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Volume 1, Issue 3 - February 2010
A Faith Journey from
Vanderbilt to Australia and Back
Ho Dong Hwang, MDiv3
(From December 3 - 9, 2009, four Vanderbilt Divinity School
students were accompanied by Professor John Thatamanil to
Melbourne, Australia, to take part in the Parliament of the World's
Religions. The Parliament‘s organizers won a grant from the
Luce Foundation that was then distributed to a variety of
seminaries and divinity schools across the country. This funding
made it possible for the Vanderbilt delegation to have rich
encounters with religious diversity and bring many lessons back to
campus. The following is a presentation prepared and presented by
Ho Dong Hwang at January’s community breakfast held on campus
to share his experience in Australia.)
I grew up in the evangelical church of Korea where being a
Christian is a personal, deliberate decision. Even though many
Christians are born and reared in Christian families, many have to
explain why they “choose” Christianity rather than
Buddhism or atheism which cover over 70 % of the national
population. This might be one of the reasons why the majority of
the Christians in Korea attend evangelical or conservative
churches. Since I was involved in the social movement in Korea, I
became more liberal in a socio-political sense, but my religious
ideas and faith have remained in my tradition.
(Continue reading A Faith journey -
click here)
It’s Ugly, but I am here: Daughter of
Haiti’s Story
Meagan Burton-Krieger
On January 12, 2010, as the news started to emerge about the 7.0
magnitude earthquake that struck the city of Port-a-Prince in the
small Caribbean nation of Haiti, the Internet was flooded with
search requests for basic information about the country. Just
over an hour and half by plane from Miami, Haiti is home to more
than 9 million people. One might wonder why so many within the
United States do not know our Haitian neighbors, yet here at
Vanderbilt Divinity School you do not have to look far to see the
face of Haiti.
(Continue reading Daughter of Haiti
- click here)
Hope for Peace: Reflection on a Conversation with
Professor C. Melissa Snarr
Reverend Kitty Norton Jones, MDiv'98
“The twentieth century was one of the most violent on record, and new forms of terrorism and warfare continue to define the beginning of the twenty-first century.” –C. Melissa Snarr, assistant professor of ethics and society, Vanderbilt Divinity School
C. Melissa Snarr, assistant professor of ethics and society at
Vanderbilt Divinity School, will lead a discussion on religion,
war, and reconciliation on March 23, 30, and April 6 in a Relevant
Religion Series hosted by Trinity Presbyterian Church. Snarr will
discuss the consequences of war, the role of religion and politics,
and the rituals and practices we may turn to for peacemaking and
reconciliation. Recently, I interviewed Snarr about religion, war,
and reconciliation, and she shared these reflections:
(Continue reading Hope for
Peace - click here)
A Brief Update on Some of Our December Graduates
Lillian Strahine- Chaplain overseeing the emergency and trauma departments and several other areas of critical care at Vanderbilt University Hospital. Completing ordination requirements for the United Church of Christ.
Sharon Moore-Caldwell – Continuing her medical practice at Mercy Children’s Clinic in Franklin, TN, and “working to establish consulting services to help healthcare providers better address and communicate with the whole patient.”
Regina Proctor- Serving as associate pastor for Belle Meade United Methodist Church, Nashville, TN.
Michael Lehman- Serving as associate pastor at Eastwood Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Nashville, TN, while also working as music coordinator for Vanderbilt Divinity School chapel services and Presbyterian Student Fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Continues as a freelance percussionist, pianist, and bassist.
S iobhan Sargent –Serving in year-long pastoral internship at Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, New York, NY
New Student Profile - Melanie C.
Jones
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Degree Program at Vanderbilt: master of divinity
College Attended: Howard University
Undergraduate Major: economics and political science
What led you to choose Vanderbilt Divinity
School?
Vanderbilt Divinity School would have never been a part of my
original life course. I recognize that my place here is
merely an expression of divine assignment. When applying for
divinity school, there were a few targets that I saw necessary to
consider in order to begin successfully my theological
education:
(Continue reading Melanie Jones -
click here)
New Student Profile - Seth
Terrell
Hometown: Albertville, Alabama
Degree Program at Vanderbilt: master of divinity
College Attended: Freed-Hardeman University
Undergraduate Major: history and Biblical studies
What led you to choose Vanderbilt Divinity
School?
I grew up in rural North Alabama where the blend of southern
foothill culture, ideology, and rural life created a structure for
my theology. My father and mother are retired school
teachers, and my father is a cattle farmer. Growing up in the
Southern Appalachian foothill culture, I was surrounded by hard
working men and women in a genuine and warm environment. I
loved the old folk tales my grandparents had told me of old whiskey
stills and ornery cattle. As I grew older, I began to notice other
pieces of culture around me. Two things were in abundance in
the area where I was reared: churches and poverty. I began to
wonder how each was related to the other and if either was relevant
to the other. My mother and father had always made it their
personal mission to support and build community with those families
living in poverty, though much of the religious community did
not.
(Continue reading Seth Terrell -
click here)
Mid-state Doctor Featured in Documentary
December 15, 2009
WKRN
NASHVILLE, Tenn.- A mid-state doctor is the subject of a new
documentary that followed physicians working for the non-profit
group, Doctors Without
Borders.
Dr. Thomas Krueger is a general surgeon at Southern Hills Medical
Center and was one of four physicians profiled in the movie,
"Living in Emergency".
(Continue reading
Mid-state Doctor - click here)
Upcoming Events at Vanderbilt Divinity
School
Community
Breakfast
March 18,
2010
7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Vanderbilt Divinity School Reading Room
Finding God in New Orleans
Graham Reside, executive director, Cal Turner Program in Moral
Leadership for the Professions
This spring, as part of a course on race, religion and poverty in
the United States, 20 students from a variety of professional
schools here at Vanderbilt journeyed to New Orleans to learn about
the intersections of race and poverty in America. Hurricane
Katrina focused our attention on New Orleans, and New Orleans
focused our attention in a new way on the dynamics of poverty and
race in this country. At this community breakfast, students
and faculty who participated in the class will share what they have
learned from this course and this trip. We will seek to
answer for ourselves and for those present: how does New Orleans
inform our faith? What call does it place upon us, as people
committed to justice and care in this world? Come out to see
and hear about this transformative experience in the lives of our
students.
Relevant Religion
Series
March 23, March 30, and April 6,
2010
7:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Trinity Presbyterian Church
Religion, War, and Reconciliation
C. Melissa Snarr, assistant professor of ethics and
society
The twentieth century was one of the most violent on record, and
new forms of terrorism and warfare continue to define the beginning
of the twenty-first century. This series will explore the role of
religion (specifically Christianity and Islam) in contemporary
warfare and peacemaking. We will ask when and if war is religiously
justifiable? In what ways does religion contribute to terrorism?
What are the practices and possibilities of religiously attuned
peacemaking and post-conflict reconciliation?
Antoinette Brown
Lecture
March 25,
2010
7:00 p.m.
Benton Chapel
Texts We Love to Hate: Dealing with the Hard Places in
Tradition
Judith Plaskow, professor of religious studies, Manhattan
College
Benefactor Sylvia Sanders Kelley, BA’54, established this
annual lectureship in 1974 to commemorate the life of the first
woman in the United States to be ordained to the Christian
ministry. The Antoinette Brown Lecture Series brings to
Vanderbilt distinguished female theologians and church leaders who
address concerns relating to ministry and the study of
religion.
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