Author
VDS Maymester – South Africa trip
Aug. 13, 2014—During Maymester, Professor Victor Anderson and I traveled with thirteen students to South Africa as part of a course studying collective violence. We were a mixed group: black, white, Asian; gay, straight; old and young. We came from different religious backgrounds, and brought our unique perspectives. The course material was difficult and asked us to...
READ THIS BOOK August 2014
Aug. 10, 2014—Each month, we ask a member of the Vanderbilt Divinity School faculty to recommend a book they are currently reading. Our August recommendation is offered by Bonnie Miller-McLemore, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Culture. “Not a Snazzy Title But . . . .” Thoughts...
The Braided Man – VDS Maymester Course part 5
Jul. 30, 2014—The Braided Man by Sarah Jennings, MDiv3 In May I was given a wonderful opportunity to participate in an immersion trip to the US/Mexico Border. Over the previous spring break, I had taken a group of undergraduates to Florida to learn about immigration policy and reform, but this was my first time to see the...
The Patron Saint of Lost Causes; Maymester course part 4
Jul. 23, 2014—The Patron Saint of Lost Causes by Kate A. Fields, MDiv2 The painted desert, the Sonoran, home of lumbering Pipe Cacti, coyote, sidewinders, rattlesnakes, mice, owls, eagles, desert primrose, hawks, roadrunners, sunsets that wrap the day up with a bang and towering mountains of the Santa Catalina range. The fragile ecosystem of the Sonoran is disrupted...
“Borders are invisible until they’re not.” VDS Maymester course Part 3
Jul. 16, 2014—“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.” Robert Frost Borders are invisible until they’re not. The wall the US built, closing off Mexicans along with other Southern and Central Americans from family and jobs, is as imposing and harsh as the policies that inform its existence. People come and go through checkpoints and pass...
VDS Maymester course, Traversing Our National Wound Part 2
Jul. 9, 2014—This past May, twenty Vanderbilt Divinity students and I travelled to Tucson, Arizona, as a delegation under the care of the organization BorderLinks. Vanderbilt Divinity School has partnered with BorderLinks for its last seven delegations, bringing groups of students every other year to Arizona for a week of engagement. Our trip was part of a...
Toward a Celebration of the Fourth of July
Jul. 2, 2014—By Amy E. Steele, MDiv (2000) PhD (2012) “The eye of the reformer is met with angry flashes, portending disastrous times; but his heart may well beat lighter at the thought that America is young, and that she is still in the impressible stage of her existence. May he not hope that high lessons of...
Friday Photo 6.27.14
Jun. 27, 2014—This week, we invited Creative Services to the Divinity School to photograph our Office of Admissions, Vocation and Stewardship, our amazing staff and some of our fantastic students. Daniel Dubois, Director of Photography Services, caputured beautiful photographs that we will use in upcoming marketing materials and on our various social media platforms. Todays photo shares our...
International Interfaith Delegation to El Salvador Part 4
Jun. 25, 2014—This March four students took part in the first ever International Interfaith Delegation to El Salvador in support of LGBTQI activist and people of faith, and attended the inaugural Festival de Fe in San Salvador (this trip/event coincided with the annual recognition of the martyrdom of Monsignor Oscar Romero. The work happening in El Salvador...
