Alumni News
Dean Pak Statement Against Asian-American Violence
Dear Beloved BUSTH Community,
I write to you today with a grieving heart. In the past few weeks there have been over twenty attacks against Asian persons in the United States, including an 84-year old Thai man named Vicha Ratanpakdee killed in San Francisco, a 91-year old Chinese man in Oakland rammed to the ground, a 61-year old Filipino man named Noel Quintana slashed in the face, and a 70-year old Asian woman robbed and assaulted. News sources report that there have been more than 2800 violent incidents against Asians in the US between March and December 2020. These incidents and those of just the past few weeks cry out that we cannot remain silent in the face of such violence and injustice.
And yet there is a long and complicated history of remaining silent concerning painful and unjust experiences of Asians in the United States. Why is that?
In an article in the New York Times, Anne Anlin Ching helpfully describes the predicament of Asians in the United States: “They are always caught in a no-win position between whites and Black Americans. They are thought to be ‘white adjacent,’ but of course they can never belong to the club. They are persistently racialized, yet they often don’t count in the American racial equation. The central, though often unspoken, question underlying all of this is: Are Asian-Americans injured, or injured enough, to deserve our national attention?” Ching goes on to lament the fact that this is too often the way the question is asked, revealing “how this country thinks about a racial calculus based on damage and hierarchy.”
As people of faith, we are called to a different way of thinking and being. Jesus once said to his disciples, “It is not so among you” (Matthew 20:26), calling them to an alternative, radical, other embodiment. Such a calling entails being called away from a competitive mindset that assumes that if another’s needs are elevated, it must automatically mean that my own needs will be ignored. It entails being called to a profound understanding of our interconnectedness. If another hurts, I hurt; it does not negate my own history of harm. Rather, it calls me to solidarity. It calls me to advocacy. It calls me to compassion and empathy. It calls me to action. It calls me to envision and take concrete steps toward Beloved Community. So, then, be not deceived by certain forms of dominant white culture that wants various minority groups to pit themselves against one another!
Please reach out to the Asian, Asian American members of our community and let them know you stand with them.
Please embrace solidarity rather than competition, advocacy rather than silence, interconnectedness rather than isolation.
In tears and in hope,
G. Sujin Pak
Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley (STH ’12, ’19) Received Louisville Institute Project Grant
Rev. Dr. Brandon Thomas Crowley (STH '12 and '19), Senior Pastor of Myrtle Baptist Church of West Newton, MA, has received one of Louisville Institute's 2021 Project Grants for Researchers. Crowley's project is entitled "Inclusive Black Congregations and Black Ecclesial Queering."
Here is what was said about the project:
"Inclusive Black Congregations and Black Ecclesial Queering" explores how seven mainline Black churches, from six different states, queered their ecclesiologies despite the history of homophobia within Black Christian contexts in North America. The research will provide an ethnogenic examination of their radical ecclesiologies and theologies, while interrogating how and why these churches chose to practice a more radically inclusive form of Black ecclesiology. The extracted qualitative data will prove that these churches have successfully redefined, reimagined, re-thought, and subverted the puritanical nature, mission, and practices of Black churches in North America and the Christian church universal. The research's constructive component will evolve from the recurring themes within the queering approaches used by the congregations. From these insights I will develop a methodology for queering Black congregations, Black ecclesial queering (BEQ). BEQ is a point of departure that centers on the Black Body and Black queerness as the ecclesiological strategy to intentionally subvert the heteronormative and puritan-based ideologies of traditional mainline Black churches. It is also a constructive theological tool that teaches Black churches how to create non-separatist homo-social safe spaces where Black-eroticism and sexual expression are considered sinless behavior. Additionally, the research investigates the history of African American LGBTQIA+ Christians who left their homophobic Black congregations to create their own queered ecclesial spaces. These spaces are described as Affirming Black Church plants. Like Black churches whose ecclesiologies were birthed from the struggles of seeking affirmation in the era of North American chattel slavery, the queered ecclesiologies of Affirming Black Church plants are also birthed from the struggle of Black queer persons and possess profound and revolutionary reinterpretations of Black Christianity, family, and sexuality.
This announcement was originally published here, by Louisville Institute.
Dr. G. Clarke Chapman, Jr. (STH ’59, GRS ’63)
Born in California and trained at Boston University, Clarke Chapman served on the faculty of The Department of Religion at Moravian College for his entire career, from 1963 until his retirement in 2006. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Ardis Leone Vetesk Chapman, a brother David, three daughters Martha, Gretchen, and Susannah, and by his three sons-in-law and three grandsons.
Passionate about living out his faith, Clarke held leadership positions in LEPOCO (Lehigh-Pocono Committee of Concern) and helped to found the Bethlehem Peace Center. He was enthusiastic about gardening, classical music, puns, and good wine and coffee.
This obituary was originally posted here, by Legacy.com.
BUSTH Announces Faculty Publications for February 2021
The School of Theology is pleased to announce the following faculty publications for the month of February 2021:
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Christian Sacred Music in the Americas. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, 2021.
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- Karen Westerfield Tucker
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Karen was involved in the writing of “We Believe, We Pray, We Act.” Copyright © 2020 by the Council of Bishops, The United Methodist Church, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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- Charlene Zuill
- Editorial Review, Walking with Francis of Assisi: From Privilege to Activism: “Discover the face of Christ on this word-journey through Assisi with Bruce Epperly. He traverses the landscape, shares snapshots of his childhood in dialogue with the life and spiritual development of St. Francis, and offers spiritual practices that call us to greater reflection and activism.” – Rev. Dr. Charlene Zuill, Spiritual Life Coordinator Boston University School of Theology
WGBH Honors the History of the Black Church, with Dean Hickman-Maynard as a Featured Speaker
February 17, 2021 – Last Monday, February 8, the WGBH Forum Network hosted a live online event titled “A Discussion on the History of The Black Church.” Expert panelists included BU School of Theology Associate Dean for Students and Community Life and Assistant Professor of Black Church Studies, Theodore Hickman-Maynard. The Forum Network is a public media service of WGBH that offers video and audio lectures from experts and thought leaders made available to the public for free.
GBH News host and commentator Callie Crossley led the discussion on the role of The Black Church in Black communities in American history. View this important and timely discussion below.
"It is needed for The Black Church to have a witness to the value of Black lives."
– Associate Dean for Students and Community Life and Assistant Professor of Black Church Studies, Theodore Hickman-Maynard
DMin Student Quoted in Boston Globe Article on Vaccine Rollout Inequities in MA
The following is an excerpt from the Boston Globe article “‘There are a lot of people who can’t get to Fenway or Gillette’: Some residents feel overlooked in vaccine rollout,” by Boston Globe staff member Kay Lazar, published February 14, 2021. It features a quote from current School of Theology Doctor of Ministry student Dennis Heaphy. His scholarly focus is working toward improving chaplaincy care for people with disabilities.
Thousands who can’t easily leave home struggle to get their shots
Roughly 15,000 Massachusetts residents are receiving vaccines in their federally funded senior housing developments under the same federal-pharmacy partnership that sent vaccination teams to the state’s nursing homes. They became eligible weeks before thousands more in state-funded senior developments, who won’t get their turn until later this month or early March.
Elissa Sherman, president of LeadingAge, which represents nonprofit nursing homes and other senior living centers, said advocates worked with the Baker administration to ensure the state signed up for the early access for seniors in federally funded housing.
“I know the Baker administration is trying to create opportunities for onsite clinics so people don’t have to leave the community they are living in, so I have been pleased to see that,” Sherman said.
Among those who will receive an early dose is Dennis Heaphy, 59, a quadriplegic who lives in Symphony Towers, a federally funded senior housing development in Boston. Heaphy is scheduled to get his shot Feb. 20. He is relieved, but frustrated because he said other homebound seniors and disabled residents who don’t live in senior housing are being overlooked — especially those in communities of color. Heaphy is a health justice policy analyst for the Disability Policy Consortium.
“A lot of people with complex medical conditions don’t get out in the winter,” he said.
Prof. Menéndez-Antuña Awarded Wabash Grant to Nurture Queer Education
February 2021 — Luis Menéndez-Antuña, Assistant Professor of New Testament at BUSTH, together with Ken Stone, Professor of Bible, Culture, and Hermeneutics at Chicago Theological Seminary, have been awarded a one-year grant from the Wabash Center to create a space for LGBTQIA+ theological educators to come together and imagine the future of theological education. The project, titled Nurturing Queer Education: exploring the embodiment of queer life in theologically diverse settings, identifies the unique professional vocational challenges that LGBTQIA+ educators face in theological educational settings with respect to institutional environment and mentoring students. Kate Ott, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at Drew Theological Seminary, and Pamela Lightsey, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs and Associate Professor of Constructive Theology at Meadville Lombard Theological School, will serve as consultants for the duration of the grant.
The project seeks to “explore the vocation of the queer theological educator, how such educators thrive, what distinctive topics and methods they bring to the theological curriculum, how they embody their vocations, what specific needs they have, and how they help and mentor peers and students.” The project will kick off in April 2021 with the online meeting of a cohort of 15 theological scholars from across the country, whose diverse demographic backgrounds will aid in the reflection of how LGBTQIA+ persons are supposed to navigate their identities in their churches and their theological development. The culmination of the project in August 2022 will offer an online presentation of findings from the year’s-worth of discussion and research. These findings will propose strategies for both individuals and schools to adopt in pursuit of queer futures for faith communities, mainline churches, and educational institutions.
“This is the first time, to my knowledge, that queer scholars in religion and theology from different faiths and denominations, working in different kinds of institutions, with very diverse cultural backgrounds, and at different levels in their career paths gather together to reflect on what it means to be a queer educator,” said Prof. Menéndez-Antuña. “Personally, the most exciting aspect is the possibility to think communally about the future of theological education, a future that cannot longer ignore our queer present. It was thrilling to feel the excitement expressed by all the participants from the very beginning: we soon realized that this was a project that many theological and religious educators were thirsty for. We come to the table with no idea of what will happen, and that’s part of the beautiful thing of walking unexplored paths.”
Dean Pak Featured in The Christian Century
The following article was originally published by The Christian Century on February 8, 2021. Click here to read the original article.
G. Sujin Pak named dean of Boston University’s School of Theology
G. Sujin Pak has been named dean of Boston University’s School of Theology. She succeeds Mary Elizabeth Moore—the first woman to lead the theology school—who announced in 2019 her intention to step down from the position she had held since 2009.
Before coming to Boston, Pak was an associate professor of the history of Christianity at Duke Divinity School, as well as vice dean of academic affairs. During her time at Duke, the Association of Theological Schools recognized her as an emerging woman in leadership. She also received an exemplary teaching award from the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
As a historian, Pak specializes in the history of biblical interpretation and in the roles of marginalized communities in the Protestant Reformation. Pak said her concern for marginalized and oppressed people groups makes the current divide in the United Methodist Church over LGBTQ inclusion particularly painful.
“There is need today for prophetic witness to support all persons of faith in their calling to ministry and/or religious leadership,” she said in an interview with Boston University’s BU Today. “I am proud of this legacy of the United Methodist Church and can only hope that it will be on the right side of history in support of LGBTQIA+ persons.”
Pak, a lay UMC preacher, is a member of the American Historical Association and previously served on the editorial board of the Encyclopedia of Martin Luther and the Reformation. She is a board member of the Calvin Studies Society.
She has published two books: The Judaizing Calvin: Sixteenth-Century Debates over the Messianic Psalms and The Reformation of Prophecy: Early Modern Interpretations of the Prophet and Old Testament Prophecy.
United Methodists and Catholics Dialogue Members Reveal New Publication
This article was originally published by United Methodist News on February 10, 2021. Please read the full article here. The publications cited below have BU School of Theology connections through the work of Prof. Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, and the contributions of ThD alums Rev. Dr. Glen Messer ('01, '06) and Dr. Ryan Danker ('12).
Catholics and United Methodists Together is a Collaborative Publication Resulting from Decades of Dialogue
Press Release: February 10, 2021
Media Contact:
Rev. Dr. Maidstone Mulenga
Director of Communications - Council of Bishops
mmulenga@umc-cob.org
(202) 748-5172
Representatives of The United Methodist Church and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced the release of the results of its latest round of dialogue in the form of a two-part publication. This eighth round of dialogue was co-chaired by Bishop David P. Talley of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis and Bishop Peggy Johnson, resident bishop of the Philadelphia Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church.
The work entitled Catholics and United Methodists Together is being released today. Both parts are available on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops here and the website of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church here.
The first book, subtitled “We Believe, We Pray, We Act,” emphasizes the importance of our shared recognition of one another’s baptisms, and pastoral commentaries on the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the commandment to love God and neighbor.
The second book, subtitled “Shared Prayers and Resources,” offers a practical guide for Methodists and Catholics to learn, pray and worship together. It describes shared traditions of prayer and worship and includes models for ecumenical prayer services. It also includes accessible teaching on conducting dialogue, a description of our mutual and divergent sacramental practices, and a summary of the results of all of our past fifty years of official dialogues.
The collaborative project is the product of the sincere desire of the dialogue committee that the deep spiritual communion shared within the group over the decades be shared among United Methodists and Catholics everywhere.
The episcopal co-chairs of the dialogue conclude their introductory letter with this commendation: “It is now time for the dialogue to take on new life within and between our respective communions. The unity of Christ’s church must take root in our hearts and bear fruit in shared learning, prayer, worship, and service within our faith communities.”
Reverend Barbara Kszystyniak (STH ’00)
Barbara Kszystyniak, 71, formerly of Fairhaven passed away at home peacefully Tuesday, December 8, 2020.
Born in New Bedford, the daughter of the late Emile and Cecile (Poisson) Kszystyniak, she lived in Wells, ME.
Barbara touched many lives as an inhalation therapist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and later as a Methodist minister after obtaining her Masters in Divinity from Boston University. Barbara ministered to parishes in West Boylston, Duxbury and Chatham, MA and Putnam, CT over her theological career.
She is survived by two brothers, Richard E. Kszystyniak and his wife Debra of Rockfall, CT and Michael G. Kszystyniak, CPA and his wife Dr. Mary B. Callahan of Plymouth; and her beloved nieces and nephew, Andrea, Jessica and Daniel Kszystyniak.
The family plans for a memorial service at such time as it is wise to do so. Arrangements are by the Fairhaven Funeral Home, 117 Main St., Fairhaven. For memorial register, go to, www.hathawayfunerals.com or call (508)994-9471.
This obituary was originally published here, by Hathaway Funeral Homes.