Tabitha Knerr (2005) was ordained June 14 at Iglesia del Pueblo/Hope Center in Hammond, Indiana. She graduated with the M.Div. and Master of Public Policy degrees two days before. Former trustee Juan Rodriguez, who is senior minister of Iglesia del Pueblo, preached; his sermon, "Baptination or Ordinaptism?," called all Christians to the service implied in their baptisms and affirmed in ordination.

Bonnie Carenen (2005) was ordained on July 11, 2009, in the Greater Kansas City region. Her home congregation is Budd Park Christian Church in Kansas City, Missouri. She will begin work in Indonesia with Church World Service in September.

Congratulations to Shane Isaac and Tabitha Knerr (2005), who were married on June 26, 2009, in Chicago. They also joined their names to become the Isners.

On June 11, a group of 33 religious leaders, including Ken Brooker Langston (1985) and Michael Kinnamon (1973), met with officials of the Obama administration to urge the establishment of an independent, non-partisan "Commission of Inquiry on Torture." For more and to read the letter they presented, click here.

Jordan Berry (2005) graduated from the Urban Teacher Program (UTEP) at the University of Chicago in June. Next year she’ll teach kindergarten at the Legacy Charter School in Chicago.

April Lewton (2004) has been appointed Director of Annual Giving and Community Engagement at Chicago Theological Seminary, effective June 1. Previously she served as a community organizer with the Asian American Institute. In May, she was featured in an ABC7 Chicago special, Asian Influences: Dream America, about Asian immigrants to the U.S. and work by Lewton and others for immigration reform. Also, read Lewton's essay on Asians and the immigration debate from the Chicago Tribune online.

In June, Ray Greenfield (2000) began the D.Min. program in pastoral and spiritual care at McCormick Theological Seminary---and stayed at the House. He reports that it feels great to be back in the classroom. He continues as the pastor of the Lewistown and Ipava Christian Churches.

In the June 2 issue of the Christian Century, Stephanie Paulsell (1985; Trustee) reflects on the importance of "thinking things through" in "Torturous Times." She suggests the relevance of Rabbi Gamaliel's counsel against torture in Acts 5. "The apostles' lives were saved because one learned man was willing to make his argument another way: through language, through history, through reason."

Congratulations to Ronald Hopkins (1999), who received the Doctor in Ministry degree on May 30, 2009, from Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. He is the minister of the First Christian Church, Petersburg, Virginia.

Chalice Press has just published an essential new resource for Disciples history, Room at the Table: Struggle for Unity and Equality in Disciples History, by Sandhya Jha (2001). Based on extensive research and interviews, the book recounts 200 years of multicultural Disciples history and the journey toward full recognition of and participation by racial ethnic groups within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).