Alumni News
Martha Emily Bellinger’s (’75) New Publication Discusses LGBTQA+ Spirituality
According to Martha Emily Bellinger, few lesbian novels discuss the spiritual issues concerning same-sex marriage. In “The Two Ruths” (published by Archway Publishing), the author tells a fictional story that not only discusses how spirituality can play an important role in LGBT marriages, but also how it might be the “glue” which keeps them going.
You can read more and view purchasing options here.
Association of United Methodist Theological Schools Statement on Gun Violence
Statement on Gun Violence
April 18, 2018 – The Association of United Methodist Theological Schools (AUMTS) is deeply concerned about the pervasive and continuing gun violence in the United States. A related phenomenon is the use of lethal force against a disproportionate number of African-Americans at the hands of police, security guards, and self-appointed vigilantes. (See the AUMTS statement on Black Lives in 2014: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jack-levison/race-and-the-fabric-of- faith_b_6955628.html). As a denomination, United Methodists are committed to following in the way of Jesus, working for the common good, and supporting measures that insure the protection, security, and safety of all persons. This is a fundamental necessity for the flourishing of human community and society. We join with Bishop Ken Carter, incoming President of the Council of Bishops, in calling us to “repent from our participation in a culture of death; [to] acknowledge the harm we do to others, and [to] claim the power of the cross that breaks the cycle of violence and retaliation.” As Christians grounded in a theology of new life in Jesus Christ, we acknowledge that guns are instruments for the perpetuation of violence; they are weapons that bring death. We stand in our tradition of turning swords into plowshares, turning weapons of death into tools of life.
This article was originally published on the United Methodist's Church General Board of Higher Education and Ministry website. Click here to read the full article: https://www.gbhem.org/about-gbhem/news/aumts-statement-gun-violence
Scholar of Religion Nancy Ammerman to Retire
April 25, 2018, Boston MA — Biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins wonders whether theologians—at least the kind who study things like Adam and Eve’s original sin, even though Adam and Eve never existed—should get the boot from academia. As a sociologist with a joint appointment at the School of Theology and the College of Arts & Sciences, Nancy Ammerman has spent her career studying both believers in Eden’s couple and those who understand them as allegory.
Ammerman wants you to know two things: she doesn’t take a stand one way or the other on her subjects’ beliefs; she merely studies them. And those who don’t take Genesis as literal history outnumber those who do, highlighting what she calls a common misperception among academics: that people in the pews hold rigid doctrines and “otherworldly” beliefs in an “authoritarian God”—that “religion is about believing without doubt and obeying without question,” she says.
Read the full article by Rich Barlow, originally posted on BU Today here: http://www.bu.edu/today/2018/nancy-ammerman-retires
Professor Walter E. Fluker: Creating Space for the Other
April 19, 2018 – The School of Theology's Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership, Dr. Walter E. Fluker, has a lesson titled "Creating Space for the Other" on the website for the Black Theology Project. The knowledge base system site is a digital learning network that seeks to strengthen social movements by bridging the gap between the Academy, Church, and Community, and curates theological resources for Black Lives.
One of the project's campaigns, MLK Global, has curated a number of global voices on the teachings of Dr. King. Their site describes the MLK Global mission "believes that Dr. King’s analysis of the underlying structures that reinforce inequality speaks to peoples across the global north & south who share a deep desire for long-overdue change. MLK Global wants to see a renewed awareness of his 5-point Economic Bill of Rights, re-envisioned for today. Economic inequalities, racism, militarism & climate change are destroying families, communities, nations and the very planet we live on. The time to fulfill Dr. King’s vision of a “radical redistribution of power” is now."
Watch the video here:
School of Theology Celebrates Seminary Month
April 2018 – The School of Theology is celebrating Seminary Month during the month of April. Several faculty members are preaching at nearby congregational churches in the Greater Boston area. Find the full list of appearances here: https://www.bu.edu/sth/resources/church-relations/sth-seminary-month-2018/
Professor Christopher Evans elected an honorary fellow at the Manchester Wesley Research Centre
Manchester, United Kingdom – Christopher Evans, Professor of History of Christianity and Methodist Studies, has been elected as an Honorary Fellow at the Manchester Wesley Research Centre (MWRC). Honorary Fellows are elected from established scholars who support the aims of the Centre, and are part of the Centre's ongoing work. Professor Evans was a visiting research fellow at the John Rylands Research Institute and the MWRC last year. The full list of elected Honorary Fellows can be found here. Congratulations, Professor Evans, on this outstanding achievement!
Lauren Hobler (’16) Accepted Into International Law Program at Hofstra Law School
Big congratulations to Lauren Hobler ('16) for her recent acceptance into Hofstra Law School to study International Law.
Rev. Jon R. Powers (’74) to be Inducted into the MLK Jr. Board of Preachers
Ohio Wesleyan University Chaplain and Boston University School of Theology graduate Jon R. Powers has been selected for induction April 5 into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA.
You can rear more about Rev. Powers and this exciting news here. Congratulations, Rev. Powers!
STH Community Shares Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Remembrances with Local and National Media
April 4, 2018, Boston, MA – Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ('55), and several School of Theology faculty members and alumni have shared stories of Dr. King's life and legacy with the news media. Please see the full list of appearances below:
| News Piece | STH Community Member |
| MLK, 50 Years Later BU Today |
Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore Dr. Walter E. Fluker, Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership Rev. Dr. Robert A. Hill, Dean of Marsh Chapel, Professor of New Testament and Pastoral Theology Rev. Cornell William Brooks, Visiting Professor of Social Ethics, Law, and Justice Movements |
| MLK Was a Man, Not Just an Icon BU Today |
Rev. William Bobby McClain (STH'62, '77) Rev. Gil Caldwell (STH'58) Rev. David Briddell (STH'55) |
| 'Martin Luther King Loved This City': Remembering King's Legacy in Boston WBUR 90.9 FM |
Dr. Walter E. Fluker, Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership |
| Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr. Fifty Years Later NBC10 Boston |
Dr. Walter E. Fluker, Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor of Ethical Leadership |
| Wolf Blitzer Show: Segment on the Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Live appearance on CNN |
Rev. Cornell William Brooks, Visiting Professor of Social Ethics, Law, and Justice Movements |
| Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Teachings Remembered 50 Years After His Assassination Boston 25 News |
Rev. Cornell William Brooks, Visiting Professor of Social Ethics, Law, and Justice Movements |
| BU Preacher Commemorates Martin Luther King, Jr., and "His Ongoing Lesson on How to Love" WBUR 90.9 FM |
Rev. Cornell William Brooks, Visiting Professor of Social Ethics, Law, and Justice Movements |
| March to Commemorate Funeral Procession of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. WSB-TV 2 Atlanta |
Dean Mary Elizabeth Moore Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter (STH'68, '70, '79) |
Dr. Keith A. Roberts (’72) Publishes New Work
Dr. Keith A. Roberts has published a new work entitled Meaning Making with Malignancy: A Theologically Trained Sociologist Reflects on Living Meaningfully with Cancer. Through personal narrative and theological thought, Dr. Roberts guides his readers through diagnosis, planning for the future, and the conversations with loved ones. His work is already getting positive reviews by chaplains, pastors, counselors, cancer patients, and caregivers.
You can purchase Dr. Roberts' work and read more here.
