Sixty-nine youth from Middletown Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, and a lot of ice cream converged at DDH on July 8. Michael Swartzentruber (2007), Youth Minister at Middletown, brought the group to Chicago for a mission trip focused on poverty and justice. Associate Dean Yvonne Gilmore led them in worship in the Chapel of the Holy Grail, and, with her, current residents Kathryn Ray and Kiva Nice-Webb engaged them in reflection as well as shared ice cream.

Felipa and Ryan Singleton (2005) moved to Minneapolis at the beginning of July, where Felipa has accepted a job with the Target Corporation. Ryan looks forward to connecting with DDH alums in greater Minneapolis-St. Paul (several alums have moved to the area in recent years).

Vy Nguyen (2004) has been named the next Executive Director of Week of Compassion, effective September 1. The Disciples general ministry partners with other agencies to respond to emergency and disaster situations. He currently works with Church World Service in California. See the longer article here.

Effective July 1, Richard Miller (former resident) is Professor of Religious Ethics at the Divinity School. A 1985 PhD graduate of the Divinity School, he was most recently Provost Professor in Religious Studies at Indiana University. From 2003-13 he was Director of the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions at IU. His research includes religion and public life, political and social ethics, theory and method in religious thought and ethics, and practical ethics. He is the author of Interpretations of Conflict: Ethics, Pacifism, and the Just-War Tradition (1991); Casuistry and Modern Ethics: A Poetics of Practical Reasoning (1996); Children, Ethics, and Modern Medicine (2003); and Terror, Religion, and Liberal Thought (2010). Karin Krause also joins the Divinity School faculty as Assistant Professor of Byzantine Theology and Visual Culture. She has been Lecturer in the Department of Art History, Universität Basel, and Visiting Lecturer, Universität Wien, and received her PhD from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. More here.

Dennis Landon (1970) retired as President of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on June 30. He became president of the general ministry in 1997. See the news article here. He and spouse Lana Hartman Landon (1975) are planning to move to Pennsylvania

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.