Alumni News
Ms. Laura Susan Ellis (STH’21) Joins Baptist Women in Ministry as the New Project Director
This article was originally published by Baptist Women in Ministry, on Sep 3, 2021, and can the full article be found here.
I am delighted to join the Baptist Women in Ministry staff as Project Manager to help research and write the upcoming State of Women in Baptist Life Report.
In May of this year, I graduated with an M.Div. from Boston University School of Theology. I received a certificate in Religion and Conflict Transformation, realizing that the acceptance of women’s unconditional role as potential leaders in the community is a conflict that is alive in many religious circles. In classes I focused on feminist and womanist theologies and embodiment theology to study the biblical and theological basis of women’s divinely given gifts.
Read more about Laura's new position here.
Rev. Vernon Walker (STH ’16) and Climate Resilience Group Shows Residents How to Cope with Extreme Heat
This article was originally published on The Boston Globe by Tiana Woodard, on August 29, 2021. The full article can be found here.
Checking in on neighbors, knowing the signs of heat-related illness, and finding ways to stay cool are key to avoiding heat-related fatalities, said the Rev. Vernon Walker (STH '16), program manager of Communities Responding to Extreme Weather, or CREW.
“Don’t underestimate how dangerous heat can be,” Walker said.
Boston is recovering from the highs of a fourth heat wave this past week. The city has seen 24 days with temperatures over 90 degrees in 2021 alone, and there are probably more to come, according to the National Weather Service.
From 1977 to 2000, Walker said, New England experienced temperatures of 90 degrees or more 11 times annually. He said Wednesday night that the area could see over 60 days with 90-degree heat between 2055 and 2084.
Dr. Harry L. Conroy (STH’78)
This obituary was originally published by Monadnock Ledger-Transcript on Aug. 17, 2021, and can be found here.
Peterborough, NH — 
Rev. Harry L. Conroy passed away peacefully on August 4th at the Wolfeboro Bay Center in NH. He was born August 31, 1923 in Warren, PA. Harry attended Allegheny College where he met Louise Schweitzer, his beloved wife of nearly 70 years and where he played on the basketball and tennis teams.
Harry felt a calling to the ministry, earning a Masters of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in NYC. Rev. Conroy served churches in VT, NY, NJ, MA, and Maine. He left parish ministry for 10 years, serving as the protestant chaplain at Mattapan Chronic Disease Hospital. During these years Harry completed his clinical pastoral counseling training and earned a D.Min. at Boston University. His denominational affiliation was United Church of Christ.
After retirement he served the Rumford Point UCC Church in Maine for several years as interim pastor. Harry and Louise enjoyed living in Peterborough, NH in their later years and were active volunteers with the Monadnock Adult Care Center. He was passionate about issues of social justice and participated in the 1963 Civil Rights March in Washington, DC. Harry treasured the work of Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Reinhold Niebuhr. His personal and professional life reflected his passion and active advocacy for social justice. He passed on these values to his children and many others. Harry was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was a devoted caregiver to Louise as her health deteriorated over the years.
Harry was pre-deceased by her as well as by his brother and two sisters. He leaves four children and their spouses; Evelyn of Scarborough, ME, Stephen of Portland, ME, David of Kingston, MA and Lou-Anne of W. Barnstable, MA as well as 9 grand children and 11 great grand children.
In lieu of flowers please direct memorial gifts to the Greater Boston Food Bank or the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Rev. Mariama White-Hammond (STH’17) Celebrates the Designation of Shirley-Eustis Place as Boston Landmark
This press release was originally published by the City of Boston on August 20, 2021, and the full article can be found here.
The Boston Landmarks Commission will commemorate the hidden history of Shirley-Eustis Place in Roxbury, which is believed to have been built and managed by enslaved people.
Reverend Mariama White-Hammond (STH'17), Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space for the City of Boston quoted in the article:
“For generations, the history of Shirley-Eustis Place has been celebrated in Boston and nationally. Today and every day moving forward, we must lift up the unheralded layers of our city’s history and memorialize the enslaved people who are believed to have built and maintained these grounds. I am grateful for Mayor Janey’s support and for the Boston Landmarks Commission and the City Council’s unanimous vote to bring light to this hidden history.”
20 Under 40: Maggie Taylor (STH’19) Made an Impact
This article was originally published on The Steamboat Pilot & Today, by Bryce Martin, on August 20, 2021, and can be found here.
As a member of the Steamboat Springs community for only two years, 26-year-old Maggie Taylor (STH'19) had already made an impact.
One of Taylor’s proudest accomplishments is when she, along with senior pastor Tim Selby, hosted a community conversational series last year about racism and Christianity. The series was of special importance for Taylor as she is biracial and has navigated the complicated bounds of race throughout her life.
“It’s about really listening and connecting to the needs of a community the way that the Biblical narrative said that Jesus did,” she said. “I think oftentimes churches have really good intentions but sometimes fall short in their execution.”
Charlene Marie-Laura Vincent (STH’11)’s Book “Return From Exile: Revelations from an Anchoress in St. Augustine” to be Published in September
Author Charlene Marie-Laura Vincent (STH'11) reads an excerpt of her book "Return From Exile: Revelations from an Anchoress in St. Augustine" that reflects on the theme of belonging and being on "the borderlands."
Click here to learn more and purchase your copy of Return From Exile: Revelations from an Anchoress in St. Augustine from Wipf and Stock.
BUSTH Master of Divinity Student Chasity Jones Selenga (MDiv’22) Featured in Christian Century Article
This article was originally published by The Christian Century on August 16, 2021, and features Boston University School of Theology student Chasity Jones Selenga (MDiv’22). The full article can be found here. Below is an excerpt only.
This Seattle church’s stained-glass Jesus was far too White
So a local artist found a creative way to cover him up.
Chasity Jones Selenga, who founded Fourth Wave Revolution to help decolonize social justice work, delivered a guest sermon at Church of Hope in which she pointed out that depicting Jesus as White isn’t just inaccurate, it “plagues the western hemisphere with its inaccuracy.” Such depictions can disconnect people of color from God. White people are not “the appropriate context” for all things divine, she said. As White Jesus looked down on her from the window, she asked: “Is it possible that we have created God in our image, not the other way around?” She went on to explain how the idea of the image of God has been co-opted by White people to reflect only themselves, excluding and ignoring her own experience as a Black Christian.
The window was a problem—the congregation agreed. But there was no budget to remove it or to hire an artist to reimagine it. Church of Hope doesn’t even own the building. The congregation leases it from a local social services organization that plans eventually to demolish it and replace it with affordable housing and a new sanctuary space. They needed a short-term solution, something inexpensive and easy.
Fall 2021 COVID-19 Procedures for BUSTH and BU Charles River Campus
August 2021 – Boston University has announced that the Fall 2021 session will be mostly a return to pre-pandemic residential life, but will still be a transitionary time of protocols and procedures because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both new and returning students are invited to read the following resources for precautions, testing, and information regarding on-campus living.
- Graduate and Professional Students Announcement
- Back2BU: Boston University’s dedicated website for campus guidelines for all University audiences
- Healthway: BU’s website dedicated to COVID-19 prevention and testing for our community. It includes the daily testing dashboard which displays all the latest results from our on-campus COVID-19 testing
- STH Library COVID-19 information
- BU Today: Subscribe to the daily email newsletter for breaking news on campus
BUSTH Prof. Steven Sandage and Team Awarded Peale Foundation Grant
The Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is pleased to announce that Steven J. Sandage, Albert and Jessie Danielsen Professor of Psychology of Religion and Theology and his research team was awarded a $2.19 million grant by the Peale Foundation for a five-year research project titled “Positive Psychology and Formation-Based Flourishing among Spiritual Leaders and Therapists.” The project seeks to address the need of spiritual leaders and therapists by promoting healthy formation and seeking to reduce risks for vocational burnout, distress, and mental and physical health problems as a result of enduring exposure to grief and stress. The intersection of spiritual formation and positive psychology offers the opportunity to address these challenges and support resilient faith leaders, and as a result, the long-term goal of the project will be to develop such networks through research and training to cultivate healing resources for nurturing healthy societies.
The Peale Foundation was founded by BUSTH alumnus Norman Vincent Peale (STH'1924, HON'1986; 1898 - 1993) and his wife Ruth Stafford Peale (1906 - 2008) to “provide financial support to organizations
whose ever-positive words and works closely align with the values, beliefs and ideals of Ruth Stafford Peale and Norman Vincent Peale, emphasizing the development of a positive attitude and a spiritual faith that foster meaningful change and growth.” This grant is not only the first-ever Peale Foundation gift to BUSTH, but it has also made history as the first-ever gift by the Peale Foundation to fund a research program. It is notably the largest gift ever awarded by the Foundation.
“Our founders, Norman Vincent Peale and Ruth Stafford Peale, always strived to make a difference and improve the lives of real people through a positive vision driven by faith,” said Margaret Peale Everett, president of the Peale Foundation. “With this grant to the Boston University School of Theology, we hope to continue that legacy. This is the largest grant in our history, and we are delighted to join in partnership with the School of Theology to positively impact the important work of counselors, therapists and faith leaders.”
The core research team for this project is comprised of Prof. Sandage as the primary investigator, and he will be supported by:
- Sara Crabtree, PhD, co-investigator, academic researcher and therapist at the Danielsen Institute at Boston University
- Laura Captari, PhD, co-investigator, postdoctoral fellow at the Danielsen Institute
- Elise Choe, PhD, co-investigator, research postdoctoral associate at the Danielsen Institute
- Peter Jankowski, PhD, co-investigator, visiting researcher at the Danielsen Institute, and associate professor of counseling at Bethel University
- Kristen Hydinger, MDiv, research associate at the Danielsen Institute
- Lauren Kehoe, MA, associate director of administration and finance and the Danielsen Institute
“[W]e were invited [by the Peale Foundation] to make a formal proposal bringing together a focus on research, training, and practice with established leaders/practitioners in the community and also with emerging leaders/practitioners among students at BUSTH,” said Prof. Sandage. “[T]his project offers a wonderful partnership between BUSTH, Danielsen, and the Peale Foundation, and we look forward to drawing in many of our other collaborators.”
BUSTH CGCM Awarded Grant for China Historical Christian Database Project
The Boston University School of Theology is pleased to announce the Center for Global Christianity and Mission (CGCM) was awarded a Digital Humanities Advancement grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for their project “China Historical Christian Database: Mapping the Spatial and Social Networks of Christianity in China, 1550-1950.” This peer-reviewed grant is one of only 20 Digital Humanities Advancement grants awarded nationally by the Endowment, which support “the implementation of innovative digital humanities projects that have successfully completed a start-up phase and demonstrated their value to the field,” according to the NEH website.
The China Historical Christian Database provides quantifiable data about locations of Christian houses of worship and other Christian-led organizations from the mid-16th century through 1950 in present-day China. Through this mapping project, the database also helps identify how Chinese missions acted as conduits between East and West, allowing for exchanges of knowledge and practices.
“The CGCM has been working on the China Historical Christian Database for three years. We have built a proof-of-concept and received the input and feedback of more than 250 scholars worldwide,” said Daryl Ireland, Research Assistant Professor of Mission. “There has been growing momentum to build something that can quantify and visualize the place of Christianity in modern China, and now that is possible. Support from the National Endowment for the Humanities will make our aspiration finally attainable.”
The building of the database and collaboration among contributing Boston University researchers was also featured in this November 2020 article published by BU Today.
Read the Full NEH Announcement