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.

Congratulations to Administrator Marsha Peeler on the birth of her grandson, Greyson Christopher Walter Hart. Greyson is the son of Marsha's daughter, Brandy, and son-in-law, Stephen Hart. He arrived in the world on January 29 at 11:14 pm, weighing 9 lbs and 12 oz. Everyone is healthy and well, and big sister Marsha is thrilled to have a baby brother.

Congratulations to Liv Gibbons (2008) and Elijah Buck on the birth of their second daughter, Sigrid. Sigrid was born on December 3, 2015, and is nicknamed "Ziggy." Liv, Elijah, big sister Isla and Ziggy are all doing well.

William Wright (1995) and Rosemary Carbine (former resident) each have a chapter in a new book released in December 2015 and published by Fortress Press, The Gift of Theology: The Contribution of Kathryn Tanner. Kathryn Tanner is a North American theologian and former Divinity School professor, and this book "celebrates the vision and breadth of Tanner’s unique contribution." Wright's chapter is titled "On Making Christology Look Too Easy: A Dialectical 'Rejoiner' to Tanner's Lineage." Carbine, in addition to writing a chapter called "Placards, Icons, and Protests: Insights into Antiracist Activism from Feminist Public Theology," also co-wrote the book's acknowledgements and introduction.

Aaron Smith (2007) will be ordained to the Christian ministry on Sunday, November 22 at 4:00 pm. The service will be held at Light of the World Christian Church in Indianapolis, his home congregation. He is the Director of Employer Services for the Pension Fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and also leads the evangelism ministry at Light of the World.

Clark Gilpin (1970; trustee) gave a lecture entitled, "'Companionable Being': American Theologians Engage Martin Buber," at the Martin Buber: Philosopher of Dialogue conference, October 18-19. Gilpin explored how Reinhold Niebuhr, Will Herberg, and H. Richard Niebuhr engaged Buber's work in the mid-twentieth century, and what that engagement suggests about construals of the self. The conference, held at the Divinity School and the Spertus Institute, commemorated the 50th anniversary of Buber's death.

Allie Lundblad (2012) was ordained into the ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on October 17 in Chicago. The service was held at First Baptist Church, where Allie completed her field education. She is currently a CPE intern at Northwestern Hospitals in Chicago. Dennis Lundblad, Allie's father, preached. Associate Dean Yvonne Gilmore (2001), Cynthia Lindner (1979), Dean Kris Culp (1982), Laura Jennison Reed (2009), Kathryn Ray (former resident) and current scholars Rachel Abdoler, Danielle Cox, and Andrew Packman, were among the participants in the service.

William Wright (1995) has been called as Minister and Theologian-in-Residence of the Church of Christ Congregational, UCC, in Grandby, Massachusetts. Located near Amherst, MA, the congregation was founded in 1762. Bill, spouse Jessica Barr, and their son, Silas, moved to Amherst this summer from Eureka, Illinois. Jessica is now a member of the faculty in Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.