Alumni News
Dr. John Starkey (GRS’98, STH’98)
"On Saturday, January 11, 2020, John Cameron Muhlenberg Starkey, Millhouse Professor of Theology at Oklahoma City University, passed away at the age of 66. John was born on June 17, 1953 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
After studying at North Carolina University, John received his B.A. from Ford-ham University, his M.T.S. from Weston School of Theology, and his Ph.D. from Boston University.
In 1977 John began teaching English at Loyola High School in Towson, Maryland, and then at Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine, teaching English, scripture and ethics, and coaching speech and debate, 1982-91. His service work earned him the Maine Forensic Association Service Award and the Cheverus High School Award in Portland, Maine in 1991.
After many years of study, prayer, and discernment, John decided in 1981 to leave his preparation for the Jesuit Order and became a Quaker. He exemplified the Quaker belief that every person is loved and guided by God. He was a teaching assistant at Boston University's School of Theology 1993-1997 and served much of the last 21 years in service to United Methodists, teaching Sunday School and church camp classes.
At OCU since 1998, he was involved in numerous campus committees, activities, and service-learning initiatives. He earned many awards at OCU, including the Out-standing Faculty Award in 2006, the Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award in 2014-15, the Excellence in Teaching Award for Full-Time Faculty in 2009, and recogni-tion as the Distinguished Honors Professor in 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2012.
He published many articles and book reviews, and he presented numerous papers at academic conferences. He also made countless presentations at churches and retreats.
Known for his wisdom, kindness, understanding, sin-cerity, unwavering faith, and availability, John inspired students, colleagues, and friends, as evidenced by countless Facebook messages of praise and admiration.
John loved trees and regularly had long conversations about them with friends. He loved to hike in the Northeast with long-time friend Sharon Ciccarelli and her family. He loved to sing and knew hundreds of songs and ballads.
John was preceded in death by his father, Henry M.M. Starkey, and his mother, Nancy Starkey. He is survived by his sisters Gayle Thomas, Martha Thomas, and Joyce Ghost, his brother Rusty Starkey, and several cousins, nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be Sunday, January 19, at 3 p.m. at Oklahoma City University in the Bishop Angie Smith Chapel, with a reception following in Watson Lounge. Memorial gifts may be designated to the John Starkey Memorial Scholarship Fund at OCU or to the charity of the donor's choosing in memory of Dr. Starkey."
The article was originally published here by The Oklahoman.
Reverend Russell C. Sawmiller (STH ’52)
"Russell C. Sawmiller, Jr., born January 15, 1927 in Dayton, OH, died April 17, 2020 at Dublin Memory Care, Dublin, OH.
Russell was preceded in death by his wife of 17 years, Marilyn Mittler Sawmiller (1968) and his parents, Russell C. Sr and Viola Shoup Sawmiller.
Russell attended Miami University and then Boston University where he was ordained as a Methodist Minister.
He retired from the Methodist ministry where he served in the Ohio Conference in Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo Districts. He also served as the Administrative Officer at the Ohio Methodist Union in Columbus and Dayton.
Russell was a very social person who loved to entertain and cook (especially pies). He also loved spending time at the family home on Martha's Vineyard, MA and walking along the beach.
Russell is survived by his daughter, Cathi (Bruce) Eisley and their sons, James (Katie) and Kevin (Ashley), and son, Kirk Sawmiller and his children, Aubrey, Zachery, Cody and Janey. Also four great grandchildren, Logan, Hudson, Callie and Ella.
Memorial Donations can be made to Broad Street United Methodist Church or the Alzheimer's Foundation or charity of your choice. Cemetery Details Glen Rest Memorial Estate 8029 E. Main St. Reynoldsburg, OH, 43068"
This article was originally published here by Schoedinger Funeral & Cremation Service.
Ms. Ellen J. Evans (STH ’96)
Lament, Pray, and Act
With our world and communities reacting and reeling from both the continued loss of life from the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing fight for justice for Black Lives, many of you might be searching for ways to be active in your communities. Here are some resources to help you navigate your next steps.
- Take action in your local neighborhood: Local food banks especially need assistance during this time
- Participate in the actions of ecumenical, denominational, and interfaith bodies: Massachusetts Council of Churches, Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), and Unitarian Universalist Association all have resources for charitable works and social action
- For those who are white: Find actions that will take the burden off of People of Color, be proactive in anti-racism, read up on dismantling white privilege here and here, and make a racial justice to-do list
- Write letters: Write letters to your elected officials to protect healthcare and emergency funding for working people, and/or adopt a senior self-isolating pen pal
- Prepare yourself: Do you see things in your community in need of change but lack the skills to step in? Tool up by finding a lesson on YouTube, a podcast, a webinar, or a mini-course to give you the education to lead the way
- Take care of your own mental health: BU offers resources for graduate students through Student Health Services, Behavioral Medicine, The Danielsen Institute, and The Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders (CARD). Turn off social media and news coverage if you become overwhelmed
- Have a conversation with someone you know: We often are around people different than ourselves without ever opening up to talk about that difference. Here are two STH Doctor of Ministry alums talking about and modeling such a conversation
- Engage in meaningful spiritual practices: Dean Moore recently wrote “Lament is a pathway to share pain, to be fully human, to journey toward the heart of God, who holds more pain than all of us together can imagine and who will never let us go.” Be present in your spiritual practice to grieve and provide clear guidance for your next steps.
We deeply love and care for you all. May we hold each other close and continue to be agents of change during this confusing and deeply troubling period in history.
Dismantling White Privilege, Power, and Supremacy: Reading List
The following reading list for AY20-21 course STH TC858 "Dismantling White Privilege, Power, and Supremacy" is published courtesy of course co-professors Bishop Susan Hassinger and Dean Teddy Hickman-Maynard. Much of the required reading list is available as eBooks through the STH Library for BU students, faculty, and staff here.
Required Reading/Viewing
- Anzaldua Gloria E. & Analouise Keating, eds. This Bridge We Call Home: Radical visions for Transformation (Routledge, 2002), pp. 540-576
- Barndt, Joseph, Becoming an Anti-Racist Church (Fortress Press, 2011)
- Brown Douglas, Kelley, Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God (Orbis Books, 2015)
- Coates, Ta-Nehisi, Between the World and Me (Spiegel & Grau, 2015)
- DiAngelo, Robin, White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism (Beacon Press, 2018)
- Dube, Musa W., Power, Privilege and Profits: a Global Reflection (speech; on Blackboard Learn)
- Hart, Drew G.I., Trouble I’ve Seen: Changing the Way the Church Views Racism (Herald Press, 2016)
- Harvey, Jennifer, Whiteness and Morality: Pursuing Racial Justice through Reparations and Sovereignty (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)
- King, Martin Luther, Jr.: Letter from the Birmingham Jail
- Pregeant, Russell, For the Healing of the Nation: A Biblical Vision (Cascade Books, 2016)
Recommended Reading and Viewing
African-American, Black Perspectives – from both African-American writers and others
- Davis, Reginal F, The Black Church: Relevant or Irrelevant in the 21st Century (Smith & Helwys Publishing, 2010)
- Dyson, Michael Eric, Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America (St. Martin’s Press, 2017)
- Harding, Vincent, There Is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America (A Harvest Book, Harcourt Brace & Company, 1981) – scholarly history of American slavery beginning from the shores of Africa through the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution by a black scholar, professor, writer, and activist
- James, Marlon, “Why I’m Done Talking about Diversity – or, Why We Should Try an All-White Diversity Panel”
- Lincoln, C. Eric, Race, Religion, and the Continuing American Dilemma, revised edition (Hill and Wang, 1999 – focuses particularly on the role of the black church
- Melish, Joanne Pope, Disowning Slavery: Gradual Emancipation and ‘Race’ in New England, 1780-1860) Cornell University Press, 1998) – traces the roots of slavery, abolitionism, and racism in New England – including treatment of free persons of color
- Tatum, Beverly Daniel, PhD, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and Other Conversations about Race (Basic Books, 1997) – a psychologist explains the development of racial identity
- Ward, Jesmyn editor, The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race (Scribner, 2017)
- West, Cornel, Prophesy Deliverance! An Afro-American Revolutionary Christianity (Phladelphia, Westminster Press, 1982)
Asian-American Perspectives
- Choi, Hee An, A Postcolonial Self: Korean Immigrant Theology and Church (SUNY Press, 2015)
- Choi, Hee An, Korean Women and God: Experiencing God in a Multi-religious Colonial Context (Orbis Books, 2005)
- Lee, Jung Young, Marginality: The Key to Multicultural Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995)
- Liu, Eric, The Accidental Asian: Notes of a Native Speaker (Vintage Books, 1998) – essays by a second-generation Chinese-American political commentator & writer
- Wu, Frank, Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White (Basic books, 2002)
- Article in Washington Post: “How the Asians Became White”
Latinx/Hispanic Perspectives
- Anzaldua, Gloria Evangelina, Borderlands/LaFrontera: the New Mestiza (aunt lute books, 1999, 4th ed.
- Anzaldua, Gloria E. & Keating, Analouise, eds., This Bridge We Call Home: Radical isions for Transformation (Routledge, 2002)
- Reyes, Patrick B., Nobody Cries When We Die: God, Community, and Surviving to Adulthood (Chalice Press, 2016)
Biblical, Theological, & Ethics Studies
- Cone, James H., The Cross and the Lynching Tree (Orbis Books, 2011)
- Felder, Cain Hope, Troubling Biblical Waters: Race, Class and Family (Orbis Books, 1989 – a study of the scriptures, with a re-examination of the place of blacks in the Bible, as well as mandates for justice
- Myers, Ched, Marie Dennis, Joseph Nangle O.F.M., Cynthia Moe-Loebeda, & Stuart Taylor, Say to This Mountain: Mark’s Story of Discipleship (Orbis Books, 1996)
- Rieger, Joerg, Globalization and Theology (Abingdon Press, 2010)
- Thurman, Howard, Jesus and the Disinherited
- West, Traci C., Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women’s Lives Matter (Westminster John Knox Press, 2006) – focusing on the intersection of racism and women’s subjugation
General, Related to US History, Culture and Contemporary Reality
- Alexander, Michelle, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (The New Press, 2012)
- Blum, Edward J. & Paul Harvey, The Color of Christ: the Sons of God and the Saga of Race in America (The University of North Carolina Press, 2012)
- Goza, Joel Edward, America’s Unholy Ghosts: The Racist Roots of Our Faith and Politics (Cascade Books, 2019)
- Haney Lopez, Ian, Dog WhistlePolitics: How Coded Racial Appeals Have Reinvented Racism and Wrecked the Middle Class (Oxford University Press, 2014)
- Harvey, Jennifer, Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children I a Racially Unjust America (Abingdon Press, 2017)
- Lowen, James W., Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong (A Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, 1999)
- Lowen, James W., Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (A Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, 1995)
- Takaki, Ronald, A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America (Little, Brown and Company, 1993)
Personal Perspectives, Memoirs, Fiction, Poetry, Prayers, Movies
- Angelou, Maya, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- Angelou, Maya, The Heart of a Woman
- Baldwin, James, The Fire Next Time (Dell Publishing, 1963)
- Bernard, Emily, Black Is the Body: Stories from My Grandmother’s Time, My Mother’s Time, and Mine (Alfred A. Knopf, 2019)
- Douglass, Frederick, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass an American Slave – written by Himself – 1845 (published by Barnes & Noble, 2002)
- Hurston, Zora Neale (ed. Alice Walker), I Love Myself – When I A Laughing – and Then Again When I am Looking Mean and Impressive (The Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1979)
- Irving, Debby, Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of Race (Elephant Room Press, 2014)
- Jarrett-Schell, Peter, Seeing My Skin: (A Story of Wrestling with Whiteness) (Church Publishing Incorporated, 2019)
- Johnson, James Weldon, God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (Viking Press, 1927)
- Kidd, Sue Monk, The Invention of Wings (Penguin Books, 2014)
- King, Martin Luther, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
- King, Martin Luther, Jr., A Gift of Love: Sermons from “Strength to Love” and Other Preachings (Beacon Press, 1981)
- Wise, Tim, White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son (the Remix: Revised and Updated Edition) Soft Kull Press, an Imprint of Counterpoint, 2008, 2011.
- Movie: Harriet (about Harriet Tubman) 2019
Countering Racism and White Privilege/Power/Supremacy (& intersections of oppression)
- Billings, David, Deep Denial: The Persistence of White Supremacy in United States History and Life (Crandall, Dostie & Douglass Books, Inc., 2016)
- DeGruy, Dr. Joy, Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing (Joy DeGruy Publications, 2017)
- DeLeon-Hartshorn, Iris, Tobin Miller Sharer, & Stoltzfus, Regina Shands, Set Free: A Journey Toward Solidarity Against Racism (Herald Press, 2001)
- Eberhardt, Jennifer L., PhD, Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do (Viking, 2019)
- Frankenburg, Ruth, The Social Construction of Whiteness: white women, race matters (University of Minnesota Press, 1993)
- Ivory, Luther D., Toward a Theology of Radical Involvement: The Theological Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Abingdon Press, 1997)
- Robinson, Randall, The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks, (A Dutton Book, 2000)
- Shearer, Jody Miller, Enter the River: Healing Steps from White Privilege toward Racial Reconciliation (Herald Press, 1994)
- Stevenson, Bryan, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2014)
- Thandeka, Learning to Be White (Continuum, 2002)
- Tochluk, Shelly, Witnessing Whiteness: The Need to Talk About Race and How to Do It (2nd edition) (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2010)
- Villanueva, Edgar, Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2018)
Perspectives on Communication & Dealing with Cross-Racial, Cross-Cultural Settings in Faith Communities
- Kondrath, William M., God’s Tapestry: Understanding and Celebrating Differences (Alban Institute, 2008)
- McSpadden, Lucia Ann, Meeting God at the Boundaries: Cross-Cultural – Cross-Racial Appointments (General Board of Higher Education & Ministry, The United Methodist Church, 2003)
- McSpadden, Lucia Ann, Meeting God at the Boundaries, A Manual for Church Leaders (General Board of Higher Education & Ministry, the United Methodist Church, 2003)
Dean Moore: Invitation to Lament
Beloved Community,
In this week of horrifying tragedy, I invite you to pause together to remember and mourn the coronavirus deaths of more than 100,000 people in the United States and more than 360,000 worldwide. Then, pause again and pray for people who have suffered and continue to suffer from the virus, while the known cases now surpass 1.76 million in the U.S. and 5.9 million across the globe. Every one of these numbers represents a human being who was and is precious in God’s sight and in the sight of those who loved and cared for them. Let them be precious to you and me as well. God, have mercy.
On this mournful night, I also beseech you to lift your pain-filled prayers and anguished cries for George Floyd, who was violently murdered on the streets of Minneapolis on May 26. Such violence against a fellow human being calls for collective mourning and for unceasing prayers for Mr. Floyd’s family, loved ones, and angry, hurting community. And pray for a radically transformative justice in Minneapolis and in your own communities that are spread far and wide.
In the next 24 hours, I invite you to light a candle or pause to breathe deeply of the pain and loss. Today is not a day to be conservative, progressive, or “middle of the road”; nor is it a day to be a Democrat, Republican, or Libertarian. It is a day to be HUMAN – to draw from the deepest wells of your faith and to lament. We need to mourn as a community, and we can only do so if we dare to be still and let the tragedies soak into the depths of our being. Lament is a pathway to share pain, to be fully human, to journey toward the heart of God, who holds more pain than all of us together can imagine and who will never let us go.
Blessings and prayers,
Mary Elizabeth
Ms. Cassandra Valentine Helms (STH ’12)
"Cassandra 'Cassie' Valentine Helms, 35 of Hoover, Ala. passed away Saturday, May 16, 2020 at Shelby Baptist Hospital. A private family graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 21, 2020 at Evergreen Memorial Gardens. The service will be live streamed from Rainey Family Funeral Service website at www.raineyfuneral.com and their Facebook page.
Cassandra was born in Bethesda, Maryland to Chester Ethane Helms and Cheryl Valentine Helms. She received a BS Degree in Anthropology and Linguistics from Emory University, an MAT from Agnes Scott College and a M. Div. from Boston University School of Theology (2012). She was a teacher at Grace Ministries, a faith-based counseling, education and writing center. Cassie had a passion for learning and helping others so her job allowed her to teach and minister. She especially loved being able to help teenage girls find their way in life. She is survived by her parents, Chet Ethane and Cheryl Valentine Helms of Valdosta; and her paternal grandmother, Inez Helms of Cordele. She was preceeded in death by a sister, Melissa June Helms, paternal grandfather, A.M. Helms; and maternal grandparents, Marjorie Louise and Ira Valentine.
Memorials to honor Cassie being made to Grace House Ministries, P.O. Box 547, Fairfield, Ala. 35064 would please the family."
This article was originally published here by The Newport Daily News.
Marian Jean Poindexter, Ed.D. (STH ’56)
Rev. William A. Nicoll (STH ’50 and ’51)
"William A. Nicoll, 100, of Frankfort, joined his Lord February 20, 2020 at Wesley Manor. He was born in 1919 in Owatonna, Minnesota to William R. and Nellie (Loomis) Nicoll. He married Mary Louise Howard in 1942; she preceded him in death in 1981. He subsequently married Ruth (Laque) Bruehl in 1983; she preceded him in death in 2011.
William graduated from DePauw University & Boston Theological Seminary (1950 and 1951). He also attended Harvard. He was a veteran of WWII earning a Bronze Star as a 1st Lieutenant serving in the Army Medical Corp. He was a United Methodist minister for churches in the following cities in Illinois: Evergreen Park, Zion, Oregon, South Lawn in Chicago, Prophetstown-where he supervised construction of a new church, Stockton-where he supervised construction of an education wing, Rockford and churches in Massachusetts, before retiring after 36 years of service. William was a member of St. Matthew United Methodist Church and sang in the choir. He was a president of family counsel at Wesley Manor, a member of Singing Saints, videotaped chapel services until his 100th birthday, past president of Rotary in Evergreen Park, Ill., and was a chairman and helped organize Waukegan Crisis Intervention Hotline in the 1970's. In Oregon he helped establish Blackhawk retirement apartments, and volunteer ambulance service, serving as a driver/attendant. While serving in the Rock River Conference in Northern Illinois, William served on committees to secure insurance and pension for pastors. William served his god faithfully, shepherded his family and his congregations, pursued equality and justice, and supported causes to save nature and the planet.
William is survived by his children; Dale William (Marilyn) Nicoll of Concord, California and Jane (Dr. Carl) Nicoll Stover of Park Forest, Ill.; step-children; Dr. Richard A. Bruehl (Nancy Stott) of Brentwood, Tenn., Step daughter-in-law Ellen Bruehl, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and brother and sister-in-law John & Ann Howard, Mt. Vernon, IL.; five grandsons, 4 great grandchildren, 11 step-grandchildren, and 12 step-great grandchildren and many loving nieces and nephews.
Along with his wives, he was preceded in death by his parents, brother, Corwin, and sisters, Louvinia Zartman and Josephine Broholm, stepdaughter, Marcia Kauten, stepson, Robert A. Bruehl II, nephews, Harvey Zartman and niece, Sandra Zartman Nason.
Visitation will be Wednesday, March 4, 2020 from 12:30 p.m. until the start of the memorial service at 1:30 p.m. at Amanda Reed Memorial Chapel, Wesley Manor. His niece, Nancy Hardin of Urbana, Ohio will officiate. Memorial contributions may be made in William's honor to Wesley Manor."
The article was originally published here by Genda Funeral Home.
CDC Offers Guidance for Faith Communities During Pandemic
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published guidelines for communities of faith to practice their beliefs during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines include "Safety Actions" such as promoting healthy hygiene practices, wearing cloth masks, cleaning and disinfecting, and social distancing. The article also offers guidance on how to plan for a staff member or a congregant coming down with the illness.
Please find the full article published on the CDC website here.