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As final papers and examinations are completed and students go home for the holidays and a restful and rejuvenating winter break from Candler School of Theology, Emory University, we’ve invited current students as well as Office of Admissions and Financial administrators to be Guest Bloggers in the coming weeks. This week, First Year Master of Divinity students Jon Chapman and Jojo Mulunda reflect on their first semester at Candler. Please read below to hear the story of Candler as told through the voices and hearts of two of our newest students.

Jojo Mulunda: Candler Cares

I went to Emory University for my undergraduate education, so when I got accepted into Candler School of Theology, I thought I knew exactly what I was getting into. Emory is renowned for excellence in scholarship and service, so I naturally expected Candler to be the same as the rest of Emory. I quickly discovered within moments of meeting current students, admissions staff and professors, that I was absolutely wrong. Not only is the scholarship at Candler of the same high caliber as that of the other Emory schools, Candler has an added trait that sets it apart from other schools: love for people.

I was blown away by how genuinely interested people around campus were in getting to know new faces. Even seniors made it a point to attend some orientation activities to meet us when we first arrived on campus. Unlike the undergraduate college at Emory, Candler’s size is large enough for you to make new friends in every class, yet small enough for people to take interest in what matters to you as a student. I felt such a sense of friendship and community at Candler that is a challenge to foster at other institutions.

I can still remember a candid conversation some seniors had with the entire incoming class during orientation. All the seniors emphasized that Candler required excellence in academics, yet reassured us that it would be nearly impossible to complete all the readings. I remember turning around in my seat and waiting for a staff person or professor to rebut their statements. Surprisingly, most nodded in agreement! Almost all of the seniors gave us tips on how to read for particular classes, encouraged us to build relationships with one another, and advised us to take the time to find enjoyable non-Candler related hobbies, to bring balance into the lives we were about to begin. No truer words were spoken! Three months and three Old Testament exams later, I am infinitely grateful to those seniors, and to the countless people that I have met throughout the semester who have made my challenging, yet fun-filled, free food-filled, friendship-filled first semester a great one. Second semester, here I come!

Jojo Mulunda is a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo. She completed her undergraduate education in International Studies and French Studies at Emory University. Upon completion of the Master of Divinity program, her long-term goals include pursuing a career in public policy, and creating a rehabilitation and reintegration program for child soldiers in the Great Lakes region in Africa. She is recently engaged (and very excited about it) and is looking forward to getting married in Spring 2008.

Jon Chapman: Advent Eucharist

Friday Mid-day Eucharist is one of my favorite things about Candler School of Theology. Period. Every Friday, the same core group of 40 or so gather in Cannon Chapel after a long week of classes. I make my way from Hebrew, which gives me reason to need time to rest and recover.

It’s a simple service really. Most of the general parts of a church service are there, excepting the sermon. Instead, after the reading of the Gospel, we sit together, quietly thinking about the words we just heard–wondering if any meaning sat in them for us, for our studies, for our school, for our world.

Then comes my absolute favorite part. After the Prayers of the People (which are offered so genuinely by the people who have gathered), we share communion. Every week, we pause our scholastic endeavors to join together in the bread and wine before heading into the weekend, which all too often is as hectic as our school week. It’s a time for acknowledging the week just had, and preparing for the week to come.

Advent is much the same way. It lets us review the year that passed and prepare for the coming days. Advent, however, can be an irritating time. Because it is a season of waiting and preparation it insists that we slow down. Slowing down means swimming against the current swell of American consumerism in an increasingly globalized world, not to mention a secular Christmas that is celebrated before we have any birth to celebrate.

But it is necessary waiting, because without it, we would have no time to understand exactly what Christmas is.

This week, as we began our advent sojourn in Friday Mid-day Eucharist, the program had a few lines from Madeline L’Engle on its cover. Here is how it read:

“This is the irrational season
when love blooms bright and wild.
Had Mary been filled with reason
there’d have been no room for the child.”

As I read this poem, I was reminded of how irrational the whole thing was. Mary–a virgin? Son of God in a stable? Lazarus to life? Leaper healed? Deaf hear? The meek will inherit? Bread of Life? Blood of Salvation? A criminal’s death for a king? Heaven for a thief? Missing body? Death no more? For you? For me?

It is amazing really, this irrationality. It’s amazing because somehow, it makes sense. It’s amazing because somewhere through the absurdity and irrationality, there is undeserved grace and unconditional love that holds us close.

Keep watch.

Blessings,

Jon

Jonathan is a first year Master of Divinity student at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. He holds a B. A. in Religious Studies from Elon University. While at Elon, Jonathan was active in LGBT awareness and other activism.

Jonathan is pursing ordination in the United Church of Christ, and is a member of Elon Community Church, United Church of Christ in Elon, North Carolina.

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If you are currently discerning if seminary is the next step in your faith journey, I hope you will consider Candler as a community for you to live into your calling. Please contact us in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at candleradmissions@emory.edu, call us at 404.727.6326, check us out online at www.candler.emory.edu/admissions/ and look for my profile on Facebook, named Candler Intern-Theology, and the Candler School of Theology Group at www.facebook.com.

It may have been the last week of classes here at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, before Reading Week and final exams, but there were an amazing amount of activities, worship services, and community gatherings that happened in these last few days of the semester. On Tuesday, there was a Brown Bag Lunch Conversation sponsored by the Oral History Project of Women in Theology and Ministry with Melva Costen, who is a widely recognized authority on music and worship. She is the author of African American Christian Worship and In Spirit and in Truth: The Music of African American Worship. Dr. Costen recently retired from the Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC), where she was the Helmar Emil Nielsen Professor of Music and Worship. The interview and conversation with Dr. Costen was part of our ongoing work in gathering stories of strong women who have helped shape their religious communities and the larger culture.

Then, on Wednesday, the Candler class “Christian Encounter with Hinduism,” taught by Dr. Thomas Thangaraj, the D.W. and Ruth Brooks Associate Professor of World Christianity, sponsored a free exhibition on Hinduism for all Candler students. There were displays, music, Indian finger foods, craft activities, and trivia to help learn more about Hinduism, along with an exhibition about Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

On Thursday, the Office of Student Programming turned Brooks Commons, the social gathering area for the seminary, into the “Candler Stress-Free Zone” for an intentional afternoon and evening of fun and relaxation for those feeling overwhelmed by finals. Loaded nachos, the movie Shrek 3, crafts, video games, and board games were the perfect combination of junk food and distractions to help people temporarily forget about the stress of final exams and papers that are yet to be completed.

These were indeed all wonderful events, but my favorite part of the week had to be the Hanging of the Greens service in chapel on Tuesday. It was a Service of Readings, Advent Carols, and Prayers for the Waiting World. During the singing, which included congregational hymns as well as special music from the Candler Singers, the Chapel Choir, and Voices of Imani, the chapel was prepared and decorated with greenery, poinsettias, Advent paraments, and the colors of the season.

The service was beautifully planned and presented—everything from the readings to the liturgical dances. In fact, each scripture reading was done in two languages by two people, who were standing across the altar table from each other. Various members of the Candler community, who come from places near and far, read the text in their native tongue. It was so moving to hear the Advent scriptures read in Shona, Russian, Korean, Tamil, and English. It reminds us that these sacred texts are universal and calls to each of us personally from the four corners of God’s creation. Those in attendance at this service certainly caught a glimpse of the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God as we worshipped, sat in silence, prayed, and lit the first candle on the Advent wreath together.

Because the semester is quickly coming to an end, the Candler community must squeeze Advent in four days instead of four weeks. Therefore, on Wednesday, the Office of Worship planned a Las Posadas service, which is an enactment of the Holy Family’s search for shelter, with songs in Spanish reflecting the Mexican origins of this service. Prayers were offered for those still searching for shelter, for food, for justice. The Thursday of Advent Week at Candler is always a Service of Artist Gifts, in which members of the Candler community offer their artistic expressions from music, dance, art, and spoken word. This service was themed around the Magnificat: My Soul Magnifies the Lord. Finally, the end of the week, as we light the last candle around the Advent wreath, we share in the Eucharist and feast at the Table. As students receive the Benediction on Friday, they have a week off for preparing and waiting for finals. And isn’t that what we are called to do during Advent? We wait and prepare for the coming Christ child with hopeful expectation.

As classes and final examinations end, the Candler student body will go home for the winter break, but we will continue to post blogs weekly. In fact, starting next Friday, we will begin a series of blogs which will be written by current students and others within the community. Though classes may not be in session, we are still around in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid to answer your questions and talk to you about your discernment process and interest in Candler School of Theology. Feel free to contact us through the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons. You can email us at candleradmissions@emory.edu or call is at 404.727.6326. Also, check out my profile on Facebook (Candler Intern-Theology) and please join the Candler School of Theology Group at www.facebook.com.

Lane Cotton Winn 07T
Candler School of Theology
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Intern

We’re mere moments away from December, and as the fall leaves turn brown and become mulch under our feet and the turkey and pumpkin decorations are put away, the Advent and Christmas season is immediately ushered in. It’s that time of year when we get new candles for the Advent wreathe, compose Christmas cards, and hear Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree everywhere we turn. One of the harder tasks in decorating for the Christmas season has got to be untangling strands of lights and then successfully winding them around the Christmas tree in such a way that no cord is visible to the naked eye and there is an even distribution of lights at all angles of view, from the crawling baby to the towering uncle.

Lights have been a recent topic of discussion on both the campus level for Emory University, through the Office of Sustainability Initiatives, as well as on the seminary level here at Candler School of Theology. In fact, light bulbs, water conservation, electricity use, and sustainable food sources are all lively discussions and movements around campus. Last spring, the Office of Sustainability Initiatives invited the Emory University community to submit grants for sustainability projects. Brad Schweers 05T, admissions advisor in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at Candler, wrote a grant to switch all of the standard incandescent light bulbs in Bishops Hall and Cannon Chapel, Candler’s academic, administrative, and chapel buildings, with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) in order to reduce Candler’s electricity usage. The second, and more far-reaching, purpose of the project proposed by Brad was to educate students, staff, and faculty about compact fluorescent lighting and larger environmental issues, from a Christian and religious stewardship viewpoint and empower them to switch their personal and congregational lighting from incandescent to compact fluorescent lighting.

Brad was awarded the grant, and began switching incandescent bulbs in Cannon Chapel and Bishops Hall with CFLs in late August, as classes resumed. Brad switched just under a hundred bulbs. Over the expected ten thousand hour life of the bulbs, each CFL will save approximately four hundred seventy kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity as compared to their incandescent counterparts. To measure results, Brad compared energy consumption from September and October 2007 with the consumption from those same months in 2005 and 2006.

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL), a local non-profit working with religious congregations on environmental justice issues, whose Executive Director, Katy Hinman graduated from Candler with her Master of Divinity (MDiv) in 2006 and is a candidate for ordained ministry in The United Methodist Church, teaches that a compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) is fluorescent lighting designed to be used in a standard (incandescent) light bulb socket. Because incandescent bulbs work by heating up a metal filament until it is white-hot, they produce mostly heat, which is why a fluorescent bulb using only thirteen watts of electricity can produce light comparable to an incandescent hogging sixty watts.

Since switching our bulbs to CFLs two months ago, Candler has reduced energy consumption by twelve percent. We have saved almost eight thousand Kilowatt hours of electricity, which is more than an average household uses in a year. In addition, Candler has put 6,800 fewer pounds of carbon dioxide into the environment. That is four Honda Civics worth, by the way. We have saved $490 on our energy bills in September and October of this year. If you are thinking like a Candler student, that’s a lot of meals at Cox Hall, Dooley’s Den, and Emory Village, which are eateries in and around Emory that are frequented by seminarians.

Brad Schweers’ passion for energy reduction and environmental concerns continues. He says, “For me, energy conservation is more than just commonsensical, though it is that, of course. As a Christian, energy conservation is a matter of stewardship, a matter of caring for the Creation over which God has given us responsibility. Jesus said that the essence of life is to love God, love neighbor, and love your self. I think today he would add love Creation. Switching out a hundred light bulbs at Candler is, for me, a part of that Christian love.”

Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, along with their partners, are encouraging people to give Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs as Advent, Hanukkah, and Christmas presents this year. By switching one incandescent light bulb to a CFL, can save seventy percent of the energy used by an incandescent bulb; four hundred seventy kilowatt-hours of electricity (that’s like running a hair dryer non-stop for sixteen days); seven hundred thirty pounds (pounds!) of CO2 from entering the atmosphere; $36 over the life of the CFL bulb, which can be up to ten years. Katy Hinman 06T, at GIPL reminds us, “It is important that we not only make the theological connection between our faith and the need to be good stewards of our environmental resources, but also that we empower ourselves and our congregations to take positive action toward ensuring a thriving planet for generations to come.” Honor one of the colors of the holiday season, and be Green-friendly and give Green gifts that will honor God’s great creation.

Candler is a great place to explore pressing cultural and theological issues, such as the environment, as well as be in dialogue with timeless theologians and biblical texts. For more information about Candler School of Theology, visit our website at www.can
dler.emory.edu, or email the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at candleradmissions@emory.edu. In addition, you can call us at 404.727.6326, or learn more about the admissions process at Candler by clicking here. Look for my profile on Facebook (Candler Intern-Theology) and the Candler School of Theology Group at www.facebook.com.

Lane Cotton Winn 07T

Candler School of Theology

Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Intern

While I was a “Recruiter on the Road” last week, one of the pinnacle events of the fall semester at Candler School of Theology, Emory University was happening during my absence. Certainly, I was not expecting the Candler community to plan events around my schedule, but I was saddened to miss the annual Thanksgiving Dinner, nonetheless. It is all that I have been hearing about from friends around campus, and everyone turned out this year for this special evening of dining and fellowship. For well over ten years, the Office of Student Programming (OSP) at Candler has sponsored and hosted a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to students, faculty, staff, and families of Candler as a gift to the community.

Cynthia Meyer, Assistant Dean of Students, along with her staff of students, yearly transform Brooks Commons, the gathering grounds of the Candler student body for study, meals, and hanging out, into a warm, homey atmosphere that would make Martha Stewart proud. This year’s menu included favorite dishes such as turkey, gravy, stuffing/dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrot soufflé, macaroni and cheese, and dinner rolls. What more could a starving student want with just weeks left in the semester until final examinations? Well, if you had any room left after going back for seconds and thirds, there is always dessert. This year’s Thanksgiving dinner ended in sweetness with sliced treats like pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and red velvet cake, which I hear was the hit of the dessert table.

There is such a great turnout and excitement behind this event that they had to offer three seating throughout the late afternoon and evening to accommodate the number of guests at dinner. In reflecting on the event, Cynthia Meyer said, “The annual Thanksgiving Dinner has developed into a great tradition of feasting and sharing. Gathering together like a huge extended family reminds us of the importance of community. The dinner also prompts us to give thanks here at Candler for the gifts of one another and our shared experiences of learning, worshipping and growing together.”

Upon entering the newly decorated space and scanning Brooks Commons in search of friends to sit near, you see clusters of faculty and staff sitting among students. This is a setting of much dialog and celebration. In fact, Dr. Steven J. Kraftchick, Director of General & Advanced Programs and Associate Professor of the Practice of New Testament Interpretation was spotted eating with all the first year Master of Theological Studies (MTS) students. Dr. Kraftchick is the MTS Advisor, and because the first year MTS students had a colloquy, which is a fancy Latin word for discussion group, with the professor immediately following the first dinner seating, the group decided to attend the meal together before class began. Continuing to pan the room, you can see the staff of the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid eating merrily together, as well as Dean Jan Love greeting students as she munches on her plate of food.

Thanksgiving Dinner at Candler is one of my favorite events of the school year because it invites our entire community to take a break around the table together over a shared meal. Kim Jackson, Master of Divinity (MDiv) Middler said of the dinner, “I had an absolutely wonderful time. The food was great, and it was a welcomed break from all the studying that I’ve been doing as we near the end of the semester.” As this academic season comes to a close, there is much haste and excitement heading into final examinations and the winter break from classes. In this brief exercise of pause and fellowship, we are invited to give thanks, serve one another, and feast at the banquet that has been prepared for us. Sounds a lot like communion, doesn’t it? And for me, it is a sacred moment.

Where have you experienced sacred moments in your everyday life?

What are you thankful for?

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish or meal to eat?

We would love to host you next year at Candler’s Thanksgiving Dinner, and for you to become a part of this vibrant community. For more information about Candler School of Theology, visit our website at www.candler.emory.edu, or email the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at candleradmissions@emory.edu. In addition, you can call us at 404.727.6326, or learn more about the admissions process at Candler by clicking here. Look for my profile on Facebook (Candler Intern-Theology) and the Candler School of Theology Group at www.facebook.com.

As the academic days change from midterms to finals, my responsibilities continue to grow and develop in my Internship with the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Over the past week, I have made two trips on behalf of Candler, joining the ranks as a “Recruiter on the Road.” I attended a Seminary Fair at Furman University in South Carolina, with twelve other seminaries present, as well as Texas Wesleyan University and TCU, both in Fort Worth, Texas, where I shared in a meal and conversation with current students.

This was my first experience to represent Candler solo to prospective students and future seminarians. Some of us may have been student ambassadors, tour guides, or student hosts during college, but being a Recruiter on the Road comes with new challenges and responsibilities. Luckily, Candler’s main Recruiter on the Road, Jena Black, gave me some pointers to remembering key facts about Candler when doing a presentation or when I may only have three or four minutes to tell people about all the amazing things Candler has to offer. For example, Jena uses a trick to remember the aspects of our new Master of Divinity (MDiv) curriculum, which we launched this fall.

Candler’s curriculum is like the USDA Food Pyramid. We offer a solid base of core classes that will nourish and sustain you in all your ministry endeavors. As you move higher on the food pyramid you find practical ministry classes as well as our Contextual Education program, which work hand in hand to provide you with tools you need to fully engage in your ministry sites from the very beginning. With our concentrations, which you might think of as a minor, you move higher on the food pyramid, as you gain expertise in a particular area of theological and ministerial interest, such as Theology and Ethics; Congregation, Society, and Personality; and Theology and the Arts. And finally, at the top of our food pyramid analogy are electives and free credits. You certainly don’t have to wait until your final year to take electives, for they are available sparingly beginning even your first semester. The electives will add some sweetness and round out your education as Candler, just as fats, oils, and sweets do at the top of the food pyramid. Another reminder trick that Jena uses for helping remember information is the analogy that the United Methodist Candidacy Process is like Dating, but you will have to ask her specifically to explain that one to you.

As I traveled northeast and westward this past week, I found that Candler is truly everywhere I go. I certainly took pieces of Candler with me, from a Candler School of Theology tablecloth to pins and stickers bearing our name and logo. However, what I discovered on both of these journeys is that Candler is already represented well beyond the four walls of the seminary, beyond the borders of Emory University, beyond the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia. Candler School of Theology is met in the face of Reverend Keith Ray 91T one of the campus ministers at Furman University, who hosted a seminary fair at Furman. Keith and I reminisced about professors and classes at Candler during lunch, and it turns out that Dr. Don Saliers, who before retiring in May, 2007, was the William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Theology and Worship and Director of the Master of Sacred Music Program for many years at Candler, baptized both of Keith’s children.

Candler is represented through two of the Texas Wesleyan University Religion Department faculty members, Dr. Jesse Sowell 63T and Dr. Ronald Ballard 60T, who each received a Master of Divinity from Candler before pursuing PhDs. Candler is met in the eager questioning and discernment of one of the prospective students I had the honor of sharing a meal with at TCU. His inquiries, soul searching, and passion for dialog and new discoveries are what makes Candler such a fantastic community to live, serve, learn, and grow in. Most of us who work in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid are Candler graduates, so every time we host visitors to campus, recruit on the road, and answer phone calls and emails, we are sharing our own personal piece of the Candler experience with all of you. Candler has meant so much to us, that we have decided to share this community with others through our vocation and ministry.

Candler has Recruiters on the Road all the time, and I invite you to check out our schedule to see if we will be in your area in the coming months. In addition, we would love to host you here on campus, and you can schedule a visit online at our site as well. I would like to have the opportunity to further explain our Food Pyramid or Dating analogies to you, so please email us at candleradmissions@emory.edu to continue this conversation. You can also contact us by calling 404.727.6326 or check us out online at www.candler.emory.edu/admissions/. In addition, look for my profile on Facebook (Candler Intern-Theology), and the Candler School of Theology Group at www.facebook.com.

Lane Cotton Winn

Candler School of Theology

Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Intern

Sweaty palms. Lying awake late at night with anxiety. Setting the alarm extra early to not miss the appointment. With the level of excitability and unrest around Candler School of Theology this week, you’d think it was the first day of starting a new job or the day of the GRE or final exams. Students and even the Registrar’s Office tend become a little more hyped up on caffeine and adrenaline during Course Registration. Today marks the end of a week of registration for the 2008 spring semester at Candler School of Theology and a month of conversations around campus about what classes and professors to enroll in next semester. I may be exaggerating ever so slightly about the nervousness of the students during the registration process, but with so many creative and intellectually stimulating classes being offered in the spring, I can understand why it would be hard to narrow it down to a manageable schedule.

There are a variety of new classes that are being offered in the spring from each of our four areas of study: Biblical Studies, History and Interpretation of Christianity, Christianity and Culture, and Introductory Arts of Ministry. In Biblical Studies, Professor John Weaver, the Head of Public Services at Pitts Theology Library at Candler, will teach a new class called “Missions in the New Testament,” which will study the literary and social history of missions in the New Testament and the practices explicitly involving the New Testament in the global history of Christian missions up to the present. A primary goal of the course is to cultivate informed and discerning use of the Bible in contemporary missions. In addition to this new class, Registrar Trudy Blackmon is finding that Professor Carol Newsom’s class “The Wisdom Literature” is a popular one this registration season and will likely fill up. Dr. Newsom’s current research focuses on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Wisdom tradition, and apocalyptic literature. She is author of The Book of Job: A Contest of Moral Imaginations and she is the co-editor of the Women’s Bible Commentary.

History and Interpretation of Christianity also has a couple of very popular classes next semester. Professor Joy McDougall will teach “The Trinity, The Human Person, and the Christian Life.” This is an advanced seminar on classical and contemporary approaches to the doctrine of the Trinity and its implications for theological anthropology and the shape of the life of faith. Particular attention will be paid to contemporary proposals relating the doctrine to social and ethical issues that are challenging churches today.

Another highly popular class with a waiting list and full enrollment is Professor Ian McFarland’s class on “Sex, Sin, and Salvation: The Christian Doctrine of the Human Person.” This course examines some key themes in the topic of theological anthropology, with special emphasis on the diversity of ways in which Christians through the centuries have answered the question, “What does it mean to be human?” The material surveyed will pay particular attention to issues of gender identity, human sexuality, and original sin, since these topics have proven particularly important for the development of Christian reflection on human beings in the Western Christian churches; but attention is also given to the ways in which questions of race, ethnic identity, disability, and class have affected Christian understandings of personhood. I’m sure you can see why these classes are so wildly popular!

The area of study entitled Christianity and Culture is launching the largest amount of new classes this spring, including, “Spirituality and Liberative Pedagogy: U.S. Third World Feminists and Womanists Religious Practices of Healing,” with Professor Renee Harrison; “ Understanding Religion and Health in the Context of HIV,” with Professor John Blevins, which is also offered as a Pastoral Care class, and “Rastafari Religion,” with Professor Noel Erskine. Not only are these newly designed classes being offered, there are also several others in this area of study which have got students lining up for spots in the class. Both classes being offered by Professor Thomas Thangaraj are “sell outs” because this is his last year of teaching at Candler before retiring to his home in India; he has been a beloved professor here for many generations of students. He will teach “Images of Christ in World Christianity,” as well as “The Church’s Mission in a Pluralistic World.” Professor Liz Bounds is offering a one-credit class on “Skills in Conflict Transformation” that I have heard numerous students mentioning on their list of desired classes. Though some of these classes may be full before first year students are able to register, there are so many options that I believe each schedule will have depth and diversity of study.

We also have new classes in our Introductory Arts of Ministry area. Dr. Russell Richey, Professor of Church History and former Dean of Candler, will teach a new class called, “Evangelism and the Camp Meeting Movements in North America;” Professor Jimmie Abbington is teaching “Global Perspectives in Christian Worship;” and Professor Carol Lakey Hess will teach a new class on “Religious Education Through Fiction.” Dr. Hess’s class incorporates classic novels, including F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, as well as many other favorites.

What makes a class popular? Which classes get you most excited about theological education? If you were going to design a class, what would be its title and area of focus? Trudy Blackmon, Candler Registrar shares, “In the balance to meet the needs of two concurrent MDiv curriculums, it was exciting to see Candler produce a number of new courses for the upcoming semester that students have shown great interest in.” This is an exciting time to be in study, class, and reflection at Candler School of Theology.

If these classes sound appealing to you, we would love for you to make a campus visit to Candler to sit in on a class, attend chapel, and meet current students. You can register to visit campus by clicking here or email the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at candleradmissions@emory.edu. You can call us at 404.727.6326, or learn more about Candler on our website www.candler.emory.edu. Look for my profile on Facebook (Candler Intern-Theology) and the Candler School of Theology Group at www.facebook.com.

Lane Cotton Winn
Candler School of Theology
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Intern

How many hymns can you name whose texts are about peace? After the suggestions of Let There Be Peace on Earth and This is My Song, what hymns are left to sing of peace? There may be a few choral arrangements and solo pieces we can uplift, but very few congregational hymns name our hearts weeping desire for peace. With over 3,000 casualties of American soldiers in Iraq, and countless—literally uncountable, numbers of Iraqis killed during this hostile season of their country’s history, we seem at a loss for hymns of peace and concord. What is there for us to sing? How can we keep from singing?

The recent Annual Women’s Forum at Candler School of Theology on “Women and Peacemaking” offered some anthems and themes for us to sing in times of great need for peace and stillness in our hearts, lives, and in the world. The Women in Theology and Ministry Program’s forum met for two days last week, and offered several conversations over meals, including “Peacemakers Telling Their Stories” and “Peacemaking Through Art.”

The noonday storytelling luncheon featured a Midrash written and orated by Kim Jackson, a Master of Divinity Middler, as well as a monologue written and performed by Kanisha Billingsley, MDiv middler, about AIDS and the violence and silence it causes. Kim’s provocative line, “I bled the tears I could not shed,” speaking from the voice of the woman who touched Jesus’ garment and was healed of her bleeding, found in all three synoptic gospels, led us solemnly into a conversation about peacemaking with Professor Renee Harrison, Interim Director of Black Church Studies and Visiting Assistant Professor of West African and African American Religious Practices and Culture, and Senator Nan Orrock, a Georgia State Senator since 1987, who began her work for justice and peace in the Civil Rights Movement with she worked for SNCC in Atlanta and Mississippi. Dr. Harrison asked us repeatedly, “How would you define peace in terms of your own existence and life experiences?” As each of us departed that lunch conversation, we contemplated our own thoughts on being peacemakers and peacekeepers in the context of our personal life as well as ministry.

When the forum resumed for dinner, three Candler students offered artist interpretations of peacemaking through presentations of photography, dance, and spoken word. The talent and gifts of the Candler community continue to amaze and delight me, and this evening was another such occasion. Just as I inquired above about hymns of peace, Professor James Abbington, Associate Professor of Music and Worship, in his presentation on “Peacemaking through Music,” also asked us that same question. While the dinner guests commiserated about the Church’s lack of hymns and sacred texts about peace, he introduced us to several contemporary women hymn writers who are writing moving, current, fresh hymn texts on peace, which can often be set to traditional and standard hymn tunes. I ask again, with this gift of new language for the gospel message and call to peace: How can we keep from singing?

Professor Abbington and his co-presenter, Rev. Cynthia Wilson, a Deacon in The United Methodist Church, popular preacher, teacher, conductor, concert artist, and Grammy nominee, shared a creative array of hymns and songs of peace, which we spoke and sang together, as we formed a congregation over the dinner tables.

As a closing reflection, I offer one of the hymn texts shared with us that evening. May the Peace of Christ Be Yours was written by Mary Louise Bringle, who received her PhD from the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University and is currently on the faculty at Brevard College in North Carolina. These beautiful words that take us through the seasons of the year remind me that peace does not just mean a lack of war or an end to violence. Rather, peace is a state of mind, a calm heart, a soothing spirit, and a grace-filled gift from God.

May the Peace of Christ Be Yours

May the peace of rolling oceans,
glinting green with silver foam
through the pull of tides and seasons:
may the peace of Christ be yours.

May the peace of winter stillness,
snowflakes piling white on white
showing ev’ry creature’s footprints:
may the peace of Christ be yours.

May the peace of springtime raindrops
and the scent of moistened grass
clad in lilies of the valley:
may the peace of Christ be yours.

May the peace of summer evenings,
darkness hung with shooting stars
and the fireflies’ dance of gladness:
may the peace of Christ be yours.

May the peace of autumn mountains
etched in gold against the sky,
hushed and strong through countless ages:
may the peace of Christ be yours.

Text: Mary Louise Bringle, 2002; Copyright 2006,
GIA Publications, Inc. Used by permission.

The Women in Theology and Ministry Program is not the only outlet at Candler to discuss peace, hymnody, and gather with the community for a free meal. There are countless opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to be in dialogue together about all of the pressing theological, social, and personal life issues surrounding us, and we would love for you to join in that conversation. If you are interested in enrolling at Candler or talking to someone about your own discernment process, please contact us in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at candleradmissions@emory.edu, call us at 404.727.6326, find us online at www.candler.emory.edu/admissions/ and look for my profile on Facebook (Candler Intern-Theology) and the Candler School of Theology Group at www.facebook.com.

By Lane Cotton Winn 07T
Candler School of Theology
Emory University
Office of Admissions
and Financial Aid Intern

What do President Jimmy Carter, Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama have in common? Knowing the source of this blog, you can probably guess that these three distinguished individuals were recently on campus at Emory University, but how often can you experience three dialogue partners of this caliber in one week? While every week at Emory does not draw world renowned speakers, theologians, and politicians, this is an exciting time to be at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. In fact, both President Carter and the Dalai Lama spoke in Cannon Chapel this week, focusing on what it means to be a religious person in this day and age.

The week of great speakers began when President Jimmy Carter gave a talk about being a Christian in the 21st Century to an engaged and intimate audience of Candler students, members of the religious life community in the college, faculty, staff, and guests in Cannon Chapel on Thursday afternoon. Less than 24-hours later, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor visited Emory Law School on Friday morning, for a conference on “A Fair and Impartial Judiciary,” where she gave the keynote address. The national and local news began to take notice of Emory when the Dalai Lama arrived on campus for a visit, just days after receiving the Congressional Gold Medal in Washington D.C. What great resources we have at our fingertips by being situated within Emory University. Candler is one of very few seminaries connected to a major research university, and Candler students are invited to take full advantage of every opportunity at Emory, from concerts to community service and from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was the Cannon Visiting Distinguished Professor of Theology at Candler from 1998-2000 to Salman Rushdie, whose archives are in the University’s Woodruff Library and began a five-year appointment as Distinguished Writer in Residence this year.

Emory’s invitation to the Dalai Lama to join the faculty is the only academic appointment the Dalai Lama has ever accepted. His visit was marked by a conference on “Mindfulness, Compassion, and the Treatment of Depression,” several performances including Tibetan music and dance, the creation of a Mandala sand painting, a lecture and summit, and concluded with his installation as a Presidential Distinguished Professor and a public talk on Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. After standing in line with my Emory ID and entering a lottery (please forgive me, The United Methodist Church), I received a ticket for one of the many events featuring His Holiness. I had the privilege of attending Emory’s first Summit on Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, on Sunday, October 21, 2007, which was right up my ally, as I have an interest in conflict transformation and interfaith dialogue.

Simply hearing the Dalai Lama speak on this topic would have satisfied me, but he was joined by four other panelists from the Hindu, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith traditions, which added such rich dialogue to his sage comments. His Holiness the Dalai Lama began with a statement, which was followed by responses from Rabbi David Rosen, Sister Joan Chittister, Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, and Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im. Gandhi offered a high compliment to His Holiness at the beginning by saying, “People of all kinds are at home with this homeless man,” for the Dalai Lama has been in exile in India and away from his home of Tibet since 1959.

I really appreciated that various times during the dialogue, panelists and the moderator, Dr. Lauri Patton, reminded participants that we can create peacebuilding moments in our local context. In fact, Professor Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im suggested that we stop to using “we” language and start using “I” language. Having been raised in The United Methodist Church, in the west, and being from a large family, I often feel most comfortable using “we” language, as a way to be more inclusive. However, he made a compelling point that individuals should not wait for others to join them, rather “individuals have the ability within themselves to create change.” He suggested we focus on our own human agency rather than relying on others to enlist in the movement for change, dialogue, or peacebuilding. In that same spirit, Sister Joan Chittister ended her time by stating, “If the people will lead, eventually the leaders will follow.”

Some of the questions that emerged out of the summit, and that I offer here for further reflection and dialogue is:
What are the best local peacemaking practices in places affected by religious violence?
How are people addressing these issues of religious violence “on the ground” in cities, communities, and neighborhoods?
For that matter, what is the role of religion in creating suffering in the world?

The Dalai Lama’s message was a message of love and affection. He said, “We really need a closer understanding of each other. It’s essential.” The Gospel message, which is my faith tradition, is to Love, and I believe is also the basic function of all religions and faith traditions. Sister Joan Chittister responded to the Dalai Lama by asking, directly to western Christians, “What do we have to contribute to the history of love?” What will we, as seminarians and discerners, future denominational leaders, community organizers, Christian educators, and global citizens, have to contribute to the history of love?

Sister Chittister told a story of a young man asking an older, religious sage, “Is there life after death?” and the sage asked back to the young, “Is there life before death?” Change can start in the here and now, for we all hold the possibilities for change and reconciliation. One of the final words from the Dalai Lama was in response to a question about Human Rights, in which he said, “If certain traditions don’t go well with current conditions, we have to change those traditions.” What hope for the future he offers!

Each panelist at the summit painted a beautiful image of change, transformation and dialogue, which Rabbi Rosen reminded us, is a powerful thing and can often be more affective than action. If you would like to be a part of a seminary within a university that offers outlets for dialogue about religion, conflict, and peacebuilding, Candler is the place for you. Pease contact us in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at candleradmissions@emory.edu, call us at 404.727.6326, find us online at www.candler.emory.edu/admissions/ and look for my profile on Facebook (Candler Intern-Theology) and the Candler School of Theology Group at www.facebook.com.

By Lane Cotton Winn 07T
Candler School of Theology
Emory University
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Intern

One of the strengths I admire about the Candler School of Theology’s community is its openness to dialogue and converse about anything that may be on one’s mind. Walking through Brooks Commons, our gathering commons area, I hear conversations ranging from theodicy to Tillich, from the weather to weekend plans, and sharing about family and favorite faculty. What is even more impressive is that these conversations are happening all over campus—in the classroom, at lunch or over coffee, in the hallways and across bathroom stalls. In fact, I had a great conversation about Wesleyan theology with a Jewish Master of Arts student, who has a United Methodist minister in her family, on the Emory Shuttle on the way to school last week. We are a community of talkers. Wait; let me clarify. We are a community of dialoguers. Sure, every now and then it seems like we talk just to hear our own ideas but, for the most part, the Candler community is welcoming and open to dialogue with whatever is on your mind.

One conversation that I had the privilege to be a participant in this week was hosted by Sacred Worth, which is a group comprised of straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) students at Candler. Their mission statement says that, “Sacred Worth seeks to be a place of support and safety to those members of the Candler community who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered and those who are supportive heterosexual allies of LGBT justice issues. The group also serves as a prophetic voice, promoting and provoking conversation about sexuality and gender orientation, especially as it relates to ministry, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identification.” This is Sacred Worth Week, therefore, they are hosting a number of events including a silent auction and coffeehouse, several panels and conversations, a faculty and staff appreciation dinner, as well as planning and leading all the chapel services for the week.

The main speaker and preacher they have for the week is Dr. Harry Knox, who is the Director of the Religion and Faith Program at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The conversation I attended was with Harry Knox and Rev. Beverly F. Ostrowski as well as those of us in attendance. The conversation was about the HRC’s resource Out in Scripture, which is a weekly commentary by theologians, scholars, and LGBTQ writers that coincides with the Revised Common Lectionary. Their website says, “This Human Rights Campaign resource places comments about the Bible alongside the real life experiences and concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of faith and our allies. With the help of skilled scholars, you will discover a fresh approach to Scripture.” During the conversation, Harry Knox commented, “Let’s let the church be ahead of something, for once,” in reference to the conversations going on in both secular and sacred arenas about LGBTQ issues and concerns. Indeed, there are dialogues, debates, and down right fights happening around many divisive issues within the church and world. I am grateful that we are encouraged at Candler to talk openly and with compassioned spirit and passion about issues that touch us at the core of our beliefs and ideals.

Rev. Ostrowski offered the following comment about the Out in Scripture resource: “It encourages us to listen to the voice we might not otherwise hear.” And I would argue, or dialogue with you, that the Candler community, as a whole, pushes itself to be in dialogue with the voiceless, the marginalized, the mainstream, the right winged, the leftest liberal, the traditional orthodox, and all the other beautiful loud and quiet voices that make up the conversations of the world.

Sometimes the conversations are hard and push us to look beyond what we know and believe, but at least we are conversing. There will be other student-led weeks throughout the year, such as Heritage Week, hosted by Black Student Caucus, and Women’s Week, coordinated by Candler Women. Student groups, professors, and even our chapel services are constantly asking us to be in dialogue, and those of us who matriculate at Candler are more well-rounded dialoguers and citizens of the kingdom of God for having been invited to the conversation.

If you want to be in dialogue with others about deep theological issues as well as pressing debates of today, maybe Candler is the place for you. Please contact us in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at candleradmissions@emory.edu, call us at 404.727.6326, learn more about the Admissions Process online at www.candler.emory.edu/admissions/ and look for my profile on Facebook, named Candler Intern-Theology, and the Candler School of Theology Group at www.facebook.com.

“The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger.”

-Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking

I believe that vocation and call go hand-in-hand, and in fact, that we are all called and presented vocations in the whispers and nudges given by God. One of the blessings of being in ministry is that we are paid to live out our vocation. We are allowed the space to grow into our calling. We are encouraged to be in constant discernment about vocation and God’s call upon both our own life, as well as the lives of those with whom we are in ministry.

Discernment is a lifelong process, and we hope that seminary is yet another place where we can dialogue and discern our vocation and call in a community of other discerners. One of the hallmarks of the new Master of Divinity curriculum at Candler School of Theology at Emory University is the attention it gives to the first year experience of MDiv students. A key part of the first year experience is Candler’s revised advising program, designed to create regular occasions for faculty and student conversations about a student’s vocational and educational goals. The idea behind this change in structure is that the faculty/student conversations that begin in advising groups the first semester will model faculty involvement with students throughout one’s time at Candler.

One of the aims of the advising groups is to provide a place for collective conversation on vocation. As one means of fostering this collective conversation, all entering MDiv students and their faculty advisers read the same book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Pulitzer-prize winning author Tracy Kidder. Right around the time that bills were due in the university bursar’s office, entering first year MDiv students were sent a free copy of the book. Who doesn’t love to get mail and surprise presents?!

The book tells the story of Dr. Paul Farmer and his pioneering work in health care with the poor of Haiti. Paul Farmer’s story of vocational discernment and service provided the advising groups with a beginning place for conversations about vocation, religious leadership, and theological education. Is Paul Farmer an ordained minister? No. But is he in ministry? Certainly! Ministry happens in many forms and in a variety of vocations. Dr. Farmer received an honorary degree from Emory University at the May 2007 commencement exercises and gave the commencement speech, which pushed graduates to live their lives to the fullest by answering the call that theologian Frederick Buechner names above as the union between the world’s brokenness and where we find wholeness.

This week, Tracy Kidder, the author of the book that has all the Candler first year MDiv students talking about vocation, was at Candler this week for a conversation with students, faculty and staff. His visit represents the finale of a 6-week study on vocation here at Candler. Kidder is a regular contributor to the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, and the New York Times Book Review, and he has won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Award, among other literary prizes. We were delighted with anecdotes from his travels with Paul Farmer as well as the world’s brokenness as he perceives it. Though the advising groups focused on Kidder’s book about Paul Farmer, it was clear from his presentation that we could do a case study on the vocation and call in Tracy Kidder’s own life as he invites readers into new possibilities for living through the words he writes.

What books have you read and found helpful that offer thoughts on vocation and service?

What changes do you hope to effect in the world? What mountains, as the title of the book suggest, or new vocational adventures, do you see on your horizon?

Kidder ended his presentation by saying, “I often feel like I’m jumping out a window and I don’t know what floor I’m on.” Isn’t that a great visual image for what answering God’s call is all about? Living out one’s vocation can bring such joy, but it can also be a leap of faith. We are not meant to do this work of discernment alone in isolation, which is why Candler is providing intentional space for students to talk about vocation, call, and discernment. Perhaps this is the community to continue your discernment process within.

If you are interested in exploring your call and dialoguing about vocation in the Candler context, please contact us in the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid at candleradmissions@emory.edu, call us at 404.727.6326, find us online at http://www.candler.emory.edu/admissions/index.cfm and look for my profile on Facebook (Candler Intern-Theology) and the Candler School of Theology group at www.facebook.com.

By Lane Cotton Winn 07T
Candler School of Theology
Emory University
Office of Admissions and Financial Aid Intern