Congratulations to Diana Ventura (former resident), who defended her dissertation on April 15, 2016 (pictured in the center here). She will receive a PhD in Practical Theology from Boston University. Claire Wolfteich, a former resident and Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Spirituality Studies at BU, is also pictured here, second from the right.

Santiago Pinon (1998) has published "'The Box' and the Dark Night of the Soul: An Autoethnography from the Force of Losing a Child in the Delivery Room," in the Online Journal of Health Ethics, 12(1). It currently ranks as the Journal's most downloaded article.

Rachel Graaf Leslie (2011) serves as Advisor for Public Diplomacy and Outreach in the U.S. State Department's Office of Religion and Global Affairs. She helped arrange for Shaun Casey, the U.S. Special Representative for Religion and Global Affairs, to speak at the Divinity School's Wednesday Lunch on April 13 and was present herself.

Cynthia Lindner (1978) is the author of Varieties of Gifts: Multiplicity and the Well-Lived Pastoral Life (Rowman Littlefield), published in March 2016. Drawing on the accounts of twenty pastors, Lindner explores how to cultivate a rich pastoral identity, navigate congregational conflict, and embrace change in rich, life-giving ways. The book draws on in-depth interviews to illumine the inner lives of clergy who lead with courage and creativity.

Congratulations to Assistant Administrator Daette Lambert and current House Scholar Mark Lambert on the arrival of Valen Michael Lambert on Thursday, March 31. Little Valen stayed a few extra days in the hospital, but he is doing well now. His mom, dad, and big brother Hogan are also flourishing!

Sarah Rohde and Andrew Packman (current House Scholar) welcomed Benjamin Isaac Rohde Packman to the world at 12:50 am on Easter Monday, March 28. He weighed in at 7lbs., 15oz., and stretched to 22 inches. All are doing very well.

On March 15-17, Frank Burch Brown (1974) gave the James W. Richards Lectures at the University of Virginia on The Aesthetics of Forgiveness: Imagining Forgiveness Artistically. Past James W. Richard Lecturers include Etienne Gilson, Paul Tillich, Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Nicholas Lash, Langdon Gilkey, Jaroslav Pelikan, Jacob Neusner, Wendy Doniger, and Jean Luc Marion.

Katherine Raley (2008) is now serving as the Interim Minister of the First Christian Church of Columbia, South Carolina. She was previously the Associate Minister of First Christian Church of Colorado Springs. She is also a member of the recently formed Social Witness Task Force of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

We are saddened to learn of the death of Stephen H. Webb (1983), theologian, philosopher of religion, and prolific author, on March 5 in Brownsburg, Indiana. He was 54. The following is adapted from a Wabash College news release. Mr. Webb taught philosophy and religion at Wabash for 25 years, from 1987-2012, and was a 1983 summa cum laude graduate of Wabash College. He completed his MA and PhD at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago as a Disciples Divinity House Scholar. He returned to Wabash in 1987, where he had a double appointment in Religion and Philosophy, and "was known for the energy, wit, and learning that he brought to the classroom, and the immense care that he showed for his students." His many books included Re-Figuring Theology: The Rhetoric of Karl Barth; On God and Dogs: A Christian Theology of Compassion for Animals; The Gifting God: A Trinitarian Ethics of Excess; Jesus Christ, Eternal God: Heavenly Flesh and the Metaphysics of Matter; and, most recently, Mormon Christianity: What Other Christians Can Learn from the Latter-Day Saints. He also published numerous articles and reviews, ranging over such topics as vegetarianism, John Updike, Ethiopian Christianity, Reinhold Niebuhr, pedagogy and politics, and theo-acoustics and Roman Catholic liturgy. He is survived by his spouse, Diane Timmerman, their five children, his parents, and a brother. Funeral services will held on March 11, in Englewood Christian Church, Indianapolis.

Julian DeShazier (Trustee) is featured in the cover article of the March 2 Chicago Reader. "Julian DeShazier has been leading a congregation at University Church in Hyde Park since 2010 and rapping as J.Kwest for even longer. He's on a quest—hence his stage name—to find a middle ground where hip-hop and gospel music can coexist." He's just released his first full-length album, Lemonade. Read the article here.