February 2016
In This Issue
Welcome

 

Each month, we share news of CDSP's students, faculty, alumni and campus life. We welcome your news, ideas and suggestions via email to Patrick Delahunt. Thank you, as always, for your support of CDSP.
CDSP Receives $250,000 for Solar Panels
Installation will be largest of any US seminary

CDSP's plans for the largest solar installation of any seminary in the United States took a big step forward in January when the institution received an anonymous gift of $250,000 over five years toward the project's $560,000 cost.
 
"At CDSP, we believe that moral accountability in our relationship to the environment is an essential component of quality theological education," said the Very Rev. W. Mark Richardson, dean and president. "We strive to be good stewards of the resources we have been given, and with this generous lead gift for solar energy, we will be able to reduce CDSP's carbon footprint and model sustainable living as a Christian community."
 
CDSP committed to reducing its global warming pollution by 50% by 2030 when it signed the Paris Pledge developed by Interfaith Power and Light, an anti-global warming advocacy network. The pledge was launched at the United Nations-sponsored Paris Climate Change Conference in December 2015, which Richardson attended as a representative of the Episcopal Church.
 
The planned installation of more than 400 solar panels on three buildings is a key part of the seminary's plan to fulfill the Paris Pledge. The panels will be installed first of the roofs of Easton and Parsons Halls and later on the roof of Shires Hall.
Archbishop Kwong to Speak at Commencement
Morgan and Clader will receive honorary degrees at May 20 ceremony

The Most Rev. Dr. Paul Kwong '82, archbishop and primate of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui and bishop of the Diocese of Hong Kong Island, will speak at CDSP's 122nd commencement on May 20.

Kwong, who was ordained a priest in 1983 and became bishop in 2007, was brought up in an Anglican family in Hong Kong. His great-grandfather was one of the first Chinese Anglican priests in the 19th century. Kwong holds a bachelor degree from Lingnan College, an MDiv from CDSP, and a PhD in theology from the University of Birmingham.

At the ceremony, two retired CDSP faculty members--Dr. Donn F. Morgan and the Rev. Dr. Linda L. Clader--will receive honorary degrees. Watch upcoming issues of the newsletter for more information and RSVP details.
Why Study Theology?
Professor MacDougall's summer reading picks

Students enrolling at CDSP in 2016 will receive a hefty new summer reading list designed by faculty to prepare them for their studies. Each month between now and the official start of the summer reading season, we'll highlight some titles chosen by our faculty members. 

This month, Visiting Assistant Professor Scott MacDougall discusses two books that he hopes will help incoming students understand the purpose of studying theology. "People studying for ordained ministry aren't training to become a theological Delta Force," he says. "They're training to facilitate other people's theological exploration."


"I am convinced that we as a church need to rediscover theology as the work of all people. It's not optional, it's a requirement for being a Christian person," says MacDougall, who, like Thompsett, is a lay theologian. "Those of us who teach in seminaries are not an aristocratic class of professional theologians."

"This book is an introduction to systematic theology from the perspective of someone who believes that the task of doing theology should be deeply troubling and painful," says MacDougall. "He does this in narrative form, using examples from philosophy, literature, scripture and the lives of the saints, and raises thorny theological issues that we will investigate more fully in my courses." 
Service [Projects], Mission [Trips], and Privilege
Youth ministry symposium at CDSP on April 9

Keynote speaker
Anne Clarke
This year's youth ministry symposium at CDSP focuses on the challenges young people face when they become aware of their own economic, racial, gender, and political privilege in the context of mission trips and service projects. The day, which is co-sponsored by the Diocese of California, will include:
  • Devotions led by the Rev. Dr. Susanna Singer of CDSP and the Rev. Canon Julia McCray-Goldsmith, canon for discipleship for the Diocese of California
  • Keynote presentation on privilege and power in service projects by Anne Clarke '14, lifelong Christian formation coordinator for the Diocese of Northern California and the first recipient of the CDSP Youth Ministry Scholarship.
  • New tools and resources to help your youth and congregations reflect on the ways that mission trips and service projects can raise difficult issues of inequality and racism, and ways in which our faith and the teachings of Jesus can help us respond.
Online Learning With CALL 
Spring Courses begin April 11 and end May 30

Join CDSP online this spring for new courses from the Center for Anglican Learning and Leadership (CALL):

Introduction to the New Testament with Dr. Judith Stack-Nelson
The New Testament stands as the key resources for preaching, theology, and spiritual formation, growth, and encouragement in the Christian tradition. This course will give students a foundational background in the process of faithful interpretation of New Testament texts for ministry and service in congregations. Learn more and register online. 

War in Faith and Film with Dr. Bradley Burroughs
Is it possible for disciples of Jesus Christ to participate in or approve of war? If so, under what circumstances? Those are the central questions with which this course will wrestle. It will approach these questions through the lens of contemporary films that portray key aspects of war. Learn more and register online.


This course integrates a theology of mission and the insights of asset-based community development to give clergy and lay leaders an urgently-needed toolkit for helping faith communities join in God's mission. Learn more and register online. 



Genesis: Texts and Contexts with Dr. Julián González
This course is an introduction to the Book of Genesis, its structure and contents. We will discuss common misconceptions about the Bible and introduce it in relation to the cultures in the Ancient Near East. Learn more and register online.



This course will investigate Anglican ideas about and practices of "church" in their historical and theological dimensions. The course will provide students with the tools and vocabulary they need for a deeper understanding of and involvement in both shaping and being church in an Anglican way in their own time and place. Learn more and register online.

Anglicanismo (in Spanish only) with the Rev. Dr. John Kater
This Spanish-language course is offered in two 12-week segments (2 weeks for each class), beginning in Spring 2016 and continuing with Part II in Fall 2016. It provides an introduction to the history of Anglican Christianity from the time of the Reformation through the growth of Anglicanism as a global Communion, with special emphasis on Anglican history and identity in the context of Latin America. Learn more and register online.
Homebrewed Christianity Podcast Now Online
"The most powerful and diverse collection of theologians"

On February 4 Tripp Fuller and his Homebrewed Christianity podcast visited CDSP. The live podcast he recorded that night is now online.

"Prepare to be blown away from the most powerful and diverse collection of theologians all in one podcast episode!" writes Fuller. 

The episode includes Graduate Theological Union faculty and students including Jay Johnson of Pacific School of Religion (PSR), Carol Jacobson of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Arthur Holder of the GTU, Mark Richardson of CDSP, Paul Martin of American Baptist Seminary of the West (ABSW), Scott MacDougall of CDSP, Valerie Miles Tribble of ABSW, Sharon Fennema of PSR, and Tripp Hudgins of ABSW.

Listen online.
Community News

Faculty News
In January, Assistant Professor George Emblom directed choral performances of Leonard Bernstein's "Chichester Psalms" with the St. Mark's, Berkeley Choir and the Temple Sinai, Oakland choir. The performances took place during Shabbat services at Temple Sinai and evensong at St. Mark's. On February 28, Emblom led members of the St. Mark's choir in their first visit to sing during worship at San Quentin Prison.

Assistant Professor Julián González has been chosen for the 2016-17 Teaching and Learning Workshop for Early Career Theological School Faculty at the Wabash Center. The workshop will meet in July 2016 and in January and June 2017.

Visiting Assistant Professor Scott MacDougall published a commissioned review of Markus Mühling's "T&T Clark Handbook of Christian Eschatology" in the most recent issue of the journal Theology.

Professor Cynthia Moe-Lobeda will give the 2016 Luther Lecture at Pacific Lutheran School of Theology on April 6. She will discuss the climate change and religious traditions that can inspire ecologically sound and socially just ways of living. Learn more.

Student News
Teresa Wakeen '16 has been awarded a United Thank Offering seminarian grant to develop a new congregation in an underserved area of Detroit in partnership with Crossroads of Michigan and several Episcopal organizations. Learn more.

Alumni News
The Rev. Bonnie Ring '89 has published a new book, "Women Who Knew Jesus." Learn more on the book's website.

Job Postings
The Diocese of California seeks an associate for discipleship ministries. Read the job description online and apply by March 11. 

In Memoriam
The Rev. Barry Bloom '63 died on January 1. He served in east Oakland after ordination and then joined the Peace Corps in Tanzania. He lived in that country for many years, returned to the Bay Area, finally settling in Portland, Oregon.

News to share? Please email us. 
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