Alumni News
Associate Pastor of Community Life, Full-Time, TFAM: Ann Arbor, MI
We are a thriving, LGBTQ-affirming, non-denominational church that was planted over a decade ago in Ann Arbor, MI. Weekly attendance is about 150, including approximately 40 kids between preschool and fifth grade. We share a building with an Episcopal Church and a Reform Jewish Synagogue and have an additional 30-55 computers that join us live on Sunday mornings via Zoom; we’ve integrated the online and in-person congregations and host an annual “Zoomie weekend” where online congregants meet in Ann Arbor to worship with the local church. We are excited to find an associate pastor who can help tend the life of this growing community.
Associate Pastor of Community Life Job Description:
- preach every 4-6 weeks
- input on big picture sermon series and spirituality shaping
- oversee newcomer welcome system—including tracking, meeting with, and tending new attendees
- help with planning and administration of church wide events
- oversee youth group (recruit, train, tend teachers; event planning; curriculum, pastoral care)
- teach or oversee two 3-6 week classes per year
- pastoral care
- weddings and funerals, when needed
- hospital visits, when needed
- attend staff meetings
- attend and help administrate Sunday services (including managing the setup team)
- assist with baptisms (planning, certificates, etc.)
- some volunteer coordination work
- liaison with online-only congregants
- some administrative work
- serve as backup when lead pastor is out
Pay: $52,000-$54,600 annual (housing allowance available)
Benefits Stipends: The church adds 12% of your base salary to your paycheck to help offset insurance needs.
Paid Time Off: The position includes 22 days of paid time off.
Church: Blue Ocean Church Ann Arbor
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Website: a2blue.org
Denomination: TFAM (The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries)
Director of Children, Youth & Family Ministries, Full-Time, UMC: Steamboat Springs, CO
Position Description:
The Heart of Steamboat United Methodist Church of Steamboat Springs, CO (“Heart of Steamboat”) is seeking a full-time (40 hours/week) Director of Children, Youth & Family Ministries. This person will lead a team of volunteers, as well as paid nursery workers, to promote and nurture the faith formation in our children and youth (birth - 12th Grade) and their families.
Duties:
The Director of Children, Youth & Family Ministries will lead the way in creating and sustaining a place where…
• Children and youth experience the love of God
• The learning environment is safe, inviting, and effective
• Parents are provided with guidance on how they can be involved in and reinforce the lessons and activities their children experience
• Volunteers are recruited, trained, and celebrated
• The congregation is informed and engaged in our common ministry with children and youth
• People collaborate and work as partners in the ministry of the whole church
Responsibilities:
In the administration of the above duties, the Director of Children Youth & Family Ministries can expect to…
• Administer and supervise core programs and events (Sunday School, VBS, etc.)
• Evaluate, determine and augment curriculum and resources as necessary
• Recruit, train, and lead team of nursery care workers and volunteers in our ministries with children, youth and families
• Create and administer necessary budgets, supplies, and resources
• Serve as the liaison connecting families with church resources, programs, and support
• Communicate the work of the children, youth and family ministries throughout the congregation and community
• Participate in staff meetings, seasonal planning meetings, and Sunday worship; and work collegially for the spiritual health of the entire congregation
• Lead the Children & Youth Committee to vision, design, and support ministry
• Oversee and coordinate the seasonal planning for children, youth and family ministry events and programming; coordinate special events and intergenerational all-church events
• Conduct and implement Safe Sanctuaries training with all teachers, leaders, care providers, and volunteers
Qualifications:
The person we are looking to hire for this position will…
• Have a vibrant and growing commitment to Jesus Christ and an ability to communicate that faith effectively to others
• Exhibit a passion for ministry with children and families, and the role the congregation can play in the development of both
• Have a Bachelor’s degree
• Have two or more years (preferred) of experience in leadership role in Children and Youth and/or Family Ministries
• Be knowledgeable and supportive of the United Methodist Church and its theological tradition and polity
• Have an inclusive theology, and be welcoming of all family types
• Exhibit strong organizational, management, and leadership skills
• Communicate effectively with individuals as well as with large groups of all ages
• Work well with and in teams
• Demonstrate familiarity with social media platforms to enhance ministry
• Thrive in the ever-changing needs and environment of a vibrant congregation
This position reports to the Lead Pastor
Full-time, exempt
Salary: $65,000 - $75,000 (depending on experience)
Start Date: August 1, 2025
Contact: HR@heartofsteamboat.com
Professor Emeritus Walter E. Fluker (’88) announces Digital Version of The Papers of Howard Washington Thurman
Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor Emeritus of Ethical Leadership Walter E. Fluker ('88) is pleased to announce the digital version of The Papers of Howard Washington Thurman, a comprehensive five-volume documentary edition, is now live and freely accessible to the public. This significant milestone has been made possible by the collaborative efforts of The Howard Thurman Papers Project (HTPP) at BUSTH, the Center for Digital Editing at the University of Virginia, and an extensive team of editors, researchers, advisors, and generous funding institutions. This invaluable resource is available to the BUSTH community and beyond, and is accessible at https://thurmanpapersproject.org/.
Founded in 1992, the Howard Thurman Papers Project is dedicated to preserving and promoting the extraordinary legacy of Howard Thurman, whose works span over six decades. With a collection of around 58,000 items—ranging from correspondence and sermons to unpublished writings and speeches—the project has made Thurman’s vast contributions more accessible to scholars and the public.
"The idea of a digital edition of the printed volumes began in the spring of 2016 when I served as MLK Professor from 2010 to 2020," says Prof. Emeritus Fluker. "In fact, it was through the Boston University Center for the Humanities that we received our initial grant for the digitization of the five-volume edition in 2017."
Fluker adds that "[n]one of this would have been possible without the generous financial and material support from the following contributors: Boston University School of Theology, the Boston University Center for the Humanities, the Howard Gotlieb Archival and Research Center, the Lilly Endowment Inc., the Louisville Institute, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and a timely gift from the family of Virginia Scardigli, a close associate of Howard Thurman and former secretary of the Fellowship Church."
BUSTH Associate Dean Bryan Stone to lead SMU Perkins School of Theology as new Dean
The following is an excerpt from the article “SMU Names New Dean of Perkins School of Theology,” published on February 6, 2025 by SMU Perkins School of Theology and featuring Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Bryan Stone. We wish Dean Stone well in this next chapter!
Bryan P. Stone, an innovative educator, researcher and bridge-builder, is the new Leighton K. Farrell Dean of SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. He joins SMU from the Boston University School of Theology where he is associate dean for academic affairs and the E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism. A 1992 SMU Ph.D. graduate in Religious Studies, Stone is returning to SMU to lead his alma mater June 1.
A Reflection on Black History Month
I remember the walls of my third-grade classroom in Durham, North Carolina. It was 1963 and I was one year away from discovering that White folks lived in Durham—that was how strict the color line was in even this more liberal area of North Carolina. My teacher, Mrs. Carter and lined the upper part of the classroom walls with Black exemplars—Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Mary McLeod Bethune, Ida B. Wells, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Owens, Charles Drew. From their high perch near the ceiling, it felt like they were watching over us as we learned. Rather than being imposing, I felt like they were angels watching over me and my classmates, encouraging us on in our studies and applauding us for our successes while casting a side-eye at our misbehaviors. They were both comfort and standard bearers for us. Folks we should both respect and seek to emulate. This was, as I look back now, my teacher’s response to all the negative and vile images we saw about folks who looked like me on the southern news. This was also the age of Jesse Helms who was an executive at WRAL-TV who did nightly editorials about the northern Negroes (his pronunciation was more akin to niggras) and communists trying to stir up the happy lives of the good colored people of North Carolina who were just fine with color lines, inability to vote, unequal educational systems, third tier health care, and living segregated lives.
The amazing promise of living in a country that declares, “We the people,” must be our moral guide as we take up the challenge of a democracy that calls us to our better selves.
These memories come back to me in 2025 as I read about all the ways the federal government is either ignoring Black History Month or outright seeking to cancel it because it represents a threat to the tranquility of those who either cannot or do not believe in recognizing the rich diversity that makes up the cultures of the United States. Yes, plural cultures, not a singular one. And it is not just reading these things that gives me pause, it is feeling deeply that a call to right-sizing the US narrative means erasing the history and lives of those who have stood firm in saying that our lives matter—black, brown, beige, the poor, women—all the ways that we show up in creation as signs of the expansiveness of God’s creation. Now is the time that we must take our places as the exemplars did in my third-grade classroom. However, we are now doing so in our larger society, and we must stand firm in the belief that narrow constricting views of what it looks like to be an American, to be patriotic, to love our country is not what we should embrace this month or any month. The amazing promise of living in a country that declares, “We the people,” must be our moral guide as we take up the challenge of a democracy that calls us to our better selves.
– emilie m. townes, Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Religion and Black Studies
A Letter from the BUSTH DEI Office: Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly
As we again welcome Black History Month, and as DEI efforts are being halted across the country, it’s a good time to remind ourselves of the ground we stand on. One of the best ways to do that, in turn, is to remember those who walked that ground before us, whose footprints are all along the way.
In the summer of 2020, mass protests over racialized police brutality spread across the country. This movement brought attention to the dynamics of anti-Blackness across our social institutions, and it truly altered the conversation. Signals of support for Black lives showed up in advertisements and marketing campaigns from major corporations, during major national sporting events, in national church offices and local congregations, and across higher education. Numerous DEI offices and initiatives were created to correct systemic problems.
Now, DEI as an idea is hotly contested, and being purged from federal agencies. It remains to be seen how it will survive as such, even in private universities. Yet in the light of history, this cycle is to be expected. It’s a pattern often repeated: the emancipation of African slaves was followed by the Jim Crow era of segregation and disenfranchisement. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was followed by decades of cuts to social welfare programs. The legalization of same sex marriage was followed by hundreds of state-level bills, and now federal orders, to limit the rights of trans people.
Thankfully, though, the people that walked the ground before us didn’t rely on America’s shifting political mood as their bellwether. They did justice, and they loved mercy, in whatever role or social location they could leverage. When such points of leverage were taken from them, they kept on and found others. Indeed: no role, no office, no political movement can guide us directly in justice and mercy. We can only look for opportunities, using the points of institutional leverage when they exist, and strive to do so with humility and clear-headedness.
As an office, therefore, we thought it was again a good time to look to the footprints of those who’ve walked ahead of us and reclaim the ground they trod. We remember Black History month as spiritual people, who believe in a “something more” that erupts as grace in the course of human events. Finally, we remember them not just in their celebrated moments, but in the everyday steps they took along the way; and we consider what that might look like for each of us.
- Nicolette Manglos-Weber, Associate Professor of Religion and Society; Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Andrew E. Kimble, Director of Onlne Lifelong Learning; Associate Director of Alumni and Donor Relations; Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Rev. Zelma Bostick (’89)
The late Reverend Zelma E. Bostick was an Itinerate Elder for almost 40 years and member of the Grant AME Church in Roxbury, MA and served several AME Churches faithfully. She was active in the NEAC Women in Ministry and she served with members of Grant’s Commission on Social Action with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. Together she worked faithfully to seek resolution on critical issues that impacted people including: affordable healthcare, unfair housing, and de-carceration. Rev. Bostick also demonstrated an unquenchable thirst for mentoring young people through their undergraduate and graduate college experiences.
Rev. Zelma Bostick served as a Lieutenant and Active Duty Chaplain in the United States Navy and as a tertiary hospital chaplain. Rev. Bostick was the 7th female African American Chaplin on active duty and she was a founding member of the Cambridge Women Veterans’ Organization.
Passage originally posted by Davis Funeral Home. Read more here.
James Leonard Farmer, Ph.D., (CAS'13, STH'16, GRS'18)
The late Dr. James Leonard Farmer, Sr., believed to be the first Black man in Texas to have a Ph.D., was born on June 12, 1886, in Kingstree, South Carolina, the son of Carolina and Lorena (Wilson) Farmer. His parents were former slaves. He attended grade school in Pearson, Georgia, and then studied at Cookman Institute in Daytona Beach, Florida, before going to Boston University, where he received B.A. and S.T.B. degrees. He received the Ph.D from Boston University in 1918. He also studied at Harvard in 1916–17 and received an honorary doctorate in 1929 from Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Georgia.
Farmer was a deacon in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1917 and after college served as pastor of Black churches in Texarkana and Galveston. He taught philosophy and religion and also served in administrative capacities at numerous institutions of higher learning. He was versed in Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, French, and German; he was a poet and the author of two books, The Coming of Peace and the Prince of Peace (1943) and John and Jesus in Their Day and Ours (1956).
Passage originally posted by the Texas State Historical Association. Read more here.
Eric Lincoln, Ph.D., (Wheelock'60, STH'60, GRS'60, HON'91)
The late Dr. C Eric Lincoln is best known as a distinguished scholar, author, and lecturer on the Sociology of African American Religion, Race, and Ethnic Relations in the United States. He authored, co-authored, or edited numerous books and articles about the African American experience. Lincoln authored several landmark works including The Black Muslims in America (1961), The Black Church Since Frazier (1974), and Race, Religion and the Continuing American Dilemma (1984). In 1988, he wrote The Avenue, Clayton City, a novel dedicated to his friend, and fellow civil rights author, Alex Haley. The novel won the Lillian Smith Award for Best Southern Fiction in 1988, as well as the International Black Writers’ Alice Browning Award in 1989.
Passage originally posted by the Alabama African American History Project. Read more here.
Dr. Willa Mathis-Johnson, (STH'89)
The late Dr. Willa Johnson was undeniably a hero in her own right, championing diversity at the University of Mississippi all while gaining national acclaim for her scholarship and expertise. A professor of sociology, she was the first Black woman to rise from adjunct instructor to full professor at the university. Johnson was a Hebrew Bible scholar who also studied issues of the Holocaust and the contemporary politics of race and ethnicity. She taught courses centered on subjects such as the sociology of disability, genocide and women, and the social context of Holocaust art.
“Willa was a very special person and a true scholar and intellectual,” said Kirsten Dellinger, associate dean for diversity and inclusion in the College of Liberal Arts and professor of sociology. “She was an interdisciplinary pioneer – bringing together scholarship on the Holocaust and race and racism in ways that were unique and transformative.
Passage originally posted by the University of Mississippi News. Read more here.
Dr. Samuel D. Proctor, (STH'50, HON'85)
The late Rev. Dr. Samuel DeWitt Proctor was Pastor Emeritus of the Abyssinian Baptist Church of New York City and Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University.
Dr. Proctor was president of Virginia Union University, Richmond, and North Carolina A&T State University. He held administrative positions with the Peace Corps in Nigeria and Washington, D.C., and the National Council of Churches.
Dr. Proctor also served on the governing boards of the United Negro College Fund, National Urban League, and the Overseer’s Visiting Committee for the Divinity School at Harvard University. He was Pastor-In-Residence for the Institute for Child Advocacy at Children’s Defense Fund/Haley Farm. He was awarded honorary Doctorate degrees from more than 50 colleges and universities around the world. Dr. Proctor was a prolific writer and preacher, authoring, We Have This Ministry, How Shall They Hear, and Sermons from the Black Pulpit, among many others.
Passage originally posted by the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference. Read more here.
Prof. Shelly Rambo to deliver keynote address at Fuller Theological Seminary Symposium
The following is an excerpt from the article “Fuller Seminary to Host Symposium on Trauma and Theology,” published on January 28, 2025 by Pasadena Now Weekendr and featuring Associate Professor of Theology Shelly Rambo.
Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena will hold its annual Integration Symposium featuring Boston University theologian Shelly Rambo, who will examine religious trauma and healing through historical spiritual guides.
The two-day symposium, on Feb. 21 and 22, will bring together clergy, clinicians and ministry leaders to explore theological approaches for communities impacted by trauma.
Rambo, an associate professor of theology at Boston University School of Theology, will deliver three keynote addresses focusing on harmful religious messaging and paths toward psychological restoration.
Prof. Shively T. J. Smith led conversation honoring Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
January 25, 2025 – Associate Professor of New Testament Shively T. J. Smith moderated a conversation with featured keynote speaker Cole Arthur Riley during Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration 2025: The Darkness at Midnight, hosted by the Boston University Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground. The conversation followed Riley's keynote address where she invited the audience to meditate on Dr. King's sermon "A Knock at Midnight." Prof. Smith and Riley spoke about communal story telling serves as an act of justice, the importance of preserving Black stories, individual spirituality, and reflecting on the voice of Dr. King in our contemporary contexts.
"I really loved...how at the end you invited us into the 'sitting' of ourselves," said Prof. Smith in her introductory remarks. "I couldn't help but...hear Thurman, a friend and mentor of King's, in this."
The event recording is available on the Thurman Center website, and Prof. Smith's conversation begins at 1:13:00.
Minister of Music, Full-Time, UCC: Norwell, MA
The United Church of Christ Norwell is a Christ-centered, inclusive community called to ministry located on the South Shore of Massachusetts. We are seeking a full-time Minister of Music beginning July 1, 2025 for our 500 member congregation. The principal function is to be responsible to the church for developing, leading, and promoting all music selections and implementing all music ministries of the church in coordination with the Senior Pastor. We are aspiring to hire a Minister of Music who will be a strong leader possessing a passion for traditional and contemporary worship and a vision for musical excellence. Our goal is that through our worship music, God will be praised and glorified, people will be connected to each other, and we will spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
At present, UCC Norwell’s Music Ministry includes:
- Sanctuary Choir - 30+ adult volunteer choir
- Celestial Ringers - adult handbell choir playing 4 octaves of Schulmerich Bells
- Rockin’ Ringers - youth handbell choir (Grades 4-8)
- Cherub Chimes - childrens’ singing and chime choir (Grades K-3)
Throughout the year there are various musical events open to the community to share God’s message including:
- Christmas Celebration Concerts (annual)
- Musical Meditations for Advent and Lent (annual)
- Handbell Concerts (biennial)
- Veterans Concert (occasional)
Our Music Ministry mission statement is as follows:
The Music Ministry Team is called to develop and implement a sustainable music program which deepens our faith and enlivens our spirit. Believing that music is important for all ages and abilities, we strive to serve our congregation and the people of God’s greater community through excellent and innovative music each week. With a diversity of offerings throughout the year, it is our hope that listeners and participants alike will experience the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Primary responsibilities
Worship leadership:
- Oversee and coordinate all aspects of the church's musical worship experiences, including Sunday services, weddings, funerals, memorial services and special occasion concerts
- Play piano and/or organ for weekly worship, Conduct choirs, instrumental ensembles.
- Select and arrange appropriate music for various worship styles and themes
- Collaborate with the pastor to create meaningful and engaging worship experiences
Music education:
- Incorporate music education into rehearsals for all ages, children, youth, and adults
- Recruit and train volunteer musicians
Mentoring and music ministry development:
- Foster a vibrant and inclusive music ministry that reflects the church's mission, vision and values
- Develop musical ministry and choir opportunities outside of the church
- Maintain connections between the music ministry and the broader community through community outreach
- Develop relationships with other church musicians, local musicians and musical organizations
- Respond to the requests and needs of choir members
- Pursue professional development
Administrative duties:
- Manage the church's music budget and resources
- Maintain the church's music library and supervise the maintenance of church’s equipment
- Coordinate with staff, music ministry team, sanctuary choir leaders, and volunteers to ensure smooth operation of the music ministry
- Arrange for substitutes in your absence
Qualifications and skills
- Education: Bachelor's degree in music or a related field, with advanced training in choral conducting, instrumental music, or music education preferred
- Experience: Proven experience in leading and directing choral and instrumental ensembles
- Skills: Proficient in piano and organ; familiarity with handbells
- Communication: Excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills
- Spiritual qualifications: Deep commitment to God and a strong understanding of the UCC's theology and mission
Additional considerations:
- Worship styles: Familiarity with a variety of musical styles, including traditional and contemporary
- Technology: Proficiency in using music technology
Benefits (Package provided at no cost to our employees):
- Salary range $65-75k
- Insurance benefits (medical/disability/dental/vision)
- FICA (7.65%)
- Pension plan
- $1500 professional allowance
- Paid vacation
Apply at: ucc.music.search@gmail.com
Dr. Brittany Longsdorf (’18) appointed Associate Dean of Religious Life and the Chapel at Princeton
The following is an excerpt from the Princeton University article by Demara White, “Brittany Longsdorf joins Princeton as associate dean of religious life and the chapel,” published on January 9, 2025. Click here to read the full article.
“'It is such a sweet and surreal dream to be back at Princeton,' said the new associate dean. 'I am excited to nurture the historically vibrant religious and spiritual rhythms of this place and to add some creative arts and inclusive community-building programs.'
Longsdorf has also served as the university 
chaplain for international and interfaith students at Boston University, where she pioneered a new chaplaincy program. She has also taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses centered around religion, art and spirituality at Bates College and Graceland University."