News and Notes

David L. Petersen Receives the Emory Williams Award for Distinguished Teaching

David L. Petersen received the Emory Williams Award for Distinguished Teaching at Emory University’s commencement ceremony May 14. Established in 1972, the award is the university’s most prestigious honor for teaching. Petersen, professor of Old Testament at the Candler School of Theology, is the author of The Prophetic Literature: An Introduction (2002) and commentaries Haggai and Zechariah 1–8 and Zechariah 9–14 and Malachi in the Old Testament Library.

Walter Brueggemann Honored

Walter Brueggemann, professor emeritus of Columbia Theological Seminary, was inducted this past spring into the Martin Luther King Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse College in Atlanta. The induction honored those whose work showed a strong identification with the philosophy and ethics of Martin Luther King Jr., as part of the college’s annual College of Ministers and Laity Program. In addition, his Mandate to Difference: An Invitation to the Contemporary Church (2007) was named one of the Best Religious Books of 2007 by the Massachusetts Bible Society.

Brian Wren Named Professor Emeritus

Brian Wren was named professor emeritus upon his retirement at the end of May 2007. Before retiring, Wren was the John and Miriam Conant Professor of Worship at Columbia Theological Seminary. He has now joined his wife, the Rev. Dr. Susan Heafield, in Massachusetts, where she is minister of the United Methodist Church Cooperative Parish on Martha’s Vineyard. Wren is the author of Praying Twice: The Music and Words of Congregational Song (2000).

Princeton Theological Seminary Promotes Two WJK Authors

Robert C. Dykstra, of Princeton Theological Seminary, has been promoted to full professor and now serves as professor of pastoral theology. Dykstra is the coauthor of Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggles of Boys (2007) and author of Counseling Troubled Youth (1997). Sally A. Brown, also of Princeton, has been granted tenure and promoted to associate professor. She is the Elizabeth M. Engle Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship. Brown is the coeditor of Lament: Reclaiming Practices in Pulpit, Pew, and Public Square (2005).

Greg Garrett New Writer-in-Residence at Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest

September marks the beginning of Greg Garrett’s first year as Writer-in-Residence at Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest. He continues his role as tenured full professor of English at Baylor University, leads retreats at Ghost Ranch, and serves as a lay preacher at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas. Garrett is the author of the WJK books The Gospel according to Hollywood (2007) and Holy Superheroes! Revised and Expanded Edition: Exploring the Sacred in Comics, Graphic Novels, and Film (2008).

Eugene Park Appointed Dornsife Chair of New Testament

Dr. Eugene Eung Chun Park was named the very first Dana and Dave Dornsife Chair of New Testament at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Dana and Dave Dornsife donated $2 million last December to establish a chair at the historic seminary. Park is the author of Either Jew or Gentile: Paul’s Unfolding Theology of Inclusivity (2003).

Dorrien Honored at Union Theological Seminary

Gary Dorrien was inaugurated as the fourth Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, New York, on January 31, 2007. A public symposium preceded the ceremony and focused on Dorrien’s landmark trilogy, The Making of American Liberal Theology, which was completed in the fall of 2006.

Four WJK Authors Are CTI’s Members-in-Residence

WJK authors C. Clifton Black, Allan Hugh Cole Jr., Patrick Miller, and Eric Springsted are among the 2007–2008 Members-in-Residence at the Center for Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey. CTI’s Web site notes, “[T]he purpose of the Center of Theological Inquiry is to encourage research into the content and significance of the Christian faith and to promote its critical engagement with non-theological disciplines, various religious traditions, and with other forms of spirituality.”

Allan Hugh Cole Jr. Releases CD

Allan Hugh Cole Jr. has released a new informational audio CD. It is entitled Loss, Grief, and Mourning and contains helpful information for people in mourning and those who offer them support. The CD is the first in a series called Need to Know, which is being offered by the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary’s Office of Christian Leadership Education and will provide information in the areas of pastoral care, ethics, theology, world religions, and church history. Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at Austin Seminary and a licensed social worker, Cole is the coauthor of Losers, Loners, and Rebels: The Spiritual Struggles of Boys (2007).

Kimberly Long Moves to Columbia Theological Seminary

Upcoming WJK author Rev. Dr. Kimberly Bracken Long has moved to Columbia Theological Seminary as assistant professor of worship and coordinator of worship resources for congregations. Long will continue as editor of Call to Worship in collaboration with the Office of Theology and Worship of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

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