The Rev. Dr. Jessica Chicka
University Chaplain for International Students
PhD, STM, MTS | BOSTON UNIVERSITY
BS | Muhlenberg College
The Rev. Dr. Jessica Chicka is an ordained minister of Word and Sacrament in the New England Synod of the ELCA. She joined the ministry team at Marsh Chapel in 2012 as the Chapel Associate for Lutheran Ministry and in 2016 became the University Chaplain for International Students.
Originally from Bethlehem, PA, Jessica received her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Religion in 2005 from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. She subsequently earned her Master of Theological Studies (MTS, ’07) and Master of Sacred Theology (STM, ’11) and Ph.D. (’19) from Boston University School of Theology. Her dissertation, “God, Self, Community, Earth: Christian Ecological Ethics in Local Contexts,” developed a contextualized ecological ethical framework for situations of ecological injustice at the local level utilizing a liberation-modeled form of Middle Axioms.
Jessica is a fellow in the Pastoral Innovation Network of New England (PINNE) through Hartford International University for Religion and Peace, a clergy representative to the New England Synod Council, a board member of Lutheran Ministry in the Fenway, and a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Association for Chaplaincy and Spiritual Life in Higher Education (ACHSLE).
Jessica is married to Dr. Benjamin Chicka, whom she met at BU School of Theology when they were MTS students. She enjoys crocheting/knitting, baking, walking around Boston, and snuggling with her cat, Sir Igby, in her spare time.
Contact The Rev. Dr. Chicka:
Marsh Chapel, Boston University
735 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
617-358-3399