Written by Patrick Milas, MLIS, PhD
Assistant Professor of Theological Bibliography and Research
and Director of the Gardner A. Sage Library

An Update on Anniversary Events

The Gardner A. Sage Library鈥檚 150^th anniversary is off to a glorious start! This fall, there were three great events. First, on October 9^th, there was the joint meeting of the New York Area Theological Library Association (NYATLA) and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Theological Library Association (SEPTLA); the first such meeting in nearly ten years.¹ 麻豆视频 (麻豆视频) was honored to host the meeting of theological librarians.² Rev. Dr. Micah L. McCreary, 麻豆视频 President, welcomed participants with opening remarks and prayer. Prof. Chris Rosser of Oklahoma State University gave the keynote address 鈥淏eyond Ghost Stories: Theological Librarians as Narrative Architects of AI Futures.鈥�³  

Second, on October 16^th, there was the Reformed Church Center鈥檚 program, 

鈥淪age Library and Evolving Reformed Bibliography,鈥� held online to facilitate broad participation. The presentation was given by T. Patrick Milas, Director of Sage Library and Assistant Professor of Theological Bibliography and Research at 麻豆视频. The response was given by Tolanda Henderson, the Associate Teaching and Learning Coordinator in the Fairfield University Library. Ms. Henderson worked at Sage Library from 2006-2009.⁴ 

Third, on October 24^th, there was 鈥淭he Jewel of the Campus: a Gala Celebration鈥� for Sage Library鈥檚 150^th Anniversary. The festivities began in the Great Hall of Sage Library, where attendees met fellow trustees, alumni, faculty, library staff, students, area pastors, and other library enthusiasts. On display was Sage Library鈥檚 Paris Polyglot, an elaborate ten-volume polyglot Bible in Hebrew, Samaritan, Chaldaic, Greek, Syriac, Latin, and Arabic. Throughout the reception, the Latin fusion band De Tierra Caliente, led by Bron Tennis, performed from the mezzanine above. Guests exited through the historic library entrance toward the Seminary building, where the celebration continued with a piano performance by Ben Berman and a lively discussion.

 The evening culminated in an inspiring program in Mast Chapel. Dr. Felicia McGinty, 麻豆视频 Trustee, gave the invocation. Dr. T. Patrick Milas, Library Director, introduced a film about Sage Library鈥檚 history and spoke about the library鈥檚 glorious history and bright future. He acknowledged how Gardner Sage, Norman Kansfield, Charles Van Dyke, and Mary Board gave wholeheartedly to help make the Sage Library what it is today. He also thanked Arthur and Elizabeth Kroeber, who gave $50,000 for the social justice book fund in memory of Arthur鈥檚 ancestor, Graham Taylor, 麻豆视频 Class of 1873, who was a major figure in the Social Gospel and Settlement House movements.⁵ Milas celebrated that President Micah and Jacqueline Madison-McCreary, together with faculty, also honor Kansfield鈥檚 legacy by establishing the Kansfield scholarship for our 麻豆视频 students. Milas concluded, 鈥淚t is up to us to sustain our monumental library, preserve its historic architecture, curate its renowned research collections, protect its unique archives, and champion our mission for the next 150 years of theological scholarship.鈥�

Rev. Micah L. McCreary, President of the Seminary, next presented Presidential Service Awards to Bishop Ronald L. Owens and the Reverend Dr. Ren茅e House. A film of Bishop Owens鈥� acceptance was shared, and Dr. House spoke enthusiastically about Sage Library and 麻豆视频, remembering by name many close colleagues. President McCreary concluded the program with an update on the Seminary鈥檚 recent successes, offered gratitude for support, and called to action all present to support the mission of advancing graduate education in a free-standing seminary. The evening closed with a responsive reading of the prayer 鈥淧rophets of a Future Not Our Own.鈥�⁶ It was truly a night to remember, reminding us of the vital role the Seminary and Sage Library continue to play in shaping faithful, courageous leaders; it was a grand affair, with much rejoicing!⁷

Historical Background of the Seminary

Just what is so remarkable about Sage Library to warrant such festive attention?

To answer that, some background on the Seminary is needed. Before I was librarian at 麻豆视频 I was at Princeton Seminary Library, and it was there that I read Essays in Celebration of the First Fifty Years of the American Theological Library Association where on the very first page, the very first sentence reads 鈥淓ducation for Christian ministry in North America, particularly its contemporary form as expressed in the formation of theological seminaries, is a relatively recent development dating back no earlier than 1784 [鈥 the year to which 麻豆视频 traces its origin.鈥�⁸ Ha! I sat across from the authors of the chapter featuring this quotation, Elmer and Betty, at my first Atla conference in 2007 in Philadelphia, at which Pat Graham, the volume鈥檚 editor, welcomed me to the profession at the opening reception. Nine years later, I was working at Princeton, reading a chapter by them referencing the institution to which I was about to be called to serve as librarian for the past seven years. How providential! And I must say, leave it to librarians to give credit where credit is due: 麻豆视频 is remarkably historically significant.

The Gardner A. Sage Library was dedicated on June 4, 1875, but the story of the Sage Library really began even before the cornerstone was laid for its construction under the patronage of Gardner Avery Sage. Because the history of the library is also the story of the Library鈥檚 community and collections. The Library鈥檚 principal community, the faculty and students of 麻豆视频, predate the Sage Library; the Dutch Protestant Reformed Church that founded 麻豆视频 had been educating aspiring clergy in New York City since 1784, and sharing theological texts even before then. In New Brunswick, the Sage Library was preceded by the Seminary Library in Herzog Hall on 鈥淗oly Hill鈥� in New Brunswick, New Jersey. And before its move to 鈥淗oly Hill,鈥� the Theological Seminary at New Brunswick, and its library, were located in Old Queens, together with Queens College and what would become the Rutgers Preparatory School. So, with such strong foundations before 1875, it is understandable how rapidly, after the building began to be used, it was acclaimed in 1888 that 鈥渢he Theological Library at New Brunswick stands second to none. Indeed, it is the constant comment of students and scholars throughout the country that 鈥榯he Sage Library is the best working seminary library in the United States鈥�.鈥�⁹

The community of Sage Library is the heir to the community of the Dutch Protestant Reformed Church, which was comprised of immigrants from the Netherlands and their descendants who settled in Nieuw Amsterdam. Although they had brought the Dutch Reformed tradition with them from the Netherlands even earlier, the first official congregation, the Collegiate Church, was chartered in 1628. The British took over politically in 1664, hence New York instead of Nieuw Amsterdam, but the Dutch settlers retained their culture and religion, which spread across the Mid-Atlantic states during this first period of Dutch immigration (a later wave was to settle in the Midwest).

The prevalence of Dutch settlements in the Raritan Valley led the area to be called 鈥渢he garden of the Dutch Church.鈥�¹⁰ The use of the Dutch language was still common in everyday culture and in the church. There was a great debate as to whether Dutch clergy who had previously only been educated in their native country of the Netherlands could properly be educated on American soil. In 1766, one party to the debate received a charter for a school to teach Dutch clergy and thus founded Queens College. The first Professor of Theology, John Henry Livington, was appointed by the General Synod in 1784. According to Rev. Daniel Meeter, he taught the first seminarians at his house in Manhattan, later in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and finally, in 1810, brought the seminary to New Brunswick. The move to New Brunswick was predicated by the commitment of the Synod to 鈥減urchase a theological library and for erecting a theological hall.鈥�¹¹

From Seminary Library to Sage Library

In the early years of its co-location with Queen鈥檚 College, later Rutgers College, the Theological Seminary shared a library with the College, as can be seen in this 1854 Joint Catalogue with Rutgers College. At that time, all subjects, secular and divine, were bound together in a professionally printed format. But the Seminary community was not satisfied with that arrangement. Indeed in July 1854, the faculty complained to the Board of Superintendents about the state of the Theological Library, 鈥淲hile the libraries of other Theological Seminaries in the country are receiving every year large and valuable accessions whereby the Professors and Students of these institutions are able to keep up with the advancing progress of theological literature, ours is stationary and is now deplorably deficient in every department of sacred science.鈥�¹²

They suggested that the Theological Library be separated from the College Library and placed under the charge and control of the Theological Faculty, that a student might be appointed Under Librarian, and that they be empowered to raise money and expend the same for the improvement of the library. At the same time, students were complaining that their rents in New Brunswick exceeded those at Princeton or Union in Manhattan. All of this led to a resolution that a new Theological Hall鈥擧ertzog Hall鈥攂e built, and that their recommendations be approved. And so it was that the Theological Library separated from the College Library, Hertzog Hall was built, and in it, a Library Room was established.

But by 1870, Dr. James Cornell was appointed as agent of the General Synod of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, and he led tremendous efforts for the Seminary and Library. As noted by David Demarest in the Centennial of the Seminary, 鈥淏elieving, that a far better Library than the Seminary possessed, was needed by both Professors and students, and that moneys could be raised for this object more readily, than for almost any other, he gave himself for a time, chiefly, to the obtaining of subscriptions of $2,500 each, for the purchase of books; the name of each donor, or of some person designated by him, to be attached to an alcove in the Library.¹³ In a very short time, 19 subscriptions of $2,500 each had been obtained, besides a few smaller ones. Mary Board donated 3,000. This money was not to be invested permanently, but to be expended entirely for books, gradually and wisely. But how would there possibly be enough space for all the books?

More than all the fundraising for books, Dr. Cornell introduced Gardner A. Sage, of NYC, to the Theological Seminary. The old Library Room in Peter Hertzog Hall was too small to contain the books that were to be purchased. And, besides this, Hertzog Hall seemed to be an unsafe place for a valuable Library, since a fire could quickly devour it. Mr. Sage imagined a fire-proof building whose realization he facilitated start to finish, enlisting German architect Detliff Lienau to make pioneering use of concrete in its construction. After the cornerstone had been laid, Sage was seen almost daily in New Brunswick, overseeing the construction. And he succeeded in providing for the Library just the building that was needed.

Writing in 1882, Demarest described the building as 鈥渇ire-proof, commodious, well arranged, well-lighted, and in every way most attractive. It contains a closet for the archives of General Synod and the safekeeping of valuable papers. It was dedicated on June 4th, 1875. The entire General Synod, which was in session in Jersey City, came to New Brunswick to attend the dedication.鈥�¹⁴ After that, it was under the care of the librarian Rev. Peter Quick, assisted by John Van Dyke, who soon after replaced Quick. Sage envisioned that Sage would be for the broader community, not just the faculty and students. And that the Librarian would be the gatekeeper. But at other seminaries, it was common for faculty to have keys to the library. So, there was some disagreement, and in the end, the faculty at New Brunswick had their keys.

Leave it to a church organized according to Reformed polity to establish a committee to select the library鈥檚 books! Before the expenditure of the money had been completed, the sum had amounted to nearly $55,000, by reason of accumulated interest on unexpended balances. The selection of books was made by the faculty, aided by a Committee of the General Synod, consisting of Drs. Chambers, Corwin, Hartranft, and Prof. Jacob Cooper of Rutgers College. They held monthly meetings for nine years, exercised great care in the selection of books, and made annual reports to the Synod. The result was a Library which was the boast of the Institution, of inestimable value to the Professors and students of the seminary and Rutgers College as well, and to the neighboring clergy of all denominations, who were welcome to use it. Together with valuable contributions by Mary Bethune, from the library of her deceased husband, George Bethune, the Committee on Selection of Books reported in 1882:

The Library which in 1870 numbered about 8,000 vols now numbers 35,000 volumes [鈥 we know of none which surpasses this in the requisite of a good working Library for a Theological Seminary [鈥 While no one branch has been neglected, special attention has been given to the history, theology and literature of Holland. Of the Heidelberg Catechism there are more than a hundred and fifty different expositions, and the volumes on the Remonstrant Controversy amount to many hundreds. So far as the past is concerned the chief collections have been secured, and those who come after us will require only to build upon a foundation already laid.¹⁵

In preparation for my lecture for the Reformed Church Center on October 16, 2025, I perused early evidence of the practice of theological bibliography at the Theological Seminary as it appears in the historic Library Catalogs, Author Lists, and Subject Lists. And I noticed a fascinating aspect of our library history. There was a subject heading called 鈥淩eligion = False.鈥� Indeed, any religions outside the subject domain of Christianity were relegated with the stroke of the librarian鈥檚 pen to the False Religions list. We see here works by the Buddha, Confucius. Works about Zoroastrianism and Hinduism. All are summarily grouped among the False Religions.

And it was just that simple. At this early point in the history of bibliography, still years before Melvil Dewey published the Dewey Decimal system in 1876, or James Hanson developed the Library of Congress classification schema in 1897, this was how classification was done at the individual library level. According to Quick in his Annual Report, 鈥淭he books, pamphlets, etc., have been removed to the new building, and have been arranged in their alcoves, in alphabetical order, according to the authors. This is the plan now generally adopted in the best public libraries, and is found to work admirably.鈥�¹⁶

Quick鈥檚 dogmatic approach to classification is far beyond the scope of this article, but allow me to say that in 2025, we do not deprecate the works of non-Christian traditions, nor have Sage Library for many generations. And to its credit, the Seminary library contained works of and about what we now call world religions was a good thing, indicative of a spirit of curiosity and openness of thought.

After Quick came John C. Van Dyke, who, according to historian John Coakley, was the one most responsible for furthering Sage鈥檚 vision. Coakley elaborates,

[Van Dyke] came as a short-term library assistant in 1878 but stayed on, was appointed librarian in 1887, and remained in the position until his death in 1932. A man of wide interests, an author, and an art historian in his own right, he served concurrently as professor of art history at Rutgers college from 1891 to 1929. It was he who assembled the collection of faculty portraits that until recently hung in the library [and some of which are now in heritage hall on the second floor of the new seminary building]. He was frequently cited by the superintendents (the former term for trustees) for his work as librarian, and in 1891 the synod approved the construction of a residence for him on the campus (on George St.) as had been done for the faculty.¹⁷

In his 1888 Notes on Sage Library, the then Librarian John Van Dyke, reported,

The whole library is catalogued upon cards arranged in long trays and the entries are under author, title, subject, and class, so that one has little difficulty in finding what he wants provided he has the remotest idea of his subject. A great many callers have not this 鈥渞emotest idea,鈥� but strangely enough fancy the librarian a mind reader who can tell them what they want by looking at them. Sometimes a librarian is able to do this, but he does not find the rule a good one for universal application. The shelf arrangement is entirely by subjects, and in the theological department is designed to supplement the course of instruction in the Seminary, the literature of each chair being by itself. There are forty-two alcoves, each one having a number, and the reference is made from the catalogues to the numbers. Within the alcove the subjects are indicated by labels, and as there are not more than half a dozen subjects in each alcove, there is little difficulty in finding what is desired.¹⁸

Testifying to Van Dyke鈥檚 high view of the Library鈥檚 stature, from just before Sage Library was built, throughout its construction, and for ten years after, the Old Testament Company of American Revisers convened at New Brunswick for 407 days between 1871 and 1885. That this committee for a new edition of the Bible, The American Standard Version, met in New Brunswick, witnesses to the prestige with which theological scholarship in New Brunswick was held at the time, both before Sage Library was built and after. Faculty from Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were served alongside our own faculty member, John DeWitt, as well as Talbot Chambers of the Collegiate Church. The gift of their worktable in 1886 still stands in the Sage Library.

There were noteworthy reports on Sage in the early 20^th century, such as the addition of electric lights in 1913, reports of a lack of space in 1915, and again in 1921. The only major staff transition was the appointment of Worcester to relieve Van Dyke in 1928. Space was afforded to the growing collection, and in November 1929, the addition of the transept shown here was complete with a donation by Mrs. Mary B. Pell. The octagon apse, Van Pelt Memorial Alcove, was donated by Mrs. Cornelia B. Van Pelt.  This doubled the amount of space for books that was previously had. A remodel was completed in the 1980s, which is how the Library stands today. In 1931, the library reported owning 63,000 volumes; we now have more than double that amount. 

What the Books Are About and What Was Happening with Them

            What are so many books about anyway? Another trove of documentation to appraise the scope of a library鈥檚 acquisitions priorities can be found in its cataloging records, or you can browse its shelves, and that is true whether the books were added in 1875, 1975, or 2025. Another important subject for theology is missions or missiology. Let鈥檚 say you had heard about Horace Underwood, whose memorial is in Sage Library, and you wished to read more about Korea, where he was a missionary. You could search the card catalog and find the hand-written catalogue card, a golden oldie, showing changes over the years: new edition, and new type-written Pettee call number.

Theological librarians in the early 1900s were faced with few options when it came to the classification of theological books. The Dewey Decimal Classification System was new and untested for theological collections. The Cutter system was also new, and the Library of Congress system was in its earliest stages of development. Location classification was still in practice in many libraries, and many of those who had a classification system were using homegrown systems developed for their own purposes. Beginning in 1908, however, this would all change through the work of Julia Pettee at Union Seminary in Manhattan. The Pettee system was developed especially for theological collections, and the older books on Sage Library鈥檚 first and third floors are still classified in Pettee.

Daniel Meeter and Henk Edelman, the Library Director from Rutgers University, collaborated in grand fashion to include the Queen of the Netherlands, Beatrix, in a special exhibition of Sage Library鈥檚 rare Dutch and Dutch American imprints, celebrating 200 years of peaceful diplomatic relations between the United States and the Netherlands.

The Queen visited Sage in 1982. The handsome catalog from the exhibition, prepared by Daniel Meeter, is a wonderful resource for some Sage鈥檚 greatest holdings from and about the Dutch Reformed in the Old World and the New. Meeter鈥檚 article, 鈥淭he Gardner A. Sage Theological Library鈥� in The Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries, has been another springboard for my own research into Sage Library鈥檚 history. It was my pleasure to recreate an abridged version of the exhibition with Meeter鈥檚 help in 2019, for an 麻豆视频 Faculty Symposium on post-colonialism.

Adopting a post-colonial perspective had been increasingly important to the faculty under the leadership of President McCreary and former Dean Beth Tanner, and the next year, the faculty voted to establish an Islay Walden Initiative. Islay Walden, a former enslaved person, was one of the two earliest African Americans to study at 麻豆视频. After three years of study, he graduated and was ordained in 1879.

Sage Library acquired some of his poetry, and it is hoped that some of the funds raised by the 150^thAnniversary capital campaign will enable us to implement the refurbishment and furnishing of library space to honor Islay Walden, and display his famous letter to David Demarest in which he writes, 鈥渟uppose this one question was asked our institution in the day of Judgment鈥攚ere there any colored people in New Brunswick and what was their condition [?] And what did you do to improve that condition [?] Many would be speechless.鈥�¹⁹ Equity and inclusion remain works in progress at New Brunswick, but the progress continues at Sage Library, with diversity in library staff, inclusion of historically underrepresented authors in the collection, and a strong precedent for equitable access for all.

In the 20th century, we had computer automation. There were important agreements between President Howard Hageman, who liaised with Rutgers University Librarian Henk Edelman for the online Sage Library catalog to be integrated with and hosted by Rutgers. The Rev. Dr. Renee House, together with her staff, facilitated a great deal of modernization. Typewritten catalog cards and shelf lists were replaced with metadata in spreadsheets and integrated library systems. But the same basic information still abides: the information about the book itself, like place and year of publication, and very importantly, information about what the book is and especially what it鈥檚 about, because in a Library classification system, the mission is to shelve books on similar subjects together, so that browsing can be maximally efficient for researchers.

In 2025, Sage Library remains somewhat of a house divided; there are some subjects for which you will find the older books, especially pre-1990s, in Pettee on the first and third floors, but the newer books on the second floor are shelved in Library of Congress classification order. But if you are not browsing, but searching using the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC), the wonderful thing is that both the books in Pettee and the Library of Congress are accessible from the same database.

Leadership Transitions Through the Years

John Beardslee held a big presence in library and archival history. In the mid-20^th century, there was at least one prominent female librarian who Nancy Beardslee remembers letting her insert bookplates, a Mrs. Felder. Later, Peter Van Der Berg served as Librarian. There were Lynn Featherstone and Roy Englehart, who then served as librarians. During his tenure, Sage collaborated extensively with regional libraries in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Theological Library Association (SEPTLA) on a Union Catalog of Periodicals, with Sage filling many gaps in Reformed coverage in our region.

Then there was Ren茅e House, who served as library director, and later dean of the seminary, and may have been the most recent full-time library director who was a member of the Reformed Church in America. Episcopalian Chris Brennan served for many years until 2014, followed by Tracey Hunter-Hayes, who was Baptist. And after brief periods of leadership by Barrett and John Coakley, who came out of retirement to serve as interim librarian, I arrived in 2018, another Episcopalian.

Although I was raised Presbyterian and memorized the Westminster catechism as a youngster, the distinctly Dutch Calvinist angle in Sage鈥檚 collection required me to stretch and learn more; I do not pretend to have mastered all I should to steward such a marvelous theological collection. Generations of library staff, and not just library directors, but rectors and professors before Sage Library existed, and many specialized librarians for technical services and acquisitions in Sage鈥檚 150 years, helped make Sage what it is today. I wish I could elaborate on the contributions of each one, but in this short article, let me just offer my profound gratitude to them all and to the readers who enjoy using Sage Library, show interest, and may donate their time, talents, or books to make Sage great.

Stories of Sage Library, Past & Future

Finally, I want to close with some recollections of Sage. While collecting material for a full history of Sage Library this past year, I interviewed my predecessors, Ren茅e House and John Coakley, as well as authors Dan Meeter and Joe Felcone, and librarians Henk Edelman and Jim Neissen of Rutgers University Library. Here are two of their earnest reflections:

Sage Library emotionally connected me to the richness of the Eastern RCA [鈥 it鈥檚 an intellectual tradition of liberal learning [鈥 Sage is the RCA鈥檚 body of knowledge.

                        -Rev. Dan Meeter, 麻豆视频 Graduate and RCA Pastor²⁰

I decided we could be considered a mission in the RCA, which is really true because for people in the Midwest RCA, New Brunswick might as well be in outer Mongolia. [These women came] to take all the books off the shelves, vacuum them, and then clean them with Murphy’s Oil Soap, and it was blastingly hot [鈥 I’ll just always remember them with this dirty water running down their arms from cleaning those bookshelves!

                        -Rev. Dr. Ren茅e House, 麻豆视频 Graduate, Library Director, and Dean²¹

Finally, if you have a story about Sage Library to share, I would love to hear it. Please write to me, and we鈥檒l set something up. Last year, I began the project of assembling resources to tell the story of Sage Library in print. If you have a chapter to contribute, do let me know!

Bibliography

Annual Reports of the Sage Library, 1874-1920. 麻豆视频. 麻豆视频 Archives. Gardner A. Sage Library, New Brunswick, NJ.

Coakley, John W. 麻豆视频: an Illustrated History, 1784-2014. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014.

Demarest, David. 鈥淗istorical Discourse.鈥� In the Centennial of the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church in America. (Formerly Ref. Prot. Dutch church) 1784-1884, edited by David Demarest, Paul Van Cleef, and Edward Corwin, 49-146. New York: Board of Publication of the Reformed Church in America, 1885.

Edelman, Hendrik. Dutch-American Bibliography 1693-1794: a Descriptive Catalog of Dutch-Language Books, Pamphlets and Almanacs Printed in America. Nieuwkoop: B. de Graaf, 1974.

Edelman, Hendrik. The Dutch Language Press in America: Two Centuries of Printing, Publishing, and Bookselling. Nieuwkoop : De Graaf, 1986.

Gasero, Russell Louis. A Historical Footprint: Reflections of a Life in the Archives. East Brunswick, New Jersey: Wit & Intellect Publishing, 2021.

Meeter, Daniel. 鈥淭he Gardner A. Sage Theological Library.鈥� The Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries. 45, no. 2 (1983): 65-81. https://doi.org/10.14713/jrul.v45i2.1629.

Minutes of the Board of Superintendents, Vol. 2-5, 1840-1941. 麻豆视频 Archives.

Minutes of the Standing Committee on the Seminary Grounds and Property, Vol. 1-2, 1880-1923. 麻豆视频 Archives.

O鈥橞rien, Elmer and Betty A. O鈥橞rien, 鈥淔rom Volunteerism to Corporate Professionalism: A Historical Sketch of the ATLA.鈥� In Essays in Celebration of the First Fifty Years of the American Theological Library Association, edited by M. Patrick Graham, Valerie Hotchkiss, and Kenneth Rowe, 3-24. Evanston, IL: The American Theological Library Association, 1996.

Van Dyke, 鈥淣otes on Sage Library of the Theological Seminary of New Brunswick,鈥� Christian Intelligencer, July 4, 11, and 18, 1888.

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Rev. Micah L. McCreary, Ph.D.
President
John Henry Livingston Professor of Theology

On November 7, 2025, I made several presentations at Boston University School of Theology (BU-STH) focused on the transformative journey of trauma-responsive leadership. During the lecture and podcast conversations, I emphasized my position that leaders lead more effectively when they embrace, understand, and transcend personal and collective wounds. Drawing from my early formative experiences and later deep personal transformational experiences, I proposed that trauma is experienced in the body and that we as theologians and mental health professional must refine our trauma delivery systems by integrating psychological insight with theological grounding.

I opened the lecture with a ritual ceremony honoring the Trinity, our ancestors, my teachers and students, as well as the Dean, faculty, staff, and students of BU-STH. I then introduced Isaiah 40:28鈥�31 as the organizing scripture and played the song 鈥淭ake This Cup鈥� by Makeda McCreary. This introduction was intended to establish that both the lecture and the podcast would reflect a deeply personal and spiritual integration and embodiment of the theme.

I then continued the conversation with a discussion of three critical foci.

First: Trauma-Responsive Leadership

Here I defined trauma-responsive leadership: 鈥�Leadership that acknowledges personal and collective wounds, understands their impact, and responds with empathy and resilience.鈥�

Using the concept of the Soul Wound, I explored trauma-responsive leadership. A Soul Wound鈥攕ometimes referred to as a Father Wound鈥攄escribes deep psychological and spiritual pain rooted in disrupted parental relationships. It often emerges when an individual struggles to integrate their animus (inner masculine) and anima (inner feminine) identities. This challenge can arise from the absence of a parental figure or from complex relational dynamics, even when parents are physically present.

I explained that Soul Wounds shape us both physically and emotionally, often rooted in parental absence or inconsistent presence. These wounds frequently manifest as Attachment Challenges鈥攆or example, a parent who is physically absent but psychologically present, or physically present yet emotionally disconnected. Soul Wounds ultimately lead to various Heart Conditions:

1. Bruised Heart–Injured, battered, and hurting;
2. Performance-Based Heart–Driven by acceptance and glory-seeking;
3. Hardened Heart–Cut off, cold, and callous; and/or
4. Addicted Heart–Yearning, empty, and hungry.

After presenting the conceptual framework, I shared my experience of the Soul Wound鈥攂orn from the emotional and physical injuries that followed the devastation of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I discussed how I developed a Performance-Based Heart and have been driven ever since by a powerful need for perfection and glory.  I concluded this portion of the lecture with the emphasis that the Soul Wound matters: 鈥淥ur communities and congregations are carrying layers of trauma鈥攈istorical, systemic, and personal. Leaders must be equipped to navigate this reality.鈥�

Second: Embracing and Transcending Wounds

I explored the paradox: 鈥淲e lead not despite our wounds, but through them. Our scars can become bridges to healing for others.鈥� This principle guided my discussion of the Peacemaker鈥揌ealer鈥揥arrior鈥揌ero paradigm introduced in my book Trauma and Race: A Path to Well-Being (p. 124). Each archetype exists on a continuum: Peacemaker aligns with Warrior, and Hero aligns with Healer. In pastoral and therapeutic relationships, my goal is to help individuals move along these continuums toward wholeness.

Over time, through therapy, practice, and marriage, I have come to identify most strongly with the Peacemaker鈥揌ealer quadrant鈥攁 space that reflects my preferred way of leading and living. To illustrate how psychological awareness and vulnerability create safe spaces for others to heal, I shared a deeply personal 补苍颈尘耻蝉鈥揳苍颈尘补 experience.

One evening, while watching a movie, I became unexpectedly angry at a scene where a woman was mistreated. I turned off the television and began reflecting. I recognized that this anger鈥攗nusual for me鈥攕ignaled a trigger. Working with my therapist, I traced the reaction back to two formative incidents. At age ten, I witnessed my father abusing my mother. I ran outside with a mop handle to defend her, only to be told that the man hurting her, my father, was to be respected. Years later, at sixteen, I returned home to find my mother assaulted by a boyfriend. This time, I intervened forcefully before anyone could stop me.

Both actions, rooted in the Warrior鈥揌ero quadrant, led to painful consequences鈥攑hysical beatings. In response, I pushed the Warrior鈥揌ero aspects of my personality into the shadow, while my Performance-Based Heart鈥攄riven by perfection and glory鈥攂ecame my outward persona. Yet, this persona (peacemaker-healer) was always powered by that hidden hero-warrior energy.

Integrating these parts of myself was a long journey. During a lecture on nonviolence, a disciple of Martin Luther King Jr. insisted that I must always remain nonviolent. I asked, 鈥淚f I come home and a man is abusing my spouse, should I remain nonviolent?鈥� He replied that I should respect my spouse enough to let her decide. Later, I asked my wife what she wanted me to do. Her answer was clear: 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 come to my rescue, you鈥檇 better hope I don鈥檛 survive鈥攂ecause if I do . . .鈥� That conversation reframed my understanding of love, respect, and responsibility.

I also shared a moment that revealed the enduring presence of my Warrior鈥揌ero shadow. After an active shooter drill, I told my students that if a shooter entered our lecture hall, I would confront him first knowing it could cost me my life, hoping it would buy them time to escape. Unbeknownst to me, a shooter was in that very class. He later turned himself in, telling police he abandoned his plan because he 鈥渄id not want to kill McCreary.鈥�

Third: Integrating Theology and Counseling Psychology

This part of the lecture highlighted my interdisciplinary approach to teaching, counseling, preaching, mentoring, coaching, and consulting鈥攁n approach grounded in the power of relationship. I firmly believe that Carl Rogers鈥� development of humanistic psychology and person-centered therapy was deeply influenced by his early aspiration to become a minister. His clinical journey began with children at the Rochester Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, reflecting this foundational commitment.

I shared how much my daughter taught me about congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathy. Through parenting, I learned that love must be paired with limits. To truly nurture her growth, I had to operate in the quadrant of high love and high limits鈥攐ffering deep affection while teaching her to respect boundaries. This experience shaped my understanding of authoritative parenting and informed my clinical perspective.

From these lessons, I refined a system that integrates psychological insight with theological grounding. I learned to love from our Creator鈥揜edeemer鈥揝ustainer and to embrace vulnerability from our Shepherd-King, whom I understand as the true prophet who loved us to the point of death. This is the model of leadership: one who embodies vulnerability and creates safe spaces for others to heal. Such integration affirms a vital truth: 鈥淔aith without understanding human behavior lacks depth; psychology without spiritual grounding lacks hope.鈥�

This fusion of theology, psychology, and clinical practice equips pastoral psychologists and cultivates trauma-informed practitioners. It builds a pipeline of leaders prepared to respond to trauma within congregations and communities. When leaders connect lived experience with faith, ministry becomes real, relatable, and transformative. This connection enables leaders to serve with empathy and strength鈥攅ven in the face of adversity.

In closing, my message at BU-STH was clear: Leadership is not about perfection鈥攊t鈥檚 about presence. When we lead through and beyond our wounds, we turn pain into purpose and leadership into a healing practice.

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It is easy to build a Christian fence where members are part of a particular political and social tribe. It is easy to exclude. It is easy to see sin in others. It is easy to say, 鈥淲e love the sinner but hate the sin.鈥� We are, after all, tribal creatures. Since the very beginning of time, we have made tribes. These tribes served our human desire for contact and cohesion. Our tribe gave us safety, protection, and a mutual set of rules. 

Jesus came to earth to show us another way, and that way is hard. It is hard because it is not tribal or comfortable, and rules do not govern it. Its core values are love, grace, and forgiveness. In life, Jesus dissolved all the groups and tribes of his day. He loved and cared for all鈥攁ll the time. He challenged the rules and regularly broke them. When asked a question about the tribe, such as 鈥渨ho is my neighbor?鈥� He answered in parables instead of sound bites. Those parables called on us to question our lives, our culture, and our rules.  He forgave those who killed him. 

Being a Christian means following the example of Christ – and that is hard. It is harder to love all than to hate and see some as 鈥渙ther,鈥� outside my tribe. It is easier to judge than to understand. It is easier to ignore than to help one who is lost.  Being Christ-like is a discipline because it is hard every day. We are to love because we are loved; we are to forgive because we are forgiven; we are to offer grace because we receive it every day from our Creator. We are not to judge ourselves superior to others. We are also to give ourselves love, grace, and forgiveness even when broken. 

Being a Christian means that your heart is always breaking. Just as Jesus wept over Jerusalem, you cry for the people murdered in Israel and weep for those slaughtered in Gaza and in the rest of the world. You don鈥檛 get the luxury of condemning others: the transgender man at the store, the prisoner isolated and alone, or the woman who does not have enough food for her children. We are called to see and respond to the misfortunes and horrors of the world. We are called to name tribalism for what it is. We are called to build a bigger table for all to sit, eat, and rest. Being a Christian means we do not get to look away. It means our hearts break all the time. 

Being a Christian is hard because the love Jesus calls us to is more than emotion or pity or with strings attached. Love is not an emotion but an action. Love is political and challenges the rules that advantage some and disadvantage the rest. Love is an action that means we don鈥檛 just pray; we act to change the brokenness of our world. We are called to stand against the status quo all the time. 

Being a Christian means you do not get to shy away from the hard conversations. In a couple of weeks, we will celebrate the life of Norman Kansfield, 麻豆视频鈥檚 former president. During his tenure, we started hard conversations around race and racism, and we are still at it twenty years later. As Christians, we believe we are called to these hard conversations about race and gender and power and privilege. We see it as an outward sign of love for all. We believe that the love of Christ calls us to fight for inclusion for all, to share grace for the ways we fail, and a requirement to continue the work for a lifetime or more.  

And finally, being a Christian is hard because that work is never done. The hate, war, and violence never end, yet we are called to see it, grieve it, act on it, and wake up the next day and do it all again. Jesus showed us that sometimes you need to remove yourself from the work to rest, eat, pray, and refresh, but only in service of continuing in the calling of our faith. 

Being a Christian is hard and rewarding and heart-breaking and a discipline and a calling. That is what it means to follow Christ in this world. It means faith that is hard to practice and a faith in a world more like the one Jesus offers than the one we experience. It means being uncomfortable with tribal associations and seeking the kingdom of God鈥檚 doing, just as Jesus did. It means believing all our work will make a difference even when we do not see it.  We believe we are called to be a beacon of God鈥檚 love, grace, and forgiveness for those who need it desperately.

Easter Monday 2024

鈥� Beth LaNeel Tanner
Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs
The Rev. Dr. Norman and Mrs. Mary Kansfield Professor of Old Testament Studies

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We encounter in historical texts evidence about the diverse expressions of religious life, setting faith in particular contexts and in conversation with scholars. But we also bring our own values and concerns shaped by life in the present and contemplate the ethical implications of historical evidence and interpretation.

This Lent, I鈥檝e offered my own re-reading of historical texts, the prayers of repentance of Ephrem the Syrian, in a

I examine how Ephrem鈥檚 understanding of confession and fasting as a fourth century Christian theologian displaced by the machinations of rival empires have something to teach us amidst our own intersecting geopolitical crises that leave some 114 million people displaced today.

Rather than seeing Lenten fasting and prayers of confession as arduous tasks rooted in duty, Ephrem invites a different understanding from the vantage point of a displaced person. Confession of sin is an occasion for rest in the face of systems that deny vulnerable people respite and peace. The prayers of Ephrem encourage our mindful awareness as the foundation for reoriented life in society. We can consider the Lenten fast a time to repent and abstain from systems of oppression. We can rest in centered clarity, cultivating rest and readiness for the work of justice.

One of the prayers that the Armenian Orthodox tradition has long ascribed to Ephrem reads:

鈥淏ring me, O Lord, through the ford of the river of sins,
of my plummeting, drowning, covetous course of life
into light for my eyes,
into vision for my mind,
into rest in that life,
to the attainment of Your graces, and to the path of the ways of righteousness.鈥�

Despite his own displacement, Ephrem鈥檚 poetic language sees practices of repentance simultaneously as opportunities for rest and invitations to just and righteous living.

In the piece, I argue that 鈥渕any among us have stood silent and apathetic to the ways imperialist powers acting on our behalf have worsened and profited from crises of displacement happening around the world.鈥�

I ask if we as American Christians might reject apathy and complicity in the growing crises of displacement. I point to the work of my own faith community and interfaith partners in Central New Jersey committed to engaging in this work, who in so doing cultivate rest for the displaced and challenge to violent habits of empire and structures of oppression.

Adjusting my personal practices this lent to the words of Ephrem and the crises of displacement in our own day, I offer:

鈥淚n my prayers, I continue to grieve the massive killing and further displacement of Palestinians. My prayers of confession must cry out against the razor wire and hateful invective that mark America鈥檚 Southern border. I contemplate and confess our society’s indifference to those who have died seeking refuge, who found no help or welcome. In fasting, I confess that my standard of living in the U.S. is linked to economic and political structures that exploit and discard the poor. In my awareness of momentary hunger, I strive to be more mindful of those for whom hunger is not a choice.鈥�

I hope you鈥檒l , considering the beautiful prayers of Ephrem the Syrian, and contemplating how you might fast and confess this Lenten season mindful of the injustices that have resulted in so much displacement and death.

It is my hope that ancient words of faith can still inform our practices and speak to the crises of displacement in our own day.

鈥�Nathan J茅r茅mie-Brink
L. Russell Feakes Assistant Professor of the History of Global Christianity
 

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All of us, at some point in time, will find ourselves like Naomi, seeking answers in the midst of loss, whether it is the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the imagined loss of a future that once seemed full of hope.  Amidst her personal anguish, she becomes a source of encouragement for her daughter-in-law, who, like her, must navigate the aftermath of her husband’s passing. Naomi’s wisdom and support pave the path for Ruth, enabling her not only to encounter but also to wed Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer and the great-grandfather of King David. Although Naomi has endured the loss of significant male figures in her life, God blesses her with loyal and devoted daughters-in-law who regard her as family and offer unwavering love. Ruth says, 鈥淲here you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.鈥� (1:16) What encouragement and comfort these words must have sounded to the bereaved Naomi.  These words suggest that in the midst of our own hurt and pain, we must learn to find solace in each other.  When life鈥檚 uncertainties lurk at our doors, crouching like in the story of Cain and Abel, we must heed the call for assistance when our sisters’ cries echo with the plea, “Call me Mara!” It’s a call for us to uplift and bolster each other not only in times of profound sorrow but also during moments of jubilation and triumph.

As I read the story of Ruth, I believe that God felt the anguish of Naomi鈥檚 heart just as God feels the anguish of the hearts of all of God鈥檚 children when the toils and issues of life are at their heights, threatening to overwhelm and consume us.  For when Ruth gives birth to a son, the women say to Naomi (not Ruth!), 鈥淏lessed be the Lord, who has not left you (emphasis mine) without next of kin; and may his name be renown in Israel.鈥�(4:14) Yes, we could say that Ruth has been written out of the story and that she is just a foil to the larger story of the lineage of King David (and she is!). But I did say that this is Naomi鈥檚 story, too. As the women proclaim, 鈥淎 son has been born to Naomi鈥� (4:17), I can only imagine Naomi鈥檚 joy as she holds her grandson in her arms.  I can envision the moment when she exchanges her years of mourning, her years of tears and bitterness, for tears of happiness and thanksgiving.  And, as we imagine Naomi鈥檚 rebirth and restoration, we too can take part in the celebration, reflecting on the wonderful and marvelous ways in which God鈥檚 grace and mercy restore each of us day by day.

鈥揜ev. Terry Ann Smith, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Institutional Assessment
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies

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January 27, 2024, marks the 79^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, one of six Nazi killing centers in Poland during the Second World War. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, few envisioned his passion for Aryan supremacy would also result in the extermination of over six million Jews and others he deemed less than human. Nor could one forsee the relative silence of the Christian church writ large or its complicity in the ideology that fueled the Holocaust, or Shoah, the great disaster. In the words of Baal Shem Tov cited at the exit of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, 鈥淔orgetfulness leads to exile, while remembrance is the secret of redemption.鈥� The Holocaust is both history and a warning.  In the wake of all that Auschwitz represents, what must the individual and the church remember and do differently going forward?  In his 2020 speech marking the 75^th anniversary of the liberation, Marian Turski, a living survivor evacuated from Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945, provides a compelling response: 鈥淭hou Shall Not Be Indifferent.鈥�

Susannah Heschel鈥檚 The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany and Robert Erickson鈥檚 Theologians Under Hitler describe how the Deutsche Christen Church abandoned the church鈥檚 Gospel-centered teachings and embraced Hitler鈥檚 racist social-Darwinism. Their motive rested largely in securing a place in the dictator鈥檚 new Germany, a thousand-year Reich of unsurpassed greatness after its defeat in World War I.  They followed Hitler in his hatred of Judaism鈥檚 foundational ethic of mercy and care for the poor which he found not only weak but unnatural.  Such an ethic of communal care was not 鈥渕anly enough鈥� and antithetical to the ideas of an Aryan super-race. Not only Judaism, but Communism, traditional Christianity and other ideologies that interfered with the proliferation of Aryan supremacy were unfit for existence in the Third Reich.

The Deutsche Christen demonstrated their nationalism enthusiastically by conflating the cross of Christ with the mystical rise of Hitler as a messiah by draping the 鈥渟wastika in the cross鈥� Nazi flag over their pulpits.  The Nazified church further stoked hatred of the Jews through eschewing texts and liturgies of Hebrew heritage and refashioning Jesus as the ideal Aryan. Those few pastors concerned about the wellbeing of Jewish converts to Christianity were unable to protect them from roundups, deportations, and finally extermination. It was too late.

The Confessing Church denounced the Nazification of Christian doctrines in the Barmen Declaration (1934) but not in time to avert the eventual extermination of Jewish men, women, and children. Gerhard Kittle, the well-known theologian and author of the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, became part of Hitler鈥檚 research section how to eliminate all Jews from Europe (some 11 million in total). Vatican attempts at peaceful coexistence with Nazi Germany, from the Concordat in 1933 through the policies of Pope Pius XII, failed. Only the Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou, the spiritual leader of the Greek Orthodox people, courageously and prophetically denounced the virulence of Nazi policies and encouraged his congregants to do whatever they could to save Greek Jews. As a result, thousands of Greek Jews were saved.

Moreover, while Hitler and his leaders (Himmler, G枚ring, Goebbels, and Heydrich) provided the ideological scaffolding for the extermination of Jewry, much of the everyday machinery of that process鈥攄ehumanizing one鈥檚 neighbors, facilitating roundups, public violence, operating the trains to the killing centers, and beyond鈥攚as carried out by otherwise ordinary people. Christopher Browning鈥檚 analysis in his book Ordinary Men discusses how and why everyday policeman, law enforcement personnel, civil servants, and prisoners of occupied territories carried out the daily actions of genocide: survival and the lure of Nazi ideals of power and supremacy.  New Yorker journalist Hannah Arendt, herself Jewish, German, and a student of the philosopher Martin Heidegger, coined the term 鈥渂anality of evil鈥� in her report Eichmann in Jerusalem to capture the unspeakable evil carried out by ordinary people who justified their actions by claiming they were simply 鈥渇ollowing orders.鈥� Arendt argues the most virulent evil is often perpetrated by those who fail to think critically about what they are doing thus acting with indifference towards others.

A visit to the 鈥渨ork-to-death鈥� concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria illuminates the depths of indifference.  Standing at the entrance of Mauthausen, one sees clearly the soccer field where sports fans cheered for their teams on Sundays while prisoners passed by to their deaths.  In the center of Warsaw, one witnesses where the public would have seen hundreds of Jews loaded onto cattle cars to be transported to their deaths in Treblinka. Jonathan Glazier鈥檚 chilling new film The Zone of Interest (theatrical release in New York on December 15, 2023) depicts the family life of S.S Officer Rudolf H枚ss, the Chief Commandant of the Auschwitz-Birkenau killing center. H枚ss鈥榮 wife, Hedwig, beautifies her home, organizes children鈥檚 activities, and frets over the condition of her vegetable garden.  Meanwhile her husband carries out the systematic murder of over a million innocent Jewish men, women, children鈥攋ust over the fence.  Her distress is not for the victims.  It is that her husband may be relocated to another camp thus disrupting the sort-of-idyllic life she has carved out for the family at Auschwitz. 

How does one counter such indifference? How does one recognize when history may be on its way to repeating itself? Clearly the social, political, religious, and economic factors that underly any genocide are complex. However, Gregory Stanton of Genocide Watch proposes ten recognizable signs:  classification, symbolization, discrimination, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, persecution, extermination, denial. These stages are displayed at Holocaust and Genocide museums and centers across the United States to educate visitors on how to recognize and counter such indifference early on. The first four stages constitute 鈥渟ystematic othering,鈥� the critical start of a processes whereby those in power normalize discrimination against a target population. Classification and symbolization take many forms including hate speech by prominent public figures and the use of educational curricula, media, religious dogma, and/or economic policies to mark a group of people as undesirable because of who they are. Once in place, discrimination and dehumanization easily follow.

Stanton鈥檚 path illuminates the early groundwork for systematic othering. Propaganda appeared in newspapers such as Julius Steicher鈥檚 Der 厂迟眉谤尘别谤 as well as children鈥檚 books to classify Jews as 鈥渧ermin,鈥� carriers of disease, not fully human, and responsible for poisoning the purity of German blood.  Such propaganda also coheres with anti-Jewish rhetoric in the American publication The International Jew in the 1920s (The Dearborn Independent newspaper owned by Henry Ford). Books by Jewish authors were marked for Nazi inspired book-burnings starting in 1933. The Nuremburg Laws codifying Jewishness followed in 1935 and accelerated the separation of Jews from professions, academic institutions, social organizations, municipal transportation and public events (segregation was also influenced by racism in America as outlined in James Whitman鈥檚 Hitler鈥檚 American Model).  A government sanctioned night of violence against Jewish establishments (Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass) followed and destroyed more than 7500 synagogues and businesses in November 1938.  Wearing the symbol of the yellow star, marking of passports with a 鈥淛,鈥� and altering Jewish names (adding 鈥淚srael鈥� for men, and 鈥淪ara鈥� for women) became compulsory for all Jewish people in 1939.

This first period of normalizing hatred of Jews made possible the extermination in German occupied areas from 1939-1945: the mass shooting over pits (e.g. Babi Yar), the Jewish ghettos, gassing in mobile vans throughout Eastern Europe, and finally the network of concentration camps and six industrial scale killing centers in Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Majdanek, Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau.  Throughout, the church, both Protestant and Catholic, for all practical purposes (and self-protection) remained virtually silent.

The history of the Holocaust reminds that vigilance, not indifference, plays a critical role in identifying systematic othering that leads to humanitarian disasters. Today, what groups are being singled out, classified and marked for discriminatory practices?  What groups are being dehumanizing by the hate speech of prominent public figures? What proposed policies make the news that benefit one group of people at the expense of another?  Are there religious 鈥渇irmly held beliefs and practices鈥� that deny their right to 鈥渂e鈥� in the world as they are?  In one鈥檚 circle of influence, who is it socially acceptable to joke about in a disparaging way or socially disenfranchise?

If individuals and churches recognize and courageously speak out against the systematic classification and marking of target populations, there is hope of stopping an eventual spread of injustice on a massive scale.  If individuals, organizations, and especially the church learn from history and speak out when public figures demean target groups through hate speech there is a chance of arresting the dehumanizing behaviors that follow. One cannot justify social, economic, political, or religious practices that shame or diminish others, no matter how fervently held the reasons might be. The events of the Holocaust remind us of what ordinary human beings are capable of, and how a society, even the church, goes terribly wrong when the Gospel mandate for justice, mercy, and love is abandoned, perverted, or falls silent. 

The mantra in genocide and Holocaust education is 鈥渋f it happened once, it could happen again.鈥�  There is hope in the face of humanitarian threats when the church faithfully stands on the core ethic of both Old and New Testaments: to love our neighbors who are like us in our humanity, to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly.  Marian Turski comes alongside the church鈥檚 prophetic call to justice as he closes his speech at the 75^th remembrance of the liberation of Auschwitz:

鈥淚f I had to choose from among all the experiences, all the lessons, and all the words that describe them, just one or two, I would choose the following: empathy and compassion.  These are the most important things in life.鈥�

Thou shall not be indifferent.

鈥�Rev. Charles M. Rix, Ph.D.
Director of M.A. in Theological Studies & Ministry Studies Programs

Resources for Further Reading and Study

Ambrosewicz, Jolanta, ed. The Holocaust: Voices of Scholars. Krakow: Austeria Publishing, 2009.

Arendt, Hannah.  Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. New York: Penguin Books, 1963.

Browning, Christopher. Ordinary Men. New York: Harper Perennial, 1992.

Ericksen, Robert. Theologians Under Hitler. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.

Follmer, Moritz. Culture in the Third Reich. Translated by Jeremy Noakes and Lesley Sharpe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Glazer, Jonathan, dir. The Zone of Interest. James Wilson and Ewa Puszczynska prod. Film 4, Access, Polish Film Institute, JW Films, Extreme Emotions. New York Theatrical Release, 2023.

Heschel, Susannah.  The Aryan Jesus:  Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008.

Karwowska, Bozena, and Anja Nowak.  The More I Know The Less I Understand: Young Researchers鈥� Essays on Witnessing Auschwitz. Oswiecim: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, 2021.

Lanzmann, Claude, dir. Shoah. IFC Films. 2013. Criterion Collection, DVD.

Paldiel, Mordecai. The Churches and the Holocaust: Unholy Teaching, Good Samaritans and Reconciliation. Jersey City: Ktav Publishing House, 2006.

Rix, Charles. 鈥淔or the End of Time,鈥� in The Bible, The Shoah, and the Art of Samuel Bak. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2008.

Sanchez, Jose M. Pius XII and the Holocaust: Understanding the Controversy. Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2002.

Snyder, Timothy.  Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning. New York: Dugan Books, 2015.

Whitman, James.  Hitler鈥檚 American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law.  Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2017.

Turski, Marian. Thou Shall Not Be Indifferent. Warsaw, POLIN: Wydawnichtwo Cazrne, 2023.

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In countdown to Christmas and the holidays, I find myself, like so many people in the United States, busy ordering various gifts from several online platforms. With the shopping season in overdrive, I hunt for the best bargains as I seek to get the most bang for my buck. Oftentimes lost in the fray, is a critical reflection on the people and resources that undergird this buying process. In stopping to critically examine this process, certain things become clear 鈥� migrant labor and sh*thole countries play a major part in what the retailers, economists, families and children regard as a good Christmas/holiday.  

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As a young woman, attending church, it never entered my consciousness that I would be anything other than a lay person who loved God, loved worship, and loved working as part of ministries in the church. I was raised in the Baptist tradition in the southern part of our country where there was no provision for women in ordained ministry. I was content with being a lay leader.

That contentment stayed with me through my young adult years and well into my early 40s. By then I had relocated to New York City and become a part of the AME church. It was in the AME church where I saw, for the first time, ordained women in leadership as pastors and assistant pastors. Still, there was no tug at my heart for being more than someone who volunteered easily for anything that needed to be accomplished as a lay person.

I believed I would live out my life being a good 鈥渃hurch member鈥� lending my organizational skills to the Christian education ministry. However, that began to change. I had no dramatic call experience. My call was subtle鈥 鈥渒nowing鈥� that I could not ignore. The more involved I was with ministry opportunities, the less satisfied I felt. So, I increased my involvement thinking I needed to do more to feel satisfaction.

Finally, I agreed to attend a seminar facilitated by my pastor, whom I respected deeply, along with his wife, the assistant pastor. These seminars were offered periodically for anyone desiring direction and guidance on being in God鈥檚 will.  During that seminar, the puzzle pieces came together, revealing a picture I was not expecting. I left the seminar, sat in my car, and cried, overwhelmed by the realization God was summoning me to ordained ministry.

Long ago I began a regular practice of journaling my thoughts. After that seminar, I filled pages and pages, pouring out my doubts, fears, and misgivings about the path that lay ahead. Part of my trepidation had to do with my denominational requirement to attend seminary and attend the denomination鈥檚 training institute. After all, I was married, a stepmother, a grandmother and employed full-time, in my mid-40s. Going back to school was not a part of my career path. Yet, I knew if I was to fulfill God鈥檚 plan for me, I would have to do it. I made a bargain with God! If I answered this call and enrolled in seminary, I would expect God to make sure that I would do it well. I did not want to be mediocre! Such arrogance! It makes me smile when I reflect on it now.

Off I went to seminary, trepidation, and all. It was while in seminary that I discovered my gifts for ministry and found a community that was supportive and nurturing. I discovered I had a voice that God could use in God鈥檚 kingdom.

I worked full-time and attended classes in the evening. I began at a very slow pace, thinking I would never really complete this 96-credit master鈥檚 program in divinity. Nor did I think when I finally graduated that I would enter pastoral ministry. I would concentrate on Christian education, that is until I was assigned to my supervised ministry site (what is now known as field education).

My site was in a small congregation whose pastor was female, who quickly became a mentor. As I worked through the goals of my covenant, I experienced such joy in working in a parish. My home church had a membership of four thousand. My field education site had a membership of less than fifty members. Yet, it was the connection that I made with the members, on an intimate level, that opened me up to pastoral ministry. The times of theological reflection with my supervisor were transformative. She was not just an able mentor, but she was a woman in ministry, in leadership in her denomination and comfortable with who she was. Under her supervision, I gained a new perspective on parish ministry and saw it as a possibility in my future.

When I reflect on that time, I realize that all God desired was a willingness on my part to walk in the path designed for me. When I said 鈥測es鈥� to parish ministry, God provided the opportunity. Within a month of graduation from seminary and receiving my ordination as an Itinerant Elder in the AME church, I was appointed to pastor a congregation in upstate New York, while I still lived and worked full-time in New York City. It is a four-hour commute, round-trip, to the church, but is the greatest joy of my life to serve the members of that church.

I was working full-time and serving the members when God impressed upon me to return to school in a Doctor of Ministry program in pastoral care and counseling. God does have a sense of humor! How, I asked, am I going to add one more thing to my already stretched life. Not to mention that the school I applied to and was accepted at was in Madison, New Jersey, an hour away from my home and job. Something had to change.

During my time of prayer and reflection, I asked God what I could eliminate. The answer was my job! It took a tremendous leap of faith to leave a job that I loved and held for twenty-four years. So, about midway through my doctoral program, I left my job to continue the program, while serving my congregation. Still needing some income, I answered an ad posted by the seminary for a part-time recruiter for students. That position gave me the opportunity to assist prospective students in discerning call and preparing for theological education.

Upon graduation from my doctoral program and through a series of events, which made it possible, I accepted the position of director of Field Education for the seminary. That was nine years ago.

My journey has taken me from the pew to the pulpit to the academy. Additionally, I now oversee several churches in my denomination. There is an intersectionality in my calling. The privilege of traveling alongside students in their preparation for ministry has enriched my life. Serving a church keeps me in touch with congregational care and concerns. My administrative and organization skills provide the tools for overseeing my churches.

When I reflect on where I am now, I am grateful for my journey and look forward to what is to come. I am Jarena鈥檚 daughter, and her legacy lives on in me and other women who answer the call. God does make the way.

鈥� Rev. Dr. Faye Banks Taylor
Assistant Professor of Spiritual Formation & Field Education
Director of Field Education & Career Services

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Because I want to honor everyone as best I can, let me clarify some of the language I am using. In this article, I will endeavor to name each person鈥檚 identity as they describe themselves. Also, I will use the names of each Nation and the terms Indigenous and Native American at times. Indigenous Peoples is a term determined by the delegates to the  and described in the . Admittedly, the term Native American is problematic because it indicates some homogeneity among the over 500 Indigenous Sovereign Nations within the US. I use it here since it is the term used by my denomination at this time.

Until last year, I was privileged to be the Communications Director for the Northeastern Jurisdiction Native American Ministries Committee for The United Methodist Church (NEJNAMC). I met regularly with elders from various Nations within the Jurisdiction, including the Lenni-Lenape. Members of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation are the descendants of the original people of the land our Seminary occupies. 

The Lenape elder who rang me that night was a colleague. We planned meetings and educational opportunities across the northeast. Her guidance for white settlers like me has been integral to the NEJNAMC advocacy work. As you can imagine, our personal relationship quickly went to a deeper place that night as I listened, and we shared our worries, fears, and sadness due to COVID-19. We prayed that God would lift up a pastor for St. John, and we both agreed a person who identified as Indigenous would be best. A Lenape leader would be even better. I was honored by this conversation and that this incredibly gifted leader would reach out to me. We spoke a few times that winter, sharing joys and concerns and keeping each other in prayer. I experienced the devoted faith of a woman and her seemingly tireless efforts to continue the work of feeding people throughout Lockdowns with one of the most vulnerable populations in the United States. 

It鈥檚 no wonder I thought of her and the Lenape people as I began to serve as the Director of Mast Chapel at 麻豆视频. Through our interactions, I began to recognize the importance of acknowledging the original inhabitants of the land and composed a statement to open our chapel services. However, as our relationship deepened, I also realized that I had begun the work of writing and sharing that acknowledgment without consulting the Lenape people. I had been taught that writing these statements is the work of ongoing repentance for the assimilation and violence that led to these lands being occupied. Around the same time, I was invited by Rev. Dr. James Brumm to speak at a Reformed Church Center Event: . 

When so many aspects of our lives intersect, it seems a good time to pay attention, so I rethought what I was doing. To my own shame, I realized I dishonored the Lenape Peoples by writing a statement without the input and approval of the elders. I allowed myself to feel ashamed, apologized for not reaching out earlier, and asked for help. Thus began an important conversation about a Land acknowledgment that would honor the Nation. This conversation continues not only with me at 麻豆视频 but with some Reformed Church in America pastors and laity who took a chance and reached out to her. She has generously given her time to many of us seeking to honor the Original Peoples of these lands.

Part of the challenge when working at the crossroads with non-Native settlers and Indigenous Peoples is stressing the importance of long-term relationships and nurturing those relationships. My work on my dissertation, Beloved Speech, outlines some of the underlying values and critical historical reasons for this starting point, but even so, I needed reminding. When denominations and institutions want to appear relevant and socially conscious, we may sidestep the relationships to accomplish an end, in this case, a formal written statement. Even what seems like good intentions can cause organizations to place these statements on websites or at the top of communications pamphlets and consider their work finished. But without relationships, these statements are just words on a page. It is when we seek out the elders and begin to listen and learn that the real work begins. 

But this work also involves listening to ourselves. Many of us have narratives we aren鈥檛 even aware of running around in our minds. Exploring the history of colonization and racialization that birthed racism and brought death and destruction to Indigenous Peoples around the globe is only the beginning. Continued work by non-Native settlers around our own identity and all the complexities of our own privilege becomes an essential part of the work. In my case, it meant answering the phone, staying in touch, and talking about how I might honor the Lenape in Mast Chapel. This is an ongoing journey, and those who attend Mast Chapel at 麻豆视频 experience the continuing conversation.

Similarly, when students at 麻豆视频 enroll in the workshop Analyzing The Systems Of Privilege and begin to discuss the effects of power and privilege, they start the dialogical journey around the origins of systemic racism and colonization and the impact they have on our identity, our worldview, our churches, and other institutions. Honest conversations that begin here form a community that walks together towards thinking critically, acting justly, and leading faithfully. As with all meaningful journeys, what we learn on the road together matters most.

鈥� Suzanne Wenonah Duchesne
Assistant Professor of Worship and Preaching and Director of Mast Chapel

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