Disciples Divinity House

Four persons are new Disciples Divinity House Scholars for the 2016-17 academic year: Burton Guion (MA), Shelly Tilton (MA), Jack Veatch (MDiv), and Stefan Aderhold (AMRS). In addition, Judith Guy returns to her final year of the MDiv program after a year-long internship in Greensboro, North Carolina last year. DDH is also pleased to welcome seven additional persons as new residential members of the community: Marshall Hatch, Matthew Johnson, Ellie Leech, Yanjie Niu, Sarath Pillai (returning after a year), Braxton Shelley, and Luke Soderstrom.

Burton Guion (MA) is a 2015 magna cum laude graduate of Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, where he majored in Philosophy/Religion and English. He was a Missouri Bright Flight Scholar and, at Drury, a Trustee Scholar and a recipient of the CW Titus Study Abroad Language Scholarship. He helped to create the Drury Humanities Society and served as its president. From 2012-15 he was an intern at National Avenue Christian Church in Springfield, which is his home congregation. This past year he was a Community Development intern at Grace Settlement House in St. Louis, where he helped to manage Neighborhood College, an adult education program.

Shelly Tilton (MA) is a 2013 MDiv graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School, where she received the William A. Newcomb Prize and was awarded honors for her senior thesis. An ordained Disciples minister, she served as the Associate Minister of Saguaro Christian Church in Tucson, Arizona, for two years under the Congregational Immersion Project of DDH at Vanderbilt. She will enter the MA program to pursue questions about sacredness, aesthetics, philosophy, and religion and possible doctoral work. She was raised in the Church of Christ and was a summa cum laude graduate of Freed-Hardeman University, where she majored in philosophy.

Jack Veatch (MDiv) is a 2015 graduate of Kent State University, where he majored in Business Management. At Kent State, he interned at United Christian Ministries (UCM) and gave leadership to initiatives with the Muslim Student Association and with TransFusion. He seeks to combine ministry and advocacy for social justice. He was raised in the First Christian Church, Stow, Ohio, and was nourished by the region’s Camp Christian as an attendee and as a counselor; he was a member of the Ohio region's Youth Council. He was an NBA Xplor resident this past year; he worked with the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry and was based at North Hollywood Christian Church.

Stefan Aderhold (AMRS) is an alumnus of the Theologisches Studienhaus (TSH) at Heidelberg University. He was part of the DDH-TSH exchange/conference in 2015 and again this September. He is also pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Heidelberg and working with Prof. Christoph Strohm on Martin Bucer’s writings and on how religious identity is shaped in the reinterpretation that occurs between and among confessional traditions. He has been active in the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), with Christian Endeavor, and especially with scouting (VCP), to which he has given outstanding leadership on a regional level (Baden-Wurttemberg). He notes, “Globalization makes us question our cultural identities, beliefs, emotions, and responsibilities. How do we confront different beliefs? How can we connect with others without giving up our religious identity?”