Two YDS alumnae contributed to a recent issue of America magazine dedicated to topics about women and Catholicism. 
“My colleagues and I learned a long time ago that to do nothing is to be complicit, so we welcomed the opportunity to go to Rome to promote the role of women,” wrote Kerry Robinson ‘94 M.A.R. in an account of her meeting with pontifical leaders, “women deserve to be equally valued, to experience being equally valued and to be entrusted with leadership and decision-making responsibilities in the church.” With equal conviction, Nichole M. Flores ‘09 M.Div. called on the church to end its complicity in the exploitation of migrant women: “Rather than simply gazing upon Jesus as an object of adoration, the believer is invited to participate in Jesus’ way of seeing the social, economic and political “signs of the times,” she explained. Online in America, Oct. 28, 2013.
“As a humanist, my definition and understanding of a sacred space will undoubtedly differ from others who hail from more traditionally religious perspectives, but I, too, have had moments when I walk into a space and I just know there is something about this place.” Esther Boyd ‘13 M.A.R. in “Sacred spaces for a transient generation,” online on State of Formation, Sept. 19, 2013.
“Jesus, it appears, is a faithful follower of the Mediterranean Diet,” writes Candida Moss ‘02 M.A.R., ‘06 M.A., ‘06 M.Phil., ‘08 Ph.D. in her response to claims that low-carb diets were unbiblical, “Given his druthers he lives on a diet of wine, bread, fish, and olive oil. We never hear about him eating meat. We have to assume that he ate lamb as part of the Passover meal, but it is never explicitly mentioned. In fact, the only time he even refers to flesh eating is when he’s talking about eating himself.” Online on The Daily Beast, Oct. 15, 2013.
“I know what has to be done. I’m not intimidated by it,” said former Yale chaplain Frederick J. Streets ‘75 M.Div., “I want Dixwell to be a multicultural institution with the clout to influence change.” Streets was installed as the twenty-fifth preseident of Dixwell Avenune Congregational United Church of Christ on October 20. Online on the New Haven Register, Oct. 18, 2013.
>Read the full story about Streets.
Sang Chang ‘70 M.Div. a minister of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, and the first female Prime Minister in Korea, has been elected as one of eight presidents for the World Council of Churches.
>Read the press advisory from World Council of Churches
“That’s really rewarding, when students really discover something, when they really are using the right sources, thinking intellectually, and being challenged that way, and they can take ownership of discovery of something,” said Joseph Smith Jr. ‘65 M.Div., ‘67 S.T.M., ‘69 M.A., ‘72 M.Phil., ‘79 Ph.D. upon his retirement from Wagner College. Sarah Nehm ‘14 M.Div., a student of Smith’s, was also quoted in the article. Online on Staten Island Live, Nov.1, 2013.
Former YDS professor Kristen Leslie and Marie Fortune ‘76 M.Div. will begin training Navy chaplains in sexual assault response next year. “Chaplains have been trained so far in the legal issues surrounding sexual assault, but that’s not their primary focus,” said Leslie. Online on ReligionNews.com, Oct. 7, 2013.
“I come from a family of storytellers who believe that the purpose of life is to have experiences so that you can tell a story, ” said Shepard A. Parsons ‘84 M.Div. who was just been installed as minister of First Church of Christ Woodbridge (CT), “And now, I get to tell the greatest story over and over again.” Online on AmityObserver.com, on Oct. 22, 2013.
“We’re in the midst of a new skyscraper boom,” says Judith Dupré ‘11 M.Div., author of the recently-revised book Skyscrapers: A History of the World’s Most Extraordinary Buildings (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2013) “there is literally nowhere to go but up.” Online on Barron’s.com, Nov. 1, 2013.
“There are a lot of faith-based organizations, especially in depressed communities, that have very good ideas, but are not clear on how to implement them,” said Spencer Clayton ’05 B.A. ‘08 M.Div., who was recently earned the Eagleton Governor’s Executive Fellowship from the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, where Clayton is a Ph.D. student in public affairs. Online on Rutgers.edu, October 8, 2013.
“Of course there were fears, but they were unfounded,” writes Norma Cook Everist ‘76 M.Div., “Women did not want to take over the church or push out men. Women’s goal was inclusion and partnership, not hierarchical power.” Online on Huffington Post, Nov. 4, 2013.
“To discuss the great questions and questioners in the past tense is to suggest that the most important theological questions have already been asked and answered,” writes Alana Massey ‘12 M.A.R., “Theological inquiry has present and pressing applications in the world and we would be wise not to leave all the fun to historians and the clergy.” Online on Religious Dispatches, Nov.1, 2013.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 america_cover200.jpg | 5 KB |
