Beau Underwood (2006) has been named the Senior Minister of First Christian Church, Jefferson City, Missouri, effective February 1, 2015. A service of installation is planned for February 22. Beau is currently Senior Director of Advocacy and Campaigns for Sojourners and Assistant Pastor of National City Christian Church. Casey Osterkamp, his spouse, is headed for a new position in public policy at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Congratulations to both.

Congratulations to Irami and Bonnie Osei-Frimpong (2005) and big sister Carenen, who welcomed the birth of little sister Graham Jubilee on December 25, 2014. "Baby Gray," apparently in a hurry to arrive for Christmas, was born at home at 6:15pm. Look for their holiday card on YouTube.

We are saddened to note the death of Divinity School Professor Emeritus Martin Riesebrodt on December 6 in Berlin. He was 66. Read the University of Chicago press release here.

We are sorry to learn of the death of William A. Gerrard III (1961) on December 5, 2014. He was 82. Born in Louisville, KY, he was a graduate of the University of Kentucky, Lexington Theological Seminary, and Emory University, where he earned his PhD in Theology. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Suzanne Gerrard, two sons, Christopher and Jonathan (Trudy) and his brother Steve Gerrard. A memorial service was held at Peachtree Christian Church, Atlanta.

The National Benevolent Association (NBA) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has called Ayanna Johnson Watkins (2000) to serve as the Director of the NBA Incubator Initiative beginning December 1, 2014. The Incubator Initiative allows NBA to partner with Disciples-related health and social service projects and emerging organizations especially in their start-up phase and processes. Her work as director includes the recruitment and the oversight of services for all Incubate partners, managing the initiative's budget, and evaluating the initiative.

Martin Riesebrodt, professor emeritus of the sociology of religion in the Divinity School and Department of Sociology, died December 6, 2014 of cancer in Berlin. He was 66. Read the full obituary here.

On October, 19, Central Christian Church in Indianapolis presented the Honored Ministers Pin to twelve members of its congregation, including Brian Grant (1964) and Clark Williamson (1957; trustee). Linda McCrae, Senior Minister of Central Christian, and Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, officiated at the service. "Together these twelve ministers served 540 years as ordained ministers in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)." They have served 86 different congregations and also in hospitals, regional and general church ministries, mission sites, and seminaries. Full story here.

Rebecca Anderson (2007) curated a "MothHour" StorySLAM at the Regional Assembly of the Christian Church in Illinois and Wisconsin on October 10. Four first-person narratives around the assembly theme, "Plant for the future... play with a purpose," were crafted and presented live. Storytellers were Michael Karunas (1995), Deirdre Jackson Jones (2007), Associate Dean Yvonne Gilmore (2001), and Justin Ziegler, new minister of the Christian Church of Arlington Heights.

Rebecca Anderson together with Andrew Packman (current PhD student) and the house band from Root and Branch Christian Church helped to lead Friday evening worship at the CCIW Assembly. Michael Karunas led the Saturday morning all-assembly Bible study.

Verity Jones (Trustee) has become the Executive Vice President of Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, where she had been the Director of the Center for Pastoral Excellence.