From the Dean's Desk | Events | Retirement
From the Dean's Desk
I would like to draw everyone's attention to the many interesting events that are coming up around campus. Click on the "Events" link to learn more about the Rhythm and Fire retreat, the Faculty Book Celebration, as well as the screening of the movie "Elisabeth of Berlin".
Fall reading week is over. The leaves are turning. Mid-term exams are taken or imminent. And, as strange as it seems, spring semester registration is upon us. The spring schedule has already been distributed and I know some of you are already thinking about what you will take in the spring. While that is on your mind, and, hopefully, before your mind is made up, I want to highlight some opportunities in the spring schedule that might get overlooked, but I think are worthy of your consideration. (And speaking of things worthy of your consideration, check out the new upcoming events listed below!)
CF-254-0 Developing Trends in Youth Ministry
This course will be organized in a non-traditional way around attendance at the Princeton Theological Seminary Institute for Youth Ministry, which will be held on April 27-30, 2009. This is one of the premier youth ministry events in North America held every other year and offering plenaries and workshops with some of the finest youth ministry thinkers and practitioners available. The Wesley course will be organized and led by Dori Baker who is one of the Virginia Annual Conference's most effective youth leaders and who also teaches at the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond. She will meet with those registered for the course on April 4, 2009 (from 9 am to 4 pm) for initial discussion and orientation. There will be advance readings and assignments as well as follow-up and debriefing after the Institute. This is a unique opportunity for those of you interested in youth ministry.
Preaching Practicums
We have an unusually attractive range of courses that fulfill the preaching practicum requirement. I might also remind students that you are not limited to only one preaching practicum, so don’t hesitate if you see an additional practicum you would like to take beyond the requirement.
- PW-327-0 Sermon Series
Andy Lunt, pastor of Glen Mar UMC and longtime adjunct faculty at Wesley, will give students guidance and practice in preaching sermon series. Each student will pick a focus to organize a short sermon series in the class and Dr. Lunt will help students see both the potential and challenge of this preaching format. This course will meet in a non-traditional format on seven Saturdays in the semester. - PW-339-0 The New Stained Glass
Lucy Hogan, one of our core preaching faculty members, will offer a practicum that deals with the use of technology and media in preaching. Each practice sermon will be expected to include the use of images, film, audio or computer based programs, and Dr. Hogan will be helping students learn how use these enhancements to the proclaimed word. - PW-340-0 Preaching in Context and Crisis
Amy Peed McCullough, doctoral candidate in preaching at Vanderbilt, and pastor in the Baltimore-Washington Conference, will offer a two pronged exploration of preaching in tune with one’s congregational or cultural context and preaching in times of national, congregational or personal crisis. The class will offer tools of contextual analysis as well as pastoral and prophetic strategies for addressing times of crisis. - I want also to remind you that William B. McClain’s three credit courses PW 372-Biblical Preaching and PW 373 Preaching and Worship in the Black Tradition also fulfill the practicum requirement.
WR-277-0 Introduction to Ecumenism
Ministry in our time takes place in a decidedly ecumenical context, and this course is a rare opportunity to explore and understand that context. Joe Conte is known to many of you as our educational technology Director and our conference relations Director, but he also has a Doctor of Ministry degree in Ecumenics. This course will open an entirely new world of ecumenical possibilities, and it also counts toward the Washington Theological Consortium certificate in Ecumenical Theology.
RA-113-0 Art as Worship, Worship as Art
Deborah Sokolove is the Curator of our Dadian Gallery and a talented artist in her own right. She also has a PhD in Liturgical Studies from Drew University, and some of you are getting acquainted with that side of her as she teaches the Introduction to Corporate Worship class this semester. That makes her elective in the spring especially timely as Dr. Sokolove helps guide students in bringing together the worlds of art and worship. This course represents one of the developing edges in worship today and those of you who share these interests will find this course rewarding.
BI-416-0 Old Testament Exegesis: Job
and RA-480-0 Chancel Drama Practicum
These two courses offer a rare opportunity to combine biblical study with dramatic performance. Deryl Davis will use his Chancel Drama Practicum to prepare a performance of Archibald MacLeish's Pulitzer Prize winning play J. B. for performance at Wesley. I will be teaching an exegesis seminar on the Book of Job and will be exploring the depths and facets of meaning in this important text. Some of you may want to take both of these courses, whereby performance be informed by in-depth study. The actors will be invited to participate in one of the biblical class sessions and the entire class will be reading J. B. These courses can, of course, be taken separately as well.
Some courses being offered for the first time that are worthy of consideration:
CF-141-0 Leading Formation in Congregations, Jessicah Duckworth
CF-253-0 Pop Culture and Christian Formation, Jessicah Duckworth
CM-137-0 Church Finances, Lovett Weems (This one credit course counts toward fulfillment of the new Practices of Leadership/Church Administration requirement).
CM-143-0 Congregational Discernment and Planning, Lewis Parks (This one credit course counts toward fulfillment of the new Practices of Leadership/Church Administration requirement).
RA-295-A Arts Practicum: Bookmaking, Kathy Hettinga. This course is an offering by one of Wesley's newest Artists in Residence.
RA-138-0 Music and Social Justice, Eileen Guenther
I hope you will give consideration to some of these course opportunities. Some may not be available again.
Blessings,
Bruce Birch
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Dean's Desk | 9-10-2008
I would like to extend a special welcome to the Nashville consultation for women serving as Senior Pastors of churches with over 1000 members. My congratulations on the effective work you are doing in building up the body of Christ and extending the ministries of the Church. We are all blessed by the contributions you are making, and I hope you will find ways of sharing your experience and wisdom more broadly with your clergy and lay colleagues.
While you are on the Wesley website I hope you will take the time to do a bit of exploring. I think you will find a number of areas that offer resources that could be of help to you in your ministries.
• The G. Douglas Lewis Center for Church Leadership under the direction of Dr. Lovett Weems is providing some of the most thoughtful reflection and research on leadership in the Church. As a result they are also offering some of the most helpful resources for leadership development. Check out their programs and resources and especially consider subscribing to their free Email newsletter Leading Ideas.
• Wesley offers one of the most ambitious and successful range of Doctor of Ministry programs in theological education. Directed by Dr. Lewis Parks this program is focused around cadres of experienced clergy who enter and continue through programs together organized around distinct focal areas of ministry. The format is designed to work with the busy schedule of working clergy. Check on the upcoming scheduled programs.
• The Wesley Ministry Network, developed and produced by Dr. Craig Hill, offers a library of high quality adult education courses for use in local congregations. These offerings are drawing high praise from those who have used them and make available some of our most distinguished teachers to local congregations. See the section on this website for a preview of these offerings.
• Please return to our website through the year for notices of special events, summer continuing education courses, and new resources for ministry.
Thanks to you all for your commitment to effective ministry. Please let us know if Wesley can serve to support that ministry in any way.
Bruce C. Birch
Dean and Professor of Biblical Theology
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Dean's Desk | 8-29-2008
This will be a year occupied with a lot of energy given to searches for new faculty. We will be conducting searches for:
- A faculty position in Worship
- A faculty position in Evangelism
- A Director of the Practice of Ministry and Mission program
- A Director of the Luce Center for Religion and the Arts
Faculty search committees have been named for each of these. Each of these search committees will have two student members and a larger group of student consultants who will meet with those candidates who come to campus for interviews. If any students are interested in participating in the process please see below.
The faculty position in Worship is open due to the retirement of Larry Stookey last year. Scott Kisker is transitioning this year to take our position in History of Christianity and Wesleyan Studies. This leaves us with the need to search for a new faculty member in Evangelism. Youtha Hardman-Cromwell is on sabbatical leave from her responsibilities with PMM, but when she returns she will be our new Assistant Dean for the Mt. Vernon Place campus and its programs. Catherine Kapikian will be retiring at the end of December this year. A day of celebration for her contributions to Wesley is scheduled for October 28. Look for more details later.
In addition to these positions I am sorry to announce that Susan Willhauck has taken a new position as Professor of Practical Theology at Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This appointment will be effective January 1, 2009. We have not yet made a decision on whether conduct an additional search this year for that position. We certainly wish Susan Willhauck well in this new position; she will be missed.
We have also hired a new Faculty member in New Testament. Her name is Carla Works and she is completing her dissertation this year at Princeton Theological Seminary. If her work goes well she may teach a course here in the spring but will definitely join us full time next fall.
I will regularly try to share items that you will find of interest in the days ahead. Let me know if these are areas you would like me to address. In the meantime, I hope everyone gets off to a great start on the semester.
Blessings,
Bruce C. Birch, Dean
Events sponsored by the Dean's Office
Great student opportunity: the RHYTHM AND FIRE RETREAT!
Reservations are being accepted until Monday, November 3, so don't delay!
Please contact Donna Bryant at dbryant@GBOD.org or 877-899-2781 ext. 7233.
Date: Saturday, November 8, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Location: Elderdice
Fee: $25, includes lunch
Who should attend this retreat?
Anyone wishing to go deeper in the faith journey
Anyone longing for a time of silence and reflection
Anyone who plans to lead a group using Rhythm and Fire
Co-editors of the book, Jerry Haas, Director of the Academy for Spiritual Formation, Upper Room Ministries, and Cynthia Langston Kirk, Piecing Stories (a ministry of exploring and expressing the Sacred) will lead the retreat.
Wesley hosts a movie screening! On November 11, Wesley Theological Seminary will host the screening of a new documentary on Dr. Elisabeth Schmitz, a German educator who was an active resister of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist program. The screening of "Elisabeth of Berlin" will take place in the Elderdice Room of the Kresge Building, from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. A panel discussion will follow the showing of the hour-long documentary. The timing of this event has been set to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
What do hospitality, play, and the future of church leadership have in common? They are important issues that our very own faculty members have written about! Come celebrate their work at a Faculty Book Celebration (and signing!) Thursday, November 6, from 4:30-6:30 in Elderdice Hall. Rumor has it that Amy Oden, Michael Koppel, Lovett Weems and Ann Michel will actually be there in the flesh. Hors d'Oeuvres and drinks will be provided. Please RSVP to Amy Serridge at aserridge@wesleyseminary.edu
Want to help shap the future of PMM? Then we need you! As I have announced before, we are currently looking to hire several new faculty members this year. Wesley is committed to having student input in each of these searches, so we are forming student advisory panels to meet with candidates and provide feedback on the various candidates. We are scheduling PMM candidates for on-campus interviews soon, so get involved now! If you are interested in serving on this, or any, student advisory panel please contact Eleanor Gease in the Dean's Office: egease@wesleyseminary.edu, 202-885-8611. Participation in the student advisory panels is restricted to degree-seeking students who have attended Wesley for more than 1 semester.
