Aneesah Veatch (2018) was published in the May 2023 issue of The Christian Century article titled "Ekow Eshun's jounrey into Black artistic consciousness." A review of Ekow Eshun's In the Black Fantastic, a bound volume that captures the celebrated exhibition of same name. The exhibition, and by extension the book, "is made up of works by artists of the African diaspora that interrogate norms and subvert Western White dischotomies of real/unreal, scientific/unscientific, and natural/supernatural to uncover racial injustice," Aneesah writes, "This is a perspective that I try to adopt in my daily work at an art museum: that we are not simply working on the surface level of things in the arts; rather, we are trying to manifest and bring about a world of greater consciousness."

Sandhya Jha (2001; trustee) begins a four-year intesnive PhD program in social policy at the University of Pennsylvania in fall 2023. Sandhya will be doing research work with SAFElab, a research initiative focused on examining the ways in which youth of color navigate violence on and offline, as part of her PhD work.

Yvonne Gilmore (2001) has been appointed as the Vice President and Chief of Staff of the Office of the General Minister and President. Yvonne served as Associate Dean of the Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago from 2013 - 2020 and co-taught in the Master of Divinity Arts of Ministry sequence at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. She also served as project director of the Constructive Theologies Project. She now leads the development and implementation of the Church Narrative Project, co-directs “Living Justice: An Anti-Racist Practicum” with Rev. Sandhya Jha, a justice learning and innovation lab that seeks to test out new approaches for connecting transformative Disciples leaders and ideas at Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago, and serves as a core trainer with Reconciliation Ministries and as adjunct faculty at Lexington Theological Seminary.

Gilmore will begin her Vice President and Chief of Staff role on May 1, 2023.

You can read more about the appointment here.

In a feature article for the April 1 issue of The Christian Century, Victoria Wick (2017) writes about "Five ways your church might already welcome autistic adults." She observes that "When a congregation succeeds in fostering theological curiosity and encouraging a variety of perspectives," it may also assure autistic adults that their differences "might be welcomed and celebrated, too." She offers practical wisdom for expanding that welcome in the article which is linked here.

Roger Adams (1969) is author of Good Faith: Beliefs Have Consequences (Wipf & Stock). Adams, a clinical psychologist who is also trained in ministry, charts how religious meaning and moral integrity can and must be compatible with science--and how human lives and community can be enriched when they are. "The heartbeat of this timely book is Adams's patient and thorough insistence that good faith and good reasoning should be helpful and not harmful to individual, collective, and global flourishing."

Sarah Zuniga (2018) gave a keynote on March 7 for a plenary session for the Network of Wider Church Youth Ministries (UCC) during their Reset for Renewal digital conference. The theme of the conference was Wrestling with Purpose. The keynote was titled: “Dissatisfied with the Status Quo: Antiracism is Liberation.”

Yvonne Gilmore (2001) and Teresa Hord Owens (1999) were among the participants in the installation service for Stephanie Kendell at National City Christian Church on March 5, 2023. 

Joel Brown (2014) spoke at the 3rd Founder's Day Celebration at Bethany College on March 2, 2023. Joel will delivered an address titled "When Worlds Fall Apart: Alexander Campbell and the Civil War."

Ross Allen (2019) was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on February 18, 2023 in a service First Christian Church in Manhatten, Kansas. Ross serves as the Designated Term Minister of South Acton Church in Acton, Massachusetts.

Lee Hull Moses (2001) has been appointed as the Director of the Proclamation Project. The Proclamation Project, a recipient of a Lilly Grant as part of the Lilly Endowment’s “Compelling Preaching Initiative,” launched in January of 2023 with a preaching workshop. The proclamation project aims to equip Disciples preachers with the tools and resources for prophetic preaching in such a time as this. Lee will advance will oversee the project's initiatives while advancing its objectives.

You can read the press release from the Office of the General Minister and President here.