Religious History and Culture, Chicago Theological Seminary

Michele E. Watkins-Branch

Tara R. Sutton

 Tallulah Fisher Williams

Jimmy Leon Thorn

Cynthia A. Wilson

(G-ETS 1989) District Superintendent, Crossroads District, Detroit Conference, The United Methodist Church

(G-ETS 1979) Pastor, St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church

Emilie M. Townes

(G-ETS 1989) Dean of the Divinity School, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society, Vanderbilt Divinity School

Jeffery L. Tribble, Sr.

(G-ETS 1990 and 2003) Associate Professor of Ministry, Columbia Theological Seminary; Presiding Elder, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

 denotes deceased

(G-ETS 2010) Gerald L. Schlessman Chair in Methodist Studies and Assistant Professor of Theology, Iliff School of Theology

(G-ETS 1977) District Superintendent, Northern Illinois Conference, The United Methodist Church

(G-ETS 2013) Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, Dean of Students, Director of the Center for Music and Worship in the Black Church Experience, GarrettEvangelical

Anne E. Wimberly

(G-ETS 1993) Executive Director, Youth Hope-Builders Academy; Professor Emerita of Christian Education, Interdenominational Theological Center

To learn more about the 45 alums listed and their ministries, go to

www.CBE45.com

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Pacesetting Gift to Endow CBE’s Music and Worship Center Holly Craig and Gerald Parker have been partners for 42 years – marriage partners and partners in making the world a better place.

They met in 1972 when Jerry was in his final year at Garrett Theological Seminary and Holly was working on a graduate degree at Northwestern University.

Holly’s roommate, who was also a Garrett student, introduced them to each other. They married in 1974 and pursued their respective careers in Michigan.

So when Holly and Jerry sold their home in Michigan this past year as part of the process of down-sizing for retirement, they knew they wanted to use the proceeds from the sale to do something meaningful that would reflect their values. Both value education (Holly has her PhD, and Jerry has an MBA and a law degree in addition to his MDiv degree).

Both also have fond memories of times shared on the Garrett-Evangelical and Northwestern campuses. This led them to consider making a major gift to GarrettEvangelical.

Gerald Parker and Holly Craig

Jerry served seven different churches in the Ann Arbor District. He also served the larger church at both district and conference levels. In addition, Jerry was involved in numerous community activities, such as Jail Ministry, Planned Parenthood, and the Samaritan Counseling Center.

“Seminary life provided me with opportunities to broaden my own life perspectives and to realize faith was more than an individual journey, but rather a community-based love, shared with the world,” Jerry said. Ministry and mission and an emphasis on relationships provided a basis for confronting the issues of the day, both locally and worldwide, as Jerry sought to do his part in making this a better world.

While Jerry served the church, Holly worked as a professor and researcher at the University of Michigan, starting as an assistant professor and moving through the academic ranks of associate to full professor and research professor. Currently she is professor emerita and research professor emerita in education at the University of Michigan and a fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

She devoted her career to the study of language variation and its impact on educational achievement.

She mentored many undergraduate students as they developed an understanding of dialects and the positive and negative influences of non-mainstream dialects on academic success.

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Additionally, Holly served as director of the University Center for the Development of Language and Literacy at University of Michigan for 24 years. She won numerous major grants from the U.S. Department of Education, the National Institutes of Health, and private foundations to fund her work. She has published extensively on the topic of Child African American English and the Black-White Achievement Gap.

They became excited when they learned from David Heetland, vice president for development, that GarrettEvangelical was seeking to permanently endow the Center for the Church and the Black Experience at the seminary. Edsel Ammons founded CBE in 1970 when Jerry was a student at the seminary, and he was one of Jerry’s favorite professors—and later his bishop in Michigan. A gift to CBE would also be consistent with Holly’s commitment to improve understanding and to celebrate the African American culture and heritage in the United States.

When they heard that one of the new initiatives of CBE is to launch the Center for Music and Worship in the Black Church Experience, they were thrilled. “This is such an exciting initiative,” Holly exclaimed. “I just can’t contain my enthusiasm for what I am learning about these plans.”

They knew that is what they wanted to support. They decided to make the initiating gift to launch an April 2016

endowment for the Center for Music and Worship in the Black Church Experience. “Our gift is intended to honor Edsel’s original vision for CBE and the center’s exciting vision for the future,” Jerry said.

Holly and Jerry chose to take out a $120,000 gift annuity with the proceeds from their home sale. A gift annuity will assist them in their retirement planning by providing a steady source of income each year for as long as they live. It will also enable GarrettEvangelical to use the charitable remainder portion immediately to help fund the Center for Music and Worship in the Black Church Experience—a win for Holly and Jerry and for the seminary.

“There is great satisfaction in helping the seminary move ahead in this creative way,” Holly said. “We hope others will consider joining us in this endeavor.”

If you share Holly and Jerry’s commitment to endow the CBE program—or any of the seminary’s other distinctive programs—we invite your participation in the seminary’s Forging Our Future campaign. Outright gifts, pledges, and planned gift commitments are all welcome. For more information, contact Heetland at david.heetland@garrett.edu or 847.866.3970.

Securing the Legacy of CBE For 45 years, the Center for the Church and the Black Experience at GarrettGarrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Evangelical has been evolving into what it is today a leading academic center on teaching, research, action, and reflection on Black life and Black church life. To strengthen its legacy and further distinguish CBE as a center dedicated to improving the quality of life for Black people and the Black church, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is raising funds to permanently endow the center. Currently, GarrettEvangelical is seeking to raise $1 million to endow the center’s operational expenses, as well as additional funds for specific programs.

CENTER FOR THE CHURCH AND THE BLACK EXPERIENCE

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Tracy Smith Malone (G-ETS 1993), chair of the Board of Visitors for CBE and a trustee of Garrett-Evangelical, said that an endowment will allow CBE to continue to provide the resources, leadership, and support for current students, alums, and future students. “CBE plays a key role in the life of the seminary, and we want to make sure this work continues,” said Malone, who currently serves as the district superintendent of the Chicago Southern District of The United Methodist Church in the Northern Illinois Conference.

“From my seminary years through today, CBE has been very foundational and formational for me. It has allowed me to April 2016

be aware and stay connected to important issues facing the Black church,” she said.

Myron McCoy, the senior pastor at the First United Church at the Chicago Temple and a 1982 graduate of GarrettEvangelical, serves as the chair of the CBE endowment committee. He said he feels strongly that an endowment will ensure CBE’s legacy will continue.

“Garrett-Evangelical was one of the first seminaries to create space and place for minority students,” he said. “It is important to the seminary’s identity. And, it is important to remember that we live in a diverse country with a diverse Christian community. CBE is a place that allows Christians to wrestle with race and diversity and celebrate the history and vitality of the African American church.”

Garrett-Evangelical needs your help to financially secure CBE’s future for years to come. To make a gift today, go to www.garrett.edu/giving. Checks are payable to GarrettEvangelical Theological Seminary and should be mailed to: Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, ATTN: Development Office, 2121 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois 60201. Whether making your gift online or by check, please be sure to designate your gift for CBE. For more information and to discuss the number of ways you can support CBE financially, please contact David Heetland, vice president for development, by telephone at 847.866.3970 or by email at david.heetland@garrett.edu.

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Cutting Edges: A Different Type of Violence Gennifer Brooks, Ernest and Bernice Styberg Professor of Preaching In the months of January and February 2016, there Chicago, in urban areas across the United States, and were more than 100 murders in the city of Chicago. It in Black nations across the world. However, both the was a significant increase over the same period in 2015 media and the authorities are myopically selective and of great concern to the in their understanding of interim police superintendent. violence. For example, In response, he promised to following the killing of put more police persons on Michael Brown in Ferguson, the ground in the areas of the the report and condemnation highest crimes. My response of violence in that city dealt upon hearing the statistics was only with the looting and to lament the establishment’s destruction of property. The inability to address the real shooting of an unarmed young violence that is being done to man and the desecration of these city residents who are his body that was left in the mainly African American and streets for four hours was not to keep trying to put a plaster considered a violent act.

Gennifer Brooks on virulent cancer.

The hegemonic systems I must confess, however, that until about two months that are symptomized by substandard education, ago, my response would have been much different. I food deserts, double-digit unemployment, inadequate might not have applauded the interim police chief’s housing, and poor health care result in violence that is solution, but I would most likely have agreed that the cultural, political, social, and economic. All do extensive action of putting more feet to the ground was a good violence to the spirit with the result that these oppressed thing. Since then, I have come to believe that it is communities are marked by high murder rates, drug and a waste of time, and that with the best of intentions alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and high drop-out behind it, such action will do nothing to get to the heart rates. Certainly, it is a different type of violence, but of the problem. while the harm done by physical violence is more visible to the naked eye, we need to recognize the spiritual I owe my new vision to the work being engaged by violence that is never-ending and devastating to African Andrew Wymer, a doctor of philosophy student in Americans, regardless of their position in society. liturgical studies and the work he has undertaken

for his dissertation that is focused on the issue of These systems, which deny the full humanity of violence and preaching. In discussion with him about African Americans, are the real source of the physical the trajectory of his work, I was led to recognize that violence that is too often a reaction to deep frustration the general understanding of violence in the culture, that can find no outlet or resolution. While most of us and certainly as portrayed in the press, is erroneously in the church speak out against devastating physical limited to physical violence perpetrated by individuals violence, and rightly so, we remain silent about the or groups upon other individuals or groups. My destruction of spirit that does such lasting damage conversations with Andrew have brought me to the to individuals, families, and the African American realization that the physical violence is but a response community at large. to the deeper and more pervasive violence of spirit

being suffered by the perpetrators.

Jesus spoke out against the injustice in his society, including the power brokers of Roman occupation.

Let me say immediately, that this is by no means an In his name, we are called to speak out against all attempt to excuse the shootings and murders that are violence and the injustice it represents and work for so prevalent in African American communities in real and lasting justice for the whole people of God.

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April 2016

Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century As the Center for the Church and the Black Experience Angela Cowser, director of CBE and assistant (CBE) marks its 45th anniversary, Garrett-Evangelical professor of the sociology of religion, says her is celebrating the many ways the Center nurtures the involvement in this unique partnership has also formation of students to become prophetic leaders. One affected her. “It has really made me incorporate and of CBE’s partnerships supports field placements for test the ideas that I teach, especially with respect to seminarians in Black United community organizing.”

Methodist churches.

Last year, students serving Three years ago, United in SBC21 field education Methodist District sites enrolled in Cowser’s Superintendent Tracy Smith community organizing class.

Malone (G-ETS 1993) was The students met with her brainstorming ideas for during the semester to relate CBE with other clergy. As their experience in the church a district superintendent, to concepts in the class. Cowser she was familiar with the says she “found out that Northern Illinois Conference’s evangelism is really contextual, partnership with the down to the individual Tracy Smith Malone United Methodist General congregational level and the Conference’s Strengthening leadership of the congregation.” the Black Church in the Twenty-first Century (SBC21) initiative that seeks to strengthen Black congregations in For the students, this opportunity creates intentional mission and ministry. Malone, who also serves on CBE’s space to integrate what they have learned in seminary Board of Visitors, saw a way to educate seminarians with real life experience. “I’ve seen the students really while enriching the congregational life of local churches. find their voice and vocation in some surprising ways.

They are outstanding students to begin with, and they She recollects, “The Lord just gave me this vision, and have deepened their skills and thinking,” said Cowser.

I put it on the table. There was such openness to it.”

With Malone’s support, Garrett-Evangelical’s Field For the church congregations who sometimes have limited Education Office and CBE approached the Northern resources, having a seminary intern helps them to build Illinois Conference. Before long, partner churches in the leadership and ministry to their surrounding communities Chicagoland area were identified. in new and creative ways while also enriching the world views of the congregations. Dennis C. Langdon (G-ETS During the last three years, nine students have completed 2003), pastor of Morgan Park UMC says, “It has been field education requirements in six churches. The revitalizing to have the new and diverse perspectives of churches provide half of the funding to pay for the the interns. It has brought a whole new way of looking at student intern with the Northern Illinois Conference, the world and at faith.”

CBE, and Field Education contributing the rest.

Malone hopes that this effort between the local church, the Almost half of the students have been Caucasian, allowing seminary, and the conference will continue to blossom, for a cross-cultural experience. Third-year master of eventually reaching other Black church denominations. divinity student, Katie Fahey, is completing her second “My prayer is that this becomes a model for the year serving at one of these field sites. As a Caucasian seminary,” she says. “This isn’t just to help the church. person serving in a Black church, she says, “Being in This is also about preparing seminarians so that when such a completely different environment allowed me to they leave the school, no matter what context they find question everything that I knew to be true and begin to themselves in, they are able to do community organizing figure out what is really the heart of my faith.” and evangelism and be a social justice witness.”

April 2016

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

1940s William Tyree, GBI 1942, Rushville, Illinois, died January 2, 2016.

John Soltman, ETS 1943, Lacey, Washington, died February 5, 2010.

Newell Knudson, GBI 1947, Fresno, California, died January 27, 2016.

Charles Cheffey, GBI 1949, Sedalia, Missouri, died September 27, 2015.

1950s Everett Ted Wonder, ETS 1951, Greenville, Ohio, died January 3, 2016.

Clyde Bachman, GBI 1952, Tumwater, Washington, died December 26, 2015.

Ray Boehlke, ETS 1952, Saint Paul, Minnesota, died June 30, 2015.

Norma Wilken, GBI 1952, Davis, California, died January 27, 2016.

Alva Brock, GBI 1953, Penney Farms, Florida, died January 3, 2016.

Albert Glenn Copeland, GBI 1954, Manchester, Connecticut, died January 17, 2016.

William Miller, GBI 1954, Dayton, Ohio, died November 28, 2015.

Glen Strome, ETS 1955, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, died September 3, 2015.

Robert Chiles, GBI 1958, Worthington, Ohio, died September 8, 2014.

Abraham New, GBI 1959, West Palm Beach, Florida, date unknown.

1970s Bruce Mase, GTS 1971, New Bremen, Ohio, died March 7, 2016.

Hugo Lopez, G-ETS 1975, Wilmington, North Carolina, died April 3, 2015.

J. William Keith, Jr., G-ETS 1979, Franklin, Indiana, died September 30, 2015.

1980s Joan Hamlin, G-ETS 1985, Douglas, Massachusetts, died March 6, 2016.

1990s

1960s

Janet Matteson, G-ETS 1990, Bridgewater, Virginia, died December 14, 2015.

Royce Wade, GBI 1960, Poynette, Wisconsin, died February 2, 2016.

Annie Hayashi, G-ETS 1998, Northfield, Illinois, died January 18, 2016.

Deane Williams, ETS 1960, Sebring, Ohio, died February 2, 2015.

2000s

Ray Kelley, GTS 1962, Belleville, Illinois, died December 21, 2015.

Bertram Duckwall, CSS 2000, North Price George, Virginia, died February 2, 2016.

Bishop William Morris Dies at 78 Retired United Methodist Bishop William Wesley “Bill� Morris (GBI 1960) died on January 14, 2016, having suffered a massive heart attack at his home. Morris, who was 78, led the Alabama-West Florida Episcopal Area from 1992 to 2000. He was the first African American to hold that post. Morris also oversaw the Nashville Episcopal Area, comprising the Tennessee and Memphis Conferences. He retired from the episcopacy in 2004.

Morris held degrees from Ohio Wesleyan University, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, Scarritt College, and Vanderbilt University, where he earned a doctorate of ministry degree. He was ordained a deacon in 1959 and an elder in 1961.

Morris and his first wife, Eva J. Morris, had two daughters. He was married to the late Mary Head Morris of McMinnville, Tennessee, and they had two sons. He married Princilla Smart Evans in 2006.

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April 2016

Alum News 1960s George A. White (GTS 1966) published Grubbing Hoes, Bibles, and Gavels: Life-lessons from Southern Illinois Pioneer Braxton Parish (Wasteland Press 2015). This historical novel grew out of family genealogical research about White’s grandfather, Braxton Parish (1795-1875), a lay preacher who helped start dozens of Methodist churches in southern Illinois.

Adolf Hansen (GTS 1968) and his spouse Naomi Hansen co-authored Caring for Those Who Remain: A Practical Guide for End-of-Life Preparation (Ink Water Press 2016). In this book, the Hansens provide a comprehensive road map to identify and confront relevant challenges and decisions while also honoring the wishes of the dying and those who remain. They recognize the need for a holistic approach and guide individuals and their families through the complex and intertwined issues that must be addressed.

2000s Jennifer Hill Anderson (G-ETS 2002) serves as a chaplain for the United States Navy and was recently promoted to Lieutenant Commander (O4). Hill Anderson and her recently deceased husband, Steven Michael Anderson, also announce the birth of their son Thaddeus William Anderson.

Virgil M. Woods (G-ETS 2002 and 2011) published in February his newest book Think Like a Fish: Seeing Your Church through the Eyes of the Unchurched.

Woods, in collaboration with Shane A. Nichols (G-ETS 2002), also launched www.pewhub.com, a church directory website giving church organizations the ability to receive quick and valuable feedback from visitors and members while increasing each church’s visibility in the digital world.

Jenny Hallenbeck Orr (G-ETS 2003) married Derrick Orr on January 16, 2016, in Bismarck, North Dakota.

She has been serving as the senior pastor at McCabe United Methodist Church in Bismarck since July 2014.

Paul E. Lint (G-ETS 2003) and his spouse Brenda Lint were named directors of the Wesley Acres Camp and Retreat Center in North Dakota. The retreat center opened in 1952 and is a United Methodist facility and a ministry of the Dakotas Conference.

Katara Washington Patton (G-ETS 2003) published her first book in a series that will explore well-known Bible stories and apply them to contemporary issues.

Titled Successful Moms of the Bible (FaithWords 2016), Washington Patton looks at nine of the Bible’s best-known mothers to teach contemporary Christian women God’s often overlooked child-rearing lessons.

Steven G. Trefz (G-ETS 2005 and 2013) was named director of the Wesley House of Study at Sioux Falls Seminary, effective Febuary 2016. Trefz will provide guidance to students of a Wesleyan theological heritage and help students foster a professional ethos compatible with their denominational connections, local congregations, and ministry settings.

2010s Chanon R. Ross (G-ETS 2012) was named program director for the Lilly Endowment, Inc., an Indianapolisbased private philanthropic foundation created in 1937. Ross, a widely recognized expert and leader in youth ministry, will help advance Endowmentsupported initiatives to engage the spirits and passions of youth and young adults in the life and service of congregations throughout the country.

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