News of Alums & Friends

Sandhya Jha, author, consultant, and DDH alum (2001) and trustee, spoke at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on Sunday, October 27, at 11:00 am.

Emilie M. Townes, former resident, will give The Annual Christian Century Lecture on Thursday evening, October 24, at the Arts Club of Chicago at 7 p.m. After 11 years as dean and faculty member at Vanderbilt Divinity School, Townes has joined the faculty of Boston University School of Theology as the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Religion and Black Studies.

Claudia Highbaugh, trustee, was inducted into the Garfield Society at Hiram College, her alma mater, during a recent ceremony on Friday, October 18, 2024. Established by its Board of Trustees and named for President James A. Garfield, the Garfield Society honors individuals who have demonstrated significant professional achievement and whose efforts have substantially enriched their communities. For information about the Society and the other four inductees this year, click here.

Joe Blosser (2005) has published To Love Our Neighbors: Radical Practices in Solidarity, Sufficiency, and Sustainability with Orbis Books. He works as an activist, ethicist, and community builder in High Point, North Carolina.

Avon Christian Church in Avon, Indiana, and Senior Minister, Danielle Cox (2012) celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of the congregation on September 15. Danielle began her ministry at ACC in 2019.

On Sunday, September 8, Michael Karunas (1998) welcomed April Lewton (2004) to Central Christian Church in Decatur, Illinois, where he is Senior Minister, to speak about the work of the National Benevolent Association, where she is Vice President of Development and Marketing.

Thandiwe Dale-Ferguson (2009) and her two children enjoyed a recent visit to her parents, Tod and Ana Gobledale (1975) in New Brighton, England. In this photo, Tod, Cora, Ezra, and Thandiwe wave from the keep of castle ruins in Northern Wales.

Tabitha Isner (2005), Vice Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party and 2018 Democratic Nominee for Congress for Alabama's Second District, attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as a delegate this past month.

Assata Gilmore (former Monday dinner staff!) and Jared Florell were married on August 16 in Minneapolis at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Yvonne Gilmore (2001) is the proud mother of the bride.

Muhammad Hassan moved into DDH on May 29 and, on July 31, 2024, became a US citizen. He came to the US as a refugee when he was just a teenager. A decade later, he enters the MA program in the Divinity School. Read his statement about the day of his naturalization ceremony.