Disciples Divinity House

Thirteen students have been named Disciples Divinity House Scholars for 2023-24. Thanks to a generous gift in memory of Samuel C. Pearson, scholarship awards have been increased.

NEW SCHOLARS: Delaney Beh, the M. Ray and Phyllis Schultz Scholar is a 2023 summa cum laude graduate of Butler University. They served as the Just Peace intern at First Congregational UCC in Indianapolis, and are preparing for chaplaincy as an MDiv student. William N. Weaver Entering Scholar, Kevin Poe, is a first-year MA student. He is a 2023 summa cum laude graduate of the College of Wooster in Ohio, where he studied philosophy, religion, and South Asian studies. He was awarded the 2022 Undergraduate Research Prize for outstanding ethnographic research, which he conducted in Thailand and India. MA student Tristan Spanger-Dunning is the Oreon E. Scott Entering Scholar. A 2023 MA graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, he studies the social and intellectual history of the Disciples of Christ. Second-year MDiv student, Nate Travis, is a returning DDH resident, the new president of the House Council, and the recipient of the W.B. Blakemore Scholarship in recognition of his commitment to welcome in the church and his interest in Disciples’ connection with American pragmatism. Kylie Winger, a second-year MDiv student and returning DDH resident, is a new Disciples Scholar and the M. Elizabeth Dey Scholar. She is also the Head Resident. She was the Valedictorian of her 2019 class at Middlebury College, where she majored in Literary Studies. She taught English in Japan for three years after college.

CONTINUING SCHOLARS: Rachel Abdoler is writing her PhD dissertation on a thirteenth-century Coptic author’s interpretation of the passion of Christ, and its background of Arabic Christian and Islamic writing. She is an MDiv alumna and the recipient of the Barbara and Clark Williamson Scholarship. Marissa Ilnitzki, the Martin Family Scholar, is a third-year dual MDiv/MA student preparing for hospital chaplaincy. She completed CPE at Northwestern Memorial Hospitals and is studying this year at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. Kate Myers is a second-year master’s student at the Crown School who is practicing clinical therapy in her fieldwork. She is the recipient of the Florence Drum and Eleanor Tenant Scholarship, which was created by the late Katherine Dey to remember dear friends who were formidable churchwomen. The Rolland and Laura Frances Sheafor Scholarship has been awarded to Charlie Platt, a third-year MDiv student. He studied Buddhist-Christian dual belonging in Oaxaca, Mexico over the summer. Luke Soderstrom, the recipient of the Barton Robinson Scholarship, is exploring concepts of children in American Moravian theology and practice and its role in shaping Moravian piety in his PhD dissertation. Morganne Talley is the Dr. Geunhee and Mrs. Geunsoon Yu Scholar. A second-year MDiv student, Morganne’s field placement is with Pride in the Pews, an organization that advocates for black LGBTQ+ communities within and outside black churches. Virginia White has received the Edward Scribner Ames Scholarship. She is writing a PhD dissertation on “Reckoning with Social Evils: Performativity as a Foundation for Reenvisioning Lament and Laughter as Moral Practices.” The William Daniel Cobb Alumni/ae Scholarship enabled eight scholars to attend the 2023 General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Louisville, Kentucky. Justin Carlson is engaged in a full-time, DDH-sponsored internship in a congregation this year as the Bernard F. and Annie Mae Cooke Scholar. He has completed two years of MDiv studies and exploring creativity and pastoral authority in relation to congregational ministry at First Christian Church in Tacoma, led by alumnus Doug Collins. His internship is also supported by the Edgar DeWitt Jones Scholarship of Central Woodward Christian Church