Congratulations to Frank Hoss (1960) on the 50th anniversary of his ordination. A celebration was held at Hope (IL) United Church of Christ on June 29, which also marked 10 years of his ministry in that congregation. The occasion featured brief speeches about each of the congregations he has served; Lowell Handy (1979) spoke about his service at First Christian Church of Fort Dodge, Iowa. Frank was presented with the Honored Minister Pin by the Pension Fund of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and was also honored by the UCC. Lowell, Frank, and Elaine Giermak (1995) are pictured here. (Thanks to Lowell for the news and photo!)

Brandon Cook (2010) was ordained to the Christian ministry on Sunday, June 29, at Mayslick Christian Church in Mayslick, Kentucky. He received the MDiv and the MA in Social Service Administration degrees from the University of Chicago at the June 14 University Convocation. Brandon has served as DDH's Head Resident for the past three years. He will be entering an extended Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program in Minneapolis in the fall. He is pictured here with his parents, brother, and sister-in-law at Convocation.

April Lewton (2004; trustee) was the keynote speaker for Friday, June 27, at the Disciples Women's Quadrennial Assembly in Atlanta. Addressing the day's theme, "...with hands of justice," she distinguished among three kinds of justice: retributive, compensatory, and restorative justice. She is the Vice President of Development and Marketing at the National Benevolent Association of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Robert McQueen Grant passed away at his home in Hyde Park on June 10, 2014, at the age of 96. He was Carl Darling Buck Professor Emeritus of New Testament and Early Christian Literature at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where he taught from 1953 until his retirement in 1988. A prolific and influential historian of ancient Christianity, he was the author of over thirty-three books and countless articles, including Miracle and Natural Law in Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Thought (1952); The Letter and the Spirit (1957); The Earliest Lives of Jesus (1961); Augustus to Constantine: The Rise and Triumph of Christianity in the Roman World (1970; revised ed. 2004); Eusebius as Church Historian (1980); Greek Apologists of the Second Century (1988), Heresy and Criticism (1993); Irenaeus of Lyons (1995); and Paul in the Roman World: the Conflict at Corinth (2001). He was elected to the American Academy of Art and Sciences in 1981. Mr. Grant is survived by his wife, Peggy (née Margaret Huntington Horton) and by their four children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. More here.

Congratulations and best wishes to Jonathan Wallace (2008) and Jessica Rose who were married on May 25 in Chicago.

Clark Gilpin (1970; former dean; trustee) will serve as Interim Director of the Martin E. Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion at the Divinity School for the 2014-15 academic year. He continues to teach the Disciples History and Thought Seminar for Disciples Divinity House Scholars.

Congratulations to Vy Nguyen (2004) and YenLinh Bui who were married on May 24 at Saint Joseph Basilica in Alameda, California. Sandhya Jha (2001) and Kyle Rader (former resident) were among the participants in the service. The service followed a traditional Vietnamese ceremony hosted by the bride's parents. Vy and Linh live in Oakland where Vy is the Associate Field Director for Church World Service in California and Linh is a pharmacist.

Congratulations to former resident Diana Ventura, who passed her PhD qualifying exams at Boston University in May.

McKinna Daugherty (2010) writes about preaching in the Christian Century blog, "Preaching with a broken heart," published in May http://www.christiancentury.org/blogs/archive/2014-04/preaching-broken-heart She is Minister-in-Residence at Central Christian Church in Lexington, Kentucky

We are saddened by the death of Mrs. Barnett Blakemore on May 10, 2014. She was 99. Read the In memoriam.