Alumni News
Conference Celebrates Publication of Book Honoring BUSTH Professor Wariboko
The University of Texas at Austin and Boston University’s Institute on Culture, Religion and World Affairs, School of Theology, and African Studies Center are pleased to announce a conference via Zoom on the “Philosophy of Nimi Wariboko,” covering the major themes of ethics, economy, society, religion, and African social traditions. This conference is called to both celebrate the publication of the book The Philosophy of Nimi Wariboko: Social Ethics, Economy, and Religion (Toyin Falola, ed., 2020), and to advance the conversation on the scholarship of Nimi Wariboko, Walter G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics at Boston University School of Theology.
The Conference on the Philosophy of Nimi Wariboko will take place Saturday, November 21, with events beginning at 5:00am and ending at 9:00pm EST. The keynote lecture will be at 10:00am EST. Attendees are welcome to tune into the whole event or any part of it. The hour range is intended to respect participants who live in Asia, Africa, and other parts of the world. The program and flyer and critical information from conference organizers is pasted below.
- Register here
- November 21 Zoom link
- November 21 YouTube Livestream
Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore’s Fall ’20 Letter to Alumni & Friends
Dear STH Alumni/ae & Friends,
This extraordinary year has reminded all of us at the School of Theology that we are part of an extraordinary community. You are a cherished part of that community, and we are grateful for all that you do for the school and in the world.
Both the pandemic and the longstanding social fissures it has exposed have forced all of us to reinvent ourselves: how we practice our faith, how we teach and learn, and most of all how we connect with our fellow humans. At STH, the quarantine this spring shut down our classrooms—but not our teaching, learning, and service to the communities around us.
Our professors and students reinvented their classes and ways of working about a half-dozen times, showing remarkable creativity in the process. In the absence of in-person internships, students found ways to intern remotely—and found that their technological savvy was just what many faith communities needed. All of us explored new ways of worshipping, conducting research, and maintaining connections through virtual gatherings, both large and small.
In short, our students, faculty, and staff have been changing almost everything, except the heart of who they are. They are dedicated people of faith, cultivating compassion and justice, which is exactly what the world needs now. To support their work, I ask you to support STH.
As I prepare to retire on December 31st, I am filled with gratitude for our alums, who have themselves been witnesses to faith and justice and who form the backbone of the school’s moral and financial support. I am grateful, too, for our students, faculty, and staff. This school has always been a real community, willing to reach out and have tough conversations. For all these reasons, I know the future of STH is exceedingly bright.
You can help shape that future by giving in whatever way you are able. We know that some may not be able to donate at this time but, if you can, the need for spiritual and financial support has never been more acute if we are to support a rich spiritual life and respond to emergency life situations and technological needs. Further, we need to support gatherings, events, and publications that are vital in bringing together people who are hungry for human contact.
Our mission has never been more essential. Please consider donating whatever you are able by the end of this calendar year. We also ask for your prayers. Many thanks!
Sincerely,
Mary Elizabeth Moore, Dean
School of Theology
PS: By giving to the School of Theology, you’re not just helping STH—you’re helping all the communities we serve. I urge you to visit www.bu.edu/give2sth today.
BUSTH’s Event Explores History of Stockbridge-Munsee in the Berkshires
This article was written by Kiara Royer and was published on November 11, 2020 by The Williams Record. The full article is available here.
“If we are in charge of our own history, what happens is you get the truth,” said Director of Cultural Affairs for the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Heather Bruegl. “You get our story told from our perspective, and the story of the Stockbridge-Munsee people is one that I am even in awe of and I carry that blood through my veins.”
The history of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians is indeed nuanced, but more than 175 attendees listened as Bruegl, Assistant Professor of History Christine DeLucia, Williamstown community leader Lauren Stevens, and Williamstown Diversity, Inclusion and Racial Equity (DIRE) Committee member Andrew Art discussed the tribe’s new historic preservation office on Spring Street last Thursday in a 90-minute panel over Zoom and WilliNet.
The webinar, sponsored by Boston University School of Theology’s Faith and Ecological Justice Program and moderated by Boston University School of Theology student and Williamstown native Rachel Payne, also touched upon the cultural background of the Stockbridge-Munsee and how best to incorporate Indigeneous voices into local history as the community relocates its office back to its homeland in western Mass.
The Stockbridge-Munsee community originated in the Mahicannituck River Valley, also known as the Hudson River Valley, which incorporates present-day Williamstown and Berkshire County. “When the colonists came over [in the 17th and 18th centuries], we were of course moved several times,” Bruegl said. “One of the areas we were moved to was Stockbridge, Mass.” Protestant missionaries, particularly pastor John Sergeant, arrived in the region not only to create the village of Stockbridge but also to convert the Stockbridge-Munsee to Christianity.
BUSTH Awarded Lilly Endowment Grant for Thriving Congregations Initiative
Boston, MA – November 11, 2020 – Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is pleased to announce that Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded BUSTH a nearly $1 million, four-year grant to work with urban congregations responding to trauma. “Trauma-Responsive Congregations: Equipping Thriving Urban Congregations to Respond to Collective Trauma” identifies the need for urban congregations to respond to trauma from theologically-informed and spiritually-integrative perspectives, as their congregants are continually shaped by and are reacting to the compounding of domestic and global traumatic events.
The grant awarded to BUSTH is one of 92 grants Lilly Endowment is making through Thriving Congregations, a national initiative. According to the Lilly Endowment, the initiative is designed to “help congregations strengthen their ministries and thrive so they can better help people deepen their relationships with God, enhance their connections with each other and contribute to the flourishing of their communities and the world.”
The project will be focused in three urban areas of the United States: Boston, San Diego, and Atlanta, each of which has its own geographically-influenced challenges. Urban congregations across the United States are already responding to various forms of insidious trauma, including systemic racism, gun violence, homelessness, or immigration stressors.
“This program is organized around assisting [urban congregations] in developing models of trauma-responsive care that are deeply integrated into the mission of the congregations and that draw from the organic resources of congregational life,” says BUSTH Associate Professor of Theology and principal investigator on the project Shelly Rambo.
The project will be completed in two phases and will draw on BUSTH’s strengths in practical theology, chaplaincy, and Black church studies. The first phase will involve three churches in each metro area, selected by co-principal investigators BUSTH Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Bryan Stone and BUSTH Associate Dean for Students and Community Life Teddy Hickman-Maynard. Congregational task forces will be formed and supported by an educational team composed of area chaplains, theological school faculty, Clinical Pastoral Education educators, and the principal investigators. Together, they explore how to contextualize trauma in their urban settings to develop a unique trauma response plan for each congregation. The second phase will allow the selected churches to reach out to additional congregations in their metro area by sharing the work they have done, and then helping their fellow congregations move forward in their own trauma responsiveness.
“When congregations consider what it means to be trauma-informed, they often look outside for resources. As educational partners, we hope to provide some “theological on-ramps” for congregations to explore, from within, what it means to be a trauma-responsive church,” says Rambo. “We are excited that the Lilly Endowment has made it possible for BU School of Theology to collaborate with congregations in this work.”
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Since 1839, Boston University School of Theology has been preparing leaders to do good. A seminary of the United Methodist Church, Boston University School of Theology is a robustly ecumenical institution that welcomes students from diverse faith traditions who are pursuing a wide range of vocations – parish ministry, conflict transformation, chaplaincy, campus ministry, administration, non-profit management, social work, teaching, justice advocacy, peacemaking, interfaith dialogue, and more. Our world-renowned faculty and strong heritage help students nurture their academic goals and realize any ministry imaginable. For more information, please visit www.bu.edu/sth.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a national private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by three members of the Lilly family – J. K. Lilly Sr. and sons J.K. Jr and Eli – through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Co. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.
Reverend John T. Randolph (STH ’65)
The Reverend Dr. John T. Randolph, 82, of Lewes, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, October 21, 2020 at his home in Lewes surrounded by his loving family.
He was born on December 30, 1937 in Elkton, Maryland, a son of the late Elsie Lloyd Randolph and David James Randolph, Sr.
Dr. Randolph was a graduate of Drew University and Wesley Theological Seminary; he held the Master of Sacred Theology degree from Boston University School of Theology and the Doctor of Sacred Theology degree, in preaching, from Emory University in Atlanta. His education included a strong concentration in preaching and pastoral counseling. He was also an author of five books focusing on sermons and prayer. He served pastorates in Massachusetts, Delaware, and Maryland and was an instructor in Eastern Religions at Wesley College in Dover. He retired in 2003 from St. Stephen's United Methodist Church in Delmar.
His greatest accomplishments include earning a doctorate in preaching and his wonderful family.
He is survived by his wife, Maubra Jane Randolph; a son, John Thomas Randolph, II (Joseph) of New Jersey; a granddaughter, Julia Skye Randolph; a brother, The Reverend Dr. David James Randolph, Jr. of California; and nieces and nephews, David, Tracey, Mark (Becky), and Laurie.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Joy Mae Randolph; and a brother, Reverend Harry Evans Randolph.
A graveside service will be held on Thursday, October 29, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. at Gracelawn Memorial Park, 2220 N. Dupont Hwy, New Castle, Delaware.
Arrangements are in the care of Short Funeral Home in Delmar.
This obituary was originally posted here, by Short Funeral Home.
Reverend Reginald H. Merrill, Jr. (STH ’71)
Reginald "Reg" Howard Merrill Jr, 75 was born in Hartford Connecticut on December 14th, 1944, to Reginald and Daisy Merrill. He was raised in Brewer Maine and graduated from Brewer High School in 1963. He was a member of the all state chorus and Boy’s Nation. Reg attended the University of Maine, earning a degree in Religion and Philosophy. He enter seminary in 1967 at Boston University and became a fully ordained member of the Iowa United Methodist Church. He married Karen Huff on August 24th, 1969. Together they were the first clergy couple in the state of Iowa.
He served congregations throughout the state of Iowa. Reg’s first appointment was to Faith Parish with churches in Farragut, Summit, Riverton and Locus Grove 1971-1977. Next, he served at North English, South English and Millersburg UMC’s 1977-1981. Reg was appointed the associate pastor at Mt. Pleasant UMC in 1981. He served as pastor at Nashua UMC and Republic Community Church from 1984-1992, Prairie City and Pleasant Hill UMC’s from 1992-2000; in Des Moines at Epworth UMC 2000-2005. Reg retired from Our Savior United Methodist church in Manson and Pomeroy in 2010.
After retiring he moved to Minneapolis, Mn. There he joined the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus and was an active member of All God’s Children Church. In these two groups he found a loving and supportive community of new friends and family.
Reg enjoyed many hobbies. He loved photography, going to movies, attending all his daughters’ school and sporting events and cheering on this favorite base ball teams: the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins. Reg had a wonderful singing voice and was a member of church and community choirs throughout his life. Spending time with family and friends: talking, laughing and just sharing stories was his favorite pastime. He loved to travel. He especially enjoyed trips to Sri Lanka, Europe and the Holy Land.
He was a strong democrat and volunteered many hours to services and projects he was passionate about. He had a deep and abiding faith and was an active member of his church. Reg took the bible seriously, but not literally.
He is survived by his daughters Beth Miner (Brett), and Debbie Merrill, and grandchildren Wayne and Carrie Miners, many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents Reg and Daisy Merrill, his sisters Barbra and Joan Lane, and Cousin Mike Gellerson.
Due to the climate of the pandemic, we are not having a service. If you would like to honor Reg’s life please sent donations the American Heart Association.
This obituary was originally posted here, by Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home and Crematory.
BU Spearheads Massive Database of Centuries of Culture-Sharing between the West and China
This article was originally published by BU Today on November 4, 2020. Congrats to STH faculty Dana Robert and Daryl Ireland, and students Alex Mayfield (’21) and Yang Dai (’21) on their recognition for their contributions to this important project!
BU Spearheads Massive Database of Centuries of Culture-Sharing between the West and China
Researchers hope hundreds of years of past ties promote understanding amidst today’s tension
Some people choose beach reading for the warm months. Ao (Ava) Shen spent her summer poring over a French directory of Jesuit missionaries in China between 1542 and 1800. Language was no barrier (she’s trilingual in French, English, and Chinese) as she translated the biographical information, then recorded it in an Excel sheet.
“They were the pioneers of globalization,” Shen (Pardee’20) says of the medieval missionaries who carried Christianity, along with other ideas and Western technology, to her native China. “We need people who recognize the need for mutual understanding, and the need to cultivate common interest.”
As China’s government stands accused of intellectual property theft, herds Muslim Uighurs into the “largest mass incarceration of an ethnic group since the Holocaust,” and proclaims sovereignty over the South China Sea in defiance of a Hague Tribunal ruling, foreign policy experts fear the West and its Asian allies are drifting into a Cold War with the People’s Republic. While governments and diplomats ultimately must calm these waters, Eugenio Menegon thinks BU can help.
The College of Arts & Sciences associate professor of Chinese and of world history recruited Shen for her research as codirector of an ongoing global scholarly effort to construct an online warehouse of four centuries of records documenting the ties binding the United States and China.
The China Historical Christian Database, based at the School of Theology’s Center for Global Christianity & Mission and being built by researchers there and at CAS, gets granular: it will feature maps and other resources showing where Christian churches, schools, hospitals, orphanages, and publishing houses were located in China, how long they operated, and who worked in them.
BUSTH Faculty and Staff Offer Prayers During COVID Crisis
The following prayers were written by Boston University School of Theology faculty, staff, and students for the week of November 2-8, 2020 for the “Daily Prayer during the COVID-19 Crisis” newsletter sent out by the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Prayer inspired by Psalm 78:1-7 / Matthew 25:1-13
Gracious God,
On this day, I seek wisdom.
Wherever my strivings and struggles lead me, may I find comfort in the transcendent power of your teachings made known in the sacred text and through the words and deeds of my ancestors. As an heir to the Christian way, a faith that honors submission to your will, I ask that you help me channel your presence at every moment of the day.
It’s true, sometimes I stray from the narrow road. Before I wander too far, O God, send me a sign leading back to the ground you’ve paved for me. Remind me of my essence, that I am your child made in your image, conceived to do good in the world. When I begin to doubt, I ask that you remind me of the qualities that make me special, the things that distinguish me from all of creation. And as I actualize my potential, may I never forget that there is no greater fulfillment than being united with all of creation.
And this is why I seek wisdom on this day—to learn to handle life’s great riddles with heavenly dexterity, to navigate the midnight hour with enough oil to keep the lantern ablaze, to discern where I ought to be at the time of your anticipated yet unexpected arrival.
This, I pray, with the hope and love and endurance of Jesus the Christ, for my weathered soul, the precious souls of the living, and posterity.
And so it is.
Amen.
- Andrew Kimble, Assistant Director of Alumni and Donor Relations, Boston University School of Theology; licensed minister, African Methodist Episcopal Church
Prayer based on Matthew 15:21-28
We thank you, God, for the hope and faith that nurtures us at these complex and uncertain times. As we face two identifiable pandemics in the context of the US, Covid 19 and Racism, we ask that your spirit of courage finds us at the crossroads. As we encounter the dangers of the intersections, we ask for your guidance and wisdom to help us not be afraid and to accompany others in the processes of survival as we all seek new life and new ways of being in your grace and love.
We ask, at these times of ambiguity, that you help us identify the endurance, courage and wisdom of the Canaanite woman who makes herself visible and finds a place and space to be included in the mission and ministry of Jesus and the disciples. She finds the courage to ask more of Jesus and the vision to see the power of life and possibilities of new life for a better future. In her insistence and encounter with the disciples and Jesus at the marketplace/in the public plaza she appropriates life for her daughter and vision of a future for all foreigners and marginalized, for all who are made invisible and are excluded.
We pray today for the understanding that we need to be of great courage, and with great wisdom, to continue claiming and reclaiming our own spaces and ministries in the manner of the Canaanite women in Matthew. We are in need of something that is built on the encounters of great consequence in the marketplace, something that interrupts and makes new spaces and places in public spaces where the excluded and invisible become included and visible and find their place at the table of creation. Help us to accept the challenge to engage in encounters of great consequence today, encounters that bring about justice. Help me, as a person, to know that I am not I, without encountering you, and that I am not I complete, without encountering God.
Help us collectively to know that we are not we, without encountering each other and God.
AMEN.
- Rev. Dr. Cristian De La Rosa, Director of Contextual Theology and Community Partnerships, Assistant Professor of Contextual Theology and Practice, Boston University School of Theology, UMC elder
Prayer and Hymn based on Matthew 25:1-13
Holy One, who never slumbers nor sleeps:
strengthen us to keep our lamps trimmed and burning,
that, with undimmed faith during these dark days,
we may be ever watchful for glimpses of your brightening reign
and ready for its full in-breaking;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
A hymn on the Gospel text
by Frances Jane Crosby Van Alstyne (aka Fanny Crosby), 1820-1915, Methodist, poet, hymn and song writer
- When Jesus comes to reward his servants,
Whether it be noon or night,
Faithful to him will he find us watching,
With our lamps all trimmed and bright?
Refrain:
Oh, can we say we are ready, brother (sister/Christian)?
Ready for the soul’s bright home?
Say, will he find you and me still watching,
Waiting, waiting when the Lord shall come?
- If, at the dawn of the early morning,
He shall call us one by one,
When to the Lord we restore our talents,
Will he answer thee, “Well done”? - Have we been true to the trust he left us?
Do we seek to do our best?
If in our hearts there is naught condemns us,
We shall have a glorious rest. - Blessed are those whom the Lord finds watching,
In his glory they shall share;
If he shall come at the dawn or midnight,
Will he find us watching there?
Note: This hymn text is in the public domain (no copyright permission required). The meter of this hymn is 10.7.10.7 with refrain. Unfortunately, the tune with this meter in the United Methodist Hymnal—I AM THINE #419—does not fit this text. To find an appropriate tune, look up this text at www.hymnary.org.
- Karen Westerfield Tucker, Professor of Worship, Boston University School of Theology; UMC elder
Prayer based on I Thessalonians 4: 13-18
God of resurrection hope, we come to you as people who grieve, as people who lament the pain, oppression, and suffering in the world, but also as people who recognize your power to overcome even that which once seemed final, through the resurrection of Jesus, bringing hope into the midst of our communities and peace to each heart and mind, as we struggle against death, ourselves. Give us courage to comfort those who mourn and to encourage those around us to do your work, attending deeply to the stories of every human being made in your image and every part of creation for which we have been charged to care. Make us into people who take seriously this trust and responsibility in times of joy and in times of lament, that we may remain in your presence now and forever, through the power of your Holy Spirit, living with, in, and through us. Amen.
- Lisa Michaels, PhD Student studying liturgy and sacraments, Boston University School of Theology; licensed pastor, Church of the Nazarene
Prayer inspired by “The Tribes Renew the Covenant”
Joshua 21:1-3a;14-25 (NRSV)
24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. 3 Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac;
14 “Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
19 But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” 21 And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” 24 The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” 25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
God of all humanity,
If all people and creation on the earth are called “good,”
then help us to live peaceably with one another.
Help those of us who are committed to serving you do so faithfully,
turning away from all other gods before us—
whether they be the promise of power, the fear of scarcity, or the temptation towards evil so that some may benefit.
Help us to rest securely in You and in the promises given to our ancestors,
so that we may not feel threatened by our neighbors and demonize them by comparison,
and so we never use our own power or privilege to harm others. Especially in Your name.
May we honor the land we reside on and honor the Peoples who share it with us,
always mindful of the histories of conquest and suffering that have taken place.
May we be brave enough to remember the full stories,
and may we chart a different way forward.
May we live peaceably with one another,
knowing that all You have created is good.
Amen.
- Jasmin Figueroa, PhD student in practical theology, studying trauma-informed and culturally sensitive pastoral care, Boston University School of Theology
Prayer inspired by Psalm 78:1-7
God of infinite love and care for the whole of your creation,
God of enduring faithfulness and wise guidance in tumultuous times,
We come to you with hearts opened and closed;
We seek to open our lives to the fullness of your love and guiding wisdom
Yet, we close ourselves in waves of fear and anxiety in these distressing days,
even as You promise never to fail us.
The world fails, but You do not.
On this day, we see, hear, taste, and smell your presence
in the brilliance of autumn leaves and the smells of dinner cooking,
in congregations gathered electronically and serving their communities.
You call us to be faithful in this moment –
to follow in your ways
to teach our children and their children
to inspire and support the present generation and all those to come.
You call us to learn from You daily and always,
witnessing that You are faithful
and want us to be faithful.
Help us to open ourselves to your call, to live in your Spirit
even in deeply troubling times,
especially in troubling times;
Give us hope that violence and injustice can be dismantled,
hope to love You and our neighbors with our whole selves,
hope to center our lives on You and your teachings
for our own sakes, for all who are oppressed and violated,
and for all who come after us!
God of infinite love and enduring faithfulness,
We give thanks to you,
And we pray for the light of your wisdom and the strength of your spirit
as we seek to love and follow you
in ways that are ancient
and yet shaped for this moment.
God, in your mercy, hear our prayer!
AMEN.
- Mary Elizabeth Moore, Dean and Professor of Theology and Education, Boston University School of Theology, UMC deacon
Prayer based on Joshua 24:1–3a, 14–25
Let us pray.
God of the Covenant,
from generation to generation you have been our guide,
and only in you do we dwell in safety.
Inspire in us sincere and faithful hearts,
that we might praise you with our lips
and serve you with our lives.
God of our weary years and silent tears,
you brought our ancestors out of Egypt
and delivered your people from oppression.
As you have protected us along our way,
so move us to seek the wellbeing our neighbors —
both friends and strangers.*
Holy God, Holy One,
you alone are worthy of our service and obedience;
your mighty acts are great in our sight.
Teach us to love your law,
so that our lives may witness to your grace
and your people may be renewed in your love.
Amen.
- Kristian C. Kohler, PhD student in liturgical studies; ordained minister in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
*Note: This stanza draws upon: J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” in public domain.
Dr. Fran Yeager Fehlman (STH ’51)
Dr. Fran Yeager Fehlman
June 23, 1928 - October 24, 2020
San Diego
Dr. Fran Fehlman passed away surrounded by her family. Fran loved life and its great adventure. She was a talented and popular Psychology professor, teaching at El Camino, Mesa and Miramar Community Colleges. She was also a gifted artist, avid quilter, and respected family counselor.
At 19, Fran participated on a work team to rebuild homes in war-torn Europe. She continued to travel throughout her life and always sought to serve others. Fran and her husband Bob, who was a Methodist clergyman for 63 years, led a variety of church congregations in New York and California. They were appointed to churches in La Jolla, Clairemont, and Point Loma, among others.
Born in Long Beach, CA, Fran received her undergraduate degree from Arizona State, a postgraduate degree from Boston University School of Theology, and a PhD in Psychology from Cal Western. At BU, she met Bob. They were married in the spring of 1950. Bob was awarded a scholarship by BU to attend Cambridge University in England, where both he and Fran studied. They returned to the United States in 1953 with their first born, Mark, aboard the Queen Mary. Fran and Bob raised four children, including son Mark (wife Anne) a San Diego architect and artist, daughter Jennifer, an attorney in San Luis Obispo, daughter Jill (partner Frank) a retired RN and diabetes educator living in Encinitas, and Paul (wife Michelle) a financial executive in Dallas, TX. She is also survived by multiple grandchildren.
The family is happy that she is with Bob and also with God, who she served her whole life. She was an example of living life with commitment, purpose and integrity. She will be terribly missed, but always in the hearts of those who loved her. The family also wishes to thank the employees of Wesley Palms and Silverado Hospice for their compassionate care of Fran.
No public service is planned at this time, and Fran's family encourages a gift to KPBS in her memory.
This obituary was published here, by The San Diego Union Tribune.
Prof. Wariboko Pens Essay on Relationship Between Evangelicals and Trump
The following essay by BU School of Theology Walter G. Muelder Professor of Social Ethics Nimi Wariboko was published on November 4, 2020 on politicaltheology.com. Please click here to read the full article.
Between Evangelicals and Trump: Redemption Through Sin
Trump supporters will not abandon him in the 2020 presidential election. They believe they are doing the will of God, and the theology that God uses sinners to accomplish His purpose now means divine purpose will be fulfilled through the president’s sins.
Anyone who has been watching the evangelicals’ love affair with President Donald Trump in the last four years would have rightfully concluded by now that they will not abandon him in the November election. For this group of Americans, Trump is not just a presidential candidate; he is a Messiah. He is not just a Messiah who will lead his followers to godly redemption, but he is also the unique one who will, through sin, accomplish redemption both for them and also for the whole of America.
Scholars and news analysts have been befuddled by the fact that evangelicals have stood solidly behind him regardless of his well-known ethical lapses or what in evangelical circles is plainly called “sins.” Whether it was evangelicals sticking to his side as he boasted about grabbing women by their pudenda, or looking the other way as Trump violated the Christian ethics of neighborly love by putting children behind cages at migration centers, or even the recent revelation of his tax shenanigans, evangelicals have stood resolutely behind him. Many watchers have therefore concluded that the evangelicals have lost their minds.