The youth of First Christian Church, Albany, Oregon, celebrated the ministry of Sara Anable Staton (2003) on April 19. Sara has served as the Associate Minister for six and a half years; her last day was Easter Sunday, April 20. She celebrated "a season of great partnership" with the congregation and with her senior colleague in ministry.

Congratulations to Garry Sparks (2001), who has been named Assistant Professor of Latin American Religion in the Department of Religious Studies at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He moves there from the University of Louisville. He recently published "Constructing Hyperlocal Theologies: Ethnohistorical Contextualization of 'Indian Theology' and jTatic Samuel's Legacy," in the Journal of Hispanic/Latino Theology 19 no. 1 (Fall 2013), a special issue in memory of the liberation theologian and former bishop Samuel Ruiz García of Chiapas, Mexico.

Laura Jennison Reed (2009) became the pastor of the Christian Church of Villa Park, Illinois, on March 10, 2014. She was installed on Sunday, May 4. Cynthia Lindner (1978) preached and House Scholars Andrew Packman and Allie Lundblad were among the participants. Congratulations and best wishes, Laura.

Sympathy to Cheryl Jackson (House Scholar) on the death of her father on April 2.

Frank Burch Brown (1974) has accepted a joint appointment for 2014-16 as the Dean of the Disciples Seminary Foundation in Northern California and the CARE/GTU Visiting Professor of Art and Religion with the Center for Arts, Religion and Education at the Graduate Theological Union. He has been the Kershner Professor of Religion and the Arts at Christian Theological Seminary. For three years, he also served as the Alexander Campbell Visiting Professor of Religion and the Arts at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Author of five books, including the award-winning Good Taste, Bad Taste, and Christian Taste (OUP, 2000), he is editor of the Oxford Handbook of Religion and the Arts (Oxford UP, 2014) and Senior Editor in Religion and the Arts for the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion. A composer, he has written over 20 commissioned musical works.

Welcome to the world, Hogan Francis Lambert! He was born to parents Daette and Mark Lambert (2011) on March 12 at 10:46am, weighing 8 lbs 10 oz. All are doing extremely well, and dad reports he has managed to catch up on sleep (for now!). Additional congratulations to Mark who has been admitted to the PhD program in Theology at the Divinity School as a Disciples House Scholar beginning this fall.

Sympathy to Ana Gobledale (1975) and Thandiwe Gobledale (2009) on the death of Ana's father and Thandiwe's grandfather, Alfred S. Dale Jr., on March 3 in Bellingham, Washington. He was 87. Al Dale served as a United Methodist minister in Illinois, California, and Washington state, as well as a missionary to Poland and Fiji. He was also provost of Central YMCA Community College in Chicago, a chaplain, and a US Army paratrooper. He was active in many community and social justice groups in Bellingham.

Liv Gibbons (2008) is now serving Northwest United Protestant Church in Richland, Washington. April 6 was her first Sunday. She is pictured here with Isla and her parents. Spouse Elijah Buck is wrapping up his job in Lexington, KY; Liv formerly served as Minister in Residence at Central Christian Church in Lexington. Congratulations to Liv and to the good folks in Richland.

The National Benevolent Association (NBA) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) called Bonnie Osei-Frimpong (2005) as the Project Coordinator for its new XPLOR program ministry in February. NBA XPLOR is a church-wide initiative grounded in a congregationally hosted residency program designed for young adult Disciples (ages 21–30) looking to explore lives of care and service.

University Christian Church, near the University of Maryland, has become the first Disciples congregation to become a Bridge of Hope congregation. Bridge of Hope is a 25-year-old ministry with the goal of "Ending Homelessness, One Family at at Time." Marshall Dunn (1960; trustee) will be the coordinator for the program, working with a social worker and others from the congregation and under the leadership of Senior Minister Nathan Hill. Bridge of Hope congregations commit themselves to providing ongoing support and friendship to a single homeless mother and her children for as much as a year or even more, helping her achieve independence. The congregation recruits and trains up to 12 mentors whose primary role is to be genuine friends to the mom and her kids, phoning, organizing outings, and building trust.