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Volume 1, Issue 1, October 2009
The Jeremiah-Revelation Continuum
James Hudnut-Beumler
Opening Worship
August 26, 2009
Every year I have the honor of preaching at the first worship
service of our community's school year. Each year I try, as
preachers do everywhere, to find a word from outside that is
fitting to this community of learning and faith. This is my tenth
such occasion, and in preparation for today I reviewed some past
themes for former years. I have preached about the scholar's need
to be humble, about the absoluteness of the command to love God and
neighbor, even in this community, and on the implications of Jesus'
refusal to condemn a woman caught in adultery. I have preached on
the mutual recognition of different races and identities and on the
duty to overcome Christian anti-Semitism. I have found good news to
share in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and even once from
the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas. But I've never preached from the
book of Revelation.
(read more by clicking
here)
Fall 2009 VDS Entering Class
This year’s entering class consisted of 96 students equally
divided between men and women, from 29 states and 2 countries. The
students’ ages ranged from 22 to 62 years old, with a mean
age of 24 years old. Twenty-four percent of the students are
ethnic/racial minorities. These students attended 77 different
colleges and universities. Thirty-seven students came directly from
undergraduate education with a variety of majors from religious
studies and philosophy to Italian, international studies and
finance. Some students came from exploring their vocation through
AmeriCorps, the Episcopal Service Corps, and the Presbyterian Young
Adult Volunteer program, while others came from careers in
philanthropy, nursing, law, community organizing, consulting and
teaching.
Profile - Jen Simon
Hometown: Jackson, Wyoming
Degree Program: MTS (currently, anyway...)
Tell us about your work prior to coming to VDS:
Since graduating from Colorado College, Jen continued the social
service and social justice work that she did throughout high school
and college as a volunteer. Her interest in this work started
during high school when she dropped out for a year out of
frustration at the academic program. When she returned to school,
she was offered a chance to do a three-month research project
sponsored by a National Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford.
The research Jen did there, including talking with Milton Friedman
and Terry Moe, resonated with her experience as a former dropout
and sparked a particular passion for ensuring educational access
for all people.
(Read more by clicking here)
Student Group Feature: Mosaic
By: Rachael Whitley
Prior to the start of fall semester—even before registering
for their first course—a small group of students from the
incoming class set out to create a new niche in the Divinity
School. With a shared passion for interfaith dialogue, a deep
appreciation for the many varieties and expressions of theology in
this world, and a hope that through pluralistic experiences,
individual convictions will only be strengthened, this group of
students came together to form Mosaic.
A student organization determined to bring together individuals
from any and all religious traditions, Mosaic seeks to establish a
community where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Through sharing culturally, socially, educationally, and by joining
hands on service-oriented explorations, students are afforded the
opportunity to bridge gaps and create understanding.
(Read more by clicking here)
Joe. E. Pennel Jr., MDiv.’64, DMin.’77
Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2009.
pp. 9-11
INTRODUCTION
My vocation as a pastor has drawn me to writing this book. For over forty years I have stood beside those who suffer. I have seen people suffer as a result of illness, broken relationships, moral failure, the loss of a loved one, and the loss of income. These experiences have caused me to reflect on the meaning of suffering in both theoretical and practical ways. The aim of this book is to provide practical yet substantive help for anyone desiring to reach out to family, friends, and strangers who are caught in the tangle of suffering.
(Read more by clicking here)
McArthur--Revised
Frank McArthur, BA’64, established a Divinity School
scholarship fund in memory of his parents several years ago. The
William Duncan and Lestra Kinney Exum McArthur Scholarship benefits
a Divinity School student who demonstrates financial need with
preference given to a United Methodist student who is interested in
pastoral care. Frank attended the Divinity School for a year after
he was graduated from Vanderbilt in 1964. Although his career path
led him into business in life insurance and estate planning in
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he continues to value his time at the
Divinity School as a member of our Board of Visitors. This fall, he
serves as the fundraising chair for his 45th reunion. His own gift
is designated for the Divinity School and the scholarship fund in
his parents' memory. Frank made a significant planned gift
commitment along with a five-year pledge for his annual gift. We
appreciate his generosity and thoughtful memorial to his
parents.
The Reverend Doctor Julius R. Scruggs
The Reverend Doctor Julius R. Scruggs, MDiv.’68,
DMin.’75 was elected president of the National Baptist
Convention, USA, Inc., at the 129th annual convention in September.
Founded in 1886, the convention is the oldest and largest African
American religious convention in the United States with over 7.5
million members. When Reverend Scruggs takes over as president in
February, he will work to expand the convention and
“strengthen unification.” Read more about the National
Baptist Convention and Reverend Scruggs at http://www.nationalbaptist.com/.
Idella Aydlett Harrelson
Our community lost a dear friend when Idella Aydlett Harrelson
passed away September 11, 2009, in Winston-Salem, NC. She and her
husband of 66 years, Walter Harrelson, lived in Nashville and
served Vanderbilt Divinity School from 1960 to 1990. She was a
wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother who made a home
for her family in the many places they lived around the world. Our
condolences to Walter and to the Harrelson and Aydlett families for
their loss.
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