rd 163 Commencement

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Friday, the Fourteenth of May Two Thousand and Twenty One Ten o’clock in the morning The Seminary The Seminary

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is a graduate professional school of theology related to The . Degree programs offered by the seminary are: master of divinity (M.Div.), five master of arts (M.A.) degrees, master of theological studies (M.T.S.), doctor of ministry (D.Min.), and doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.), as well as programs to prepare United Methodist candidates for certification and for ordination as deacons.

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary is the result of the interweaving of three institutions: Garrett Biblical Institute (established in 1853) in Evanston, Illinois; Training School (established in 1885) in Chicago, Illinois; and Evangelical Theological Seminary (established in 1873) in Naperville, Illinois.

Garrett Biblical Institute was founded by Mrs. Eliza Garrett, widow of real estate tycoon and former mayor of Chicago, Augustus Garrett. Mrs. Garrett’s desire to invest her inheritance in the establishment of a theological school stemmed from her opinion that the Methodist preachers of her day were “equaled by none as to zeal, but surpassed by many as to training.”

The Chicago Training School was an important force for women in ministry and for developing service agencies throughout Chicago. The school merged with Garrett Biblical Institute in 1934. The integration of the two schools meant that the scope of Garrett’s vision for training Christian leaders expanded to include significant numbers of women and leaders of church-based institutions for the betterment of social conditions.

Evangelical Theological Seminary was founded by the Evangelical United Brethren Church. One of its founders, in fact, was a Garrett graduate, I. W. Heidner. As a result of the union of the Methodist Church with the Evangelical United Brethren Church by action of the United Methodist General Conference in 1968, Evangelical Theological Seminary merged with Garrett Theological Seminary (formerly Garrett Biblical Institute) in 1974. Now, as Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, it is the second oldest United Methodist seminary in the country and the oldest in the Midwest. The 163rd Commencement of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

CALL TO WORSHIP Innis Landrus Miller III, Master of Divinity

COLLECT Jose Efraín Belmontes Yañez, Master of Divinity

WELCOME AND REMARKS Javier A. Viera, President

A LITANY FOR GRADUATES Myungsu Kim, Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling

Holy one, You call us together and gift us by your Spirit; unite us by your grace so that in Christ we may be one with each other.

You inspire our vision and order our lives through faith and prayer; open our eyes so that we might see you in every person.

You empower us to teach and lead with honor and mutual affection; guide us so that we may care for others with love and generosity.

You direct our service through prophetic words of wisdom and call us to live as the beloved community; move us to acts of mercy and compassion, and help us, in our life together, and in the world, to show hospitality to friend and stranger.

Bless us and use us to the glory of God, in Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

FACULTY ARRIVALS, LEAVE-TAKINGS, AND DISTINCTIONS Javier A. Viera, President

DISTINGUISHED ALUM AWARDS Barry E. Bryant, Associate Professor of United Methodist and Wesleyan Studies

PRESENTATION OF THE SPEAKER AND CANDIDATE FOR HONORARY DEGREE Javier A. Viera, President Reginald Blount, Associate Professor of Formation, Leadership, and Culture

COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS William J. Barber II MUSICAL PERFORMANCE Yara Allen, Repairers of the Breach

A BLESSING FOR THE GRADUATES Taelor Hickey, Master of Divinity

PRESENTATION OF DEGREES

AUTHORIZATION Jerre L. Stead, Chair, Board of Trustees

PRESENTATION OF CANDIDATES Mai-Anh Le Tran, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean

RECOGNITION OF DOCTORAL CANDIDATES Charles H. Cosgrove, Director, Doctor of Philosophy Program Gennifer B. Brooks, Director, Doctor of Ministry Program

CONFERRING OF DEGREES Javier A. Viera, President

Doctor of Philosophy Doctor of Ministry Master of Theological Studies Master of Arts Master of Divinity

RECOGNITION OF RECORDS OF COMPLETION Javier A. Viera, President

Advanced Course of Study Deacon Studies Certificate in Spiritual Formation

A FINAL BLESSING OF THE CLASS OF 2021 Gennifer B. Brooks, Ernest and Bernice Styberg Professor of Preaching Taurean J. Webb, Instructor of Religion and Race Mark R. Teasdale, E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism Yara González-Justiniano, Visiting Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Community K.-K. Yeo, Harry R. Kendall Professor of New Testament Nancy E. Bedford, Georgia Harkness Professor of Theology Mai-Anh Le Tran, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean Javier A. Viera, President Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary 2021 Graduates

Doctor of Philosophy

Charlotte Anne Heeg* Jaewoong Jung* The Clue of the Crumbling Congregation Fulfilled in Our Bodies: Embodied Experience of the Divine Presence in Preaching Shane Ray Hinson Christian Ethics in the Age of the Market State Jonghyun Kim Dawn Prayer as Political Worship Toar Banua Hutagalung Dishoming Space: Toward an Embodied Decolonial Carl Philip Rabbe* Pneumatology Renewing or Making New?

Doctor of Ministry

Kay Francis Albury Peggy Ann Gibson Naomi Annetta Mitchell Preaching Strategic Leadership in the Black Preaching Congregation Curtis Tyriece Bryant Jr. Regina B. Proctor* Preaching Rebecca J. Girrell Spiritual Direction Congregational Leadership Yoon-Seok Choi Jon Robinson Spiritual Direction Andy S. Manzano Preaching Preaching Edwin Cotto Pérez Rebekah J. Wagner Preaching as Leadership in Enid Medina Torres Spiritual Direction Hispanic/Latinx Contexts Preaching as Leadership in Hispanic/Latinx Contexts

Master of Theological Studies

Kerri N. Allen* Kina Youn Theology and Ethics Religion, Personality, and Culture

Fadi B. Diab New Testament

Master of Arts in Christian Education

Kaylissa B. Beale Alissa Marie Miller*

Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling

Kalif G. Crutcher Emma Sungkyung Kim

Minyoung Han Myungsu Kim Clinical Licensing Track

Master of Arts in Public Ministry

Grace Emmanuelle Okerson Master of Divinity

Kicheon Ahn Red Joze Patience Holdridge Mack Owings

Anthony J.M. Ballah LaTonya D. Johnson Maria Anderson Penrod

Phyllis Bean Johnson Curtis Van Johnson Heather Marie Robertson

Jose Efraín Belmontes Yañez Han Yoon Lee Carter Allen Schram

Cassandra Chee Lydia Marchese Daniel Gregory Skelton

Thomas Allen Clark Lisa Lynne Mathis-Kirkpatrick Kandace Amani Taylor

Alexander Dade Dungan Joel Scott McClellan Laurita Torres

Ellen Marie Gotelli Monica Kathleen McDougal Michael William Wilkerson

Taelor Hickey Innis Landrus Miller, III Tyler James Yost

Brad Robert Hindsley Leah Marie Alliss Ostwald Ilhan You*

Advanced Course of Study

James Fielder*

Deacon Studies (Basic Graduate Theological Studies)

Lori Grasty Michele Ann Rousseau Elizabeth Staniforth Seamster

Jeanne Koontz Daniel Raymond Shroyer

Sandee Prouty-Cole Jinny L Song

Certification

Kasey Marie Needham Hapner Sandee Prouty-Cole Music Ministry Spiritual Formation

* Degree was awarded in October 2020 This program does not constitute an official certification of graduation. Distinguished Alum Award Recipients

Annually, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary presents a distinguished alum award to two persons who have rendered extraordinary service in their ministries. One award is given to an alum who graduated 25 years ago or less and another is presented to one who graduated more than 25 years ago.

Sue Laurie Master of Divinity, 1995 Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Rev. Sue Laurie received her master of divinity from Garrett-Evangelical in 1995. Since her days at Garrett-Evangelical, Laurie has served as a pastor, prophet, and preacher dedicated to justice and inclusion, especially for LGBTQ+ persons in and beyond The United Methodist Church.

“As a student, Sue Laurie was a persistent prophetic voice among us, one who spoke truth and offered grace,” said Dr. Lallene J. Rector, president emerita of Garrett-Evangelical. “She also had a wicked sense of humor when once ‘coming out’ as a math teacher/geek in a sermon she preached in the Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful while still a student. She has remained a persistent voice in the church and in the world to this very day. Garrett-Evangelical is eternally indebted to her for opening a path to a long sought public affirmation of the members of our LGBTQIA+ community and its allies.”

When Laurie and her partner, Julie Bruno, arrived at Garrett-Evangelical in the early 1990’s, they were denied seminary housing because they were not legally married, a legal right unavailable to same-sex couples at the time. Even still, they became fully involved in the seminary community. Two years later a student committee successfully campaigned to change the rules, allowing seminary housing for same-sex couples as a recognized family unit. While in seminary, Laurie was one of the founders of Sacred Worth, the LGBTQ+ student group at Garrett-Evangelical. Laurie was honored with the seminary’s Myrtle Saylor Speer Award “given to graduating women who have greatly contributed to the expansion of the vision of women in ministry and theological scholarship.”

As a pastor, Laurie seeds new faith communities and supports existing ones. Laurie teaches with confidence in God’s love and grace. She has an ability to feel the pain of exclusion and allow it to inform the ongoing ministry of gathering and offering a different path.

As a prophet, Laurie advocates for the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in and beyond The United Methodist Church. Laurie has participated actively in justice-seeking groups such as Love Prevails, Church Within A Church Movement, and UMForward. Serving as the national outreach coordinator for eight years with Reconciling Ministries Network, Laurie has traveled the United States speaking and teaching in many Annual Conferences. She has attended countless gatherings where decisions about LGBTQ+ persons are made—clergy trials, Judicial Council hearings, Council of gatherings, and General Conferences. At General Conference 2016, Laurie was ordained by her community as a testament to God’s undeniable call to ministry.

As a preacher, Laurie gives witness to the Good News of Christ’s love for all people. Those familiar with Laurie’s preaching commitments often say, “Sue is a circuit rider and the world is her parish.” Laurie is known for her life-sustaining sense of humor, her integrity, and her ability to save lives and souls that may otherwise be lost to discrimination and oppression. Bruce R. Ough Master of Divinity, 1978 Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

Bishop Bruce Ough received his master of divinity from Garrett- Evangelical in 1978. Ough was ordained deacon in 1975 and elder in 1979 in the former North Dakota Conference. Ough has served as council director and camp program director in the Dakotas, as Director of Oakwood Spiritual Life Center in , and as senior pastor, district superintendent and director of the Council of Ministries in the Conference.

Ough served as resident bishop of the West Ohio Area of The United Methodist Church for 12 years. He then served as resident bishop of the Dakotas-Minnesota Area from 2012 until his retirement in 2020.

Ough is the current executive secretary of the Council of Bishops of The United Methodist Church, a position he has held since September 1, 2020. The executive secretary is charged with the day-to-day running of the Council of Bishops’ office in Washington, D.C. He is also a member of the Council of Bishops Executive Committee.

“I am deeply touched by Bishop Ough’s response to this recognition and to the significance he attributes to his education at Garrett-Evangelical in a special moment of its history,” said Dr. Lallene J. Rector, president emerita of Garrett-Evangelical. “His is a living witness to the transformative power of faith deeply lived and Christian service rendered to leadership in the church and beyond. We are proud to call him one of ours!”

Ough has served the broader United Methodist connection in many ways. He was elected as a delegate to numerous General and North Central Jurisdiction Conferences and has served as a member of several jurisdictional and general church agencies. He was appointed bishop of the Southeast Asia Mission (Vietnam, Laos and Thailand) from 2010 – 2015, served as the president of the North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops, and chaired the Council of Bishops’ Plan Team on Missional Focus. He chaired the United Methodist Connectional Table for the 2012 – 2016 quadrennium and served as president of the Council of Bishops from 2016 – 2018.

Ough also provides leadership to ecumenical councils and educational institutions. Ough is past president of the Ohio Council of Churches and has been involved with the Minnesota Council of Churches during his years in the Dakotas-Minnesota Area. He has served on the Board of Trustees for Dakota Wesleyan University, Hamline University, and the E. Stanley Jones Foundation, and he has received an honorary doctorate from Dakota Wesleyan University. The Commencement Speaker

Bishop William J. Barber II President of Repairers of the Breach and Bishop with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries

Bishop William J. Barber II is the president and senior lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival; bishop with The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries; visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary; and the pastor of Greenleaf Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Barber is also the architect of the Moral Movement, which began with weekly Moral Monday protests at the North Carolina General Assembly in 2013. In 2018, Barber helped relaunch the Poor People’s Campaign, which was begun by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, starting with an historic wave of protests in state capitals and in Washington, D.C., calling for a moral agenda and a moral budget to address the five interlocking injustices of systemic racism, systemic poverty, the war economy and militarism, ecological devastation/denial of healthcare, and the false moral narrative of Christian nationalism.

“It is an honor for Garrett-Evangelical to celebrate and recognize the transformative work of Bishop Barber,” proclaimed Garrett President, Rev. Dr. Javier A. Viera. “His faithfulness, fearlessness, courage, and passion are exemplary and inspire all who know him or hear him to work toward creating a better world. I am delighted that he will be the one to charge members of the Garrett-Evangelical Class of 2021 with being bearers of Christ’s light and love and repairers of the breach.”

Barber has given keynote addresses at hundreds of national and state conferences, including the 2016 Democratic National Convention. On January 21, 2021, he delivered the homily for the 59th Inaugural Prayer Service for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. He has also spoken to a wide variety of audiences including national unions, fraternities and sororities, motorcycle organizations, drug dealer redemption conferences, women’s groups, economic policy groups, voting rights advocates, LGBTQ equality and justice groups, environmental and criminal justice groups, small organizing committees of domestic workers, fast food workers, and national gatherings of Christians, Muslims, Jews, and other people of faith.

Barber served as president of the North Carolina NAACP, the largest state conference in the South, from 2006-2017. A former Mel King Fellow at MIT, he is currently Visiting Professor of Public Theology and Activism at Union Theological Seminary and is a Senior Fellow at Auburn Seminary.

He is regularly featured in media outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post, and The Nation Magazine, among others. Barber is the 2015 recipient of the Puffin Award and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award, a 2018 MacArthur Foundation genius award recipient, and he is one of the 2019 recipients of the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest civilian honor.

A prolific writer, Barber is the author of four books:We Are Called To Be A Movement (Workman Publishing Company, June 9, 2020); Revive Us Again: Vision and Action in Moral Organizing (Beacon Press, December 4, 2018); The Third Reconstruction: Moral Mondays, Fusion Politics, and The Rise of a New Justice Movement (Beacon Press, January 12, 2016); and Forward Together: A Moral Message For The Nation (Chalice Press, October 30, 2014). The Commencement Speaker Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

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