Beginning again
The academic year begins Monday, September 27. Disciples Divinity House has welcomed three new Disciples Scholars and a dozen other new student residents from around the world and from varied backgrounds and religious traditions. Along with a full house, we have a full schedule for Monday dinners and programs. DDH and the wider University have strong Covid protocols in place to make this and other in-person learning possible. Monday dinners, brought in from local restaurants this fall, will be held outdoors when weather allows. Renovations to the courtyard and interior, completed during the past three summers, provide welcoming and well-lit large gathering spaces.
Monday programs, offered in a slightly compacted schedule due to pandemic considerations, promise to stretch our minds and hearts. PhD student and MDiv graduate, Rachel Abdoler, will preach for the opening chapel service. She is the inaugural recipient of the Barbara and Clark Williamson Scholarship. MDiv student and chapel coordinator, Benny VanDerburgh, will speak in November. We welcome new organist, Charles Hayes, and look forward to music from the Flying Chalices. W. Clark Gilpin leads the Disciples History and Thought Seminar again this year. Forums will feature faculty member Sarah Pierce Taylor, visiting scholar Kimberly Redding, our lauded landscape architect Ernie Wong, and two alumnae, Kristel Clayville and Disciples General Minister and President Terri Hord Owens.