windows spring 2016

In this Issue

Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary spring2016

Student fellowships | 5 The Belhar Confession | 8 Alumni awards | 22

Confession

BelharThe

Preparingstrong,imaginativeleadersforthechurch.

Substance.

Service.Scripture.

100East27thSt.|Austin,TX78705|512-404-4827|AustinSeminary.edu

PresidentTheodore J. Wardlaw

Board of TrusteesG. Archer Frierson II, Chair

James AllisonWhitney BodmanJanice Bryant (MDiv’01, DMin’11)Claudia D. CarrollElizabeth ChristianJoseph J. CliffordKatherine B. Cummings (MDiv’05)Thomas Christian CurrieConsuelo Donahue (MDiv’96)Jackson Farrow Jr.Beth Blanton Flowers, MDJesús Juan González (MDiv’92)John HartmanAnn Herlin (MDiv’01)Rhashell D. HunterSteve LeBlancJames H. Lee (MDiv’00)Sue B. McCoyMatthew Miller (MDiv’03)Lyndon L. Olson Jr.B. W. PayneDavid PeeplesJeffrey Kyle RichardConrad RochaLana RussellLita SimpsonAnne Vickery StevensonMartha Crawley TraceyKarl Brian TravisCarlton Wilde Jr.Elizabeth Currie WilliamsMichael G. Wright

Trustees EmeritiStephen A. MatthewsMax ShermanLouis Zbinden

ASA BoardKristy Vits (MDiv’98), PresidentMatt Miles (MDiv’99),

Vice PresidentBarrett Abernethy (MDiv’13),

SecretaryDieter Heinzl (MDiv’98),

Past PresidentTimothy Blodgett (MDiv’07)Tony Chambless (MDiv’07)Sandra Kern (MDiv’93)Denise Odom (MDiv’99)Andrew Parnell (MDiv’05)Stephen Plunkett (MDiv’80)Valerie Sansing (MDiv’00)Sheila Sidberry-Thomas (MDiv’14)Michael Ulasewich (MDiv’05)

features

The Belhar Confession8 Confession of Belhar

10 Belhar’s potential contribution to our confessional conversation

By Quinn Fox

12 Belhar as public theology of justice By Nico Koopman

15 Reflections on Belhar’s inclusion in The Book of Confessions

By David Johnson

17 Belhar and the unity of the church By Margaret Aymer

& departments

2 seminary & church

3 twenty-seventh & speedway

20 faculty news & notes

22 alumni news & notes

spring2016 Volume 131 | Number 2

ISSN 2056-0556; Non-profit bulk mail permit no. 2473

Cover: The Belhar Confession, written in South Africa during the time of apartheid, will soon be added to The Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

AUSTIN

SEMINARY

PRESBYTERIANTHEOLOGICAL

AUSTIN PRESBYTERIANTHEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Windows is published three times each year by Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Austin Seminary WindowsAustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary100 E. 27th St.Austin, TX 78705-5711

phone: 512-404-4808 e-mail: [email protected]: 512-479-0738AustinSeminary.edu

EditorRandal Whittington

ContributorsLemuel García-Arroyo

Jacqueline HefleyClaire MathiasGary Mathews

Alison RiemersmaSharon Sandberg

Adam SweeneyDaniel Williams

3

8

2 | Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

seminary church

President’s Schedule

April 17 – Preach, First Presbyterian Church, Big Spring, Texas

April 19 – Evening with the President, Austin

June 12 – Preach, Shepherd of the Hills, Austin

June 19-25— PC(USA) General Assembly, Portland, Oregon

July 24—Preach and Teach, Episcopal Church of the Incarnation, Highlands, North Carolina

September 22 – Evening with the President, Houston

October 6 – Preach, Grace Presbytery Stated Meeting, Kilgore, Texas

October 13 – Partner Luncheon, Fort Worth, Texas

fromthepresident|

In this issue of Windows, we are gifted by four informative and inspiring essays re-flecting upon the newest addition to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Book of Con-fessions. The Book of Confessions, a part of the Constitution of our communion, is

a collection of eleven—and now, with this newest addition, twelve—creeds and cate-chisms and statements that define and interpret our theology. These various statements are like signposts which stake out the route this particular tradition has traversed from the earliest moments of the Christian church until this moment in the second decade of the church’s 21st century. At critical junctures across this journey, it is as if we have stopped on this route to behold some particular crisis or opportunity and to thus ask the question, What now should we say and do as people of faith? Not too many years ago, some Reformed Christians in South Africa met in a suburb of Cape Town named Belhar. They were persuaded that they were at such a moment of crisis and opportunity as they reflected on the particular way in which racism had been institutionalized by the unspeakable sin of apartheid. And so they deliberated and read scripture and prayed and wrote. The result of all that was what we now know as the Bel-har Confession. And, because the matter of racism is not just a South African problem but an intensely national—indeed global—problem, our church has adopted Belhar and has thus added to our theological standards the first confession to originate not from ancient Christian history or Western Europe or America, but from the Global South. What follows are offerings from members and friends of the Austin Seminary com-munity. Niko Koopman, from Stellenbosch University near Cape Town, has taught here from time to time and is one of our ongoing conversation partners in that magnificent school and seminary with whom we share an official international partnership. Quinn Fox, a pastor at National Presbyterian Church in Washington—one of the most vis-ible leadership congregations in the country—is a former member of the Seminary’s staff and a thoughtful Reformed theologian. New Testament Professor Margaret Aymer and Church Historian David Johnson are vital and beloved members of our faculty who contribute their characteristic wisdom and passion to this topic. Moreover, the Belhar Confession itself makes a welcome debut in the pages to come. I encourage you to dwell deeply with each of these pieces. Two additional faculty members—Phil Wingeier-Rayo and Carolyn Browning Helsel—offer timely reflections. Phil reviews Daniel Carroll’s new book on the immigration crisis, and Carolyn articulates her deep interest in the challenge of preaching and teaching about race. There is more ahead, too—the latest news from this place, and various pieces of evidence regarding its impact in the world beyond. One last word: when you are next here, please look for the latest memorial on our campus which was dedicated in February. It is a quiet place for prayer and meditation, just off the west transcept of Shelton Chapel, that lifts up the memory of Ms. Ethel Lance. Ms. Lance was a lifelong Christian and a devoted member of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, who, along with eight others, was martyred by a racist gunman last summer in a mass shooting while she worshipped at a Wednes-day night prayer meeting. Her daughter, the Reverend Sharon Risher (MDiv’06), is one of our dear alums. Find this space on campus, and rest and pray.

Faithfully yours, Theodore J. Wardlaw President

Spring 2016 | 3

twenty-seventh speedway

Humanandcivilrightsawardtohonorthememoryof“MotherEmanuelNine”martyr

The news that nine people had been murdered in a racist attack at Emanuel African Methodist

Episcopal Church on June 17 in Charleston, South Carolina, was felt deeply in communities around the country. At Austin Seminary, the grief and horror brought on by the killings became particularly acute when the Seminary community learned that one of its own, alumna Sharon Risher (MDiv’07), had lost two cousins, a childhood friend, and her mother, Ethel W. Lance, in the attack. Risher served as a trauma chaplain at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas (2012-16). Since her mother’s murder, she has become an activist and national spokes-person with the grassroots anti-gun violence group Everytown for Gun Safety. She has testified before the Oregon leg-islature and met with President Obama, and she has been interviewed by Time Magazine, CNN, and Texas Monthly. Throughout this journey, Sharon has been upheld by her Austin Seminary fam-ily. “During that time, I faced many dark days,” says Risher. “I didn’t know what to do, except listen to God’s voice sending me out, even on a broken ankle! My dear friends at Austin Seminary were there for me. With prayers, Facebook postings, phone calls, cards, and even Dr. Wardlaw traveled to Dallas to visit me. Such love then and now is embedded in my heart with much gratitude.” In a tangible show of support, her classmate Bill Cotman (MDiv ’06), pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Cuero, Texas, encouraged his congregation to establish the Ethel W. Lance Human and Civil Rights Award at Austin Seminary. The award will be given annually to a graduat-ing senior who, during her or his time at Austin Seminary, demonstrates outstand-

ing contributions in these areas. Lance, 70, was a faithful member and long-time sexton at Emanuel AME, one of the nation’s most prom-inent black churches and an impor-tant site in the ongoing history of civil rights activism. She also worked for nearly thirty-five years at Gaillard Municipal Auditorium. According to fam-ily and friends, one of the joys in Lance’s life was gospel music, and she loved to get dressed up and take her family to hear performances at the auditorium. Risher was guest preacher at Austin Seminary’s Martin Luther King Jr. Com-memorative Worship Service on February 16, 2016. Following the service those gathered moved to the circle west of the Chapel where a plaque had been placed to honor the sacrifice of Ethel Lance and the “Mother Emanuel Nine.” “The Seminary is proud to set apart for holy use the Ethel Lance Memorial Circle,” says President Wardlaw. “Her name will join so many others remem-bered reverently on various apartments, classrooms, and so many public spaces. All of these names take part in telling the story of generations of faithful people who served our Lord and his church, and who now cheer present and future stu-dents on from the heights of Heaven.” v

Friends and family were on hand to support Alumna Sharon Risher (MDiv’07), above left, the 2016 Martin Luther King Jr Commemorative Preacher, February 16. Above right: Callie Candee (MDiv’06), Sharon’s sister, Esther, Callie’s son, James Mac Candee, and Hannah Hooks (MDiv’05). Below: Bill Cotman (MDiv’06) gives Sharon a hug after the ceremony.



Faculty,stafflendexpertisetoprofessionalorganizations

In addition to their work priorities, some members of the Austin

Seminary community have assumed leadership roles in their professional organizations. The Reverend Dr. Timothy D. Lincoln, associate dean for seminary effectiveness and director of the Stitt Library, is the vice president of the Board of Directors for the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). His one-year term runs through June 2016 though his service on the board runs from 2012 – 2018. Established in 1946, ATLA is a professional association of more than 800 individuals and institutions who provide programs, products, and services for theological and religious studies libraries and librarians. The Reverend Dr. Jennifer L. Lord, The Dorothy B. Vickery Professor of Homiletics and Liturgical Studies, was elected vice president of The North American Academy of Liturgy (NAAL) by the membership at the annual meeting this January. NAAL is an ecumenical and inter-religious association of nearly 400 liturgical scholars who collaborate in research concerning public worship. Members of the Academy exchange information within a wide spectrum of liturgical research with representation from diverse Christian churches and Jewish denominations. In her new role, Lord will join the Academy Committee, present her Vice Presidential Address at the 2017 meeting in Washington, DC, and serve as president for the 2018 meeting in Vancouver. Ms. Kristy Sorensen, associate director of Stitt Library and head of archives and records management,

has been appointed to the Texas State Historical Records Advisory Board. Her three-year term began on February 1, 2016. The nine-member board serves as the central advisory body for historical records planning and projects funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) that are developed and implemented in the state. In addition, the board works

with the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to develop, revise, and submit state priorities to the NHPRC for historical records projects. According to State Librarian Mark Smith, “The board plays a vital role in promoting efforts aimed at improving the preservation of and access to the state’s documentary heritage.” Among other initiatives, the Ministers Facing Money (MFM) program at Austin Seminary annually invites a small community (cohort) of students to experience

transformation as it pertains to money. Led by the program’s director, the Reverend Carrie Graham, they spend the year reflecting on money from a variety of angles to develop pastoral leadership skills for money-related issues. Students learn personal money management but also grow in capacities for pastoral care and leading a group in money talk and behavior. In its first three years, according to Graham, students have experienced spiritual and behavioral transformation during the process. Graham was invited to give presentations about the program at two national forums this spring. The first, Economic Challenges Facing Future Ministers Forum, held in Pittsburgh, March 1-3, invited recipients of the Lilly Foundation’s Economic Challenges Facing Future Ministers grant (the funding which brought MFM into being) to learn from each other. Graham presented a breakout session, “Heart, Soul, Mind, and Money,” in which she showcased the uniquely intensive, transformative approach MFM takes with our cohort program. At the second presentation, the Student Personnel Administrators’ Conference in Phoenix, April 13-15, Graham gave a workshop called “Ministers Facing Money: A Holistic Approach.” She says, “Pastors face a multitude of money-related issues. They must be prepared to live a financially modest lifestyle while also, typically, managing seminary debt repayment. I hope to show how our community-focused, intensive year reflecting on money empowers future ministers spiritually, personally, and professionally.” v

Carrie Graham, Timothy Lincoln, and Kristy Sorensen took a break in their busy sched-ules; Jen Lord just kept working …

Spring 2016 | 5

Seniors receive fellowships in support of ministry potentialAt the finale of the Austin Seminary Association Banquet on February 3, five Master of Divinity students received fellowships, elected by the faculty to acknowledge their academic excellence and promise for ministry. Read about our newest scholars on these pages.

ChristineWagner|Hays,KansasDavidL.StittFellowship|$18,000prize Christine Wagner is a member of First Presbyterian Church of Hays, Kansas. She holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Montana and a master of science in psychology from Fort Hays State University. Before coming to seminary, Wagner worked as a teacher, counselor, and a sheep rancher. Christine is a Crawley Fellow and is pursing ordination in the PC(USA).

KellyShoenfelt|Austin,TexasPile-MorganFellowship|$8,000prize

Kelly Shoenfelt is a member of Bethany United Methodist Church in Austin. Shoenfelt holds a bachelor of business administration from The University of Texas at Austin. Before coming to seminary, she worked for Southwest Airlines and is passionate about the lessons she learned in its caring corporate culture. A natural and enthusiastic leader and speaker, Kelly has served as a student senator and on the Admissions Commission. She has also been a fierce competitor and coach of the Polity Bowl. She is pursuing ordination in the United Methodist Church.

“IntwentyyearsofteachingIhavenotknownanystudentwhobetterexemplifieswhatitmeanstobeamemberoftheAustinSeminarycommunity.Christineisalearnerwhotakesadvantagenotonlyoftheclassroom,butofeveryopportunitytoengageinformation…Sheisunafraidtohavejoy,unafraidtoquestion,unafraidtocompliment,unafraidtoreceiveandbeshapedbycriticism.Sheismyteacherinthewaysoffaith,andIlookforwardtocontinuingthejourneytogetherascolleaguesinministry.”

–Professor Cynthia Rigby

“Kellyisthekindofstudentwhoengageseverytopicwithacutecuriosityandattention.Notonlydoesshemastertheideasthatconstituteeachsubject;sheoftenemploysthoseideasasaspringboardtoimaginebeyondthechurch’scurrentpraxis.SheispreciselythekindofleaderthechurchneedsaswefindourwayforwardintheSpirit.”

–Professor David White



KathyLee-Cornell|NewOrleans,LouisianaJanieMaxwellMorrisFellowship|$5,000prize

Kathy Lee-Cornell is a member of the Chinese Presbyterian Church in Kenner, Louisiana. She holds a bachelor of arts from Pepperdine University. Before coming to seminary, she worked in advertising, taught English in China, and was a Young Adult Volunteer site coordinator in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Lee-Cornell is a Jean Brown Fellow and is completing the dual-degree program with The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. She is married to Austin Seminary alum Alex Lee-Cornell (MDiv’14) and is pursuing ordination in the PC(USA).

MatthewAldas|Dallas,TexasAlsup-FriersonFellowshipforExcellenceinBiblicalExegesisandHermeneutics|$3,500prize

Matthew Aldas is a member of New Covenant Fellowship in Austin, Texas. He holds a bachelor of arts in biblical studies from Criswell College. Before coming to seminary, he worked as a banker. Aldas has been active in the worship life of Austin Seminary, serving as a chapel beadle. He is currently the student leader of the Hispanic Student Association and has been the coordinator of the Polity Bowl and the student kickball team. He is pursuing ordination in the PC(USA).

“Duringhisinternship,IhadanopportunitytoseeMatthewdemonstratehisloveforthebiblicallanguage,exegeticalprocess,andtheology.OurcallwastohelpMatthewbecomemorecomfortabledeterminingthehermeneuticalbridge,whichhelpspastorsandtheologiansmovefromresearchtorelevance.Matthewisahard-workingandinquisitivetheologian,whopursuestheintegrityofthebiblicaltextandthecareofhiswonderfulfamily.”

–The Reverend James Lee (MDiv’00)Pastoral supervisor at New Covenant Fellowship, Austin

“KathyLeeisanabsolutedelightandarealleaderamongherpeers.ShehasbeenanintegralpartoftheSchoolofSocialWorkbyworkingwithfacultyandstaffasaTAfortheassociatedean.Kathyisalsoatremendousrepresentativefrombothschoolsasastudentinterninthecommunity.Ithasbeenaprivilegeandjoytoworkwithherduringhertimeasadual-degreestudent!Icannotthinkofamoredeservingstudentforthisfellowship!”

–Marian Mahaffey, Graduate Program CoordinatorThe University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work

Spring 2016 | 7

KrisBrown|Austin,TexasW.P.NewellMemorialFellowship|$3,000prize

Kris Brown is a member of Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin. She holds a bachelor of arts from Trinity University in San Antonio and a master of arts and the PhD from Rice University. Before attending seminary, Brown taught English at the university level, was a published author, and was CEO of Community Clinical Research, an organization serving people experiencing serious mental illness. She is a Jean Brown Scholar and is pursuing ordination in the PC(USA).

“KrisBrownisastunningreaderoftexts.Insomeways,thatisallIwanttosayaboutherforIdonotwanttodistractfrommycorereactiontoherwork.Tolistentoherrichresponsestobiblicaltextsisadelight,aneducation,aninvitationtoanewwayofhearingthetext.SheplayswithGreeketymology;sheridestheliteralandmetaphoricalrangeofwordsandsentences;shedetailsandreconstructstheargumentativelogicofthetext;she…well,sheisastunningreaderoftexts.ShewroteofamazinganalysisofmetaphorinthebookofActsthatwearepublishingintheSeminary’sacademicjournal,Horizons in Biblical Theology.Finally,Imustadd,KrisBrownisakindandgraciousperson.”

–Professor Lewis Donelson

WebXtra: OnMarch4-5theCertificateinMinistrycohortmetontheAustinSeminary

campus.Tolearnmoreaboutthis(mostly)onlineprogram,visit:AustinSeminary.edu/CIM{

{AustinSeminarywelcomedUnitedMethodistBishopJoélMartínezalongwithhisRioTexasConferenceCabinetandBoardofOrdainedMinistrytocampus,March8.

Jan-termtripsareagreatopportunityforcrossculturalexperiences.ThisyearAustinSeminarystudentswenttoTurkeywithProfessorLewisDonelson(left:JanineZabriskieandhermother,Anne)andtothe“SharingOurFaithTraditionsRetreat”nearLakeTexoma(right:BriannaBenzinger,JimDeMent,andShelleyWalters).

Photo by Janet Hahn

Photo by Brianna Benzinger

{


Confession of Belhar

1. We believe in the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who gathers, protects, and cares for the church

through Word and Spirit. This, God has done since the beginning of the world and will do to the end.

2. We believe in one holy, universal Christian church, the communion of saints called from the entire human

family.

We believe• that Christ’s work of reconciliation is made manifest in the church as the community of believers who have been

reconciled with God and with one another;

• that unity is, therefore, both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ; that through the working of God’s Spirit it is a binding force, yet simultaneously a reality which must be earnestly pursued and sought: one which the people of God must continually be built up to attain;

• that this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity, and hatred between people and groups is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly that anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted;

• that this unity of the people of God must be manifested and be active in a variety of ways: in that we love one another; that we experience, practice, and pursue community with one another; that we are obligated to give our-selves willingly and joyfully to be of benefit and blessing to one another; that we share one faith, have one calling, are of one soul and one mind; have one God and Father, are filled with one Spirit, are baptized with one baptism, eat of one bread and drink of one cup, confess one name, are obedient to one Lord, work for one cause, and share one hope; together come to know the height and the breadth and the depth of the love of Christ; together are built up to the stature of Christ, to the new humanity; together know and bear one another’s burdens, thereby fulfilling the law of Christ that we need one another and upbuild one another, admonishing and comforting one another; that we suffer with one another for the sake of righteousness; pray together; together serve God in this world; and together fight against all which may threaten or hinder this unity;

• that this unity can be established only in freedom and not under constraint; that the variety of spiritual gifts, op-portunities, backgrounds, convictions, as well as the various languages and cultures, are by virtue of the reconcili-ation in Christ, opportunities for mutual service and enrichment within the one visible people of God;

• that true faith in Jesus Christ is the only condition for membership of this church.

Therefore, we reject any doctrine• which absolutizes either natural diversity or the sinful separation of people in such a way that this absolutization

hinders or breaks the visible and active unity of the church, or even leads to the establishment of a separate church formation;

• which professes that this spiritual unity is truly being maintained in the bond of peace while believers of the same confession are in effect alienated from one another for the sake of diversity and in despair of reconciliation;

• which denies that a refusal earnestly to pursue this visible unity as a priceless gift is sin;

• which explicitly or implicitly maintains that descent or any other human or social factor should be a consideration in determining membership of the church.

3. We believe• that God has entrusted the church with the message of reconciliation in and through Jesus Christ; that the church

is called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, that the church is called blessed because it is a

Spring 2016 | 9

peacemaker, that the church is witness both by word and by deed to the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells.

• that God’s lifegiving Word and Spirit has conquered the powers of sin and death, and therefore also of irreconcili-ation and hatred, bitterness and enmity, that God’s lifegiving Word and Spirit will enable the church to live in a new obedience which can open new possibilities of life for society and the world;

• that the credibility of this message is seriously affected and its beneficial work obstructed when it is proclaimed in a land which professes to be Christian, but in which the enforced separation of people on a racial basis promotes and perpetuates alienation, hatred, and enmity;

• that any teaching which attempts to legitimate such forced separation by appeal to the gospel, and is not prepared to venture on the road of obedience and reconciliation, but rather, out of prejudice, fear, selfishness, and unbelief, denies in advance the reconciling power of the gospel, must be considered ideology and false doctrine.

Therefore, we reject any doctrine• which, in such a situation, sanctions in the name of the gospel or of the will of God the forced separation of people

on the grounds of race and color and thereby in advance obstructs and weakens the ministry and experience of reconciliation in Christ.

4. We believe• that God has revealed himself as the one who wishes to bring about justice and true peace among people;

• that God, in a world full of injustice and enmity, is in a special way the God of the destitute, the poor, and the wronged;

• that God calls the church to follow him in this; for God brings justice to the oppressed and gives bread to the hun-gry;

• that God frees the prisoner and restores sight to the blind;

• that God supports the downtrodden, protects the stranger, helps orphans and widows, and blocks the path of the ungodly;

• that for God pure and undefiled religion is to visit the orphans and the widows in their suffering;

• that God wishes to teach the church to do what is good and to seek the right;

• that the church must therefore stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which implies, among other things, that the church must witness against and strive against any form of injustice, so that justice may roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream;

• that the church as the possession of God must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged; that in following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others.

Therefore, we reject any ideology• which would legitimate forms of injustice and any doctrine which is unwilling to resist such an ideology in the

name of the gospel.

5. We believe that, in obedience to Jesus Christ, its only head, the church is called to confess and to do all these things, even though the authorities and human laws might forbid them and punishment and suffering be the consequence.

Jesus is Lord.To the one and only God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be the honor and the gloryfor ever and ever.

Note: This is a translation of the original Afrikaans text of the confession as it was adopted by the synod of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa in 1986. This inclusive language text was prepared by the Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

thebelharconfession


According to our Book of Or-der, our Book of Confessions contains eleven theological statements that declare, to ourselves and to the world, who and what we are, what

we believe, and what we resolve to do as a de-nomination (Book of Order, F-2.01). By vote of two General Assemblies and a super-majority of our presbyteries last year, the Confession of Belhar is poised to take its place alongside two creeds, four confessions, three catechisms, one decla-ration, and a “brief statement”—from the early church (2), Reformation (3), Early Modern (3) and Modern (3) eras. Why so many? Because we are con-vinced that the timeless truth of the Gos-pel is expressed more faithfully when a variety of expressions inform us. We are better served by having several “theological conversation partners” form and inform our identity, than for our guidance to come from subscription to a single statement. And so our confessional documents “appeal to the universal truth of the Gospel while expressing that truth within the social and cultural assumptions of their time. They af-firm a common faith tradition, while also from time to time standing in tension with each other” (F-2.01). Why another one? Just as we saw the need in the 1960s to speak amidst the turbulence of the civil rights era with the “Confession of 1967,” by adopting the Con-

Belhar’spotentialcontributiontoourconfessionalconversationby Quinn Fox

Quinn Fox serves as associate pastor for discipleship and Christian formation at The National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. He was moderator of the 2014 General Assembly Committee on Theological Issues. Prior to his current position he was an associate for theology in the Office of Theology and Worship; in this role he served as resource coordinator for the committee that considered the Confession of Belhar in 2008 and 2010. Fox served Austin Seminary as director of vocation and admissions from 1997 to 2000. Photo, left, by Karen Elliott Greisdorf Photography

Spring 2016 | 11

fession of Belhar it was the hope of two General Assem-blies and the 221st Assembly’s Special Committee to revi-talize the theological conversation in the PC(USA), and in the process to declare our identity more faithfully, both to the world and to ourselves. The important role of this new voice in our denomi-nation’s confessional conversation is succinctly stated in the opening paragraph of the Accompanying Letter from the Special Committee that recommended the inclusion of Belhar:

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is again facing a critical time in its history. We are rent apart by division and schism; we have yet to confront directly and confess the racism that has been a significant force in our own history; and we have shown a failure of resolve to make courageous stands for justice. We believe that the Confes-sion of Belhar, a profound statement on unity, rec-onciliation, and justice in the church, comes to us as a word from God for this particular time and place for the PC(USA).

Even as we have voted for unity, reconciliation, and jus-tice with Belhar, we remain seriously divided. Hundreds of congregations have depart-ed for other Reformed bodies and more are planning to leave. Scores of overtures seeking justice have been de-bated and voted on by General Assemblies and presbyter-ies for the past several decades; many of them have been decided by narrow percentage margins. Our pursuit of justice has polarized and divided. Looking at our denomination’s reflection in the mir-ror of Belhar, it would appear that we have lost a sense of who we are and what we believe, because, when it comes to resolving what we will do, we are prone to take sides and align in partisan camps rather than strive primarily for unity. Our goal is to win a majority vote (even by the slimmest of margins), rather than the kind of unity and reconciliation that result in justice. We are not going to vote our way out of the crisis identified by the Special Committee. The way forward de-mands theological guidance. This is the very purpose of our Book of Confessions, yet we have lost the practice of Reformed theological conversation. Indeed, even though our teaching and ruling elders promise and affirm to abide

by the essential tenets of our creeds, catechisms, and con-fessions, in reality most of us pay scant attention to them, and we would be hard-pressed even to name them all. Belhar can help us to retrieve this foundational ethos. We have a treasure trove of great Reformed theology in our Book of Confessions. But it is increasingly a buried treasure. What we need at this “critical time in our his-tory” is to rediscover our Reformed theological identity. Belhar can point the way. In addressing the theological implications of the bit-ter fruit of the divisive sin of Apartheid South Africa, Belhar makes a single point: the church is called to unity through the reconciling work of Jesus Christ. And there is a concomitant secondary concern that follows directly: the church’s failure at unity results, inevitably, in injus-tice. The evil of apartheid can only be understood as the re-

sult of a deep flaw in human nature, a wound that God alone can heal. Only a robust understanding of atonement is adequate to account for the kind of profound recon-ciliation and unity called for in the Confession of Belhar. A reconciliation powerful enough to overcome the deep racial divisions of Apartheid South Africa; a reconciliation

powerful enough to heal the racial divisions that persist in our own country, in spite of a 19th-century war and a 20th-century movement for civil rights. Belhar affirms that such pernicious, deep-seated, and long-standing ra-cial divisions are only overcome by a robust understand-ing of the atoning, reconciling work of Jesus Christ who is at once a true and righteous human being, and, at the same time, true God. Furthermore Belhar calls for nothing less than a vis-ible unity: this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity, and hatred between people and groups is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly … anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted. At the heart of Belhar lies a vision for the unity of the church, rooted in the theological doctrine of recon-ciliation in Jesus Christ, an ecclesial reconciliation that results in unity and justice. If our church is not united, it

thebelharconfession

Itwouldappearthatwehavelosta

senseofwhoweareandwhatwe

believe,because,whenitcomesto

resolvingwhatwewilldo,weareprone

totakesidesandaligninpartisancamps

ratherthanstriveprimarilyforunity.

Continued on page 16


he Confession of Belhar was a God-given event of consolation and comfort; of redemption and liberation; and of hope and healing set against the context of personal and structural violence; of racial prejudice, apartheid, and apart-heid theology; of separation and discrimination; of exclusion, alienation, and enmity; of injustice, humiliation, and dehumanization; and of threatened and challenged faith. This was, in fact, a context where these evils received theo-logical legitimation in some pro-apartheid church circles. The faith that is articulated in the Confession of Belhar 1986 is a protest-ing faith, a faith that testifies and bears witness to God and to the reality God desires and brings, a reality that is in contradiction to the apartheid reality.

Belharaspublictheologyofjustice

Nico Koopman is professor of systematic theology and public theology and deputy vice chancellor for social impact, transformation, and personnel at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. As part of the global partnership between the two institutions, Professor Koopman has served as a visiting professor at Austin Seminary.

By Nico Koopman TContinued on page 13 after “Threads”

Spring 2016 | 13

In the apartheid context, which proclaimed that the powers of the apartheid regime reign supreme and that we should pay allegiance to them, the faith expressed in Belhar protests: Jesus is Lord. To him we show loyalty and obedience. In a context where people were dehumanized such that they had begun to doubt whether God is still alive, whether God is present in their midst and involved in their lives, the faith of Belhar declares that the triune God is real, alive, and present and that he calls, gathers, and cares for his church. And in three articles (numbers 2-4 on page 8-9), the faith confesses that separating, dividing, and alienating the diversity of the people in South African churches and society is not God’s solution for South Africa, because God is the God who brings unity amongst his diversity of people (cf. article 2 of Belhar). In a context where the cherished conviction that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ reconciles people across all boundaries was in jeopardy, the faith of Belhar protests: God is the God who reconciles humans with himself, with each other, and with the rest of creation (cf. article 3 of Belhar). And in a context of injustice which wanted people to doubt whether they are fully hu-man and whether they are fully children of God, the faith of Belhar claims that God is the God of justice who identifies in a special way with the suffering, the poor, and the wronged (cf. article 4 of Belhar). The public theology of Belhar opposes the ideol-ogy of racism and apartheid that had advanced division and separation, enmity and alienation, injustice and op-pression. This confession is not limited to the apartheid period, but it witnesses in all contexts where these evils exist, albeit it in new and more subtle forms as in con-temporary South Africa.

Against nationalist ideologies of divisionThe public theology of Belhar opposes the ideology of di-vision, separation, and discrimination. Dirkie Smit, one of the authors of Belhar, pleaded for an understanding of unity as unity in proximity. Continued disunity implies the separation of people of different socio-economic groups with different levels of privilege, training, skills, and participation and influence in society. Disunity con-

stitutes the perpetuation of classism and the refusal to be involved with less privileged brothers and sisters. Smit reckons that these socio-economic factors were the main cause of the original church divisions; theological reasons for separate churches were only offered at a later stage. Disunity impoverishes Christians. “Christians are denied the opportunity to get to know each other and to love and serve each other,” said Smit. “Consequently it becomes more difficult—and mostly almost impossible—to know and to carry each other’s burdens.” Unity in proximity enables Christians to develop sympathy, empathy, and interpathy. David Augsberger, in Pastoral Counseling Across Culture (Westminster Press, 1989), provides a helpful definition of sympathy, em-pathy, and interpathy: “Sympathy is a spontaneous af-fective reaction to another’s feelings experienced on the basis of perceived similarity between observer and ob-served. Empathy is an intentional affective response to another’s feelings experienced on the basis of perceived differences between the observer and observed. Inter-pathy is an intentional cognitive and affective envision-ing of another’s thoughts and feelings from another cul-ture, worldview, and epistemology.”

The quest for structural church unity and proxim-ity is indeed important in order to achieve the three-fold pathos of interpathy, empathy, and sympathy. Structural unity, however, is not enough. Even within unified structures we need to create spaces where this threefold pathos is devel-

oped amongst people from a diversity of backgrounds and amongst people who were estranged from each other.

Against nationalist ideologies of irreconcilabilityThe reconciliation that is confessed in Belhar reflects the two dimensions of reconciliation in Paulinic thought. Reconciliation as hilasmos has to do with the expiation of wrongs and stumbling blocks to atonement (at-one-ment). Reconciliation as katallasso refers to harmony in the relationship with the other. The reconciliation of Bel-har has in mind the embrace that Miroslav Volf (Exclusion & Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation, Abingdon, 1996) refers to: the embrace of different races, tribes, nationalities, socio-economic

ThepublictheologyofBelharopposestheideologyofracismandapartheidthathadadvanceddivisionandseparation,enmityandalienation,injusticeandoppression.

Thisconfessionisnotlimitedtotheapartheidperiod,butitwitnessesinall

contextswheretheseevilsexist.

thebelharconfession


groups, genders, sexual orientations, age groups, “nor-mal” and disabled people. The reconciliation of Belhar pleads to remove stumbling blocks for peaceful living, for the embrace. Reconciliation therefore implies opposing injustices like racism, tribalism, xenophobia, classism, misogyny, homophobia, ageism, and handicappism. And to this list we can add ecocide. The work of recon-ciliation of the triune God, according to Michael Welker (God the Spirit, Fortress Press, 1994), includes reconcili-ation with the environment. Welker specifically discusses the outpouring of the Spirit which shows the universal breath and inexhaustibil-ity of God, as well as God’s powerful concreteness and presence. This outpouring affects new community in various structural patterns of life that are apparently foreign to one another. In this new community nature (environment) and culture (hu-mans) become open to each other. The Spirit lays hold of, transforms, and unifies apparently incompatible do-mains of life that obey different laws. South African bibli-cal scholar Itumeleng Mosal, writing in “The Meaning of Reconciliation: A Black Perspective” (Journal of Theology for Southern Africa, 1987), decades ago described recon-ciliation as katallassein, as at-one-ment, as re-unification with the land. Land stands for the space that brings a life of dignity for all, humans and nature. Belhar’s thinking about reconciliation is informed by the long Christian tradition of reconciliation. Recon-ciliation, therefore, is viewed as the triune God’s work of redemption done for us in Jesus Christ (cf. Anselm’s objective theory of atonement); reconciliation refers to the transformation that the love of the triune God brings about in our lives (cf. Abelard’s subjective theory of atonement); and reconciliation refers to the victory of Christ over the cosmic powers of evil and our consequent liberation from them (cf. Irenaeus’s theory of atone-ment). South African theologian John de Gruchy (Recon-ciliation: Restoring Justice, SCM Press, 2002) believes this last-mentioned theory helps us to understand the social and cosmic dimensions of reconciliation.

Against nationalist ideologies of oppressionThe public theology of justice articulated in Belhar oppos-es ideologies of oppression and injustice. The justice that

is confessed in Belhar might be described as compassion-ate justice. In the Old Testament, justice is both judicial, forensic, legal justice, i.e. mishpat, and sacrificial justice, i.e. tsedaqah. The New Testament dikaiosune, carries both meanings of justice. Bruce Birch, in Let Justice Roll Down: The Old Testa-ment, Ethics, and Christian Life (Westminster John Knox, 1991), describes mishpat as an ethical concept that deals with rights due to every individual in the community and

with the upholding of those rights. Especially, God’s jus-tice refers to the upholding of the rights of the vulnera-ble and with the advocacy of their needs (Deut. 10; 18; Ps. 10:18; Jer. 5:28). Where the rights of the vulnerable are violated, God’s justice can be translated as judgment, the

activity of God to hold accountable those who deny, ma-nipulate, and exploit the rights of others. Tsedaqah, according to Birch, is also translated as righteousness. Here the focus is on right relationships. God’s righteousness refers to his concrete acts to estab-lish and preserve relationship. His law is a gift that aims at establishing terms under which relationship is preserved and maintained. Both the Old and New Testaments teach that sacrifice was required to achieve this rightness, up-rightness, deliverance, vindication, and flourishing in relations. Palestinian theologian Naim Stifan Ateek (Jus-tice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation, Orbis, 1989) argues that tsedaqah carries the meaning of kindness, compassion, and mercy. God’s concern for so-cial justice grows out of this compassion and mercy. The notion of sacrifice has a second dimension. It also indicates that justice cannot be reached in this world without the willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the other. Through the work of redemption of Jesus Christ, God declares us just. People who are justified by the grace of God participate in the quest for justice in the world. Justified people, people who are made right by the triune God, seek human rights in our broken world. A third aspect of the sacrificial dimension of justice is the fact that justice does not seek revenge, but it is merci-ful. It seeks the healing and restoration of both perpetra-tors and victims. In fact it seeks the healing of all bro-ken relationships. Author Christopher Marshall (Beyond

Continued on page 18

Justicedoesnotseekrevenge,butismerciful.Itseeksthehealingandrestorationofbothperpetratorsand

victims.Infact,itseeksthehealingofallbrokenrelationships.

Spring 2016 | 15

onfessions are historical documents. They are formulated at a particular time and place, under particular circumstances. In The Book of Confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), only the Apostles’ Creed evolved across several centuries from obscure beginnings. The origin and history of the others are well known. Confessions reflect their times. But confessions also transcend their times. They speak to the church in times and places that differ from the times and places of their beginnings. If The Book of Confessions is to be anything more than a collection of antiquarian curiosities, it must provide guidance and insight to the church no matter how much circumstances change. The Belhar Confession came into being in 1982. It was composed by a committee of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) in the Union of South Africa, a nation in which racial segregation was legally sanctioned and enforced—the system known as “apartheid.” It was the judgment of the DRMC that the church was in a “status confessionis”—a situation in which the

SoWhat?Reflections on the inclusion of Belhar in The Book of Confessions

David Johnson is associate professor of church history and Christian spirituality at Austin Seminary and the author of Trust in God: The Christian Life and the Book of Confessions (Geneva Press, 2013). Ordained in the PC(USA), he served churches in Texas and New Jersey and on the faculty of Brite Divinity School.

thebelharconfession

by David W. Johnson C


gospel was at stake. In the Belhar Confession, it declared that any teaching that attempted to provide a forced sep-aration of people based upon racial factors, or that legiti-mated or perpetuated injustice, was a heresy. The situation of the United States in 2016 is not the same as the situation of the Union of South Africa in 1982. What does it mean to incorporate the Belhar Confession into The Book of Confessions more than thirty years after it was written? It is not hard to identify similarities between the United States and South Africa. The United States also had legally enforced segregation. A series of laws and court decisions—as well as a highly publi-cized series of marches and demonstrations—worked to reduce that seg-regation, but the effects of cultural prejudice and patterns of law enforcement that sprung from it are still present. Does this mean that the church in the United States is currently in a status confessionis? Belhar joins its voice to the Confession of 1967 in condemning racial discrimination. One can argue that the American church (not just the Presbyterian Church) continues in a status confessionis and will do so as long as such discrimination persists. This does not mean that a new confession is called for, but it does mean that the declarations already in The Book of Confessions, principally in the Confession of 1967 and in Belhar, must be repeat-ed. Belhar augments the Confession of 1967 in designat-ing any church teaching that legitimates such teaching as contrary to the Gospel. The contents of The Book of Confessions are described as “ … subordinate standards in the church, subject to the authority of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, as the Scriptures bear witness to him” (The Book of Confessions 9.03). The authority of Belhar, or any confession, is not conferred by the church. It comes from the teaching of Jesus Christ as conveyed through scripture. Incorporat-ing Belhar into The Book of Confessions is an act of discern-ment rather than authorization. In that incorporation, the church acknowledges that through Belhar it hears the will of God for our time. One cannot evade Belhar by changing or leaving denominations. To the extent that it is scriptural, it is binding upon all Christians. There is some irony in the fact that the PC(USA) is

adopting Belhar, with its emphasis upon the oneness of the church, during a time when many congregations are leaving the denomination. When Belhar was composed, in the early 1980s, the United Presbyterian Church in the USA and the Presbyterian Church in the US were joining together after more than a century of separation. Now, three decades later, the Presbyterian Church faces a new fragmentation. Many other Protestant denominations are facing similar situations. One might argue that this fragmentation itself puts

the church in a new status confessionis. An ecclesiology that results in the church becoming atomized into lit-tle islands of self-contained orthodoxies makes a mock-ery of the scriptural un-derstanding of the Body of Christ. Such an ecclesiology is itself heretical. One of the principal

implications of the teaching of the Belhar Confession is that division in the church compromises the mission of the church. Conversely, unity in the church embodies and enacts the mission of the church. Oneness in the church symbolizes the will of God for all of humanity. The teaching of the Belhar Confession is not just something to be accepted and believed. It is something to be enacted. Will the adoption of Belhar mean anything? Only if it is understood as a call to renewed action. The confessions will live to the extent that they shape lives of committed discipleship. Otherwise, they remain nothing more than words on a page. v

TheauthorityofBelharisnotconferredbythechurchbutfromtheteachingofJesus

Christasconveyedthroughscripture…OnecannotevadeBelharbychangingorleaving

denominations.Totheextentthatitisscriptural,itisbindinguponallChristians.

ConversationContinued from page 11

is because we are not reconciled in Jesus Christ. We need the powerful kind of reconciliation that the Confession of Belhar puts forth with clarity and simplicity. It is, indeed, “a word from God for this particular time and place for the PC(USA).” v

Spring 2016 | 17

In 1977, I became an in-ternational immigrant for the last time as my nuclear family of birth moved to

the United States of America. I was nine years old. By that age, I had already lived in four countries. Extended family was a long distance phone call away or an extremely expen-sive flight, particularly for an immigrant family of five, with three children under ten years old. And yet, I have rarely found myself without family, in large part because of the church. Our family was one of choice. Fellow graduate stu-dents with my father became “uncles” and “aunties.” A very special Presbyterian elder who had met us when she was on an island vacation became “aunt,” “godmother,” and an additional “grandmother” to us all. We, whose cousins were oceans away, developed “play cousins” and “younger brothers and sisters,” none of whom were blood relations, but all of whom were family.

I resonate with the Bel-har Confession. For us, an international immigrant fam-ily from the Global South, we depended for our survival on the active manifestation of the unity of the people of God. That manifestation looked like potluck dinners and communal cookouts and trips to church thrift shops for winter clothing. It looked like Christmas skits created by whichever children were around; it sounded like ac-cents from all over the world. As immigrants living away from others like us, we had no choice but to “practice and pursue community with one another,” to be “of benefit and blessing to one another.” This was critical to sur-vival. But we did so not only out of a sense of survival, but out of a fundamental confes-sion that, regardless of where

we lived or worked or went to school, in some mysterious way, the church was home. For indeed, in the church, we are part of the one—the one body, the one faith, the one baptism. For me, the fundamental truth of the Belhar Confes-sion is not that racism is sin. I do believe racism is sin; but for me this is the corollary to the primary axiom. The primary axiom for me is that “there is one body, and one spirit, just as we have been called to the one hope of our calling. One Lord. One faith. One baptism. One God and father of all who is above all and in all and through all.”

Belharandtheunityofthechurch

Margaret Aymer is associate professor of New Testament at Austin Seminary. She has written four books including Islanders,

Islands, and the Bible: Ruminations (Society of Biblical Studies, 2015). She served on the PC(USA) Committee on Theological Education Consultation on Racism from 2004-2008. This essay first appeared as a testimonial on a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) website devoted to the Confession of Belhar.

By Margaret Aymer

thebelharconfession


It is because of this axiom that I believe racism is a sin, and not just racism but any unearned privilege or forced separation with other sisters and brothers. It is because of this axiom that I believe we as the church are called to acts of justice and reconciliation. For underlying the Bel-har Confession is this notion of interdependence, a no-tion neatly described by the South African word ubuntu, “I am because you are, and because you are, I am.” Within the Black Church, across denominational lines, Hezekiah Walk-er’s song, “I need you to survive” has become an anthem for the twenty-first century. In the face of the rise of radical individualism in which shar-ing is seen as weakness and standing together as compromise to one’s own power, the song’s confession echoes that of the Belhar Confession: “I need you. You need me. We’re all a part of God’s body. Stand with me. Agree with me. We’re all a part of God’s body. It is his will that every need be supplied. You are important to me. I need you to survive.” African Americans, immigrants, “nones” gathered in intentional communities, many in communities margin-

alized by class or sexual orientation or age or disability, indeed all those who have survived because of families of choice and the unity of the body of Christ—we resonate with these lyrics and with the Belhar Confession that so reflects these lyrics. For, before we can fight internalized and externalized oppression—which we must—we must first see the oppressed as a sister or a brother in Christ.

Before we can stand prophetically against the rise of the Ayn Randish nightmare that radically upholds in-dividualism over the common good, we must first affirm the importance of the whole body over our individu-alism. And before we can wrestle with the issues that still threaten to tear us apart, we must first affirm that there is an “us” worth saving, worth holding together, a body of Christ that—even when facing times of de-

cline and contention—still relies on the One Triune God, and still needs each member in order to survive. “We be-lieve in one holy, universal Christian church, the commu-nion of saints called from the entire human family.” For me, and for Christians everywhere, this is our family of choice. v

Retribution. A New Testament Vision for Justice, Crime, and Punishment, Eerdmans, 2001) claims this use of justice in the New Testament enables him to refer to justice as restorative or covenantal justice. This covenantal justice goes beyond retribution and punishment and seeks, like reconciliation, the healing of relationships. Like reconcil-iation, restorative and covenantal justice seeks embrace. It seeks the renewal of the covenant of God and humans, of humans amongst each other, and of humans and the rest of creation.

ConclusionThe Belhar perspective is that of justice as compassion-ate justice. The brief discussion above demonstrates the sound biblical and theological foundations of such an understanding. It hopefully also shows the close resem-blance between justice and reconciliation. Although the two concepts are not identical, it is clear that when we

view justice as compassionate, covenantal, and restor-ative (i.e. justice which seeks reparation and restitution through forensic means and justice which seeks in a mer-ciful way and in the willingness to sacrifice, through the grace of God, the healing of relationships and the renewal of the covenant between God and his people and among people themselves), justice and reconciliation both stand in service of the dawning of embrace, or in the words of Nicholas Wolterstorff, “the dawning of shalom.” The apparent conflict between justice and reconcilia-tion might be made less severe, even non-existent, when this compassionate and healing character of justice, clearly articulated in Belhar, receives more attention. The Confession of Belhar might assist in developing faithful public theologies of unity in proximity, justice-seeking reconciliation, and reconciling justice, not only in South Africa, but broader among the international, ecumenical family of faith. v

UnderlyingtheBelharConfessionisthisnotionofinterdependence,anotion

neatlydescribedbytheSouthAfricanwordubuntu,“Iambecauseyouare,and

becauseyouare,Iam.”

PublicTheologyContinued from page 14

Spring 2016 | 19

upcomingfromeducationbeyondthewalls“Crossing the Border: Healing the Hurt”/“Cruzando la Frontera: Sanando Las Heridas” with Philip Wingeier-Rayo and Gregory Cuéllar|April 23; $20 (meals included)|Explore a panorama of border evangelism and current practices for healing families, communities, and the environment in the border region.|In partnership with the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest and the Seminary of the Southwest|Recommended for Hispanic pastors and church leaders. Workshop is in Spanish and held at First Presbyterian Church, McAllen, Texas.

“Preaching in the Era of #BlackLivesMatter” with Margaret Aymer and Carolyn Helsel|April 25; $60 (lunch included)|Deepen your understanding of racism, explore how your identity has been shaped in a racialized society, and claim your gifts for preaching. |Recommended for clergy, educators, and other lay leaders.

Emerging Methodist Voices “Listening to All of God’s Children” with Tanya Marie Eustace and “Which Black Lives Matter?” with Jennifer Leath|May 3; $15 (lunch included)|Come and learn from scholar pastors formed in the Wesleyan tradition who are leading the church into the future.|Presented by The Wesley Connection at Austin Seminary| For clergy and lay leaders of all denominations. This event will be live streamed.

FALL 2016REFOCUS: “Hurt 2.0” with Chap Clark|October 10-12; $175 (includes two meals)|Take a look inside the world of today’s teenagers and learn how to provide meaningful pastoral care.|Recommended for pastors, teachers, youth group leaders, and all who serve, lead, and care about youth.

“Cross-Generational Ministry” with Jon Brown|October 17-19; $175 (special rate of $75 for APCE members)|Learn how to integrate generations in mission, education, and worship in all different sizes of churches.|In partnership with SCRAPCE| Recommended for clergy, lay leaders, teachers, and others responsible for Christian education.

learn more and register at AustinSeminary.edu/EBW

live learn

April28-29

RaimundoBarretoAssistantProfessorofWorldChristianityatPrincetonSeminary

BeyondContextualization:Gospel, Culture & the Rise of Latin American Christianity

TheSettlesLectures

LikeusonFacebook|FollowusonTwitter|ListentousoniTunesU

Findwherefacultyareheadedhere:AustinSeminary.edu/FacultyCalendar

“CPL allowed our group to go Into The Noise and explore the life of the church and the vitality of culture within an intimate community.”

Application Deadline

June 6, 2016AustinSeminary.edu/CPL

“Into the Noise” CPL cohort used part of their grant for a pilgrimage to Austin’s South By Southwest Music Festival.

The College ofPastoral Leaders

at Austin Seminary

learn more and register at AustinSeminary.edu/Settles


facultynotes|

Margaret Aymer, associate professor of New Testament, was a leader for “A Spiritual Journey of Wisdom and Faith” conference in honor of Ofelia Ortega in Mantanzas, Cuba, March 30-April 1. As outgoing president of the Society for Biblical Literature, Southeast, she gave the presidential address on March 4 in Atlanta. Her essay "Outrageous, Audacious, Courageous, Willful: Reading the Enslaved Girl of Acts 12,” will be published in Womanist Biblical Interpretation: Expanding the Discourse (Semeia Studies, forthcoming).

Whit Bodman, associate professor of comparative religion, has a chapter called “The Color of God” in Conversations on Fethullah Gülen and the Hizmet Movement: Dreaming for a Better World (Lexington Books, 2015). He gave the Cunningham Lectures at Austin College, April 13-14. He will be teaching on the Qur'an for UT Forum in April and attending the NCCC Christian Unity Gathering in Washington, DC on May 4.

Gregory Cuéllar, assistant professor of Old Testament, will be speaking at the Ethnicity/Race/Religion Conference at the Centre for

Biblical Studies, University of Exeter, UK, August 9-11.

On May 14-15 Thomas White Currie III (MDiv’73), the Jean Brown Visiting Professor of Theology, will be lecturing and preaching at Pentecost Weekend at Webster (Texas) Presbyterian Church. His chapter, “Mentoring in Theology and Pastoral Ministry,” will be published in Perspectives on Mentoring (Eerdmans) later this year.

Carolyn Helsel, assistant professor of homiletics, will lead the Kaleidoscope Pastors Seminar at Ghost Ranch, August 1-7.

Paul Hooker, associate dean for ministerial formation and advanced studies, presented a paper, “‘The Daughters of Zelophehad Are Right’: Eschatology, Ecclesiology, and the Polity of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),” at the meeting of the International Protestant Polity Study Group at Princeton Seminary in April.

“Preaching for Liturgical-Missional Congregations,” an essay by Jennifer L. Lord, The Dorothy B. Vickery Professor of Homiletics and Liturgical Studies, was recently published in Liturgical-Missional Perspectives on a Reformed Ecclesiology (Pickwick, 2016).

Blair Monie, Professor in The Louis H. and Katherine S. Zbinden Distinguished Chair of Pastoral Ministry and Leadership, leads an adult seminar at Memorial Church at Harvard University on April 17. He will preach the Baccalaureate Sermon for Schreiner University in May.

Professor Asante Todd (MDiv’06) successfully defended his dissertation, “The One and the Many: A Discourse Analysis of Sover-eignty in Liberal Civic Repub-licanism with Prospects for an African American Politi-cal Theology,” at Vanderbilt University on March 14. In so doing he has achieved the rank of assistant professor of Christian ethics.

Phil Wingeier-Rayo, associ-ate professor of evangelism, mission, and Methodist studies, contributed chapters to two new books: Mission in Latin America (Regnum Books, 2016) and Teaching Civic Engagement (Oxford University Press, 2016). He also presented a paper at the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies (SWCRS) in Irving, Texas, on March 12.

faculty news notes

“WhyWe(Still)NeedtheLanguagesinSeminary”(alumsonly)

“ContextualBibleStudy:TakingThoseSeminaryToolsBacktotheLocalChurch”(publicpresentation)

ledbyProfessorMargaretAymerMay10|St.PhilipPresbyterianChurch,Houston

AustinSeminary.edu/otrhouston

Announcing

AchaplaincyfocusintheDoctorofMinistryprogramatAustinSeminary!

Withcoursesin:

• medicalethics• practicaltheology

inmulti-faithsettings

• leadershipandchange

• advancedreligiouseducationforadults

• death,dying,andgrieving

• creativeconflictengagement

For information and applications, please contact The Reverend Dr. Paul Hooker, associate dean for ministerial formation and advanced studies, at [email protected] or 512-404-4861

AustinSeminary.edu/DMin

Spring 2016 | 21

goodreads|

Daniel Carroll, author of Christians at the

Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible, was raised in Houston and also spent significant time in his mother’s home country of Guatemala. He approaches the current immigration crisis in the United States from his unique bicultural perspective. Carroll attends both an English-speaking and a Spanish-speaking congregation and examines immigration from a faith perspective. Professionally he is a distinguished professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary and also played a part developing a Spanish lay training program. Carroll begins the book by framing the immigration debate: “Hispanic Immigration: Invasion or Opportunity?” Here he acknowledges that immigration, particularly the Hispanic immigration, is a heated topic and will have an impact on the future of the country. Rather than citing statistics or entering a political debate, Carroll cites scripture as source for understanding immigration. The author’s hypothesis is that Christians should consider biblical teaching to inform their position on immigration. The book begins with a helpful definition of terms

that starts off all readers on the same footing. The author offers an excellent history of immigration to the United States, including the 1875 Supreme Court decision to make immigration the jurisdiction of the federal government, the 1933 creation of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and the 2003 formation of

Immigration and

Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) under Homeland Security. Carroll also recalls some of the racism in past immigration policy such as Chinese exclusion and “Operation Wetback.” Generally, all immigration has responded to the push and pull of American labor needs in business, industry, and farming. For example, the

shortage of labor during World War II created the need for farm labor, and thus the Bracero Program (1942-1965). The author also recounts the recent legislation that has led us to where we are today, in particular the 1965 Hart-Cellar Immigration Bill that created the quota system allowing 20,000 visas per year from each country—the author notes that this has been woefully inadequate. Labor shortages have increased due to a growing US economy and trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), creating a magnet for illegal immigration. Carroll names the various laws and programs that have been passed over the years, noting the impact and continued need for reform. In chapters 2-4, Carroll attempts to shift the immigration debate away from politics to a Christian understanding of human rights, immigration, and hospitality. This Old Testament scholar establishes that all people were created in the image of God and have sacred worth. He also cites the Bible for human rights and treatment of the sojourner. Especially powerful are the author’s reading of well-known stories of Abraham and Sarah,

Ruth and Naomi, Joseph, and the exile of Daniel and Nehemiah—all from the perspective of an immigrant. The book also has a chapter on the New Testament in which he interprets Romans 13 to encourage civil disobedience—though not on a large scale and only where law is contrary to Christian teaching on hospitality. The author also argues that Hispanic Christianity is very lively and can contribute positively to American Christianity. The book closes by quoting Philippians 3:20-21 and William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas’ work, Resident Alien, stating “But our citizenship is in heaven.” If you are looking for a book to debate the current immigration quandary with statistics and political proposals, this isn’t the book for you. However if you are looking for a book to challenge and deepen your understanding of immigration from a faith perspective, then Carroll has written a gem. Personally, I learned to read the Bible from a new perspective from this book. Carroll took familiar passages, flipped them on their heads, and helped me see immigration as a phenomenon that has existed since Abraham, and how my faith challenges me to see it through God’s eyes. v

—Written by Philip Wingeier-Rayo, associate professor of mission, evangelism, and Methodist studies Austin Seminary

webXtra:Christians at the Border istheAprilselectionfortheAustinSeminary

onlineBookClub.Pleasejointhediscussionallmonth,

ledbyProfessorWingeier-Rayo.

AustinSeminary.edu/BookClub


alumni news notes

TheReverendRebeccaReyes(MDiv’79) hails from a line of significant leaders in the Mexican American Presbyterian community in Texas. She was the first Hispanic female to graduate from Austin Seminary and the first Hispanic woman ordained in the PCUS. She served as staff associate for Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the PCUS, staff associate for International Ministry for the PCUS, and campus minister at UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She also served on several General Assembly committees, appointments, and boards, attending thirteen General Assemblies, and preaching for two of those. Reyes retired from active ministry in 2015, but she continues to serve the denomination and her community with vigor and vision. She lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her partner of thirty years; she has a daughter living in Florida. Rebecca is a parish associate at Church of the Reconciliation in Chapel Hill. Rebecca says, “Mine has been an amazing journey filled with surprises, sadness, conflict, laughter, doubt, hope, and so many other emotions. I have been humbled by parishioners, friends, and family who have allowed me to be their pastor and called me to baptize their children, celebrate confirmations, celebrate marriages and unions, bury their loved ones, and pray with them.”

Austin Seminary Association Awards for Service

AlumsRebeccaReyesandWilliamWalkerhonoredatbanquet

Lydia Hernandez (MDiv’93) introduced awardee Reyes.

Midwinters 2016 brought friends together to celebrate milestones since graduation from Austin Seminary. Pictured here representing the Class of 1956 (left): Jim Campbell; the Class of 1966 (below): Guy Delaney, Bill Brenner, Emory Glover, and David Thomas; the Class of 1986 (right): Gil Richardson and Clay Brantley.

Spring 2016 | 23

Dr.WilliamO.Walker(MDiv’57), another native Texan, was student body president and recipient of the top fellowship for graduate study while a student at Austin Seminary. He then earned an MA in Classics (summa cum laude) from The University of Texas at Austin (1958) and the PhD in religion (magna cum laude) from Duke University (1962). He held teaching positions at Austin College, Duke University, and Trinity University in San Antonio from which he retired in 2002 as the Jennie Farris Railey King Professor of Religion. He chaired Trinity’s Religion Department (1980-88), was dean of Humanities and Arts (1988-99), interim chair of the Psychology Department (2001-02), and recipient of the first Trinity Award for Distinguished University and Community Service (2002). The author, co-author, editor, associate editor, or consulting editor of twelve books, he was also an officer in academic societies at the state-wide, regional, national, and/or international levels. He was honored in 2009 with Austin College’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Ordained as minister of Word and Sacrament by Durant Presbytery (1957), Walker preached in churches in Texas and North Carolina before deciding to devote his life to the academy. He has been active in the life and ministry of two San Antonio congregations. The father of two sons and a daughter and grandfather to four, Bill says “Life has been—and is—very, very good!”

Austin Seminary Association Awards for Service

AlumsRebeccaReyesandWilliamWalkerhonoredatbanquet

Bill Walker, left, was introduced by John K. Alexander (MDiv’55).

Representing the Class of 1996 (below): Sonja Dalglish, Dan Walker, Felicia Hopkins, and Consuelo Donahue; the Class of 2006 (right): Everett Miller, Amy Meyer, Amy Pospichal, Leanne Thompson, and Kerry Westerwick.


alumni news notes

KristyVitstoleadASABoardDuring the ASA Banquet and Annual Meeting on February 3, 2016, the following alumni were elected to serve on the ASA Board: Kristy Vits (MDiv’98), president; Matthew Miles (MDiv’99), vice-president; Barrett Abernethy (MDiv’13), secretary; Dieter Heinzl (MDiv’98), past president. Elected to the Class of 2018 were: Tony Chambless (MDiv’07) Region 2; Sandra Kern (MDiv’93) Region 5; Denise Odom (MDiv’99) Region 1; and Kristy Vits (MDiv’98) Region 1.

classnotes|1970sThomas W. Currie III (MDiv’73) authored Bread for the Journey: Notes to Those Preparing for Ministry (Resource Publications, 2015).

1980sThe Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau has named Karl-Heinz Schell (Ecum’80) synod dean of the Evangelisches Dekanat Odenwald.

Patricia K. Tull (MDiv’85) has published a new book, After Exegesis: Feminist Biblical Theology (Baylor University Press, 2015).

1990sShannon Kiser (MDiv’94) has joined the U.S. Fresh Expressions Team as director of training. Fresh Expressions is an initiative to generate new expressions of Christian community for those who are not yet members of any church.

2000sTasha (Hoffman) Blackburn (MDiv’01) was named to the University of the Ozarks Board of Trustees. She began her three-year term on Jan. 1. Tasha is the co-pastor with her husband, Phillip (Legg) Blackburn (MDiv’01), at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Brice Rogers (MDiv’03) has started a new job as assistant professor of Christian studies at Hannam University in Daejeon, South Korea. Hannam University was established in 1956 by American Presbyterian missionaries.

Sarah E. (MDiv’07) and Cameron T. (MDiv’07) Allen welcomed daughter, Lyla Joy, November 16, 2015.

Joseph Moore (MDiv’09) has been called to be the pastor of Buckhorn Presbyterian Church in Masonville, Colorado.

Alexandra Knott Rodgers (MDiv’09) has been called to

be the associate pastor for faith formation and congregational care at Decatur Presbyterian Church, Decatur, Georgia.

Krystal (MDiv’11) and John D. (MDiv’11) Leedy welcomed daughter, Lorelai Kay, on December 24, 2015.

Mitchell D. Kolls (MDiv’12) was ordained and installed as associate pastor of Dripping Springs (Texas) Presbyterian Church on March 6, 2016.

Gregory and Meagan Ludwig (MDiv’13) welcomed daughter, Luna Mildred, February 16, 2016.

Stephen Robinson (MDiv’13) has been approved to be a board certified chaplain by the Association of Professional Chaplains.

Joe Tognetti (MDiv’13) is serving as the pastor of First UMC-Edcouch and First UMC-Lyford (Rio Grande Valley, Texas).

Laura Westerlage (MDiv’13) is manager of casework services for the Stewpot at First Presbyterian Church, Dallas, Texas.

Jill R. Boyd (MDiv’14) has been called as pastor to First Presbyterian Church, Cozad, Nebraska.

John Harrison (MDiv’15) married Michelle Bach on December 5, 2015.

Eric A. Peterson (MDiv’15) married Chelsea Kindred on December 12, 2015.

ordinations|Ruth A. Elswood (MDiv’15) was ordained at Grace Presbyterian Church, Gainesville, Florida, December 13, 2015.

John Harrison (MDiv’15) was ordained at Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, on March 6, and commissioned as a pastor evangelist at Affton Presbyterian Church in St. Louis on March 13.

inmemoriam|Richard C. Wells (MDiv’60, DMin’81), Austin, Texas, January 5, 2016

Charles R. Galbraith (MDiv’61), Corpus Christi, Texas, March 1, 2016

Leila L. Power (MDiv’81) and Trustee (1994-2003), Austin, Texas, December 31, 2015

Tasha (MDiv’01) and Phil (MDiv’01) Blackburn enjoy MidWinters with new ASA board member Denise Odom (MDiv’99) and ASA President Kristy Vits (MDiv’98).

On March 19, the Synod of the Southwest shared worship and communion in Anapra at the New Mexico/Mexico border fence with members of Presbyterian Border Ministry Outreach. Participating were Bart Smith (MDiv’12), left, Austin Seminary Trustee Conrad Rocha, right (pictured here with a PC(USA) Mission coworker Omar Chan), and Presbytery of Santa Fe Missional Presbyter Sallie Watson (MDiv ’87). Inset: Rocha at the fence.

Photos by Sallie Watson

Spring 2016 | 25

teaching ministry

Learning and teaching about racismBy Carolyn Helsel, Assistant Professor of Homiletics

This spring, I am co-teaching a senior capstone course with Dr. Margaret Aymer. The title of our

course is Preaching and Teaching about Race. Dr. Aymer brings to the course her New Testament expertise, particularly in African American readings of the New Testament. I bring to the course my background in homiletics and my particular research interests in helping white preachers preach about race in predominantly white congregations. My journey into this research topic began when I was a seminary student, reading the work of womanist theologians such as Delores Williams, Katie Canon, and Cheryl Kirk-Duggan (MDiv’87). From these women I learned that the struggles of racism I was only beginning to see had a long history, and that long history was not erased or healed by the civil rights struggles of the 1960s. I had grown up knowing racism was bad, but I had also assumed that overt acts of racial hatred were rare. I also assumed that such overt acts were what constituted “racism.” I began to see it in the more subtle forms that persons of color see frequently: the tight clutching of one’s purse when an African American man enters the elevator, the regular stopping of persons of color by police for driving within the speed limit but simply suspected as being involved in some other reported crime. I learned about how African American women have to struggle with the “angry black woman” stereotype, which means they have to intentionally soften any response of frustration for fear of being perceived as “angry” and hence dismissed as overly emotional. I also learned that racism was more than a black-white binary and included the experiences of Hispanics and Asian Americans. I heard the frustration of persons being asked, “Where are you from?” a question which insists that

one is a perpetual foreigner, someone who never belongs, who could never be from “here.” I also learned about the “model minority myth,” a stereotype that assumes Asian Americans are all smart and successful. This stereotype does more harm than good, since Asian Americans end up having to perform to much higher standards in order to be seen as fitting into this stereotype. If they are “average,” they are perceived as being “below-average” and not living up to their potential. This model minority myth also does damage to other minority groups by setting up one group by which to judge the perceived lack of success at assimilation of other racial ethnic groups. It also ignores

the great wealth inequality among immigrants from Asia, in which many Asian Americans live below the poverty line and struggle to make ends meet. Having grown up in Texas, the term “Hispanic” translated in my mind to persons from Mexico, but of course, persons in the United States who identify as Hispanic have ancestors from Spain, the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and countries across Central and South America. In seminary, I discovered liberation theology and learned from Gustavo Gutiérrez who argued that God is on the side of the poor and oppressed. Having served as a chaplain on the US-Mexico border in Arizona, I saw the discrimination faced by persons who looked Hispanic, being constantly stopped and made to prove that they are “legal,” even if their family has always lived in the United States. That same year, I learned from local Native Americans how their lives continue to

be shaped by the injustices inflicted upon them by the United States. These experiences and lessons have taught me that I, as a white person, have been woefully ignorant of the struggles of so many around me. If we do not understand what others are experiencing, we can inadvertently contribute to the system of racism that treats white people as racially “superior.” As a white person, I need to continue to learn from the experiences of others through study and conversation. I also need to take responsibility for talking about race and racism. Abdicating responsibility to persons of color suggests that whites do not have a “race” or that racism is only a problem

for other people to deal with. It is not an easy topic to address or talk about; I tell students to accept that they will feel uncomfortable and to be kind to themselves in this process. We engage this topic because we are part of the body of Christ, and when one member suffers,

we all suffer. We engage this topic out of gratitude for the grace of God that has brought us together and that enriches us when we become part of the larger story of God’s redemption of the world. On April 25, Dr. Aymer and I will be leading an Education Beyond the Walls event, “Preaching in an Era of #BlackLivesMatter.” It is open to preachers as well as lay people, persons who are interested in engaging this subject and want to learn how to talk about it within the church context. Students from our senior capstone course will also be leading the event, integrating what they have been learning in the course. This is a conversation we need to be having in our churches, and I hope you can join us to learn more. v

“Ihadgrownupknowingracismwasbad,

butIhadalsoassumedthatovertactsof

racialhatredwererareandthatsuchovert

actswerewhatconstituted‘racism.’”

WindowsAustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary100 East 27th Street, Austin, Texas 78705-5711

2016MidWinters|February1-3

DownloadorstreamTheReverendMegPeeryMcLaughlin’s

MidWintersermonsat:AustinSeminary.edu/mediagallery

Non Profit OrgU.S. Postage

PAIDAustin, TX

Permit No. 2473

WebXtra:

windows spring 2016

Documents