SUMMER 2006

Whether or not you believe our troops should be in Iraq,your heart has to break, as mine does, at the pictures ofour fallen troops that are appearing daily in many of

our country’s newspapers. They were mainly young men andwomen—the age of many of our students at Austin Seminary.When I think of these fallen soldiers, I think of those graduates ofthe Seminary who are themselves serving our country in combatand high-stress situations. Sometime in locations within earshot ofcombat, these chaplains pray with the soldiers in their charge, theylisten to the fears and anxieties they express, they lead them inworship, they preach to them, they serve the sacraments to them,and in a thousand other ways they convey to them the love of a bigGod Whose own heart is the first to break when nations war withother nations.

I am proud of our alums in chaplaincy service, and of the sol-diers whom they serve. They are in circumstances that none of usenvy. I invite you to pray for them and for their safety, and beyondthat to pray as well for the day when war in Iraq—and the MiddleEast, and Afghanistan, and the Sudan, and Somalia, and every-where else where guns blare—will no longer be necessary.

And now I invite you to read on in this issue of Windows, asProfessor Ismael García, the Reverend Phin Washer (APTS Classof 1956), General Robert Herres (a former Austin Seminarytrustee), and Shannon Neufeld lay out different perspectivesregarding war, its ravages, and the pastoral care it requires. May itbe that this issue assists in providing yet more human faces andstories, so that we might never forget that our military adventuresaround the world involve not just machines but a long roster ofsons and daughters, moms and dads, loved ones all.

Theodore J. WardlawPresident

LOOKING OUTWARD

The Pre s i d e n t’s Preaching andSpeaking En g a g e m e n t s

August 20, The Village PC, Prairie Village,Kansas

September 10, St. Charles Avenue PC, NewOrleans

September 11-12, John Calvin Presbytery

September 14, Partnership Event, Tyler, Texas

September 17, Westminster PC, Oklahoma City

September 24, First PC, Norman, Oklahoma

September 26, The Scotland Connection“Recovery of Preaching/Worship,” Myers ParkPC, Charlotte, North Carolina

September 27, President’s Colloquium, AustinSeminary

October 3, Partnership Event, Kerrville, Texas

October 8, Williamsburg PC, Williamsburg,Virginia

October 20, St. Andrew PC, Denton, Texas

October 24, Partnership Event, Fayetteville,Arkansas

November 5, St. Andrew PC, Albuquerque

November 11, Grace Presbytery

December 17, Brick Church, New York City

CONTENTS

2 - 1 2 A Faithful Response to War2 Peace, love, and just war

A brief history of the Christian understanding of warBY ISMAEL GARCÍA

7 Called to military serviceAustin Seminary chaplains in service to God and countryBY SHANNON NEUFELD

10 In partnership with the prince of peaceOne alum’s campaign to eliminate land minesBY PHINEAS WASHER

12 A general perspective on warAn interview with General Robert Herres

1 3 The Class of 20061 7 Community news21 Development news22 Faculty news24 Alumni/ae newsBack cover Photos from the 2006 commencement

Theological Education Fund(1% Plan)

The theological schools of thePresbyterian Church (U.S.A.)no longer receive funding fromthe basic mission budget of theGeneral Assembly. Churchesare asked to contribute 1% oftheir operating budgets to thefund, which is then distributedto the seminaries.

Publisher & Mailing Statement

Windows is published three times each yearby Austin Presbyterian TheologicalSeminary.ISSN 2056-0556

Non-profit bulk mail permit no. 2473

Austin Seminary WindowsAustin Presbyterian Theological Seminary100 E. 27th St.Austin, TX 78705-5797

phone: 512-472-6736 e-mail: windows@austinseminary.edufax: 512-479-0738www.austinseminary.edu

BOARD OF TRUSTEESJohn M. McCoy, Chair

Michael D. AllenKaren C. AndersonThomas L. Are Jr.F. M. Bellingrath IIIDianne E. BrownCassandra C. CarrPeggy L. ClarkJames G. CooperElizabeth Blanton FlowersDonald R. FramptonRichard D. GillhamBruce G. HerlinLydia HernandezJ Carter King IIIMichael L. LindvallCatherine O. LowryJames D. MillerBlair R. MonieVirginia L. OlszewskiB. W. PayneWilliam C. Powers Jr.Cheryl Covey RamseySydney F. RedingMax R. ShermanJerry Jay SmithSallie Sampsell WatsonHugh H. Williamson IIIJudy A. Woodward

Trustees EmeritiClarence N. FriersonStephen A. MatthewsEdward D. Vickery

W I N D OW SSummer 2006

Volume 121 Number 3

EDITORRandal Whittington

CONTRIBUTORSHannah BeckJohn Evans

Michael JinkinsTimothy KubatzkyShannon Neufeld

Georgia SmithPrescott Williams

Cover photograph by Randal Whittington

2

Instructed to give to Caesar what belongs toCaesar and to God what belongs to Go d ,Christians have understood themselves as called

to a life of faithful discipleship to the Kingdom and to beresponsible citizens who abide by those moral and polit-ical structures that sustain community and uplift humanintegrity. The use of violence to settle personal, political,and religious conflicts is one of those experiences thatstrikes at the core of the Christian self-understanding. Itforces upon us the question, What are the parameters offaithful discipleship? How can we assume responsibilityfor sustaining the fragile network of human relationshipsthat allows for tolerable levels of justice and human well-being while modeling a life guided by the Prince ofPeace?

The manner in which Christians have experienced

the tensions between these two obligations accounts fortheir divergent views of what faithfulness and disciple-ship entail. However, Christians do agree that the spillingof blood cannot be taken lightly and that violence andwar are evils that must be avoided. Authors as diverse asErasmus of Rotterdam and John Wesley, neither ofwhom were pacifists nor developed a just war theory,exemplified the most fitting response: to denounce withabhorrence the destructive nature and inhumane conse-quences of war. (See J. Philip Wogaman, Christian Ethics:A Historical Introduction).

early christian pacifistsOur pacifist heritage is tied to our origin. Christians ofthe first two centuries modeled different types of pacifistleanings. Some were legalistic pacifists. They interpretedas Divine Commands such rules as: you should have onlyone God, do not kill, love and pray for one’s enemies, donot resist evil, and do good to those who hurt you.Faithfulness and discipleship entailed absolute obedienceto these rules, which explains their unwillingness to jointhe police and the military. Theologically, the belief thatthe Kingdom was at hand fed their status as residentaliens who did not need to be overly concerned withimproving the political structures that regulated theirlives. Faithfulness to Jesus’ peaceful way took precedenceover being historically effective in improving the world.Others grounded their non-violence on key stories with-

in the Jesus narrative. Jesus’ nonresistance to the multipleviolences committed against him—his reproaching Peterfor his violent intentions and behavior, the eschatologicalimagery given in his sermon on the mount/plain thatdefined life fitting the Kingdom—modeled what itmeant to be a faithful disciple. These stories encouragednot so much an ethic of law and the virtue of obedience,but a commitment to a transformed way of living withincommunity that pointed to the presence of theKingdom. Peace, justice, service to others, recognitionand inclusion of others are not mere duties and obliga-tions, but must become habits of our heart and virtuesthat shape our character and the practices of our com-munity. Discipleship and faithfulness meant growinginto this new way of being in community.

Formative historical/political experiences also playeda prominent role in sustaining the pacifist lifestyle ofearly Christianity. Christians were suspicious of the polit-ical establishment since it was an accomplice in the

BY ISMAEL GARCÍA

Ismael García, professor of Christian ethics at AustinSeminary, specializes in the intersection of Christian ethicsand issues of social justice. He has written Introducción ala Ética Cristiana (Abingdon Press, 2003), Dignidad:Ethics Through Hispanic Eyes (Abingdon Press, 1997),and King and the Critique of North American Conceptionsof Justice.

peace, love, and just wara brief history of the Christian understanding of war

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 3

4

killing of their beloved Master and subjected them tounjustified persecutions. The political was identified withviolence. Furthermore, their minority status as a sectwithin Judaism minimized the opportunities and occa-sions they had to engage intentionally in social and polit-ical matters. Their focus was primordially in-house, theirenergies exhausted with the difficult task of building,instructing, and nurturing the church within a hostilepolitical and religious environment.

Pacifism continues to have a diverse presence withinthe Christian community. For most, war is murder andthere is no sweetening this pill. Some among them stillbelieve that faithfulness to nonvio-lence entails separating themselvesand minimizing the influence ofthe larger culture in their lives.They constitute themselves intoalternative communities who prac-tice nonviolence as the main way ofcomplying with the principle ofpeace. Other pacifists affirm thecounter-cultural lifestyle but see itas entailing more than just acting innonviolent ways. They have anabiding commitment to improveour shared political and social life.They constitute themselves intocommunities of service and com-passion (see the work of Jo h nHow a rd Yoder and St a n l e yHauerwas). They behave like pro-fessional political naggers whosepersonal and communal vocationsare to create a community thatmakes a public witness of faithfulness to the justice, aswell as to the nonviolent ways of Jesus. Peace and nonvi-olence are about being and becoming a peaceful personmore than just acting in nonviolent ways. Their abidingconviction is that the peace of the Kingdom alone cansustain long lasting justice.

Martin Luther King Jr. articulated different ways toapproach the challenge of violence. At times, Kingargued for nonviolence on prudential grounds. Giventhat African Americans are a social minority with mini-mum access to the social instruments of violence, to optfor violence would be self-defeating. At other times, pru-dence was mixed with a sense of religious/moral com-mitment. For followers of the Prince of Peace, violence ismorally wrong. Still, humanly and politically speaking, itis necessary that there be a military and police force tokeep justice and social order. Finally, King argued that

nonviolence is a way of life, a never-ending process ofpersonal and communal conversion that leads to and sus-tains the creation of inclusive and caring communities(King’s “Beloved Community”). It is intrinsic to what itmeans to be an authentic individual. His opposition tothe Vietnam War signaled his conviction that the destinyof the world and of the whole of creation depended onour capacity to solve our national and international prob-lems in nonviolent ways. All pacifists share the abidingconviction that faithfulness to the peaceful way takes pri-ority over public responsibility if the pursuit of the pub-lic good entails violence. This conviction is grounded on

their faith that God is in charge ofthe outcome of history. They rec-ognize that there are values worthdying for, but claim that there isnothing worth killing for (seeJames Washington, The EssentialWritings of Martin Luther King Jr.).

a new understand-ing of violenceThe fourth century brought signif-icant changes to the social statusand responsibilities of Christians.Some identify this transition periodof our history as the beginning ofthe surrendering of our distinctChristian identity. Others arguethat Christians had a gre a t e rimpact on shaping the values of theworld than what the world had oninfluencing the faith. All agree that

these changes led to new understandings of what faithfuldiscipleship entailed. Christianity moved from being aminority religious/political presence to becoming a dom-inant world religion. It turned into a culture-shapingforce, assuming greater responsibility for the mainte-nance of the political and moral networks that orderedhuman relationships. The protection of the innocent, theliberation of the oppressed, the containment of anti-social behavior and of the spread of evil became matterscentral to Christian spirituality and discipleship. Thepromotion of justice and the preservation of peace,nationally and internationally, became fitting responsibil-ities for members of the faith community even thoughthey required the use of violence.

Christians, among others, formulated what becameknown as the “just war theory” that still remains thedominant Christian point of view. This theory specified

“[In the fourth century] Christianitymoved from being a

minorityreligious/political

presence to becoming adominant world

religion … assuminggreater responsibilityfor the maintenance of

the political andmoral networks that

ordered human relationships.”

WINDOWS / Summer 2006

the criteria by which to regulate violent conflicts and thepractice of war. It is imperative to mention that the pur-pose of the just war theory is not to justify war. On thecontrary, this theory aimed at formulating criteria thatmake the practice of war next to impossible. It is precise-ly its intent to avoid war that makes the theory fitting toChristian spirituality. In seeking the promotion andpreservation of peace, just war theory has a telos akin topacifism. The just war theory is a rule-abiding ethic thatseeks to respond to the challenging demands of moralexceptions. It recognizes the impossibility of claimingthat moral principles are absolute; particularly when thedemands of two equally valid moralprinciples entail opposing actions.The theory formulates criteria tohelp us determine when it is legiti-mate to violate our abiding com-mitment to peace for the preserva-tion of another equally valid moralvalue such as justice, order, com-munity, freedom, and equality.

just war theoryAmong the main criteria presentedby the just war theory are: 1. Warand violence are to be enacted onlyby legitimate authority (not every-one is authorized to do so); 2. Warand violence are to be used to pro-tect and defend ourselves fro munjustified aggression or abuse byothers and/or from losing a signifi-cant good (freedom, justice, order,community); 3. War and violenceare a last resort (all political and diplomatic means are tobe exhausted before engaging in war/violence); 4. A rea-sonable prospect that we will achieve our good end mustexist (war and violence cannot be their own end or justi-fication); and 5. The violence done must be proportion-al to the good achieved (if more harm than good is seenas the outcome then violence is not justified). These cri-teria (some authors include more and others less) are usedto regulate the decision whether or not to engage in war.In those cases where war cannot be avoided, then the the-ory presents further criteria to regulate conduct withinthe context of war. Among these: 1. Provide immunity tonon-combatants (there are limits toward whom we canbe violent); 2. Limit the use of violence to what is neces-sary and try to bring the conflict to a speedy end (pro-portionality); and 3. We owe humane treatment to theenemy when they are captured and/or surrender.

The wars depicted in the scriptures, the realisticdepiction of human sinfulness, the fact that neither Johnthe Baptist nor Peter denounced military officers nordemanded that they change their profession as a condi-tion of joining the faith community, all gave warrant toseeing the legitimate use of violence as fitting Christianspirituality. As Calvin would say, the conditions that leadto war as depicted in scripture are still present among us.T h e o l o g i c a l l y, just war advocates assume that theKingdom of God remains distant and is not realizablewithin the conditions of history. Humans, therefore,have greater responsibility to sustain the fragile web of

human relationships to secure( c o n s e rva t i ves) or enhance (pro-gressives) justice and peace. Givenour inordinate self-centerness andself-interest, that is, our sinfulness,the use of violence becomesinevitable. In this view, there arevalues worth both giving our lifefor and taking life for. Justice haspriority over peace because it isseen as foundational for lasting andtrue peace. Social peace and orderat the expense of justice, freedom,and equality are not always accept-able nor justifiable. Indifference orpassivity toward the reality of mas-sive human suffering itself reveals alack of faithful discipleship.

violence groundedin loveConscious that violence and war

challenge our Christian identity, some just war advo-cates, Augustine and Martin Luther among them, soughtto ground the legitimate use of violence in love; the cen-tral tenant of our faith. Both authors rejected that self-defense provided a sufficient justification for the use ofviolence. They saw self-defense as being too closely relat-ed to selfishness and self-interest—the antithesis of love.The defense of a third party, however, provided the nec-essary and sufficient conditions to justify violence. Mylove for others, a kind of modern victim’s right theory,does justify violence against those who violate theirrights. Both authors argued that in committing violenceagainst others, one should still be motivated by love.Recognizing the paradoxical nature of such claims,Luther called such acts “strange love.” Aquinas, seeinghow untenable the claim that we can kill others in thespirit of love is, argued for a more realistic approach. For

5

“[J]ust war advocatesassume that the

Kingdom of God remainsdistant and is not

realizable within theconditions of history.

Humans, therefore,have greater

responsibility tosustain the fragile

web of humanrelationships tosecure or enhance

justice and peace.”

6

him, we can do violence, and even kill others, when theconditions for social order are threatened in fundamentalways (see Lisa Sowle Cahill, L ove Your En e m i e s :Discipleship, Pacifism, and Just War Theory).

mainline return to pacifismAt present, Christians live within the uneasy and unre-solved tension that exists between the pacifist lifestyleand the just war tradition. This is seen clearly in the doc-uments produced by churches to address the issue of war.The pastoral letter produced by the Roman CatholicChurch, “The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise andOur Response,” the Presbyterian document “Peacemak-ing, the Believers’ Calling,” and the Methodist document“In Defense of Creation: The Nuclear Crisis and a JustPeace” reveal that while just war theory remains the dom-inant view, it no longer enjoys exclusive normative privi-lege; they see pacifism as a legiti-mate alternative for Christians.This significant shift was, first ofall, a way of acknowledging thee xe m p l a ry commitment pacifistsmade to contemporary struggles ofjustice and peace. It was also a wayof retrieving the commitment tothe peaceful lifestyle that definesthe early church community. Final-ly, it was a way of recognizing theunique situation nuclear energyand technology bring to the practice of war. The nuclearthreat and modern military technology have made itmorally unjustifiable to engage in war since such a war, asa matter of principle, violates all the moral restraintsspecified by the just war theory and threatens not onlythe well-being of humanity but the well-being of all ofcreation. The documents, however, leave us with no clearsense of how these alternatives can actually be heldtogether, or which ought to have priority. They merelyassume that both these alternatives are complementaryand necessary and call us to live in this tension.

the terrorism shiftTerrorism forces us to continue to discern what faithfuldiscipleship means for us today. Terrorism, of course, isnot a new phenomenon. It has a long history of beingused by political groups and nation states as a tactic toundermine a given political order and to consolidate anew form of historical consciousness. What is uniquetoday is the prominence of religion-based terro r i s tgroups. It is astonishing to notice how all religious com-munities have been tempted, at one time or another, to

use terrorist tactics to preserve or forward what they con-sider to be the moral and religious good (see MarkJuergensmeyer, Terror in the Mind of God: the Global Riseof Religious Terrorism).

Te r rorists remind us of the darkest periods ofChristian history, the Crusades. But their religious pas-sions have radicalized their zealous commitment farbeyond the inhumanity and cruelty practiced during theCrusades. Like the crusaders, terrorists do not recognizethe humanity of those they define as the enemy. Giventheir belief that their enemies offend not only them butGod, they have no qualms in inflicting extreme pain oreven extinction on their enemies. They acknowledge noobligation to engage in dialogue with their enemies, haveno inclination to seek political compromises and accom-modations, no concern to care for those they attack, nordo they distinguish between the combatants or non-com-

batants. They place and interprettheir historical political stru g g l ewithin a cosmic context and claimspecial insight and unambiguousknowledge of God’s will and inten-tions. Short-term political victoriesand goals remain irrelevant in lightof the long-term nature of thestruggle. And while they professthat only God can bring this cos-mic battle to its inevitable conclu-sion, they see themselves as faithful

combatants not only elected to carry out God’s will butare also assured salvation and unimaginable blessing fortheir faithful commitments to the cause.

Terrorists attempt to justify their destructive prac-tices on the grounds of being made marginal and poor bythe dynamics of the global economy, by the intrusion ofthe U.S. military presence in their sacred lands, and bythe cultural imperialism of the West and the stereotypingand disregard of their cultural and religious lifestyle.While some of these claims have merit, they do not pro-vide the kind of extenuating circumstances to justify ter-rorist practices. Terrorism, like nuclear war, is not moral-ly justifiable. It violates all the restrictions of the just wartheory, as well as the love of enemy and commitment topeace, justice, and human well-being that is part of all themajor world religions.

Ultimately, religious terrorism is something that onlyreligious communities can address in a constructive man-ner. War and violence do not seem to be the answer, theymerely add to the problem. It becomes imperative for all

“Ultimately, religiousterrorism is somethingthat only religious

communities can addressin a constructive

manner.”

Continued on page 19

Shannon Neufeld is associate for public relations at AustinSeminary. The photo on this page is of Chaplain CaptainMaurice “Maury” Millican (MDiv’89), left, and StaffSergeant Roy Wilkowski, chaplain assistant.

Apassage from Proverbs reassures Army ChaplainFirst Lieutenant Ramon “Ray” P. Sa n t i l l a n o(MDiv’04) that he has chosen

the right path: “Trust in the Lord withall your heart, and do not rely on yourown insight. In all your ways acknowl-edge him, and he will make straightyour paths” Proverbs 3:5-6.

When Santillano arrived at AustinSeminary, he had been planning to takethe road leading to a PhD. “OriginallyI thought I was going to … be anotherAndy Dearman [Austin Seminary pro-fessor of Old Testament],” said

Santillano. “If I had a stronger inkling of where this allwas going to lead, I probably would’ve spent more timetaking counseling classes, pastoral kinds of courses! Butdespite that, one of the amazing things is that I have

come away from Austin Seminary witha well-rounded theological frameworkto do some serious reflection on seriousissues and to be able to provide sub-stantive ministry in an extreme setting.I think that really speaks very clearly ofthe wonderful work the Se m i n a rydoes.”

Santillano began exploring militarychaplaincy during his second year atAustin Se m i n a ry when he took aClinical Pastoral Education (CPE )class. The teacher, Ron Cockroft, was a

chaplain in the Army (now serving in Afghanistan) whoshared some of his experiences with the students. “Thoseinitial talks kind of sparked my interest,” said Santillano.“And my father served in World War II, so those stories

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 7

called to military s e r v i c e

“Nurture theliving, care forthe wounded, andhonor the dead.”Army Regulation 165-1Chaplain Roles andR e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s

BY SHANNON NEUFELD

8

for her when she was waiting with about twenty otheryoung women at the Mi l i t a ry Entrance Pro c e s s i n gStation. Listening to the young women talking abouttheir own painful experiences made her realize, “Thesegirls need some guidance,” said Yarbrough. “They aregoing to need a chaplain in their life and they’re going toneed a woman chaplain … The military isn’t going tolove them. God has put that on my heart … to ministerto women in a male-dominated arena. I am feeling excit-ed to minister to other women, especially since many ofthem are very, very young.”

Others are called to military chaplaincy from experi-ence in the parish. Chaplain Captain Maurice “Maury”Millican (MDiv’89) discovered in 2000 that as anordained minister who wanted to serve his country, hequalified to be an Army chaplain. Millican is pastor ofBi s m a rck Community Church in Bi s m a rck, No rt h

Dakota, and he is now chaplain for the141st Engineer Combat Battalion of theNorth Dakota National Guard. He wasdeployed from December 2003 throughFe b ru a ry 2005 to support Op e r a t i o nIraqi Freedom in the Sunni Triangle aspart of the First Infantry Division.

Before becoming a chaplain, Millicansaid he entered into a discernment processwith the elders of his congregation anddenomination re p re s e n t a t i ves. “After ayear, there was an agreement that I wascalled to be an Army chaplain,” saidMillican. “Then America was attacked onSeptember 11, 2001.”

Millican was commissioned inFebruary 2002 and assigned to the battal-ion he was eventually deployed with.Their mission was route clearance and

that he shared and the impact that military chap-lains had in his experience kind of jelled together to[lead me to] explore that a little bit more as apotential ministry.”

First year Austin Se m i n a ry student AliceYarbrough began a similar journey this past spring,taking an oath as a commissioned officer in the AirForce. Before seminary, she worked as an invest-ment analyst and “did ministry part time,” she said.During that time, she met a prison chaplain anddecided chaplaincy interested her. She was told thatto be a chaplain, you need to have an MDiv degreeand become ordained.

“I literally didn’t understand how much of anundertaking it was,” said Yarbrough. “I said, ‘Okay,I’ll go and do that.’” Soon after, she decided that sheliked the idea of chaplaincy, though not in a prison. “Youneed a very hard exterior and I don’t think I have that.”She considered becoming a hospital or military chaplain.

“If you told me five years ago I’d be in the military,I’d say, ‘Have you lost your mind?’” reflected Yarbrough.But she said she had to allow God to change her heartand purpose. In addition to that, she said she facedanother challenge not typically on the path to ministry:losing weight and getting in shape.

“I didn’t run before and now I run twenty-five milesa week,” said Yarbrough. It didn’t happen all at once, ofcourse. She started at 167 pounds and lowered her weightto 133 pounds in about a year. “I wasn’t some hard-corefitness person, but I kept thinking—I don’t want them toturn me down.”

Yarbrough said her call to the military was confirmed

Chaplain Jennifer Rogers (MDiv’04), left, and a soldier, on duty in Iraq.

Chaplain Captain Stace Alfstad (MDiv’94) in Takrit near the ruins of an ancientchurch upon which has been built a mosque.

sanitization, “which translated meansto find and defeat IEDs [ImprovisedExplosive Devices] on the roadways toallow freedom of movement for theIraqi people and the 1st In f a n t ryDivision,” Millican explained.

It was a dangerous assignment.“The 141st Engineer CombatBattalion had thirty-two casualtieswhile we were deployed to Iraq,” saidMillican. T h ree soldiers we re W I A[wounded in action] and did not returnto duty. Twenty-five solders were WIA,received the Purple Heart Medal, andwere returned to duty.”

Millican said his job as a chaplain isto “provide religious support for soldiers and to advisethe commander concerning the ethics, morals, andmorale of the battalion.” Millican found himself chal-lenged by separation from his family, the focus of themission, combat stress from enemy attacks, and the harshdesert environment.

Chaplain Captain S. K. Alfstad (MDiv’94) has beenan Army chaplain for three years, deployed to Iraq in2004 with the 1st Infantry Division stationed in Tikrit.He said the peril of war puts life in perspective for sol-diers. “These young people saw how close death was andtherefore they were very open to evaluating and gettingtheir spiritual lives in order,” he said.

Santillano considers the dangers he will face whend e p l oyed in Iraq for a year beginning this June. “A lot ofpeople have asked me, ‘Do n’t you fear death? Do n’t yo ufear dying?’ You know, to some degree, yes, but at thesame time I think how I respond to that question in terms

of faith is: I haveabsolutely no con-t rol over when Idie, or how I die,but I can contro lh ow I live. And sofor me, that re a l l yplays a theological-ly important partof how I appro a c hnot only my ow npersonal life, butmy ministry andc h a p l a i n c y. ”

C h a p l a i nJennifer Ro g e r s(MDiv’04) is cur-

rently serving in Iraq with a unit from Ft. Campbell,Kentucky. Her unit is part of the 101st AirborneDivision which was deployed in September 2005, thesame unit her father served in while he was in Vietnam.Before being deployed, Rogers performed two memorialceremonies, a wedding, two marriage seminars, and gavenumerous briefings related to combat stress, suicide pre-vention, and moral ethical treatment of EPWs (enemyprisoner of war). She also handled counseling sessions,and packed for a yearlong deployment. In an email to afriend at Austin Seminary, she wrote, “Not exactly thetypical first year of ministry, right?”

After deployment, Rogers said she spent some timestationed outside of Baghdad and saw first-hand theresistance the United States military in Iraq has been fac-ing. She said they are often not Iraqis but instead are for-eign fighters opposed to changes in the Iraqi politicalenvironment. Her brigade suffered more than thirtycasualties in less than six months. “It breaks my heart forthe families back home who suffer through these losses,”she wrote in an email. “We continue to ask for prayers onour behalf, and know that the sustaining hand of Godhas been upon us thus far, and will continue to be withus in the days and months ahead.”

Millican said he has seen God at work in the midstof war in numerous ways. “American soldiers have theconstitutional right to worship, even in a combat zone,”Millican said. “Seeing soldiers gather to worship, pray,celebrate the Lord’s Supper, and hear God’s Word was apractical expression of God at work in war.”

He also said he witnessed God in their work for theIraqi people. “During our deployment, we created asecurity zone for Iraqis to have the confidence to vote. I

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 9

The Austin Seminary Class of 2005 included three graduates serving in the United Statesmilitary: Ray Santillano, Army; Craig Nakagawa, Air Force; and Victoria Kelly, Navy.

Master Sergeant Jose Perez congratulatesAustin Seminary student Alice Yarbroughas she signs her Oath of Commissioninginto the Air Force. Continued on page 19

10

Queen Noor of Jordan tells of two elementary-agegirls playing on the outskirts of their village inSierra Leone. One child triggered a land mine

and was blasted to kingdom-come in an instant. Theother youngster, injured also, writhed in pain for twohours before she gasped her last. All-the-while, her terri-fied family, friends, and fellow villagers gawked in horrorfrom afar. The prospects of a misstep that might havecondemned them to the same excruciating agony frozethem in place, paralyzing their urgency to get to the lit-tle one in her misery.

Land mines do not make for pleasant stories. Land mines spew their explosive brutality indiscrim-

inately. On young and on old. Against men and women.African and Asian. Combatants and civilians. In thisdecade and in decades down the line. As someone hasnoted, land mines cannot distinguish between the bootof a soldier and the foot of a child.

Every year, as many people die violently due to left-over land mines as met their Maker in the collapse of the

Phineas Washer (MDiv’56) has traveled to Israel, the SovietUnion, and East Africa to work in peacemaking and hass e rved on the National Committee of the Pre s byterian Pe a c eFe l l owship. In 1991 he re c e i ved the Distinguished Pe a c e m a k-er Aw a rd from the National Council of Christians and Jews.

BY PHINEAS WASHER

inpartnershipwith theprince ofpeace

or, if land minesdon’t get you firedup about peacemaking,what will?

World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001.To say that these malicious weapons are a gruesome

way to try to settle our disputes is to understand the obvi-ous. And, of course, most of the people taken out by aland mine, or irreparably injured for life by one, have hadlittle or nothing to do with the hostility that provokedthe planting of the weapon in the first place. They werejust unfortunates in the wrong place at the wrong time: achild at play; some peasant in a desperate struggle to findland to cultivate; the nonchalant passerby—and sudden-ly an explosion. And now they must live out their dayswith a leg blown off at the knee, their eyesight foreverlost, an arm doomed never to function again as Godintended.

The political issue here is that our country has notsigned on to the Mine Ban Treaty(as it is called), which binds itsadherents to forgo the use of landmines as an instrument of warfare.One hundred fifty-four signatorieshave committed to this treaty sinceits inception in Ottawa, Canada, in1999. But not the United States.Our president has not submittedthe treaty to the United St a t e sSenate for advice and consent.

It is a travesty as many see it.Especially when there are con-

structive ways to handle our dis-agreements with others—such asinformed, thoughtful face-to-facenegotiations.

My model for doing what little I can on this issueroots back to the biblical event of “the feeding of the fivethousand” (John 6:1-13). Both principals in that storyengage me:

Jesus. Ever alert to using what was available to easethe burdens of life and gripped by a strong sense of howto go about that, he moved in on the human need ofhunger step by step. First, he instructed the people to sitdown. Next he gave thanks for the resources at hand.Then he enlisted his disciples in the distribution phase ofthe project.

And The Little Boy With The Sack Lunch. He refusedto be seduced away from an investment of himself by theexcuses that keep many dormant in such circumstances:I am only one. I have so little to offer. What differencecan I make anyway?

These were two unlikely candidates for a partnershipwhich proved as effective and stunning as any, ever. Ayouth with slight provisions. A Master of Life with a

strong plan. It was a linkage well-used to transform ascene headed south into a miraculous accomplishment ofsatisfaction.

Intrigued by this story, I decided to offer my smallsack lunch of interest in spurring on the demise of landmine cruelty and my eagerness to do what I could. Ibegan to study the issue. I attended a conference on thesubject. I shared my concern with friends of like-mind.Nine of us set out on a weekend retreat to prepare our-selves to organize and lead education-action groups inhomes in Central Texas and the Hill Country. At these“ Peace Pa rties,” as we labeled these gatherings, weshowed a ten-minute video produced by Physicians forSocial Responsibility. We explained how to write effectiveletters to our congresspersons. Then we set aside time to

do just that. We asked our U.S.Representatives to sign on to rele-vant legislation.

Good things happened. T h ePeace Parties became an instru-ment for raising the awareness ofsome seventy citizens in the SanAntonio area regarding one of themost vicious weapons of battle. SixTexas Congressional Re p re s e n t a-tives moved positively on the issue;either they co-sponsored thea p p ropriate legislation, or theysigned on to a letter to the presi-dent asking him to work for theelimination of this outmoded,indiscriminate weapon from the

U.S. arsenal, or they showed up for a congressional brief-ing one congressman invited us to organize and lead.Back home, the San Antonio Express-News featured anarticle on this crusade managed by local citizens. For acouple of years Mission Presbytery—where this endeavorwas incubated—devoted its portion of the peacemakingoffering to the Adopt-A-Minefield program, an under-taking of the United Nations Association focused ondemining activities. The General Assembly passed anoverture, submitted by Mission Presbytery, calling on ourgovernment to join the community of nations support-ing the abolition of land mines.

Not all we would have liked, but more than weexpected. Maybe a handful of citizens can’t make a vastdifference in our troubled world. But they can certainlymake a start. ▲

Three helpful websites are www.icbl.org/, www.banmine-susa.org/, and www.landmines.org.

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 11

“[M]ost of the peopletaken out by a landmine, or irreparablyinjured for life byone, have had littleor nothing to do withthe hostility that

provoked the plantingof the weapon in the

first place.”

12

What values are worth both giving yourlife for and taking a life for?The values upon which our nation is built. Ours is not aperfect nation and we’ve made serious mistakes, not justrecently, but throughout our history. For example, ourhistory before the Civil War was not very pretty. It waspretty brutal and bloody. It took America a long time tofinally resolve what the Civil War ended up being allabout, probably not until the 1960s and the Civil RightsAct became the law of the land. This is a nation workingtoward what we hope will one day become a utopian,perfectly harmonious environment in which people canlive. Of course, we’re not ever going to get there—thereare too many flaws in the human soul and mind—but weshould be striving for that. And it’s a nation that, unfor-tunately in a dangerous world, needs to be prepared todefend itself against threats and aggression. That’s whatservice in the military is all about.

Have circumstances changed what isacceptable in war?Yes, very much so. And 9-11 is a major milestone in thatregard. There are things that we have done since 9-11that we would never have thought about doing had notthat attack shocked the nation so dramatically, withnational television repeatedly showing the horrifyingresults of that catastrophe. For example, while I waswatching the news of the first attack, I saw the second air-plane fly into the second building. Millions of Americanssaw that, they saw people jumping out of the windowsfrom the floors above the fire, they saw agonizing viewsof the rescue attempts. That very much changed our atti-tudes and mindset as a nation, and we’ve turned a blindeye to some practices that would never have been tolerat-ed had that not happened. For example, Guantanamo isinfinitely more questionable with regard to our respect

for human rights and values thanthe Japanese internment campswere in World War II, yet we sub-sequently acknowledged ourflawed policy and compensated its

a general perspective on war

General Robert T. Herres, USAF (Ret.), was a trustee of Austin Seminary from 2000-2006. Dur-ing his 36-year career he was commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command(NORAD), the first commander of the United States Space Command, and was the first ViceChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s second highest ranking military officer.

victims for what we did. Clearly, the complacency withwhich Americans accept such questionable policies inhumanitarian terms is a direct result of the change inmindset created by the shock of 9-11.

How has the chaplain’s role changed?A chaplain needs to be very cognizant of his responsibil-ity to be an interfaith, ecumenical spiritual leader andcounselor. A strong tendency in recent years has been forsome evangelical chaplains to be more aggressive withtheir evangelism among the military personnel. Theproblem with that is that the military community ismade up of people of many faiths and spiritual beliefs.When individuals who are senior to the rank and filebecome part of the evangelical process, they run a veryhigh risk of exerting improper influence. That’s not right;it’s very wrong, as a matter of fact, and defeats the pur-pose of the chaplaincy. We are a monotheistic nation, butwe are not a theocracy. We do not have a national reli-gion, and people in government should not be using theirpositions to promote their own religious beliefs, whetherthey be chaplains or anybody else.

What is the value of military chaplains?I don’t know, honestly, if we could have a military in oursociety without the chaplaincy. In many cases, the chap-lain is the one person in the military where someone cango to spill their guts or open up their soul without put-ting their careers at risk. They’ll come and ask questionslike, Should I be doing this? I’m not sure I really like thiswork. And I don’t like killing people. They’re not goingto go talk to their commanding officer or a supervisor oreven a buddy, in many cases, about those kinds of prob-lems. And the chaplain has to be viewed as someone whostands willing to help but is not going to jam his ownparticular faith down one’s throat. Chaplains must learnto walk the fine line between ministering to their flockand evangelizing those of other faiths and views. I wouldalso add that the chaplaincy provides commanders with aresource that can make a big difference in the morale ofan organization. ▲

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 13

Renato E. Alvarez; Grand CanyonPresbytery, project director:“Ministry to the Rural Poor,”Phoenix, Arizona

Robbin M. Clipson; UMC,Southwest Texas Conference; pas-tor, First United MethodistChurch, Eagle Lake, Texas

Celeste E. Gonzalez; Lutheran-ELCA; secular work: public schoolteacher, Edinburg, Texas

Barbara G. Holmes; UMC,Southwest Texas Conference; vol-unteer in Christian education, St.John’s United Methodist Church,Austin, Texas

Izabella Hutzler, ReformedChurch in Hungary; teacher, CookCollege & Theological School(summer term) Tempe, Arizona

Alton “Al” Ray Shaw; SouthernBaptist; seeking a position

Kanna Elizabeth Shaw; SouthernBaptist; Clinical Pastoral Educationresident, Pohai Nani RetirementCommunity Center, Kaneohe,Oahu, Hawaii

John B. Thompson; UtahPresbytery; executive director(part-time), New Life Institute(UMC), Austin, Texas

Kendra R. Thompson; UtahPresbytery; seeking a position

The Class of 2006

Doris “Elizabeth” Airhart; UMC,Southwest Texas Conference

Barbara A. Aziz; UMC, SouthwestTexas Conference; pastor, FirstUnited Methodist Church, Bishop,Texas

Bryan Thomas Bellamy; UMC,Central Texas Conference;associate pastor of college min-istries, First United MethodistChurch, Fort Worth, Texas

Christina L. Berry; Santa FePresbytery; pastor, FaithPresbyterian Church, Silver Lake,Minnesota

John Nester Brantley; Palo DuroPresbytery; seeking a call

Key to Masters degree entries: graduate’s name and denomination (presbytery or conference); first call /placement or future plans. Key to Doctoral degree entries: graduate’s name, current position; title of doctoralproject.

Mary Elizabeth Breden; MissionPresbytery; chaplain (summer),Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly,Hunt, Texas; seeking a call

Lisa Kay Burroughs; Lutheran-ELCA; completing candidacyprocess and synodical bishops’review

Callie Sue Candee; HeartlandPresbytery; Clinical PastoralEducation resident, SetonHealthcare Network, Austin, Texas

Jason Neal Cashing; WesternNew York Presbytery; seeking a call

John “Jay” Robert Cooper Jr.;UMC, Southwest TexasConference; associate pastor, FirstUnited Methodist Church, TomsRiver, New Jersey

William T. Cotman; MissionPresbytery; pastoral intern, FirstPresbyterian Church, Cody,Wyoming

Noelie B. Day; New CovenantPresbytery; pastoral assistant,University Presbyterian Church,Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Kevin L. Downer; UFMCC;interim pastor, San AntonioMetropolitan Community Church,San Antonio, Texas

14

Julia Nance Farrell; PinesPresbytery; chaplain (summer),Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Assembly,Hunt, Texas; seeking a call

Nora H. Gonzalez; New CovenantPresbytery; Clinical PastoralEducation resident (1-year), St.Luke’s Episcopal Hospital,Houston, Texas

Elizabeth “Beth” D. Graham;Disciples of Christ; co-pastor,United Christian Church, Taylor,Texas

John A. Guthrie; Indian NationsPresbytery; pastor, CommunityPresbyterian Church, Lake City,Colorado

Christine “Christy” HodoHalsey; Non-denominational; sec-ular work, Austin, Texas

Roslyn Elizabeth Hogan;Disciples of Christ; campus minis-ter, University Christian Church,Austin, Texas

Kemper “Kemp” John Huber;Wyoming Presbytery; pastor, TheUnited Community Church,Provincia de Buenos Aires,Argentina

Christopher “Chris” M. Johnson;Seattle Presbytery; associate pastorfor youth and families, FirstPresbyterian Church, Vancouver,Washington

The Class of 2006

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 15

William Ellis Oglesby; MissionPresbytery; pastor/evangelist, TheLake Travis Presbyterian NewChurch Development, Austin,Texas

Karen L. Osburn; Palo DuroPresbytery; completing candidacyrequirements, commissioned laypastor, Palo Duro Presbytery

Marta “Marty” T. Pena; Disciplesof Christ; Clinical PastoralEducation resident (1-year),Methodist Health Care System,San Antonio, Texas

Shannon Louis Schoeller; Non-denominational; seeking a call

Linda W. Sharon; South LouisianaPresbytery; Clinical PastoralEducation resident (1-year),Methodist Hospital, Houston,Texas

Thomas “Tom” P. Sharon; SouthLouisiana Presbytery; seeking a call

Joyce M. Stewart; PC(USA); seek-ing non-ordained, part-time posi-tion in ministry

Aaron George Teter; MissionPresbytery; co-associate pastor,Mattituck Presbyterian Church,Mattituck, New York

Heidi Christine Johnson; Plainsand Peaks Presbytery; associate pas-tor, First Presbyterian Church,Joliet, Illinois

Jane Caperton Johnson; MissionPresbytery; completing candidacy

Kevin S. Jones; MissionPresbytery; Clinical PastoralEducation resident (1-year), SetonHealthcare Network, Austin, Texas

David N. Martinez-Solis;PC(USA); seeking a position

Luke H. Maybry; CharlottePresbytery; pastoral assistant,Matthews Presbyterian Church,Matthews, North Carolina

Amy L. Meyer; MissionPresbytery; seeking a call

Everett Lee Miller II; CimarronPresbytery; pastor, FirstPresbyterian Church, Newkirk,Oklahoma

Kook Jin Nam; MissionPresbytery; seeking a call

The Class of 2006

16

Kerry Knox Westerwick; EasternVirginia Presbytery; seeking a call

Ann Wiggins; United Church ofChrist; Clinical Pastoral Educationresident (1-year), Seton HealthcareNetwork, Austin, Texas

Mary Wilson; American Baptist &Alliance of Baptist; pastor, Churchof the Savior, AmericanBaptist/Alliance of BaptistCongregations, Austin, Texas

Dwayne Lamar Brown, co-pastor,First Presbyterian Church,Roseburg, Oregon; “Equippingand Empowering CongregationalLeaders to Embrace a MissionalChurch Vision”

Lawrence R. Gaylord, co-pastor,First Presbyterian Church,Normal, Illinois; “IntroducingDaily Prayer in a ReformedCongregation”

Ka ren Jessup Gre i f, pre s i d e n t ,C a n C a re Austin Inc.; “Eq u i p p i n gJewish and Christian CanCareVolunteers for Mi n i s t ry to CancerSu rv i vors from Faith Tr a d i t i o n sDi f f e rent from Their Own”

Gretchen Elissa SchlichterRitola, pastor, St. Luke EvangelicalLutheran Church, Emerson,Nebraska; “Fulfilling the Ministryof the Baptized”

Thomas M. Thompson, executivevice president, CanCare ofHouston Inc.; “Beyond The Fearof Dying: A Pastoral Strategy forRenewing An UrbanCongregation”

Ayana Harris Teter; GrandCanyon Presbytery; co-associatepastor, Mattituck PresbyterianChurch, Mattituck, New York

Beverly “Bev” J. Thompson;UMC, Southwest TexasConference

Leanne B. Thompson; SouthDakota Presbytery; co-pastor, FirstPresbyterian Church, Bridgeport,Nebraska

Scott Lowell Thompson; SouthDakota Presbytery; co-pastor, FirstPresbyterian Church, Bridgeport,Nebraska

Asante Uzuri Todd; MissionaryBaptist; entering PhD program inEthics & Society, VanderbiltUniversity, Nashville, Tennessee

Charlotte I. Trafton; MissionPresbytery; not seeking a callimmediately

David R. Ukropina; DenverPresbytery; seeking a call

Marta Z. Ukropina; MemphisPresbytery; seeking a call

The Class of 2006

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 17

Celebrating the fiftieth anniver-sary of the ordination of

women to the ministry of Wordand Sacrament in the PresbyterianChurch, Austin Seminary invitedone of its first alumnae, theReverend Judy Fletcher, to addressthe Class of 2006. Fletcher, who

earned the MDiv in 1969, has beenexecutive of the Synod of the Sunsince 1998. Sixty-one studentsreceived degrees on Sunday, May21, 2006: forty-seven, the Masterof Divinity; nine, the Master ofArts in Theological Studies; andfive, the Doctor of Ministry.

Commencement exercises alsoincluded the granting of specialawards to seniors who have distin-guished themselves in five areas:Kerry Knox Westerwick ofNorfolk, Virginia, is the 2006recipient of the Charles L. KingPreaching Award; Ayana HarrisTeter and Asante Todd are the2006 recipients of the RachelHenderlite Award, given for signifi-cant contributions to cross-culturaland interracial relationships; MartaZ. Ukropina, of Germantown,

Tennessee, received the John B.Spragens Award for Christian edu-cation; Charlotte Trafton is the2006 recipient of the Hendrick-Smith Award for Mission andEvangelism; Everett Miller is thefirst recipient of the Donald CappsAward in Pastoral Care, which rec-

ognizes a student with gifts for andcommitment to the church’s caringministries. The new award wasnamed by the anonymous donor inhonor of the William HarteFelmeth Professor of PastoralPsychology at PrincetonTheological Seminary.

Other student awards notedduring the Commencement cere-mony included: David Martinez,the Ada and Adams ColhounAward; Linda Sharon, the CarlKilborn Book Award; and BillCotman and Amy Meyer, theChalice Press Book Award.

The Reverend Dr. DavidJohnson, director of the SupervisedPractice of Ministry and Certificatein Spiritual Formation programs atAustin Seminary (whose spouse,Jane, is among the new graduates),

Sixty-one graduates take next step to ministryCOMMUNITY NEWS

preached during the baccalaureateservice on Saturday, May 20; Dr.Cynthia Rigby, Austin Seminary’sW. C. Brown Professor ofTheology, presided at the Table.Commencement and baccalaureatewere held at UniversityPresbyterian Church.

PresidentTheodore J.Wardlaw, in hisremarks to the com-munity, noted thefollowing action bythe Board of Trusteeswhich concluded itsSpring 2006 meetingprior toCommencement:• Elected The Rev.Dr. Kristin E.Saldine as assistantprofessor of homilet-ics, effective July 1,2006.• Elected Mr. John

Ahn as instructor in OldTestament, effective July 1, 2006,and upon his receipt of the PhD,promoted to assistant professor.• Approved the faculty recommen-dation to promote The Rev. Dr.Arun Jones, assistant professor ofmission and evangelism, to therank of associate professor, effectiveJuly 1, 2006.• Ap p roved the six month sabbaticalfor Lewis Do n e l s o n, Ru t hCampbell Professor of NewTestament, beginning Ja n u a ry 2007.• Approved the sabbatical for WhitBodman, assistant professor ofcomparative religion, six monthsbeginning February 2007.• Reappointed the Rev. Dr. C. EllisNelson and the Rev. Dr. LauraLewis as research professors inChristian education.

Six married couples graduated together as part of the Class of 2006, the largest number in the Seminary’sone hundred, four-year history; two couples have already been called as co-pastors. From left: Kendra andJohn Thompson, Ayana and Aaron Teter, Leanne and Scott Thompson, Marta and David Ukropina, Tomand Linda Sharon, and Kanna and Al Shaw.

Kerrville, Texas, where he and hiswife, Elaine, have recently moved.They are members of FirstPresbyterian Church there. Paynehas been chair of the budget com-mittee for New CovenantPresbytery and was vice presidentof Brazos Presbyterian Homes.

James D. Miller is pastor of FirstPresbyterian Church in Tulsa,

Oklahoma, andpreviously servedSecond Presbyter-ian Church inIndianapolis, Indi-ana, and St.Michaels Church

in Linlithgow, Scotland. He hasserved as moderator of EasternOklahoma Presbytery, as commis-sioner to the General Assembly in1998, as a trustee of the Universityof Tulsa, and was an Austin Semi-nary trustee from 1993 to 2002; hewas co-chair of the Seminary’s Cen-tennial Campaign which raisedmore than $25 million. He and hiswife, Diane, are parents to threechildren.

Sallie Sampsell Watson (MDiv’87)is pastor of First PresbyterianChurch in Bonham, Texas. She pre-viously served Cen-tral PresbyterianChurch, Austin,and Wasatch Pres-byterian Church inSalt Lake City,Utah. Watson wasa commissioner to the GeneralAssembly in 1998, a commissionerin the Synod of the Rocky Moun-tains, was a contributing editor ofThe Presbyterian Outlook in 1997,and served as adjunct faculty forAustin Seminary’s Supervised Prac-tice of Ministry program and onthe Centennial Celebration com-mittee. She is married to Paul Wat-son and they have two children.

18

Seven new trusteeselected at springmeetingThe Austin Seminary Board ofTrustees has received seven newmembers. All of the new trusteesare Presbyterian; four arePresbyterian clergy and three are layleaders. Trustees completing theirterms of service include: ElizabethCurrie Williams, chair from 2002-2006, Judye Hartman, RobertHerres, James Hunt, and JamesBruce. The new chair of the boardis John McCoy.

Karen C. Anderson is chief finan-cial officer of Western

Communications,Inc. of Bend,Oregon. She is amember ofCommunityPresbyterianChurch in

Redmond, Oregon. Anderson hasserved as a trustee of thePresbyterian Church (U.S.A.)Foundation and is currently direc-tor of the New Covenant TrustCompany, a subsidiary of theFoundation. She is married toAustin Seminary graduate RobAnderson (MDiv’88), who is aPresbyterian pastor, and they haveone daughter.

Thomas L. Are Jr. is senior pastorof The Village Presbyterian Churchin Prairie Village,Kansas. Previously,he servedWestminsterPresbyterianChurch inCharleston, SouthCarolina, and RiversidePresbyterian Church inJacksonville, Florida. Are served ascommissioner to the 214th General

Assembly, has served as a trustee ofPresbyterian College in Clinton,South Carolina, and is a trustee ofMontreat Conference Center for2006. He and his wife, Carol Wells,have two children.

Richard D. Gillham is owner andpresident of Gillham, Golbeck &

Associates, Inc. ofDallas, Texas. He isa member of FirstPresbyterianChurch in Dallas,where he is thechair of the pastor

nominating committee. He is theboard chair of the CanterburyEpiscopal School in Desoto, Texas,where he co-chaired the capitalcampaign for the middle schoolbuilding. Gillham and his wife,Nancy, have five children.

Lydia Hernandez (MDiv’93) isexecutive director of Manos deCristo in Austin, aPresbyterian-basednon-profit organi-zation that helpsthe poor, homeless,and new immi-grants in need. Shehas served on many committees inthe PC(USA), and also launchedthe Martin Luther King Fund forthe Self Development of People.Her first call after ordination wasworking for human rights inGuatemala, assessing the plight ofindigenous women and the ten-sions between the Mayan andLatino segments of the PresbyterianChurch there. Hernandez receivedan Austin Seminary AssociationAward for Service in 2006.

B. W. “Sonny”Payne is the ownerof RiskManagementService in

COMMUNITY NEWS

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 19

The Spring President’s Colloquium, “The Trinity: God’s LoveOverflowing,” featured an address by Daniel Migliore, the CharlesHodge Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton TheologicalSeminary, and a panel discussion with Cynthia Rigby, W. C.Brown Professor of Theology, and San Williams (DMin’05), pastorof University Presbyterian Church, Austin. Rigby and Miglioreserved on the committee that developed a report (in three sections)on the Trinity that was commissioned by the General Assembly in2000; their report was presented to the General Assembly this sum-mer. President Theodore Wardlaw presided over the Colloquium onMarch 8.

saw American soldiers provide safetyand security for the Iraqi citizenry tot r a vel fre e l y, conduct commerc e ,and vote. The day we handed sover-eignty over to the Iraqi people was agood day.”

Millican saw God at work whensoldiers would make “the right deci-sion.” He said he is proud that theydid the right thing even when therewas “tremendous stress and pressureto exercise vengeance. Instead I sawa sustained effort over 365 days tocare for and protect the citizens ofIraq.”

Rogers sees evidence of Gode ve ry w h e re she looks. “Eve rymoment of the day is a momentfrom God when the uncertainty ofanother day is the reality in whichyou live,” she says. “I have seen sol-diers brought to their knees by thecircumstances of life that are out oftheir control because of a deploy-ment, and I have seen soldierschange themselves to effect a changein the world.”

According to Rogers, the sol-diers in her battalion like to have aroutine, and each time convoys aresent out beyond their secure walls,she reads a portion of Psalms. “Theymiss it if I am unable to attend andhave come to derive a great sense ofpeace from the prayers we saytogether each day,” Rogers said. “Itis fun for me to hear the great cho-rus of voices chime in with anAMEN when I am finished, and Iam aware of God’s presence no morefully than at those moments. I amconvinced that the soldiers are awareof it as well. I am truly blessed bythis ministry, far more than I couldever be a blessing to those to whomI minister. It is such a joy!” ▲

of us who belong to religious com-munities to find ways of infusingour religious and political commu-nities with the values of peace, jus-tice, equality, freedom, respect, care,and inclusiveness. Pacifists who arecommitted to social justice and thecreation of inclusive communities ofmutual respect do provide animportant model for the directionwe ought to be moving. Still, ourbeing inclined toward peace and liv-ing within communities of character

do not free us from the need tom e a s u re the nature and conse-quences of our actions. We needrules, like the ones provided by thejust war theory, not only to assist usin justifying moral exceptions, butto make clear what means are moral-ly illegitimate in the pursuit of goodgoals. In the end, it might well bethat the best we can do is to live inthe tension between striving for thepacifist lifestyle and re s p o n s i b l erestraint in the use of means thatviolate our commitment to a peace-ful existence. ▲

Christians and warContinued from page 6

ChaplainsContinued from page 9

President’s Colloquium

20

COMMUNITY NEWS

Beginning in the fall of 2006,Austin Seminary and the

University of Texas at Austin (UT)School of Social Work will offer adual degree: the Master of Sciencein Social Work and the Master ofDivinity. This new programenhances Austin Seminary’s excel-lent preparation of women andmen for ministry by drawing onthe resources of UT’s two-track(clinical and community andadministrative leadership) socialwork curriculum. The new pro-gram is designed for students witha particular interest in agency-basedsocial service, social justice advoca-cy, policy-oriented ministries, andclinical counseling as well as stu-dents planning to serve in more tra-ditional ministry settings as pastorsor chaplains.

Students in the new programwill receive two degrees; one fromeach institution, earned concurrent-ly and awarded as the requirementsfor each degree is met. The dualdegree program may be completed

in four years of full-time study.“I am so pleased that Austin

Seminary has this opportunity tocollaborate with the UT School ofSocial Work, which is among thefinest in the country,” said AllanCole, assistant professor of pastoralcare at Austin Seminary and alicensed social worker. “The basictheological and social work degreesare complementary, as ministersand social workers often serve thesame people and populations andseek to provide for the same or sim-ilar needs from their own uniqueperspectives. By offering the oppor-tunity for our students to integratethe fruits of theological and socialwork education, this dual degreeprogram of study will enhance thework of both the minister andsocial worker, and thus will benefitthe populations each seeks toserve.”

For more information on theprogram, contact the Office ofAdmissions at admissions@austin-seminary.edu or 512-404-4827.

Austin Seminary and UT to offer dualdegrees in social work

STAFF TRANSITIONS

Joe Balandran joined the AustinSeminary maintenance staff inApril following twenty-six years atTyco. Joe is retired from the Armyand loves parachuting.

Marti Harris is the new senior staffaccountant. She attended theUniversity of Houston and is anofficer in the non-profit “BikersAgainst Child Abuse.” She replacesGary Citron who has foundedShelter with Spirit, dedicated tobringing green building technologyto the economically disadvantaged.

Jim Many joined Austin Seminaryin June as the director of the physi-cal plant. He fills the positionvacated in May by DennisRoetman who served AustinSeminary for twelve years.

Renee Menke is the new directorof auxiliary enterprises. She previ-ously worked in the area of resi-dence life/campus life at theUniversity of Missouri-Columbia,Loyola University, and KeukaCollege. She fills the position vacat-ed by Angela DeJong who is enter-ing the Wharton School ofBusiness in the fall.

Emily Summerfield is the newadministrative assistant to the facul-ty. A recent graduate of IndianaUniversity, she is co-owner of Stemand Leaf Records. Former facultyadministrative assistant MariaCollins left the Seminary thisspring to pursue an acting career.

Austin Seminary graduate DavidPussman (MDiv’05) is the newweb editor. He assumes the posi-tion vacated by Jeremy Pippinwho will begin a masters programat New York University this fall.

The Fund for TheologicalEducation (FTE) held itsannual conference on excel-lence in ministry,“ThePromise of Ministry,” atAustin Seminary, June 21-25, 2006. One hundred,fifty college students fromthe United States andCanada, representing thirty-two denominations, spentfive days on campus explor-ing opportunities for service.

tial community. He is quite ani n s p i r a t i o n . ”

Anderson House is planned forthe northwest quadrant of the cam-pus, and will displace only six exist-ing living units while netting a gainof twenty-four apartments of vary-ing size. Currently, about 60 per-cent of the masters-level studentslive on campus. Additional studenthousing will provide a greater per-centage of students with the oppor-tunity to fully experience the cam-pus community. If the number ofapplications for admission contin-ues to increase, the new buildingwill provide some room for growth.

An ad hoc committee of eightvolunteers was invited to campus inJune to review the status of theproject and make plans to raise the$8.8 million goal by December2007. Naming opportunities within

the building are available;for more information

contact the Institution-al AdvancementOffice at 512-404-4886 or advance-ment@austinsemi-nary.edu.

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 21

DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Fund raising has begun inearnest for the John F. and

Nancy Anderson House, with theBoard of Trustees’s decision in Mayto name the new student residentialbuilding for the Dallas pastor andhis wife.

During more than sixty years asa Presbyterian pastor, JohnAnderson (ThM’53) touched thelives of many in Dallas, Houston,Tyler, and throughout the Synod ofthe Sun. John served as moderatorof the 122nd General Assembly ofthe Presbyterian Church U.S. in1982, and helped facilitate theunion of the northern and southerndenominations. A graduate ofAustin College and UnionTheological Seminary in Virginia,John holds an advanced degreefrom Austin Seminary.

“ Honoring the Andersonst h rough this project makes per-fect sense,” said Ti mKu b a t z k y, vice pre s i d e n tfor institutional adva n c e-ment. “John is a cham-pion for the kind ofpastoral formation thatis fostered in a re s i d e n-

First in new generation of student housingto be named for distinguished alum

Jean Brown scholarschosen for 2006Each year the faculty awards up tofour Jean Brown Scholarships tomembers of the entering class whodemonstrate exceptional promisefor the ministry. The award, madepossible by an estate gift from MissJean Brown of Hot Springs,Arkansas, in 1981, covers fulltuition and fees, room and board,and includes a books/suppliesstipend each spring and fall. Thescholarships are renewable for threeyears. The recipients for theincoming class of 2006-2007 are:Mindy Baker of Belton, Texas;Sarah Feltman of Ft. Dodge, Iowa;Scott Spence of Chapel Hill,North Carolina; and Lisa Straus ofAustin.

Annual fund grows atphenomenal rate

Thanks to its generous donors,Austin Seminary’s annual fundrevenues exceeded the 2005-2006goal; supporters gave $709,388,representing a 37 percent increaseover last year. The long-term goal isfor the annual fund to produce 10percent of the annual budget. Thatwill require nearly $1 million inannual fund gifts. In 2003, gifts tothe annual fund totaled $440,000.

Trustees led the way with atotal of $104,000 in annual fundgifts this year. Gifts from peoplewho attended “Partnership Events”in Austin, San Antonio, Ft. Worth,Houston, and Dallas made upmuch of the increase; a largenumber of those donors havepledged to support the annual fundfor the next two or three years.Upcoming Partnership Events areplanned in Tyler, Kerrville,Fayetteville, and Corpus Christi.

22

IN BRIEF

Allan Cole, assistant professor ofpastoral care, has written a pre-publication review for the bookPray without Ceasing: RevitalizingPastoral Care, by Deborah vanDeusen Hunsinger (Grand Rapids:Eerdmans, 2006). He was thekeynote speaker for the Fund forTheological Education Conference,sponsored by Mission Presbytery, inHouston, and was the conferenceleader for the SCRAPCE annualmeeting.

Andy Dearman, professor of OldTestament, visited China with threeprofessors from PittsburghSeminary, May 26-June 9. Theyvisited with faculty and students atfour seminaries in Beijing, Jinan,Nanjing, and Shanghai. They alsodiscussed the growth of the churchin China and government opennessto religious expression with officialsfrom the State Administration forReligious Affairs.

Academic Dean Michael Jinkinshas been invited to write a book,Invitation to the Psalms, forAbingdon Press’s Disciple BibleStudy program. The book will beused as the participants’ guide tothe video series.

Arun Jones, associate professor ofmission and evangelism, attendedthe annual meeting of theAmerican Society of Missiology,which he serves as Secretary-Treasurer, in June. In July heaccompanied a group ofPresbyterian pastors from theOklahoma area as a consultant ontheir trip to Indonesia, visitingchurch leaders in Bali and Java.

David Jones, director of theDoctor of Ministry program, waselected to the nine person executivesteering committee of the

Kristin Saldine called as assistantprofessor of homiletics

Kristin Emery Saldine has joined the Austin Seminary faculty as assistantprofessor of homiletics, effective July 1, 2006. She has been the minister

of the chapel and assistant professor for the past five years as well as associatedirector of the Joe R. Engle Institute ofPreaching at Princeton T h e o l o g i c a lSeminary.

“Dr. Saldine is a gifted homileticianwith a growing reputation, and she pos-sesses a great passion for preparing newgenerations of preachers for proclaim-ing the Gospel to a church eager to seeenhanced pulpit strength. Kristin Sal-dine’s presence on our faculty will addto the Seminary’s already excellent rep-utation in the area of preaching andworship,” said the Reverend TheodoreJ. Wardlaw, president of Austin Semi-nary.

Saldine earned a BA in history in1980 from W h i t w o rth College, anMDiv in 1986 from San Francisco Theological Seminary, and a PhD in 2004from Princeton Seminary. She was ordained as a minister of word and sacra-ment in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in 1986. She was the recipient ofthe Martin Dwelle Kneeland Preaching Prize at San Francisco TheologicalSeminary and was awarded the 2005 Religious Communication AssociationDissertation of the Year Award for her work, “Preaching God Visible: Geo-Rhetoric and the Theological Appropriation of Landscape Imagery in theSermons of Jonathan Edwards.”

Saldine says her interests in academia include Puritan plain-style preach-ing and the “homiletical appropriation of geo-rhetoric, an interdisciplinarymethod through which theology, visual rhetoric, and philosophical geographyprovide a means to understand the contextual and imagistic power of preach-ing.” Saldine was on the planning team for the Fifth Fosdick Convocation onPreaching and Worship that will take place in October 2006 as the conclusionof Riverside Church’s year-long seventy-fifth anniversary celebration in NewYork City.

Saldine was pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Anacortes,Washington, from 1988 to 1994, and during that time membership doubledand worship attendance tripled. She was also associate pastor to youth andtheir families at First Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon, from 1986 to1988.

Saldine’s published works include “Toward a Homiletical Landscape ofthe American West,” in Papers of the Annual Meeting of the AmericanAcademy of Homiletics, Santa Fe, New Mexico, December 1996, “Half-Wayup the Stony Mountain” and “Mary Knows,” in The Abingdon Women’sPreaching Annual, Year C, 2001, and “Threatened with Resurrection,”inSpire (Winter, 2002).

FACULTY NEWS

WINDOWS / Summer 2006 23

Association of Doctor of MinistryEducation (ADME) which repre-sents the 144 ATS accredited semi-naries in North America that offerDMin programs. He led a three-day pastors’ retreat for Palo DuroPresbytery on May 14-16.

The Austin Seminary feted C. EllisNelson, research professor ofChristian education, on the occa-sion of his 90th birthday in March;he and Nancy celebrated their 65wedding anniversary on July 8.

David White, the C. Ellis andNancy Gribble Nelson AssociateProfessor of Christian Educationhas recently published the book,Practicing Discernment with Youth(The Pilgrim Press, 2006).

Emeritus Professor Ralph L.Underwood’s article, “EnlargingHope for Wholeness: Ministry withPersons in Pain” appears in theSpring-Summer 2006 issue of theJournal of Pastoral Care &Counseling.

Professor Louis H. Zbindenreceived the Lifetime of Faith &Service Award given by CatholicCharities of San Antonio, Texas, onMay 25, for his many contributionsto the community. He is the firstProtestant to be so honored.

John Ahn joins biblical faculty in Old Testament

Austin Presbyterian has called the Reverend John Ahn as the newestfaculty member in the field of Old Testament, effective July 1, 2006.

Ahn will be assistant professor pending completion of his doctoral studies.His dissertation title is “Ex i l e ,Literature, and Theology: The Literaryand Socio-Theological Impact of theFo rced Migrations of the So u t h e r nKingdom of Judah.”

“John Ahn brings demonstratedgifts and skills in Old Testament studiesto our faculty, and he combines the joyof scholarship in his field with a zeal forpreparation of students for service inthe church,” said the Re ve re n dT h e o d o re J. Wa rd l a w, president ofAustin Se m i n a ry. “He will enhanceAustin Seminary’s ability to preparemen and women for the ministry andother church vocations.”

Ahn received a BA from New YorkUniversity in 1994, an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1997,an STM in 1999 from Yale University Divinity School, and is expected toreceive his PhD in religious studies in December 2006 from Yale University.A member of Phi Beta Kappa, Ahn received the Religious Studies Prize atNew York University in 1994, the Samuel Kendall Bushnell Fellowship at YaleUniversity in 2005, and the University Dissertation Fellowship in 2004-2005.

Ordained in the Korean Presbyterian Church in America in 2001, Ahnhas been the English Ministry/youth minister at New Creation and HansungPresbyterian Church in Woodside, New York, and the English Ministry/edu-cation minister at CMC and Central Presbyterian Church of New York inLittle Neck, New York. Ahn’s teaching experience includes a position as theinterim director of the English program at the Vladivostok InternationalSchool in Siberia, Russia, and adjunct professor of Hebrew Bible at HartfordSeminary. While in Siberia, Ahn was a member of a private think/action-tankfor North Korean relief, which provided food relief through farms in Ussrik,Russia, which was delivered to Pyoung Yang, North Korea.

In addition to Hebrew and Old Testament, Ahn’s teaching competenciesare Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Aramaic, methodological approaches, exilic peri-od, prophetic literature, Pentateuch, writings (lamentation and Songs ofSongs), history of interpretation, Biblical theology, archeology and the Bible,religion of Israel, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Ahn’s published works include “A Light to the Nations in Isaiah 42:6b:The Sociological Approach in Korean American Approach,” in Ways of Being,Ways of Reading: Constructing Asian-American Biblical Interpretation (ChalicePress, Forthcoming 2006), and articles in The New Interpreter’s Dictionary ofthe Bible (Forthcoming). He and his wife, Angie, have three children.

Ellis Nelson spoke about David White’snew book during Manna, the weeklycommunity forum, in April; Whitesigned copies of the book afterward.

Theological EducationSunday is September 18Celebrate the relationship betweenchurch and seminary by participat-ing in Theological Ed u c a t i o nSunday, September 18. To schedulea student, faculty member, oradministrator to deliver a sermon orminute for mission about thei m p o rtance of theological educa-tion, please contact Georgia Smithat 800-777-6127, 512-404-4801, or alum@austinseminary.edu.

Last call for nominationsThe Austin Seminary Association isseeking nominations for the 2007ASA Awards for Service. If youwish to nominate an Austin Semi-nary alumnus/a, please write a letterof recommendation describing hisor her distinguished service to theSeminary or the church and mail itto David Evans, director of semi-nary relations, or visit our websitewww.austinseminary.edu/alumni/asanomination.phpl to nominateelectronically. Your suggestion mustbe received by September 20. Win-ners of the award will be honoredat the 2007 Austin Seminary Asso-ciation’s Annual Banquet and Meet-ing at the close of MidWinter Lec-tures.

24

Autobiography is arguably the most diabolically fraught of genres. It’sjust devilishly hard to write honestly about one’s own life. Relatively

few writers can manage to write a memoir that defines an era (like TheEducation of Henry Adams or Robert Graves’ Goodbye to All That). And fewcan convey the combination of pathos and humor that pervades FrankMcCourt’s Angela’s Ashes. But we should expect a good memoir to be hon-est. Indeed, it is this that separates a good from a bad one.

When one finds a memoirist who is unflinchingly honest, and also apleasure to read, one has found a real treasure. Two stand out for me, bothwith strong Texas connections.

John Phillip Santos’s Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation isfrom start to finish as poetic as its title. A child of Texas with deep roots inMexico, Santos describes a geography of the imagination familiar to any-one who loves this land and the sky that hangs above it. Describing a camp-ing trip his father took with a brother and a cousin in the rough terrain ofNorthern Mexico, Santos writes: “But the only sounds were the warm windand a few far off cattle, wearing bells, grazing on the grass that grewbetween the trestles of the railroad tracks. When the night sky came out,they lay awake for hours, staring upward counting the galaxies that dottedthe heavens like archipelagos of frost.” He tells of a valley in Coahuila “thatwas one of many such places around the world that God had, for someunknown reason, left unfinished at the time of creation … These wereplaces, often completely unnoticed, with no sound, without color, darkplaces where no sunlight could penetrate, places where the world had noshape or substance.” Santos weaves the poetry of place into the story of hisfamily, inviting us to explore a remarkable region and to see anew anindomitable people.

In The Liar’s Club, Mary Karr explores with devastating humor whatone reviewer described as the author’s “godawful childhood.” The EastTexas in which Karr grew up is a region as familiar to me as the scent of aforest on a hot, steamy night. My own memory of the “Pine Curtain” in the1950s and ’60s is that of little boys toting BB guns, wearing beads of dirt’round their necks, itching from ticks, chiggers, and mosquitoes, while thegirls played more sedentary games of dolls in the sweltering shade. Karrtakes us even deeper into time and place, however, through the struggles ofthe people she counted on as a child and who often let her down. Shereports visiting her mother, who had been hospitalized because of mentalillness: Stretching to touch her mother’s hand through the white chickenwire that separated them: “‘I’m sorry you’re all locked up,’ I said, whichmade her laugh. ‘S—-, honey,’ she said, ‘you-all are locked up, too. You’rejust in a bigger room.’” The unflinching honesty of this memoir makes itcompelling, but it is Karr’s grace and humor that make it a treasure. Karrhas a new book of poetry just out, Sinners Welcome, that is also well worthour attention not least because of the fascinating essay she includes on poet-ry and faith.

When a memoir is good, it’s like attending the theater of humanity.With these memoirs, you’ve got the best seats in the house.

—Michael Jinkins, academic dean

you@who.com?Please visit the alumni/aepage of austinseminary.eduto provide / update youremail address.

The Dean’s Bookshelf Log ontoaustinseminary.edu

/alumnifor

news | contacts | events

WELCOME…to Mackenzie Lee Odom, daughter of Denise L. Odom (MDiv’99)and Andrew S. Odom (MDiv’01), born April 19, 2006.

to Lauren Mignon Marie Barker, daughter of Laurie H. Barker(MDiv’01) and James M. Barker (MDiv’01), born May 3, 2006.

to Wyatt Cash Miller, son of Danielle and Everett L. Miller(MDiv’06), born June 7, 2006.

to Evangeline Dorothy Teter, daughter of Aaron G.Teter (MDiv’06)and Ayana Harris Teter (MDiv’06), born March 31, 2006.

ALUMNI/AE NEWS

N E C RO LO G YJulian T. Hendren (MDiv’55) Marfa, Texas, May 25 2006.

James E. Andrews (MDiv’56) Decatur, Georgia, March 7, 2006.

Carlos S. Buck (MDiv’57) Houston, Texas, June 13, 2006.

Emmett C. Adair Jr. (MDiv’61) Brenham, Texas, March 16, 2006.

H. Lyndon Brown (MDiv’66) San Antonio, Texas, November 5, 2003.

Richard H. Koeppe (Cert’73) Waco, Texas, March 23, 2006.

George M. Walker (DMin’80) Meherrin, Virginia, March 17, 2006.

CLASS NOTES

1960sG. Thomas Huser (MDiv’62) haswritten a novel, Kansas, which hedescribes as the culmination of histeenage wanderings andPresbyterian ministry.

1970sRobert H. Bullock Jr. (MDiv’71)has edited a new book,Presbyterians Being Reformed:Reflections on What the ChurchNeeds Today.

1980sBetty Louise Meadows (MDiv’84)was honored at the Women ofFaith breakfast during the 2006General Assembly in Birmingham.

1990sSue Fry (MDiv’94) received thePhD in theology on June 10, 2006,from Fuller Theological Seminaryin Pasadena, California.

Marsha E. Brown (MDiv’96) mar-ried Ron Bickerstaff on June 3,2006, with the recently ordainedChristina Berry (MDiv’06) offici-ating.

Cyndy T. Little (MDiv’97) wasinstalled as moderator of Winneba-go Presbytery in Wisconsin, whereshe serves as pastor of First Congre-gational United Church of Christ.

Dieter Heinzl (MDiv’98) wasawarded the PhD in systematic the-ology from Princeton TheologicalSeminary in May 2006. His disser-tation, “Lifting the Burden of theOther,” addresses theology after theHolocaust and Jewish / Christiandialogue.

2000sH. Christine O’Reilly (DMin’03)has co-authored, with Peter Bush, anew book, Where 20 or 30 areGathered: Leading Worship in theSmall Church.

R. Paul Stewart (MDiv’04) mar-ried Sharon Worrell, May 26, 2006.

David N. Martinez-Solis(MDiv’06) married Jamie DeniseHarris on May 27, 2006.

ORDINATIONChristina L. Berry (MDiv’06)to serve Faith PresbyterianChurch, Silver Lake, Minnesota.

Jan C. Dittmar (MDiv’05) toserve First Presbyterian Church,Poteau, Oklahoma.

Crista L. Gregory (MDiv’05) toserve First Presbyterian Church,El Paso, Texas.

John Guthrie (MDiv’05) toserve Community PresbyterianChurch, Lake City, Colorado.

Linda A. Herron (MDiv’05) toserve First Presbyterian Church,Palestine, Texas.

Carolyn Mitchell (MDiv’05) toserve John Calvin PresbyterianChurch, Dallas, Texas.

Leigh B. Wisner (MDiv’05) toserve First Presbyterian Church,Norman, Oklahoma.

If you have been recentlyordained and are not recog-nized above, please contactGeorgia Smith, coordinator ofalumni/ae relations at 512-404-4801 or alum@austinseminary.edu.

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Summer 2006

CHR IS T IAN L EADE RS HIP EDUC AT IO N

Fall | Winter 2006August 7-11, 2006

Reformed Theology(Christian educators’ course)Cynthia Rigby

October 1-5, 2006Psychological Health &Spiritual Growth(Certificate in Spiritual Formation)Allan Cole & David Johnson

October 9-12, 2006Small Church Pastor’s Retreat(MoRanch)

October 13, 2006Advent Lessons

October 16-18, 2006Family Ministry (SCRAPCE)

October 19-21, 2006Fall Worship ConferencePatrick Wilson & Beverly Gaventa

November 2-5, 2006Spiritual Theology(Certificate in Spiritual Formation)Cynthia Rigby

January 8-12, 2007Religious Education, Theory, & Practice(Christian educators’ course)David White

January 26, 2007Lenten Lessons

February 6-9, 2007College of Pastoral LeadersConference

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Commencement 2006