On October 27-28, Daisy Machado (1989) gave the 2017 Cole Lectures at Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Entitled, "Of Marginal Identities and Heterotopic Saints: Lived Religion in the Borderlands," the lectures focused on how religion crosses borders, in this case, "how marginal people bring with them beliefs in what some call 'pseudo-saints,' further complicating the practices of lived religion in marginal Latinx communities." One such “heterotopic saint” is Santa Muerte, whose veneration has crossed the border from Mexico into U.S. communities.

Jeremy Fuzy (2012), a religion journalist, returned to the Divinity School October 27 to participate in a panel on education about religion beyond academia.

Sympathy to Nancy and Clark Gilpin (1970; trustee; former dean) on the death of Clark's mother, Jo Ann Gilpin, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on October 3. She was 94. Born in Garber, Oklahoma, Jo Ann Gilpin became an educator and leader in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She was married for sixty-eight years to William C. Gilpin, Jr., who died in 2012. She served as a director of Christian education at Crown Heights Christian Church, Oklahoma City, and for sixteen years at Harvard Avenue Christian Church in Tulsa. "Be a friend, instead of expecting them to be like you," she said of how a Christian educator should relate to youth; "Help them to become themselves." She was a member of the Association of Christian Church Educators, a curriculum representative for the Christian Board of Publication, and office manager of Phillips Theological Seminary. She served as a member of the board of the Division of Homeland Ministries and of the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She is survived by three sons, Clark (Nancy) Gilpin, Dennis (Kelley) Hays-Gilpin, and Neil (Bendy) Gilpin, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. More here.

Sympathy to Kerry Waller Dueholm (2000) and Ben Dueholm on the death of Kerry's mother, Kathy Waller, in Spring Hill, Kansas, on September 30.

Former resident Braxton Shelley was featured in a Harvard Gazette article, “Giving Harvard a little more groove.” This fall, he became is the Stanley A. Marks and William H. Marks Assistant Professor at the Radcliffe Institute, and assistant professor of music in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and he is teaching a graduate seminar entitled, "Groove." As he explains in the article, “The phenomenon of groove is embedded in a long history of music and dance.” Shelley said, “At some level groove is thought to result from the interaction between instrument and/or performers. In this case, groove seems to be understood as both a feeling and a musical entity that facilitates the production of that feeling....In a broader sense, it’s a cut or ridge that facilitates movement, so I want to see what happens when we put together all of the conversations of the way we think of groove.” He was recently ordained in his home congregation in North Carolina.

Congratulations to current Scholar and PhD student Rachel Abdoler and Matt Brothers, who were married September 30 in Providence, Rhode Island.

J. Kwest, aka Julian DeShazier (trustee), performed at Wrigley Field for HBCU Day, September 29.

Judith Guy (2013) has been called to Mackinaw (Illinois) Christian Church, beginning on October 1. She was the keynote speaker for the Women's Retreat of the Christian Church in Illinois and Wisconsin, September 22-24, at Camp Walter Scott. 

Spencer Dew (1998) is spending his sabbatical in Chicago and will speak at DDH on October 23. He is Associate Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Centenary College of Louisiana. 

Kristel Clayville (2001) is Visiting Assistant Professor of Religion at Eureka College and a fellow at the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago.