Michael Karunas (1995) was installed as the Senior Minister of Central Christian Church in Decatur, Illinois, on June 3, having begun his ministry there in March. Michael, spouse Amy Ziettlow, and their three children were previously in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Michael was Senior Minister of the First Christian Church and Amy was the Chief Operating Officer for The Hospice of Baton Rouge.

David Cobb (1987) has been called as the second pastor of Spirit of Joy Christian Church in Lakeville, Minnesota (in the greater Twin Cities area). He was previously Senior Minister of First Christian Church, Lynchburg, Virginia. David, Katy McFall, and their son Jackson, will move to the Lakeville area in mid-June. Katy McFall (1988) will continue serving as Director of Annual Giving for the Presbyterian Homes & Family Services and the Family Alliance of Lynchburg, working long distance; she is now also serving as President of the DDH Alumni/ae Council.

On May 27, United Christian Parish (UCP), an ecumenical congregation (Disciples, UCC, PCUSA, and United Methodist) in Reston, Virginia, dedicated its new sanctuary and wing. Joan Bell-Haynes (1995) is Pastor. Sharon Watkins, General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) will be the guest preacher. The $6 million project has been underway for nearly two years. UCP is the home congregation of current House Scholar Alexis Vaughan, who returned to UCP for the celebration.

Garry Sparks (2001) has accepted a tenure-track appointment as Assistant Professor of Humanities in Global Christian Studies at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. His research and teaching interests focus on an ethnographic and ethnohistorical understanding of theological production in the Americas, specifically among indigenous peoples. His areas include modern Christian theologies, history of religions, Native American religious movements, Hispano-Catholic missions, and the Highland Maya. This past year he has been the Visiting Assistant Professor of Humanities and Theology at Christ College, the honors college, of Valparaiso University. He and spouse April Lewton (2004; trustee) will move to Louisville in June.

On June 1, April Lewton (2004; trustee) will become the Vice President of Development and Marketing for the National Benevolent Association (NBA), a general ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Founded in the 1880s, the NBA "creates communities of compassion and care" through the provision of health and social services. Lewton commented, “As a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), I have known and experienced the legacy and dedication of Disciples in service to others, especially those who are in physical, mental and social need. I look forward to engaging and encouraging Disciples in this ministry of service throughout the life of the Church." Read the press release.

Beau Underwood (2006) has accepted the position of Campaigns Manager at Sojourners, a national Christian organization committed to faith in action for social justice. He will help to develop and coordinate strategies for Sojourners' issue campaigns, to manage their coalition work, and a variety of other tasks. He concludes his work as the Partnership and Outreach Coordinator at Faith in Public Life on May 15. He continues also to serve part-time at National City Christian Church as an Assistant Pastor.

On May 12, 2012, Chuck Blaisdell (1976) was awarded an honorary doctorate by Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) in Indianapolis. In selecting him, the school noted, "Not only does he exemplify the highest hopes fostered by CTS for leadership in the church, but he has manifest such leadership in all expressions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) .... Chuck has one of the finest critical minds in the Disciples of Christ today in the sense that he has a compelling vision of God and the world emerging from serious dialogue with the Bible, tradition, and experience." He is the Senior Minister of First Christian Church of Colorado Springs.

Congratulations to Rachel Lindner (2004), who received her JD from Northwestern University School of Law on May 11. She will be moving to New Orleans, where she will practice capital defense law.

Spencer Dew (1998) will join Centenary College of Louisiana as Assistant Professor of Religious Studies in the fall, a tenure-track position, and he will hold the Mattie Allen Broyles Inaugural Year Research Chair. Currently teaching at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, he is completing a manuscript on religious understandings of writing in the work of Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, and James Baldwin, and he is at work on a a study of the Moorish Science Temple of America, funded in part by a research fellowship from the Black Metropolis Research Consortium. He is the author of a collection of short stories, Songs of Insurgency (Vagabond Press, 2008), Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres (Another New Calligraphy, 2010), and the critical study, Learning for Revolution: The Work of Kathy Acker (San Diego State University Press, 2011). His first novel, Maintain, is forthcoming from Ampersand Books in fall 2012. A regular reviewer for Rain Taxi Review of Books, and a Staff Book Reviewer for decomP magazine, his fiction and essays have appeared in scores of publications, including art reviews in Newcity Chicago and Chicago Artists' News, and essays in Religion Dispatches and Sightings.

We are saddened to learn of the death of Charles Swift (1944) on April 17 in Redlands, California. A native of southern California, he served for 25 years as a US Navy Chaplain. He retired in Redlands, where he gave leadership to community mental health organizations and was recognized by the greater San Bernadino community. His wife, Verna, died in 2003.