Andrew Langford (2007) is teaching Koine Greek at the Divinity School for the 2020-21 academic year. A 2019 PhD graduate, he studies the Pastoral Epistles and the use of medical imagery in early Christian polemics. He lives in Eugene, Oregon, and also serves as pastoral associate at Emmaus Lutheran Church.

DDH has recently learned of the death of Richard E. Starkey on April 20, 2020, in Massachusetts. He was 88. He earned his B.D. as a House Scholar in 1964. He was predeceased by his wife, Marcia Damon Starkey in June 2018.

Lowell Handy (1979) has published Josiah: From Improbable Stories to Inventive Historiography (Equinox, 2020), 377pp. "This book considers the various ways in which the last major King of Judah has been presented in biblical texts and the subsequent cultures that have made use of the biblical narratives. It is posited that there is no reliable material that can be dated to the time of Josiah and that the literary constructions of Josiah’s reign in Kings, Chronicles, and First Esdras already provided the inventive memory of a no longer recoverable monarch’s life." He remarks that the production of the volume, his magnum opus, "extends backward to his days at Disciples House and owes much to support from scholars who were resident there then and have remained friends." DDH is grateful for the gift of the book to the Herbert L. Willett Library.

We are saddened to learn of the death of George W. Shields III (1977) on August 13, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. He was 69. He received the MA (1974) and PhD (1981) from the University of Chicago as a House Scholar. An expert on the thought of Charles Hartshorne and the analytic tradition of process philosophy, he was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Environmental Studies and former University Distinguished Professor at Kentucky State University, where he served for 15 years as Chair of Literature, Languages, and Philosophy and interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He then went on to teach at University of Louisville in the Comparative Humanities PhD Program and the Department of Philosophy. He was the author of numerous articles and co-author of works including the recently published, The Mind of Charles Hartshorne: A Critical Examination. In it, he and coauthor Donald Wayne Viney provide "an updated, wide-ranging, and sustained critical overview of Hartshorne’s thinking, the kind of project not seen since [fellow DDH alumnus] Eugene Peters’ landmark study half a century ago." Also an accomplished singer and musician, George was a band member of Copperfield, and later joined Louisville Brass & Electric (LB&E). He is survived by his wife Marsha Shields, daughter Kirstin Tuttle (Jason), a grandson, and his sister. A memorial service will be held in Louisville on November 1.

Liberating Love, a new book by Sandhya Jha (2001), provides 365 "loves notes from God" for "when the world is scary and comfort is in short supply." Jha connects daily life with "the Bible's many stories of imperfect people facing real challenges." It is published by Chalice Press.

Joshua J. Patty has been called to serve as the Regional Minister and President of the Christian Church in the Upper Midwest, effective October 1. He has been serving as Senior Minister of Eastgate Christian Church in Independence, Missouri. Josh, who is an MDiv graduate of the Divinity School, became a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and was ordained after he left Chicago. He will be relocating to the Upper Midwest with his wife, Rev. Sara Patty, and their two active boys, ages 3 and 1. More here.

Congratulations to Bethany Watkins Lowery (2006) and Joe Zielinski on the birth of Caton Luka Zielinski on July 21.

A new book by W. David Hall (1989), Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theology, and Political Resistance, coedited with Lori Brandt Hale, was published by Lexington Books in June. "In 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer—a theologian and pastor—was executed by the Nazis for his resistance to their unspeakable crimes against humanity. He was only 39 years old when he died, but Bonhoeffer left behind volumes of work exploring theological and ethical themes that have now inspired multiple generations of scholars, students, pastors, and activists. This book highlights the ways Dietrich Bonhoeffer's work informs political theology and examines Bonhoeffer's contributions in three ways: historical-critical interpretation, critical-constructive engagement, and constructive-practical application." More here. 

Joshua Menke, former DDH Resident and 2018 MDiv graduate, was ordained to the ministry of word and sacrament in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America by the Northern Texas - Northern Louisiana Synod on Thursday, July 2. Participants joined remotely on facebook from around the country and from Geneva, Switzerland, and included his family, Cynthia Lindner, and fellow former DDH colleagues Colton Lott and Braxton Shelley. Watch the recorded service here. He has been called as Associate Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Southlake, Texas.

Liv Gibbons (2008) has been serving as Associate Pastor of Pioneer United Methodist Church in Walla Walla, Washington. The UMC bishop made the appointment effective on July 1. Be sure to check out her creative worship resources on the congregation's facebook page.