More and more religious people and congregations are returning to the importance of caring for God’s creation as part of responsible living. Did you know there are over 1000 references in the Bible to the Creation, but only 490 references to heaven?! Candler as a theology school, training and forming religious scholars, ministers, and leaders, has taken many steps to live more responsibly and in better harmony with the earth over which humanity has been given stewardship (Genesis 1:26).

From l., Candler Creation Keepers President Jason Myers, Emory Sustainability's Ciannat Howett, and Anthropology professor Dr. Peggy Barlett

Theology Garden

Created in April 2010 next to the second floor entrance of the Candler School of Theology, Emory’s eighth educational garden is a product of the collaborative efforts of the Candler Creation Keepers and the Office of Sustainability Initiates. The 100%  organic garden contains several herbs, such as basil, sage, oregano, thyme and rosemary, as well as a large variety of foods, including blackberries, blueberries, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, beets, peas, squashes, eggplants, and several types of leaf vegetables.

Candler Creation Keepers

On of the newest student groups at Candler is the Candler Creation Keepers. The group has raised funds for and oversaw the construction and planting of the Theology Garden. The group tends the garden – picking weeds, fertilizing, and harvesting the herbs and veggies – while educating fellow students on food and the theological importance of creation stewardship. The Creation Keepers also helped with several Earth Week activities in April of this year, including promoting composting among Theology students, faculty, and staff.

Our LEED Building

Candler’s main building, shared with Emory’s Center for Ethics, is a state of the art, five-story environmentally friendly classroom and office space.  Like all new buildings that Emory builds, Candler’s building reached LEED certification (at the Silver level). Emory’s 17 buildings on campus with LEED designation save energy and water, feature improved air quality, are sited appropriately – such as in areas with public transportation, and are constructed using a percentage of recycled, local or rapidly renewable building materials.

In case you hadn’t heard, Emory has a well-established program in green building — currently having one of the largest inventories by square footage of LEED-certified green buildings among campuses in America.  We have 13 LEED Silver or Gold buildings—including the Theology/Ethics Building—and counting.

Here are some of Emory’s Green Highlights—check back next week for more on the Greening of Emory, including Candler’s initiatives and what you can do at home, at school, and in your places of worship!

Emory Awards and Highlights

• #1 Green College in the Southeast for 2010, by Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine.

• Selected one of the “Top Colleges for Saving the Environment” by IvyWise.com and ApplyWise.com

• 2008 “Distinguished Conservationist of the Year” awarded by the Georgia Conservancy for its overall Sustainability practices.

• Emory included in Princeton Review’s “Guide to Green Colleges” for 2010

Bike Emory. Emory, Fuji Bikes, and Bicycle South bike shop have teamed up to provide all of Emory access to discounted bikes, on-campus bike repairs, free bike-share program, and more.

Food. Buy Local-Emory does! Emory has set a goal of providing 75 percent local or sustainably grown food in the hospitals and cafeterias by 2015. Organic Market Boxes are USDA certified fruits and veggies coming in three sizes—order yours online and pick up on campus the next week! Additionally, the Educational Gardens around campus—including the Theology Garden, shown here on the Sustainability Map—aim to provide fresh food and herbs to the community and get people reconnected to dirt, and water, and sunshine, and real food!

Recycling and Composting. Emory sent off it’s 3900 graduates this year with its first Zero Waste Commencement celebration. Emory diverted over 1900 pounds plastic bottles, aluminum cans, food waste, and compostable plates and service to recycling or composting bins. Speaking for the compostable and recyclable materials, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who gave the keynote address, said, “I’ll be back…as healthy garden soil and recycled goods” (not really). More and more of Candler’s events are Zero Waste, and we even have our own compost bin!

Emory Academics. At last count, Emory was teaching 129 courses with a sustainability-related curriculum in disciplines across the campus, such as medicine, law, ethics, theology, anthropology, spanish, philosophy, journalism, and English. 34 of 43 Emory departments had at least one course related to sustainability–that’s 79%! Emory College already has majors and minors in Environmental Science and will soon have  a Sustainability minor.

Make a Pledge Today! Emory has developed a Personal Sustainability Pledge, addressing personal behaviors related to energy, sustainable food, water conservation, green space, commuting, recycling, and other sustainability issues when at Emory and at home. The pledge is very sophisticated, calculating exactly what the carbon impact of your current sustainable practices is – how many cars are you keeping off the road, how many acres of forest and gallons of gasoline you are conserving – and what impact your pledged actions will have in the future. Take the pledge right now!

Check back next week for more about what Candler is doing to be sustainable, plus even more ways for you to get involved. Care of the Creation is all of our God-given responsibility (Genesis 2:15) – so let’s get to it!

Probably the most popular religious “movement” in the US today is the multifarious group of “spiritual but not religious” people.

CNN has an article looking at various sides of the phenomenon. Critics label SBNR folks as selfish – the individual is the center of their own spiritual life. Religions become food courts – we should all choose based on what suits us, what fits with our individual personality and feels right on any particular day. Have a bad experience with Buddhism? Try the Taoism or the Native American spirituality – they’re very tasty!!!

Others say SBNR people are rightfully turned off by organized religion. Though there were of course exceptions to the rule, The Crusades, The Inquisition, The Holocaust, slavery in America, and terrorist attacks around the globe have all been carried out with support of many leaders of organized religions. So SBNR people (rightfully) want nothing to do with such power structures. Why do people need intermediaries between themselves and God anyway? Haven’t we all stood in awe and wonder at the beach, in the mountains, in the midst of Beauty? That’s God, and we don’t need any hierarchical authorities to explain that to us.

So what do you think?

LauraBeth Jones is a first year MDiv student from Philadelphia, PA. She graduated in 2008 from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in Religious Studies. Her favorite things to study at Candler are religious education and Hebrew Bible.  She is currently on track for ordination in the United Methodist Church as a deacon. She hopes to pursue ministry with youth geared towards social justice in the future.

The Taj Mahal, in Agra, India. Photo by Haemin Lee (ThM 'o7)

Happy New Year!!! The new year is upon us, the second semester—the final semester for some students!—has begun, and there is a lot to talk about at  Candler.

India

Dr. Wesley de Souza, Professor of Evangelism of Evangelism at Candler and Dr. Winston Worrell, Director of the World Methodist Evangelism Institute led a group of a dozen Candler students to an evangelism seminar in Delhi, India from January 5-12. Students’ costs were subsidized by Candler, and several students are still in India exploring the amazing country. Last we heard they were headed to Jaipur.

Benedictine Prayer

A “Mid-day” (it actually starts at 12:30) Benedictine prayer service is starting up this semester in our Prayer Chapel. We encourage those who are seeking a rhythm in their prayer, study, work and worship life to attend. The readings and prayer will last approximately 15 minutes.

New Student Groups

The Candler Society for Multiracial Congregations has recently formed. They seek to help seminarians look critically at the lack of heterogeneous congregations and to offer tools and support for the formation of multiracial congregations. Check them out on Facebook.

The Candler Garden Club is just getting going on campus. A small but committed group of Candler students and staff, led by first-year MDiv student Jason Myers has submitted a petition to create a educational vegetable garden right next to the Theology Building!

Visit By Cardinal Walter Kasper

In March, Emory will host a visit by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. Cardinal Kasper has been deeply involved in interfaith work, including heading the Vatican’s work on Catholic-Jewish relations. He will give a special talk sponsored by Candler, and Emory’s Aquinas Center and the Halle Institute entitled, “The Timelessness of Speaking of God.” The event is free and open to the public; Tickets are available online.

Summer Travel Opportunities

This summer, the Emory Global Health Institute is sending teams to Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, Haiti, and The Bahamas. Candler students are encouraged to apply for spots on various teams as Field Scholars. Scholarships pay for $3000 for the summer. Check out the EGHI website for more info.

So we’ve got an exciting semester ahead. Come be a part of some of the amazing things going on at Candler and Emory, around Atlanta, and all over the world!

Guest blogger Marshall Jolly

On Tuesday, December 1, 2009, Emory University hosted an AIDS awareness day, displaying the World AIDS Memorial Quilt at what was the largest collegiate display in the world. Several friends and I walked through the University quad, which is just a few 100 yards from the school of theology. As we walked and the names of the victims of AIDS were read aloud, we began to reflect on the small portions of the quilt that individual families and friends made to remember their lost loved ones. Many of them had died during the surge of HIV and AIDS cases from the 1980s.

I experienced a profound sense of sadness at this sight. Needless to say, the sight of these quilts, combined with the names being read from the platform was powerful. However, I was most grieved because of how the Church—not any one individual church, but Christian Churches as a whole—have responded (or failed to respond) to the AIDS crisis. Just a few years ago, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell made a very public and licentious statement, suggesting in no uncertain terms that AIDS were repayment for the sin of homosexuality.

I was astonished after hearing a recent NPR report that revealed that a black man who is gay has a 1 in 4 chance of contracting HIV/AIDS. Even more shocking is that Hispanic men who are gay have a 1 in 3 chance of contracting HIV/AIDS. By and large, the Church has been silent in its response to the AIDS crisis—ostensibly because of the disease’s misunderstood stigma as a “gay disease.”

While it is true that a disproportionate number of men—both gay and straight—have AIDS, a growing number of women and children are suffering from the disease—especially in the global south. The long-standing position of “we have no official position” is no longer acceptable. The Church must not shy away from confronting controversial issues and helping to resolve the crisis.

—

Marshall is a first year Master of Divinity student from Paris, Kentucky. A graduate of Transylvania University with a BA in American Studies, Marshall is an Episcopal studies student at Candler and is pursuing ordination to the Episcopal priesthood in the diocese of Lexington (KY). His research interests include American religious history and the rise of the modern Christian evangelical movement.

Guest Blogger Keri Olsen. And a turkey.

On Family Away from Family

I’ve been sitting here in Brooks Commons (where most of Candler’s lounging occurs) for about an hour looking at pictures of the three semesters I’ve been in Atlanta and thinking about what I am most grateful for within my Candler experiences (it was just Thanksgiving, you know).  So much has happened.  So much has influenced my thoughts and ideas.  I’ve met new friends, worked at new jobs, tutored and ran around a track with underprivileged kids, lived in two different places, worshiped in all kinds of churches, experienced God in new ways, participated in retreats,  marched in a parade, studied all sorts of biblical criticisms, gone to Braves games,  been to costume parties, fell in love with Process Theology, cried with friends,  prayed with friends, danced in chapel, truly felt in community while receiving communion, written more papers than I care to imagine, laughed a whole lot, and discovered more about where God is calling me.  See what I mean?  So much has happened.  But when I think of all those experiences the predominate “theme” I am most grateful for is the family away from family that has developed around me.

I have never been in a place friendlier than Candler.  Candler beats Disneyland, church summer camp, and an old ladies’ knitting. That’s because the Candler people I have encountered are friendly in a way that is concerned with knowing who you truly are, and they want to see you succeed.  From the first day at orientation I knew I would have friends and good friends at that.  Aristotle describes three kinds of friends in his Nicomachean Ethics.  The first is a friendship based on utility; the giving of love for the sake of someone’s usefulness to you.  The second friendship is based on pleasure; giving love because someone is pleasant to be around.  However, the third form of friendship is an exchange of love for the sake of the other person, not to gain any advantage for oneself.  Friendship like this third kind is superior to the rest because it endures with goodness and love for others’ sake.   This is the kind of friendship I have found at Candler.  The community of friendship, support, love, compassion and mutual experience has become a family for me 2,160 miles away from home.

The last two years I have spent Thanksgiving here in Atlanta with other Candler students (and their significant others) who do not go “home” for the holiday.  I’ve hosted the meal by providing the location and the turkey.  All the other dishes are prepared by those joining me, and the merriment lasts all evening.  Although I would still love to spend the holiday with my family in California, having a second family away from home makes the day special anyway.

Last year’s Easter was a similar event.  Although it sounds REALLY cheesy, many of us got together to dye Easter eggs (which we ended up hiding for an Easter egg hunt in the amazing backyard of one of our classmates).  After church on Easter Sunday we had a delicious pot luck lunch.  In order to make it feel even more like home we each made an Easter basket for one other person.  It is the effort, care, and company that makes these holidays away from home still worth celebrating to their fullest extent.

I know my friends here at Candler will pick me up when I fall in frustration and fatigue, because they have done it.  I know my friends here at Candler will laugh with me when I am experiencing joyous times, because they have.  I know my friends here at Candler will walk alongside of me during all the times in between, because they have.  And I would do the same for them.  Our friendship is like that of a family, and I am most grateful.

Here’s a little video of Thanksgiving with Keri and her Candler friends.

Our guest blogger this week is Keri Olsen.  She is a second year MDiv student at Candler.  Keri grew up in a town called San Jacinto, located in south-eastern California.  She graduated with a BA in Religious Studies, focused on Society and Ethics, and a minor in Studio Art from University of the Pacific near Sacramento, California.  Keri is in the process of seeking certification and ordination as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church, all because of her Contextual Eduaction experience and the course “Church and Community Leadership” at Candler.

The Voices of Hope choir; photo used by permission of Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com

The Service:

Candler Professor of Church Music and Worship James Abbington accompanies the choir

The chapel service this past Tuesday was packed. I had to climb through three sections to find a seat. The Voices of Hope women’s gospel choir was singing, and I knew they would draw a crowd. I had a lot of office work to do, but they are a choir that you do not miss. I’ve heard them sing three times now and I’ve been blown away and reduced to tears every time. I have had to collect myself in my pew when they’re done, so I’m not overwhelmed after the service. The power is palpable, carrying out of the chapel, feet tapping, voices humming and singing, smiles everywhere. I left the service alone, back to the office; the choir left escorted by armed guards back to prison.

The Choir:

You see, the Voices of Hope is part of the gospel choir ministry of Rev. Susan Bishop, chaplain at the Metro State Women’s Prison in Atlanta. Metro State is a notoriously violent maximum security prison; in 2004, Diane Sawyer from ABC News spent a day and night in the prison as part of an exposé on the culture and violence in women’s prisons. Rev. Bishop, an ordained Baptist pastor and Candler graduate (’75) formed the choir as part of her ministry in 1992. She is a “godmother and mentor” to many of the women at Metro State. The traveling choir numbered 18; the in-house choir counts roughly 35 members among its ranks.

The Prison:Candler has a  long-standing relationship with Metro State. The prison serves as one of the Contextual Education sites in which Master of Divinity students serve during their first year at Candler. First-year students serve in ministry setting outside of church settings—settings like hospitals, prisons, and homeless shelters. Students primarily counsel inmates one on one, assisting with worship, facilitate groups, and help with bible study. One Candler student remarked that “Chaplain Bishop is one of the most inspirational, loving, caring, and outstanding ministers you will likely ever meet.”

The Ministry:

Don and Emily Saliers

While the choir members repeatedly thanked those of us in the congregation for allowing them to sing, we were all very clearly the ones who had been blessed. The choir is an embodiment of the Christian notions of salvation, grace and redemption. Bishop said, “God has work for us to do, no matter who you are, no matter where you are.” It seems doubtful that many of the women, upon being incarcerated, could imagine being used by God for such acts of beauty and hope. And yet that is exactly what the choir is—a living message of hope.

The Voice of Hope also have a new CD out—a first for a Georgia prison choir. Emily Saliers (above right, with her dad) of the Grammy Award duo The Indigo Girls, helped finance the CD project and has sung with the choir on a regular basis for the past several years. Saliers has deep Emory connections. She graduated from Emory College with a BA in English in 1985 and her father, Don, taught worship and theology at Candler until 2007. They co-authored A Song to Sing, a Life to Live in 2004, about the intersecting strands of music and theology in their lives. Bishop said the recording has given the participants a sense of accomplishment and offered them an opportunity to give back to the community. Proceeds from the sale of the CD go toward a program that brings children to visit their mothers at the prison.

To buy the CD, go to: http://www.cccgeorgia.org/cd/index.html

Check out the Voices of Hope singing “Not Forgotten” from earlier this summer in Atlanta.

There’s a new student group at Candler, and they aim to play in the dirt and engage their fellow students in dialogue about God, gardens, and good stewardship. The Candler Creation Keepers, consisting of Master of Divinity and Master of Theological Studies students, had their kick-off meeting last week at Candler.

All of the first-year Master of Divinity students are taking Dr. Brent Strawn‘s Introduction to the Old Testament course. One of the texts for the class is Ellen Davis’s Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible, a text with strong roots (pun intended!) in care of the Creation.

Dr. Strawn’s course plus a critical mass of students interested in theology and care of creation has led the Creation Keepers to pursue the building of a garden bed outside of the Theology Building. In conjunction with the Emory Office of Sustainability Initiatives, the proposed garden would be used for education, empowerment, and for vegetables for the theology school.

Hear from some of the Creation Keepers members, how they got interested and what connections they find between gardening, caring for creation, and Christian beliefs and practices!

Share with us how you see the relationship you see between your faith and your living impact in this created world.

When US President Barak Obama was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace on October 9, he interpreted the award as a call to action. You might not know this, but students at Candler and Emory have pretty amazing access to and experiences with Nobel Laureates past and present. Here are some of the Nobel Laureates and their Candler/Emory connections that have called our students to action.

President Jimmy Carter

Nobel Prize for Peace, 2002

President Carter is Emory University Presidential Distinguished Professor, giving regular lectures around the university and hosting Town Hall meetings every fall for incoming Emory Freshman. In 2002, President Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize for his and The Carter Center’s work (the Carter Center is an Emory University affiliate) in peacemaking, promoting democracy and human rights, and social and economic development.

Last fall, President Carter dropped in on Candler professor Dr. Tom Flores’ class, Sacred Ambivalence: Violence, Peacebuilding, and Interfaith Dialogue. The class was discussion how one’s religious background and faith affects dialogue and peace building. Carter spoke to the class about the signing, with President Anwar El Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, of the Camp David Accords on September 17, 1978, a milestone in Middle East peace talks.

Check out this conversation with the Jimmy and Roselynn Carter on iTunes University.

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama

Nobel Prize for Peace, 1989

Like President Carter, HH the Dalai Lama serves Emory as a Presidential Distinguished Professor.  The Dalai Lama’s 2007 professorship––the first

university appointment accepted by the 1989 Nobel Peace Laureate and leader of the Tibetan people––is an outgrowth of the Emory-Tibet Partnership, which was founded in 1998 to bring together the best of Western and Tibetan Buddhist intellectual traditions.

His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, who will return to Emory Oct. 17-19, 2010, in his role as Presidential Distinguished Profes

sor, has announced a gift of $50,000 to the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative, an historic and ambitious undertaking to develop and implement a comprehensive science education curriculum for Tibetan monastics.

Check out HH the Dalai Lama’s Introduction to Buddhism lecture on YouTube

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Photo by Benny Gool

Nobel Prize for Peace, 1984

Archbishop Tutu served Candler and Emory for two years, from 1998 – 2000, as the Robert R Woodruff Visiting Professor and then the William R Cannon Visiting Distinguished Professor. His tenure at Candler was his first academic appointment (he has subsequently taught at King’s College in London, England). In addition to public lectures, he taught two courses, a seminar on “Transfiguration, Forgiveness and Reconciliation” in the spring and fall of 1999, and a lecture class on “God and Us: Introduction to Contextual Theology and Ministry.”

Seamus Heaney

Nobel Prize for Literature, 1995

In 2003, the Woodruff Library of Emory University acquired a major portion of the archive of the Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney. The collection of personal and literary papers includes thousands of letters spanning Heaney’s entire career as well as printed materials, tape recordings and photographs. Heaney made the announcement Tuesday, Sept. 23 prior to a reading at Emory in honor of the university’s then-recently retired president, William M. Chace.

Akinwande Oluwole “Wole” Soyinka

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/people/chidianthonyopara/

Nobel Prize for Literature, 1986

Wole Soyinka (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian writer, poet and playwright.  He was the first African to be so honored. After fleeing his native Nigeria in 1994, Soyinka served for the spring semester of 1996 as Emory Distinguished Visiting Professor in African American Studies. Soyinka joined the faculty in the fall of 1996, teaching with a focus on personal writing and dramatic projects. At Emory, he lectured in various disciplines, including art history, drama, and political science. He also collaborated with Theater Emory, in partnership with which he directed a staged reading of his play 1994, a satire on political correctness.