Professor Karen B. Westerfield Tucker and Associate Professor Shelly Rambo have been keeping busy at home. Not only are they teaching their full class schedules remotely, but they are working with other church and faith leaders to write resources for pastors and chaplains to use during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I was involved with several other UMC [leaders] to produce the Ministry Matters Resource," says Professor Westerfield Tucker. This important article offers resources for not only specific events during Holy Week and Eastertide but also possibilities of congregational participation over the internet.
Dr. Montague Williams (STH ’18) was presented with the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Wesleyan Theological Society at its annual meeting on March 7, 2020. This award is given to the individual whose doctoral dissertation is deemed an outstanding scholarly contribution to a research area related to the Wesleyan/Holiness tradition. The Wesleyan Theological Society grants this award periodically to recognize scholarship that contributes to concerns and issues that it deems are of great importance. Dr. Williams’ dissertation is entitled "Youth Ministry and Race: A Practical Theological Analysis."
School of Theology Associate Professor Shelly Rambo is a senior advisor for the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab (CIL). CIL has many resources to assist chaplains during the current COVID-19 crisis, including articles and webinars. Please visit their resources page here for further information.
Dr. Rambo “is excited to share this link to resources that are being generated and creatively employed by chaplains working to respond to the spiritual needs of persons and communities most impacted by COVID-19. We hold all of these ‘spiritual first-responders’ in our prayers.”
This article was originally published on BU Today. Read the full article here.
New date uncertain, but leaders determined to hold in-person graduation
Boston University is postponing its 147th Commencement and related events, originally scheduled for May 15 to 17, 2020, to either late August or early fall, bowing to safety needs amid the coronavirus pandemic, President Robert A. Brown announced Thursday.
For the 7,200 soon-to-be graduates, it’s sure to be emotionally wrenching news, the postponement of a milestone moment in their young lives—a ceremony they’ve been anticipating not just for weeks and months, but for years. The date that’s been marked on their calendars, when their friends and family would see them walking proudly onto Nickerson Field, draped in a red gown, excited to fling their mortarboards into the air, is suddenly in flux.
“I made the postponement decision with a heavy heart, but I am also mindful of the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic and our public safety obligations,” Robert A. Brown, BU president, wrote in a letter to graduates and their families. “Regrettably, it is impossible to be definitive about a date until the epidemic subsides and we feel it will be safe to hold the exercises.” He pledged to update the community by May 1.
This article was originally published at resourceumc.org. Find the full article here.
General Conference to move to 2021
Commission on the General Conference
March 23, 2020 – Nashville, Tenn.: Subsequent to theannouncementby the Executive Committee of the Commission on the General Conference that the 2020 General Conference will be postponed, the full Commission met March 21, 2020 to determine next steps to take in setting a new date.
After hearing recommendations from Sara Hotchkiss, Business Manager of the General Conference, and discussion of possible alternatives, the Commission made a determination that the General Conference will not meet in 2020 as originally planned and elected to work toward setting a date in 2021.
“As we looked at the complex issues that we will need to navigate to reschedule the event and the lack of options available, it does not appear feasible to plan for 2020,” said Kim Simpson, chair of the Commission. “These issues include the undetermined length of the pandemic, uncertainty around travel bans in different areas of the world, delays in processing visas due to government and business closures and other questions.”
In giving direction for next steps, the Commission resolved that holding the event in Minneapolis is a high priority and authorized the business manager to pursue negotiations regarding other dates available at the Minneapolis Convention Center in 2021.
This message was originally posted at 4:04pm on Friday, March 13, 2020. It will be updated as more information becomes available. Please see additional resources for our community at the bottom of this message.
Dear Beloved Community,
You have been remarkable in your calm and careful preparation as we shift to a largely virtual community of teaching, learning, and gathering. Thank you for your heroic efforts! You have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with minimal panic and maximal goodwill. Administrators, faculty, and staff have stepped into this learning curve superbly well, and we already see students doing the same. The next days and weeks will require a lot of effort and flexibility, and I hope you will take time each day to breathe deeply and center yourselves in ways that are important to you. With this email, your three deans want you to know how much we care for you and our shared community.
Below we explain some of the basics you will want to know, with messages from each of us about the overall STH situation (me), remote teaching (Dean Stone), and events and community and spiritual life (Dean Hickman-Maynard).
From Mary Elizabeth Moore: The University is open and is offering full services for teaching and learning, community life, and structural supports. We will simply be far more virtual in our “new normal,” and we will learn as we go. Many of our customary ways of functioning will change (as in remote teaching and event cancellations); however, we are developing alternatives to address the primary purposes of an academic and living community during this period of serious health risks.
Staff will be available during their normal working hours, even though most will work parts of each week from home. You can reach people by email during regular hours, and they will also work in rotation to keep the offices open for support and immediate services.
The Library will remain open, though the hours will be shortened and staff will rotate in their on-campus presence. The staff will also provide extra online services, and you will receive a more detailed note about this very soon.
Public spaces in our school will remain open, e.g., the library and the Community Center, and the spaces will have sanitizers and reminders about social distancing and handwashing. This is needed because many students are remaining on campus for important reasons.
From Bryan Stone: STH Faculty are working hard to re-think their courses in light of our move to remote teaching for the next several weeks. Faculty will be in touch with students about the specifics of each class, but classes will always be held at the exact same time as scheduled, using Zoom. The University link for downloading Zoom for free is at https://www.bu.edu/tech/services/cccs/conf/online/zoom/. We suggest you familiarize yourself with Zoom and do some practice runs with a friend before classes resume next week. Any student who anticipates having technology or internet access problems in getting online remotely should be in contact quickly with Academic Dean Bryan Stone. If you will need to participate from a time zone outside of the US, please let him know that as well. Please always check your blackboard course websites for information and for Zoom links in the coming days. All courses will have a blackboard website, even if they did not have one previously. Writing Works will continue through virtual means (Google Hangouts), and more information will be coming about that soon.
From Teddy Hickman-Maynard: We are asking that students, staff, and faculty who have events planned between March 16 and April 13 to either cancel the event or transform it into an online event. Due to the uncertainty of the University’s plans for the remainder of the semester, we do not recommend that you plan to hold these events later in the semester. If student leaders require assistance in rescinding any contracts with outside guests or vendors, they should contact Dean Teddy Hickman-Maynard for assistance.
Despite this pause on in-person gathering, we fully intend to maintain a robust spiritual and community life program. Office of Students and Community Life staff will be working over the next few days to reimagine ways of coming together in virtual spaces to continue the work of nurturing meaningful relationships with one another. We are thankful that many students have already inquired about ways that they can help to support one another. We invite you to continue offering helpful suggestions as we put a plan in place.
From All of Us:
We encourage you to watch for updates. In the next 3 days, we will provide an overall information sheet, Monday’s Collegium, and a web information center for students and faculty. Please let us know (now or later) if you have any questions or concerns. We are here for you! At the same time, we wish you moments of breathing and blessing.
This following article was originally published on Wednesday, March 11 at 12:35pm. Please view the original article here as updates will be posted as the story develops.
By Doug Most
Boston University, reacting to the fast-spreading coronavirus, announced on Wednesday, March 11, that it is moving all classes to online only. Students who are away for spring break are advised not to return to campus after break ends Sunday—but residence and dining halls will remain open for those who need to remain on campus because of particular challenges, according to BU’s leadership.
In aletterto all students, faculty, and staff, Robert A. Brown, University president, and Jean Morrison, provost and chief academic officer, outlined the reasoning behind various decisions related to COVID-19 and explained how the changes would be implemented.
The changes, effective Monday, March 16, through Monday, April 13, do not impact BU’s day-to-day routine staff business or University research, but employees who are uncomfortable being on campus are encouraged to speak with their managers about working from home. Officials plan to revisit the situation and update the community around April 1.
This week, Boston University launched a website dedicated to inform our community on the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The site was launched in collaboration with Student Health Services, Admissions, Dean of Students, Global Programs, Human Resources, and many others. The website will be kept up-to-date as news develops.
The launch of the website was also announced Tuesday, March 3 by the BU Today. "University officials have been meeting daily and communicating with students, parents, faculty, and staff, both in Boston and at programs across the United States and around the world. The University already had in place a response plan for major infectious diseases, and that plan has now been updated to specifically address the coronavirus (COVID-19)."
Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore addressed students, faculty, and staff on Monday, March 2 that "the toxicity of the disease is also connected with another kind of toxicity that is presently affecting Asian members of our community. We are aware of instances in BU and even in STH in which persons of Asian descent are avoided or addressed in an ostracizing way. This is devastating and just as toxic as the disease." She and Deans Stone and Hickman-Maynard urge the School of Theology community to be active by following these strategies:
"Due to the crisis situation, we have entered a time to act for health – physical, psychological, and social. We highly recommend three strategies:
Care for yourself – Take care of your physical body and your holistic health with plenty of handwashing, sleep, water, and nutritious food, as well as getting a flu shot and taking extra precautions with cleanliness at home and in public places.
Care for others – Take time to support one another, either by encouraging self-care or by doing small acts of kindness, like taking notes for friends who have to miss a class, avoiding physical contact in as many forms as possible, but doubling down on smiles and check-ins with your friends and neighbors.
Care for social community – Look for opportunities to listen and learn from all parts of the community, near and far, and to nourish community solidarity that extends care and justice to all, especially those bearing the greater weight of this global crisis."
Nearly 70 United Methodist clergywomen (elders and deacons) under the age of 40 comprise the list of writers in "We Pray With Her." These clergywomen serve all over the United States and they lead in a variety of ministerial roles in the local church, chaplaincy, academia, and more. Formed in 2016 as a private Facebook group, they committed to pray for United Methodist presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and they continue today to share prayers and devotions with each other in support of women in leadership. Through this work, they invite readers to join in supporting women who lead in all walks of life - with prayers, through mentoring, and through daily acts of solidarity with the women in their own lives.
The following authors in "We Pray With Her" are STH graduates.
Monica Beacham (STH '11) serves Cedar Grove United Methodist Church in North Carolina.
Sarah Harrison-McQueen (STH '07) serves Central United Methodist Church in Virginia.
Lorrin Radzik (STH '13) serves Independence and Seven Hills United Methodist Churches in Ohio.
Allie Scott (STH '12) serves the Family Church in Neenah, Wisconsin.
Megan Stowe (STH '04) serves Saint Paul’s United Methodist Church in Vermont.
Megan Thompson (STH '08) serves Steward and Creston United Methodist Churches in Illinois.
All royalties from the forthcoming book, “We Pray With Her: Encouragement for All Women Who Lead,” will support scholarships for young women who are certified candidates enrolled in the Master of Divinity program at one of the 13 United Methodist Seminaries.
For more information, please visit their website: https://wepraywithher.com/
"We Pray With Her" can be purchased at: https://www.abingdonpress.com/wepraywithher
Congratulations to Tom Reid (STH ’19) for being honored by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) with the Ecumenical Service Recognition Award. Tom is one of three awardees. He was chosen for the Individual Interreligious Award. As many of you know, Tom now serves as Associate Director of the Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership at Hebrew College, and is active in coordinating the collaborative relationship between BUSTH and Hebrew College, which supports shared programs and the Journal of Interreligious Studies. He is also working with an STH team on a MOOC on interreligious leadership. He will be honored with the Interreligious Award at the 224th meeting of the PCUSA General Assembly on June 23, 2020.
