Alumni News
Bri Taylor (’25) featured in UMNews article about 2025 Young Adults Pilgrimage of Peace
The following is an excerpt from the article “Young adults walk paths of peace” featuring Bri Taylor ('25), published by UMNews. Photo and article by the Rev. Thomas E. Kim, UM News.
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A video presentation at the memorial vividly recounted the brutal suppression of the Democratic Uprising and the citizens’ resilient, ethical resistance. On May 18, 1980, the South Korean military violently suppressed nonviolent student demonstrations against the military dictatorship that seized power the previous year.
Briana N. Taylor, from United Methodist-related Boston University School of Theology, shared her reflections following the visit.
“I saw this history of Gwangju as alive and still present,” she told UM News. “It invited me theologically to sit with death in mourning in an attitude of Holy Saturday, instead of rushing through to find new life on Resurrection Sunday.”
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MDiv/MSW student Maria Gorret Nampiima (’26) featured for her sustainability work
The following is an excerpt from the article “Turning Move-out Donations into Community Impact” featuring current Master of Divinity student Maria Gorret Nampiima (STH'26, SSW'26), published by Boston University Sustainability.
Sustainability and helping the poor can go hand in hand. In partnership with the Faith & Ecological Justice Program at the School of Theology, BU Sustainability has collected over 2,000 pounds of textiles that will go to local homeless shelters and community organizations in Greater Boston.
This program is the brainchild of a Master of Theology and Social Work student, Maria Gorret Nampiima. Last year, Maria worked as a GOAT (Goodwill, Not Landfill Operations Assistance Team), and as part of her support during move-out, she recognized the vast amount of textiles, including bedding, pillows, towels, and blankets, that were discarded by her fellow students.
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Profs. Rebecca Copeland and Luis Menéndez-Antuña both promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure
The following is an excerpt from the BU Today article “25 Charles River Campus Faculty Receive Promotions” featuring Associate Professor of Theology Rebecca Copeland and Associate Professor of New Testament Luis Menéndez- Antuña, published on July 1, 2025.
Twenty-five faculty on Boston University’s Charles River Campus have just received promotions, 17 to the rank of associate professor with tenure, 5 to the rank of non-tenure associate professor, and 3 to the rank of professor with tenure. They come from eight colleges and schools and represent a breadth of academic interests and fields of research.
The news comes following the recent promotion of 23 additional Charles River Campus faculty to the rank of full professor.
“Each in their unique way demonstrates daily the caliber of education and accomplishment possible through innovation, creativity, leadership, and commitment to student success,” BU Provost Gloria Waters wrote in an email to faculty and staff announcing the most recent promotions. “We see great things ahead for them and are pleased they have chosen BU as the institution at which to advance their careers.”
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Rebecca Copeland, School of Theology associate professor of theology, explores how classical Christian texts and doctrine can be reconstructed through the lens of environmental studies, engaging diverse fields, such as hydrogeology, biology, archaeozoology, and botany. She has published two monographs, Created Being: Expanding Creedal Christology (2020) and Entangled Being: Unoriginal Sin and Wicked Problems (2024), along with five peer-reviewed articles in top journals. A new book, Replanting the Uprooted: A Social-Ecological Approach to the Agricultural Parables, is in development. She is a past recipient of the Canadian-American Theological Association’s Jack and Phyllis Middleton Award for Excellence in Bible and Theology and a recent Louisville Project Grant for Researchers. She was named the 2023–2024 Exemplary Teacher of the Year Award by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry and received the 2024 Teaching Excellence Award from the STH student body.
Luis Menéndez-Antuña, STH associate professor of New Testament, is a New Testament scholar whose work draws from Latin American liberation theologies, critical carceral studies, trauma studies, Afro-pessimism, and feminist, queer, and postcolonial theories. He has published two monographs—Bridging the Interpretive Abyss: Reading the New Testament After the Cultural Studies Turn (2024) and Thinking Sex with the Great Whore: Deviant Sexualities and Empire in the Book of Revelation (2018)—in addition to 12 peer-reviewed articles and 10 essays in top journals, and has edited volumes in his guild. A frequent speaker at national and international conferences, he has been supported by 6 research grants and 10 teaching grants, and is a past recipient of the Society of Biblical Literature’s A. R. Pete Diamond Award for Integrative Scholarship.
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Prof. Rebecca Copeland featured in BU Brink story on Bible’s Agricultural Connections
The following is an excerpt from The Brink article “Brink Bites: Prescribing Cheaper Energy Bills and the Bible's Agricultural Connections” by Andrew Thurston, featuring Associate Professor of Theology Rebecca Copeland, published on July 2, 2025.
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What can ancient farming techniques teach us about the Bible? How did Gospel writers’ relationships with the land and environment shape their parables? These are questions Rebecca Copeland, a BU School of Theology associate professor of theology, will explore in a forthcoming book, tentatively titled, Replanting the Uprooted: A Social-Ecological Approach to the Agricultural Parables. An expert on the connections between theology and ecology, Copeland has been awarded a Louisville Institute Grant for Researchers to support her work on the book.
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STM Student Greta Gaffin (’23, ’26) published in latest Anglican & Episcopal History Journal
The following is an excerpt from the article “History, theology, and ecumenism of the episcopate are focus of atest Episcopal history journal” featuring STM student Greta Gaffin ('23,'26), published on June 30, 2025.
Historians explore Anglican theologies and anxieties related to the episcopacy in the latest issue of Anglican & Episcopal History (AEH). The summer issue of AEH publishes 5 of the 18 papers presented during the Apostolic Ministry Conference. The conference was held at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University in October 2023.
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Greta Gaffin turns readers’ attention to movements within the United States in an article titled “Black Nationalist Anglicanism: George Alexander McGuire and the African Orthodox Church.” This study recounts the life and ministry of black Episcopal priest George Alexander McGuire (1866-1934) and his attempt to create the African Orthodox Church as an Episcopalian version of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She examines the denomination’s initial successes then considers reasons it did not become a long-term player in the African American religious landscape. In line with the volume’s theme, important factors relate to legitimacy and apostolic succession. Gaffin is a master’s student at Boston University. Her research focuses on clergy at the margins of their traditions.
Cornell W. Brooks (’87) claims Trump is ‘threat to democracy’
The following is an excerpt from the Campus Reform article by Emma Arns, “Harvard prof says Trump seeks to 'divide and conquer' the U.S.,” published on June 19, 2025. Click here to read the full article.
A Harvard professor claims President Trump's directives on anti-Semitism and DEI constitute a 'threat to democracy'
Cornell William Brooks ('87), a Harvard University professor and former NAACP president, accused President Donald Trump of using federal policy to “divide and conquer” Americans by targeting Ivy League schools, including Harvard. 
The social justice professor criticized Trump’s push to defund institutions that fail to comply with federal directives on campus anti-Semitism, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) reporting, and visa transparency. Brooks claimed these actions are not about public safety or anti-Semitism, but instead part of what he called an “anti-American” effort to “limit the participation of black and brown students” from around the world.
“Here’s what happens,” Brooks said. “You divide the country, you make it less competitive, you pit people against one another.”
Rev. Alicia Velez-Stewart (’18) is “The Wilbur C. Ziegler Award for Excellence in Preaching” Honoree 2025
The following is an excerpt from the New England Conference of UMC article, “Awards presented by Church & Society,” published on June 21, 2025. Click here to read the full article.
BU STH Alumn The Reverend Alicia Velez Steward ('18) has been honored with "The Wilbur C. Ziegler Award for Excellence in Preaching," at the just ended 2025 New England UMC annual conference.
The New England Conference Board of Church and Society administers two awards each year to persons in New England who work for social justice: the Ziegler Award for Excellence in Preaching and the Bryant Award for Excellence in Social Justice Action.
Rev. Ziegler's ministry was characterized by an unhesitating prophetic proclamation of social justice, leading him to preach the whole Gospel in ways that “afflicted the comfortable,” even and especially when that proclamation was unpopular in his ministry context.
Prophetic preaching is greatly needed in every generation, and the New England Conference Board of Church and Society is proud to lift up those who preach the whole Gospel in ways that challenge, convict, and compel a broad and diverse people of God.
“Juneteenth is a way to Lead Broader Society to Freedom” – Rev. Mariama White-Hammond (’17)
The following is an excerpt of an article from Inside Climate News, "Juneteenth and Its Role in Environmental Justice—for All," an Interview by Steve Curwood, 'Living on Earth' on
The federal holiday Juneteenth celebrates the enforcement of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in Texas in June 1865. By December, all of the 4 million or so persons of African descent who were enslaved at the beginning of the Civil War were finally freed by a constitutional amendment. 
But freedom did not bring full equality, and discrimination led to housing and employment patterns that today still disadvantage Black people in terms of economic and environmental security.
"I think the spirit of Juneteenth is the reality that, as we say in the church, this joy that I have, the world didn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away. The federal government did not give us the resilience we have, and it cannot take it away."
Just as the enslavement of people was driven by commercial interests, today the enslavement of nature for profit violates a morality that sees value in all living things, according to the Rev. Mariama White-Hammond.
Rev. White-Hammond (’17) Emphasizes the Powers of Faith, Hope, and Resilience on Juneteenth
The following is an excerpt from the WXXI News article by Megan Mack, “Living on Earth" 2025 Juneteenth special; "The Poetry Café:" Juneteenth,” published on June 18, 2025. Click here to read the full article.
In the first hour, this hour-long Juneteenth special from "Living on Earth" features a conversation with Rev. Mariama White-Hammond about the powers of faith, hope, and resilience amid climate and environmental injustice.
Human Resources, Part Time, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary: South Hamilton, MA
Human Resources Administrative Assistant, 25 hours weekly, $20-24/hour, South Hamilton, MA
Under the supervision of the Director of Human Resources, the Human Resources Administrative Assistant plays a vital role in supporting the day-to-day administrative operations of the HR Department. This position is ideal for someone who is detail-oriented, service-focused, and thrives in a collaborative environment. The role requires strong administrative skills, discretion with sensitive information, and the ability to manage multiple tasks with professionalism and efficiency. The incumbent must possess the ability to work well within a team environment; and ability to relate in a gracious and efficient manner to the various constituencies of the Seminary. Open until filled.
Email: hrrecruitment@gordonconwell.edu