On the cover: Stained glass screen designed and fabricated by the late Dr. Laurence Hull Stookey. He explained it as an image of the Resurrection or the Christ Event breaking into Creation. The order of the colors is the spectrum of how light leaves a star. It is installed in the upper stairwell of the Kresge Academic Center.
Calling is published by the Office of Development twice a year for alumni, donors, and friends of Wesley.
Printed with zero VOC ink on paper containing postconsumer content, and/or manufactured with hydroelectric power, acid free/alkaline, elemental chlorine free, mixed credit or certified sourcing.
15 From the Vice President of Development Easter Season Greetingss
16 “In the Family” Ties to Wesley are Strong in the Shank Family
DEPARTMENTS
2 From the President Called to Serve
3 Spotlight on Public Service Wesley Students, Past and Present, Answer the Call
9 Forty-Five Hundred Fall and Winter Happenings
Called to Serve
In my 43 years at Wesley in Washington, DC, I have had the privilege of knowing many federal employees and those who do the same work through government contractors. These include civil servants who have worked in every major governmental bureaucracy: the Departments of Education, State, Defense, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and others. Each one of them understands their work as a vocation, answering a call to public service. I thank them for their dedication.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Hebrew National ran a commercial saying the quality of its kosher hot dogs resulted from its “answering to a higher authority.” Any job at any level can be considered a calling. The higher
authority might be God; country; the public at large; the least, last, and lost; the mission of the organization; or a moral principle like justice or compassion.
I believe any successful organization, for profit or not for profit, requires people who make sacrifices for the greater good and act ethically because they answer to a higher authority. They are the “salt of the earth” Jesus talked about. That is especially important for governmental and non-governmental organizations serving the public.
At Wesley Theological Seminary, we understand what it means to be called. We have a special role in Washington, DC, to serve public servants and be a community that honors their work. Many of our students came to seminary from positions of public service, and some continue while studying and even after graduating. This issue of Calling highlights just a few of them.
Especially now, Wesley will be a community of ingathering and outpouring of all those called to serve.
image/graphic conveying public service.
Spotlight Public Service ON
Wesley students, past and present, have answered the call to serve in the church as well as in positions of public service.
REV. ADAM BRIDDELL, MDIV ’12
married Raymie, who was (and still is) working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. When I experienced a “Holy Nudging” to be more involved in the life of my community, Wesley Seminary was there to come alongside our family on that journey. I am now an elder in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Compiled by President David McAllister-Wilson and Lyvonne Briggs
As an undergraduate, I studied political science at the University of Northern Iowa and worshipped at the First United Methodist Church of Cedar Falls. My time there nurtured in me a love for community service and making a difference for the good in the lives of our neighbors.
When I completed my undergraduate studies, I moved to Washington, DC, and worked for the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. I served Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming as one of his higher education policy advisors. I
These past few months, it has been heartbreaking to see the good work of so many faithful civil servants be demolished so recklessly. My wife’s vocation is among thousands of others now in jeopardy. I believe that all Christians are called to study and practice the way of Jesus. There is no evidence of Christian faith being demonstrated in the behavior of our president and his advisors.
But our family’s faith has been a sustaining force through this season of uncertainty.
I experienced Wesley Seminary as a place of formation, preparing leaders to serve in churches where people are NOT asked to “check their brains at the entrance to the sanctuary.” Wesley's faculty consistently challenged us to be mindful of the church’s responsibility to care for the poor, look after people on the margins, and
LTC SCOTT’S PROMOTION CEREMONY (2021), ASSISTED BY HIS WIFE GWEN SCOTT
who expects us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. Perhaps Wesley has been preparing faithful leaders for a time such as this, and for that, I am grateful.
Rev. Adam Briddell leads the Amity Campus of the Cathedral of the Rockies, Boise First United Methodist Church, in Idaho.
DR. TECHIKA C. RHODES, MDIV ’21
“I didn’t choose education; education chose me.” That’s how Dr. Techika C. Rhodes (MDIV ’21) explains her calling toward public service as a higher-education administrator. Rhodes has always had a desire to help people. Even as an elementary school student, she was serving on the safety patrol and volunteering her time to tutor younger children. Her first job as a teenager was as an aide to children and adults with disabilities at the Brownwood Life Care Center in her hometown of Ft. Smith, Arkansas; this entry-level position led to her becoming
an instructor and therapy aide in the program.
At Wesley, Rhodes was able to channel her desire to help into formal ministry roles. She found herself drawn to helping her fellow students navigate the educational system, and she had the opportunity to intern with Wisconsin Avenue Baptist Church, where she worked at the pastor’s Citygate nonprofit, tutoring neighborhood 5th graders.
After serving at Wisconsin Avenue Baptist, she interned at the faithbased nonprofit Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual. The year after she graduated with her MDiv, Rhodes was invited to serve as a teaching assistant for several courses. She loved it.
Rhodes completed her Doctor of Ministry degree from Howard University’s Divinity School in 2024, where her thesis focused on helping people, of course, specifically evangelists struggling with burnout. She has been invited to share and present that research far and wide, including at the Church of God in Christ’s 116th Holy Convocation Academic Forum.
These days, Dr. Rhodes is working on her second doctoral degree, a Doctor of Education degree in Higher Education Administration and Leadership from Regent University. She plans to continue doing what she’s always done: following that innate desire to help people.
—Dana Cassell
CHAPLAIN (LTC) JOHN SCOTT, DMIN ’20
When he began his military career, Army Chaplain (LTC) John Scott (DMin ’20) didn’t intend to become a chaplain. He was initially commissioned as an armor officer in 1997 and served as a combat arms officer for 10 years. But at almost every turn, it was chaplains who helped him navigate life.
Scott first found Christ thanks to the chaplain at an ROTC summer training camp in 1996. A couple of years later, he was struggling to finish ranger school, a very intense two-month leadership development program. The regular weekly worship services and the chaplain who led them helped Scott persist and complete the program. In 2003, another chaplain baptized Scott, his wife, and their oldest daughter. It would take a while for his vocational path to shift, but Scott knew he wanted to do what these chaplains had done for him: to help, support, and counsel service members and their families.
Eventually, Scott found his way to seminary and was recommissioned as an Army Chaplain. He has always pursued education and, after several years working
came to Wesley as part of the Military Chaplaincy Doctor of Ministry program. The robust scholarships for that program played a part in his choice, but Scott says that Wesley’s culture was equally attractive.
The program requires students to take 2 of the 10 required courses on campus, but Scott enjoyed the Wesley community so much that he chose to take 4 classes on-site. “The experience was just really genuine,” he says, citing Dr. Sathi Clarke’s course on interfaith relations and Dr. Douglas Powe’s work on community engagement as two specific Wesley encounters that have shaped his ministry.
These days, Chaplain Scott puts his Wesley degree to work as a chaplain in the National Capitol Region. He has become a regular supporter of the Military Chaplaincy DMin program, hoping to help others have the same kind of genuine experience that he did.
—Dana Cassell
DANE F. SMITH, JR.
I entered the Foreign Service (U.S. Department of State) in 1966 after one year at Union Theological Seminary and two years in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia. My assignments were mainly in Africa, including Senegal, Liberia, Botswana, and Sudan. I served as U.S. Ambassador in Guinea (1990–1993) and Senegal (1996–1999). Between stints, I was Special Presidential Envoy for Liberia (1995–1996), working with African leaders to craft an agreement to end the civil war in Liberia. I retired from the State Department in 1999.
During this period, I was an active layman, involved in various overseas churches—Baptist, Mennonite, Episcopalian—and then at a United Methodist Church in Montgomery County, Maryland. Beginning about 1997, I began occasional preaching. For more than 20 years, I have preached several times annually at Chevy Chase United Methodist Church. In that context, I decided to renew my high school acquaintance with Greek through two semesters at Wesley Seminary, under the inspired teaching of Dr. Carla Works. A subsequent effort to learn Hebrew was cut short after one semester when I was recalled to duty at the State Department as Senior Advisor to the U.S. Government on Darfur during 2011–2012. My study of Greek has aided my understanding of the New Testament and has informed the lay preaching, which gives me enormous satisfaction.
DANIEL AKOMEA-AGYIN
Daniel Akomea-Agyin’s call to ministry has been grounded in the practical realities of life since the beginning. After 15 years of working as an IT and telecommunications specialist across Africa and Europe, he experienced God’s call to professional ministry while he was hospitalized with a severe bout of malaria. His healing, which he describes as a divine miracle, marked a turning point that propelled him toward ministry.
Akomea-Agyin followed that call to Boston University, where he began work on an MDiv, and then to Wesley to gain more practical ministry skills and be closer to his family. While attending Wesley, he has gotten involved in the work of New Life International UMC in Alexandria, where he volunteers in preaching, leading prayer and Bible study, and participating in the congregation’s neighborhood network and senior center ministry. Now, in his final year at Wesley, Daniel is open to where God will lead him. But, one key aspect of his calling that has emerged is an interest in prison ministry.
He says this part of his calling crystallized as he deepened his relationship with an incarcerated family member, whom Daniel has recently started mentoring. “I am very concerned,” Akomea-Agyin says, “that young people of color are incarcerated at such a record rate, especially here in America. I believe that I have a gift… a gift of mentoring."
This summer, Daniel will do his ministry internship with Rev. Heidi Kugler, the Chief Chaplain at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, DC. He’ll be learning about what public service looks like in the form of prison ministry. It will be a challenging experience, but he believes it will sharpen his calling.
“I believe that God has a reason for calling us into ministry at this time when there is so much uncertainty and so many challenges,” Akomea-Agyin says. “Challenge also comes with a calling, and God will give us the tools we need to succeed.”
THE IMPACT OF GIVING: ABBY BUTLER-CEFALO’S STORY
“This is not where my story stops.”
Abby Butler-Cefalo’s journey to seminary is a powerful testament to the transformational impact of donor generosity and scholarship support.
Once homeless and uncertain if college—let alone graduate school—was possible, Abby is now thriving in her second year of the Master of Divinity program at Wesley Theological Seminary.
As a first-generation college student, she shares:
“For a long time, graduate school was just not an option for me. I could not do it without your gracious support.”
Thanks to a Bishop’s Merit Scholarship, which provides 100% tuition coverage, Butler-Cefalo has the financial support to pursue her calling into ministry without being burdened by overwhelming debt. The scholarship is awarded to candidates who demonstrate prior academic achievement and demonstrated ability and potential for leadership in the church.
Her call to ministry began at George Mason University, where the Arise Campus Ministry community helped her encounter the love of God for the first time.
“I didn’t know the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t even know what prayer was. But I was met with warmth, patience, and love,” she recalls.
Now, Butler-Cefalo’s mission is to build churches where all feel welcome—especially those who, like her, once felt they didn’t belong.
“I want to showcase the true love of God, which is an open-arms, openbodied love. All are welcome. It does not matter how much or how little experience you have.”
Butler-Cefalo is not just earning a degree—she is breaking generational cycles of poverty, answering her call, and preparing to serve the church and world with bold, compassionate leadership. The world is poised to prosper with leaders with promise and purpose—and, at Wesley Theological Seminary and beyond, Abby ButlerCefalo embodies both.
Your Gifts Make This Possible
Each year, Wesley students like Abby pursue ministry because of the faithful generosity of our donors and partners. Your support opens the door to theological education and leadership development for students from all walks of life.
Make a Gift Today to help future faith leaders answer God’s call.
Profile compiled by Lyvonne Briggs
Source: Rev. Neelley Hicks, General Board of Higher Education and Ministry
KIMBERLY MITCHELL
I have always considered my job to be a calling. I started as a special education teacher in Prince George’s County, Maryland, before moving to
the U.S. Department of Education to work in the Office of Special Education Programs. For the last 25 years, helping states implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has allowed me to work with infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, and their families all over the U.S. Much like my experience at Wesley, I have worked with diverse cultures representing communities across this great nation. I initially attended Wesley in the early 2000s, and raising two young children was my priority. Now, I can prioritize my personal goals of increasing my capacity in my spiritual calling as a lay leader in the AME Church. Life threatened to pause my matriculation once again.
The unstable nature of the federal government the current administration triggered has provided me the opportunity to combine my professional calling with my personal. I have ministered to co-workers, family, and friends employed by the federal government. I realized people are watching those of us who proclaim to be Christians to see
how we respond and encourage others. Being at Wesley during this time has been a blessing, from the support from classmates and professors to the staff. The prayers and encouragement have kept me going through the uncertainty. I believe God will see me through the great work he led me to Wesley to complete. Thanks be to God. I was called back to the office five days a week from remote status. I am grateful because I could have received a termination email.
FROM PATENT EXAMINATION TO THEOLOGICAL STUDIES: AKWASI SARPONG
My career as a Patent Examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office was never just about examining patent applications and granting patents. It was a deep form of public service that taught me what it means to protect inventors’ creativity and encourage innovation to drive the U.S. economy. Every patent application I examined represented someone’s dream and intellectual contribution to the world. For example, the technology behind a hearing aid to help people with hearing problems or surveillance cameras to keep our community safe.
This experience fundamentally shaped my understanding of service— true ministry isn’t confined to religious spaces but exists wherever we carefully and compassionately support human potential. I also experienced this understanding through my Spiritual Formation 2 class when learning about service. The skill sets of a Patent Examiner, such as meticulous attention to detail, the commitment to ethical evaluation, and the responsibility of ensuring
public safety, were all spiritual practices that prepared me for my theological studies.
When I decided to attend Wesley Theological Seminary, it wasn’t a decision out of the blue but a natural progression of my calling to another aspect of public service. At Wesley, I learned that my career path wasn’t different from my spiritual journey but an integral part of it. Seminary has helped me understand that every public service can be a ministry and that serving God means being fully present and intentional in whatever role you occupy.
My time at Wesley Theological Seminary, though only part-time, has been transformative, reinforcing my belief that public service is a sacred calling. Seminary taught me to see the divine in the details. Whether I’m reviewing a complex patent application or studying theological concepts, the key thing that stays the same is that I’m serving something bigger than myself. This idea came to me during my New Testament class when we were covering Paul’s writings.
My path from patent examination to theological studies illustrates a powerful truth: my calling into public service goes beyond the walls of institutions and is rooted in a more profound need to serve and help our country to thrive.
Fall and Winter Happenings
From Fall 2024 to Summer 2025, Wesley Theological Seminary hosted numerous events to educate and inspire. Highlights include community worship gatherings, public theology forums, and visiting scholar lectures designed to engage students, clergy, and the wider DC community. These events reflect Wesley DC's commitment to spiritual formation, justice, and academic excellence.
ACCUMULATE – WHERE ART, COMMUNITY, AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE CONVERGE
Jessie Houff
October 3–December 11, 2024
Accumulate was a communal art experience by Jessie Houff. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Community Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore and is adjunct faculty and Communications Manager at Wesley DC. She invited visitors into a transformative space where they were encouraged to add pages to the installation, offering a piece of their own story to the communal narrative. Accumulate was not just an art installation; it was an experience that invited participants to reflect on their life journeys and contribute to a collective narrative. The piece explored profound questions about how our experiences shape us, how connections help us thrive, and how we navigate the dualities of resilience and heartache. Houff curated a meaningful, multi-generational experience for Wesley DC and beyond.
SECOND ANNUAL WINTER BALL
February 7, 2025
The Student Council hosted Wesley DC’s Second Annual Winter Ball in the Refectory. It was a night of music, hors d’oeuvres, dancing, fellowship, and fun!
CLASS TRIPS
Wesley DC's Faith and Politics in the Public Square class, taught by Dr. Lucila Crena, took several field trips around DC. Students took a tour of NPR, were given a private tour of the National Cathedral by Wesley DC graduate Rev. Canon Jan Cope, and visited several senators' offices and other sites.
We love seeing our students outside the classroom and learning directly from what's happening in the world.
BRINGING CHURCH HOME
A program by The Hub for (Re)imagining Ministry launched in Fall 2024, Bringing Church Home supports congregational
teams to develop programs and resources to better equip parents and caregivers to share their faith with their children. Applications for the next congregational cohort will open in spring 2026.
2025 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. LECTURE FEATURING BISHOP VASHTI MURPHY MCKENZIE
“March On ’Til Victory is Won”
February 18, 2025
The guest lecturer for this year’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture, held in Oxnam Chapel, was Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie. She is President and General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. Bishop Murphy McKenzie is also a retired bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and author of six books. In 2000, she became the first woman to be elected as bishop in the denomination's history.
FAITH AND POLITICS IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE STUDENTS TAKE A PRIVATE TOUR OF THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL
BISHOP VASHTI MURPHY MCKENZIE DELIVERS THE 2025 MLK LECTURE
VP OF
AND FINANCIAL
REV. DR. KAREN STEWART, PROJECT DIRECTOR FOR THE HUB FOR (RE)IMAGINING MINISTRY, LEADS A BRINGING CHURCH HOME SESSION
PAPER PILE SITS HIGH AT JESSIE HOUFF'S ACCUMULATE EXHIBIT HOUSED IN DADIAN GALLERY AT WESLEY DC
DEAN ANTONI SINKFIELD TAKES A SELFIE WITH
ADMISSIONS
AID BENJAMIN HALL AND HIS WIFE DANA HALL AT THE WINTER BALL
MEMBERS OF DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY RESPOND TO THE MESSAGE AT THE 2025 MLK LECTURE
PROFESSOR RICK ELGENDY SERVES
COMMUNION DURING HIS INSTALLATION CELEBRATION CHAPEL SERVICE
A PHOTO OF BISHOP OSCAR ROMERO DURING HIS 2025 NAMESAKE LECTURE
CURRENT WESLEY DC STUDENTS PASS THE FOOD AT PROVISION'S WORSHIP AND MEAL
2025 OSCAR ROMERO LECTURE AND DEAN’S FORUM FEATURING DR. DAISY MACHADO
“Romero and the Incarnate Word: Preaching to Create New Realities”
March 18, 2025
Dr. Daisy L. Machado, a native of Cuba who grew up in New York City, is Professor Emerita of American Religious History at Union Theological Seminary (NYC), where she also served as Academic Dean (the first Latina to hold this position). Dr. Machado is currently the director of the Hispanic Scholars Program, the first woman to hold this position.
RICK ELGENDY FULL PROFESSORSHIP INSTALLATION
September 3, 2024
Rick Elgendy was installed as the Martha Ashby Carr Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology. He preached a humorous and insightful message entitled, “Failure in Grace, Grace in Failure.”
PROVISION CHURCH WORSHIP AND MEAL
Alyssa Densham ’22 is redefining what it means to be the Church. Serving communities across Northern Virginia, Provision Church is a new Methodist missional community living out its call through Provision Kitchen, a holistic culinary job skills training program. “We don’t go to church. We are the church—the living, breathing, moving body of Christ in the world. We know that it’s more than a meal. It’s a movement,” says Densham. The Hub for Reimagining Ministry was so grateful to host a Provision Church worship and meal on Wesley DC’s campus!
DR. BEVERLY MITCHELL RETIRING THIS YEAR
Wesley Theological Seminary celebrates the retirement of Dr. Beverly E. Mitchell, Professor of Historical Theology, after more than 30 years of distinguished service. A graduate of Georgetown University (BA), Howard University School of Divinity (MDiv), Wesley (MTS) and Boston College (PhD), she has been a guiding force in theological education and a prophetic voice for justice.
Dr. Mitchell, the first African-American woman to earn tenure at Wesley DC, was honored at a retirement celebration service during Chapel on April 29, 2025. Her historic tenure has been marked by unwavering dedication that has shaped countless lives, nurturing a generation of scholars and ministers committed to serving the world with compassion and courage.
During her celebratory lunch, Dr. Mitchell was presented with several gifts, including a $1,500 donation to the Alzheimer's Association in memory of her late mother, Edwina S. Mitchell.
Wesley Theological Seminary recognizes Dr. Mitchell with deep gratitude and looks forward to honoring her legacy for generations to come.
LEIVA, MAKES A JOYFUL NOISE DURING THE 2025 OSCAR ROMERO LECTURE
WESLEY DC STUDENT, THIARA HERRERA
The Reverend David C. Shank,
CFRE, FCEP
Vice President of Development
Wesley Theological Seminary
EASTER SEASON GREETINGS,
I hope this message finds you well.
This is the first time I am writing to you since I have re-joined the team here at Wesley Theological Seminary.
I have loved Wesley since I was a child. My father graduated from the school in 1983. He had a “Wesley Windbreaker” jacket that I adopted and wore proudly until it fell apart. I grew up hearing stories of Dr. John Godsey, Dr. James C. Logan, Rev. Dr. William Bobby McClain, and Dr. Bruce C. Birch, among many others. It was through these stories that my love of theology started, and later in life, a call to ministry evolved.
Today, Wesley finds itself in a quite different environment from the era my father attended, or even when my brother and I attended and graduated with our Master of Divinity in 2011. Yet, the spirit of Wesley is the same. It is still a place where people from around the world answer God’s call to ministry. It is still a place that equips persons for Christian ministry and leadership in the church and the world, to advance theological scholarship, and to model a prophetic voice in the public square.
In this spirit, I ask for your faithful support. To celebrate the class of 2025, I will be making a gift to The Wesley Fund and invite you to do the same. Whether it is $25, $250, $2,500, or another gift amount of your choosing, let us celebrate the class of 2025 together!
“In the Family”
Ties to Wesley are strong in the Shank family.
In 1979, the Rev. David A. Shank set foot on the Wesley Campus for the first time. He graduated from Wesley in 1981 with his Master of Divinity. His first son, David C. Shank, was born a year later. In 1985, his second son, Jason N. Shank, was born. Little did he know that both of his sons would one day set foot on the Wesley campus,
and both would follow their dad into the ministry.
The Reverend David A. Shank (MDV ’81) served for over 40 years in the Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church in such Maryland cities as Hagerstown, Essex, and Damascus, and completed his ministry with 19 years of service at Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church. During these years, he was a
constant support and spiritual advisor to David and Jason.
“He was always there for me,” says David C. “I am unsure how they did it, but both mom and dad let me know that they were always there to support me, and they struck that right balance between encouraging my participation in the life of the church, while not requiring it. It was that gentle encouragement that piqued my interest and directed my path to the ministry.”
Jason (MDV ’11) had a sense of calling from an early age. This call moved him to attend Messiah University in Grantham, Pennsylvania, where he received his B.A. in Biblical Studies. After college, he attended Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary (now United Lutheran Seminary) and Wesley, earning his Master of Divinity. Jason was ordained an Elder in The United
“The primary reason I chose to attend Wesley was its location in Washington, D.C. Not only was the seminary in the nation’s capital, but it was also the seminary within the Baltimore-Washington Conference. However, once I became a student, other qualities greatly outweighed the prestige and convenience of location. The caliber of the faculty was outstanding in their academic rigor as well as their caring about the students. Also, the memories of the friendships that developed among fellow students are cherished to this day. Because I concentrated on the realm of the local parish throughout my 40 years of ministry, I never really considered myself being in ‘public’ service. I always hoped being a pastor contributed to the lives and efforts of those involved in public service. My wife and I are very proud of the paths our two sons, David and Jason, chose. Both are Wesley graduates, each with their own respective gifts and talents, and have already made tremendous accomplishments within the local church and, even more so, beyond the local parish where they have been so very effective in wider church ministry across various denominational lines. Each of them has already exceeded far beyond anything I was ever able to achieve.”
—Rev. David A. Shank MDV ’81
Methodist Church and served three appointments in the UMC in Crofton, Frederick, and California, Maryland. In 2016, Jason felt a strong call to the Episcopal Church and was ordained an Episcopal Priest in 2017 in the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania. During his time in the Diocesan Partnership of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York, Jason served as the planter of Resurrection Church in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, the interim Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Buffalo, New York, and on the Bishop’s staff as Canon for Congregational Vitality and Transition. Jason is currently the Director of Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop in the Metropolitan Washington, DC Synod (ELCA).
Jason and his wife Erin, an Episcopal Priest in the Diocese
of Maryland, live in Great Mills in Southern Maryland. Erin serves as Rector at Middleham and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lusby and Solomon’s Island, Maryland. They have two children, Chelsea (6) and Emma (3). Jason has a passion for church planting and redevelopment, preaching, and exploring new and creative ways to reach new people through the love of Jesus Christ.
As David C. (MDV ’11) has recently returned to Wesley as the Vice President of Development, he reflects on the many connections that his family has had to this institution. “The love I have for this place is amazing,” he says. “I believe Wesley is one of the theological schools that our world needs.” He thinks about not only his time on campus with his brother, and the time his father spent studying here
while living in Straughn Hall, but also the time he has spent here with his wife, The Reverend Carolyn E. Shank (pastor at St. Michael Lutheran Church, Perry Hall, Maryland in the Delaware-Maryland Synod, ELCA), who while studying at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, now United Lutheran, also spent time studying at Wesley.
“Wesley is a common thread in the tapestry of my family,” David C. says. “One profoundly moving moment was when my son Gabriel (8) attended his first 'Wesley Ball' this past January with current students. Three generations of my family have now found a connection here. I hope that Wesley continues to be a place where future generations of my family find their theological home.”
BISHOP ANDE EMMANUEL, SOCIETY OF JOHN WESLEY AWARD RECIPIENT RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR DR. ANN A. MICHEL
John Wesley Society Awards at 2025 Commencement
During the Seminary’s May 12 Commencement at the National Cathedral, Dr. Ann A. Michel ’00 & ’11 and Bishop Ande I. Emmanuel ’13 received the Society of John Wesley Award of Merit, presented each year to alumni who exemplify a high standard of commitment and devotion to God, the church, and Wesley Theological Seminary.
Elected as bishop of the West Africa Central Conference of The United Methodist Church in December 2024, Bishop Emmanuel is committed to facing the profound ministry issues in the Nigeria Episcopal Area.
Dr. Michel, retiring this year, devoted 20 years of service through Wesley’s Lewis Center for Church Leadership. She is widely respected as a theological educator, author, and speaker. In Washington, DC, she is known as a congregational and community leader who focuses on issues of homelessness.
We are further recognizing Dr. Michel’s service to the Lewis Center through gifts to the Lovett H. Weems, Jr. Scholarship. This fund assists young clergy to participate in Lewis Center leadership programs. Sustaining the Weems Scholarship is a fitting way of celebrating Dr. Michel’s long commitment to a career of ministry that equips church leaders to address today’s real ministry challenges in faithful and fruitful ways.
TO HONOR DR. MICHEL’S RETIREMENT, PLEASE MAKE A GIFT TO THE LOVETT H. WEEMS, JR. SCHOLARSHIP FUND. IN THE NOTES AREA, YOU ARE INVITED TO SHARE A BRIEF WORD OF THANKS FOR ANN’S STEADFAST LEADERSHIP AND FAITHFUL COMMITMENT TO THE LEWIS CENTER AT WESLEY.
Being the son of a pastor who attended Wesley Seminary, I grew up hearing my father’s stories about faculty like Dr. McClain and Dr. Birch, as well as the wonderful experience of attending a seminary that molded and shaped my dad. When it came time for me to make a decision about my own seminary education, I chose Wesley. Yes, Dad’s ties were a factor, but I also chose Wesley because of what I knew I could experience by being a part of this community: a seminary that was centered on discipleship, evangelism, and social justice ministry. I knew that not only would I be equipped for pastoral ministry, but I would also grow closer in my relationship with Jesus Christ.
I received my call as a church planter while taking an intensive church planting course in the summer of 2010 at Wesley. That class shaped my entire vocation in ministry in many ways. It was because of Wesley (in and outside of the classroom) that I learned how our faith needs to be shared with a world longing to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ—the greatest story that has the power to transform our world. I will forever be grateful for the education I received there. Wesley taught me to be a pastor, but, most importantly, it taught me to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
—Jason N. Shank MDV ’11
Sathi Clarke Endowed Scholarship Fund
“I
To give
have a passion for service. My joy as a Christian emanates from the entwined nature of service to God and service to human beings. This, I believe, is the uniqueness of the Jesus Way. Service to the Great and Almighty God cannot but be expressed apart from being of service to the least and meek among us. God’s dream of a new heaven and new earth proclaimed by Jesus Christ promises that the poor will occupy the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20) and the meek will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).”
Dr. Sathianathan “Sathi” Clarke’s own words remind us of why he has become one of our most beloved faculty members. Dr. Clarke arrived in 2002 as a visiting professor from Bengaluru, India. He was later named the Bishop Sundo Kim Professor of World Christianity.
To honor Sathi and his wife Prema’s more than 20 years of service to Wesley, one gracious donor, Mrs. Mary Gibb, contributed $50,000 to establish the Sathi and Prema Clarke Endowed Scholarship. Mary’s hope was for her gift to inspire family, friends, and former students to also give to this fund—to honor Sathi and Prema’s legacy of passionately Christian and compassionately interreligious teaching, service, and hospitality.
Wesley has collected more than $100,000 in gifts towards this fund. Our goal is to reach $200,000 by December 31. As
a permanent scholarship fund, the Clarke Scholarship will allow students who carry the same passions for interreligious teaching, service, and hospitality to study at Wesley.
Prema and Sathi’s service extended beyond the classroom. They hosted hundreds of home-cooked Indian dinners for students, faculty colleagues, missionaries, and social workers from India. They also worked closely with people experiencing homelessness through the Church of the Epiphany in D.C. Their commitment to the community over these past 20 years has changed Wesley and the world for the better.
Your commitment to this scholarship fund will help inspire others to contribute as we strive to complete this effort by December 31, 2025.
