Alumnus Rolland G. Pfile died August 19, at home in Indianapolis, where he had been in hospice care. He was 74.
pfileThroughout his ministry and during an era of significant social change, Rolland Pfile provided prophetic leadership and critical support for other prophets. After serving congregations in Lone Pine and LeMoyne, Pennsylvania, he was called to be the executive secretary of the Department of Church in Society in the Division of Homeland Ministries (DHM) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), where he provided leadership from 1974-91. Together with staff members Gerry Cunningham, Garnett Day, JoAnne Kagiwada, Julia Brown Karimu, Ian McCrae, and Jennifer Riggs, Church in Society led the church as it addressed racial and economic justice, peace, religious liberty, refugee resettlement, and divestment in South Africa, among other issues. Fellow alumnus Tom Quigley, a leader in ecumenical ministry who often worked with Church in Society during those years, recalls that Rolland "... modeled for many of us the importance of addressing the most pressing issues facing the human community in systemic ways and as a normal and expected part of the church’s ministry."

Later he served interim ministries in Illinois, Indiana, and St. Petersburg, Florida, and, for two years, in Indiana regional ministry. His service to the Disciples Divinity House included as convener of DDH's centennial celebration and campaign committee (1993-94).

Mr. Pfile received his BA from Bethany College and entered the University of Chicago Divinity School as a Disciples Divinity House Scholar in 1960. He received his BD degree in 1964. In 1961 he met Leverne Barlow at the Divinity School, where she, too, was a graduate student---although not a Disciples House Scholar because women were not admitted to the House in those years. (In the mid-1970s, she became one of the first women elected to DDH's Board of Trustees.) Roland and Leverne married on September 2, 1963; their 50th wedding anniversary would have been in two weeks. They raised two children, Angela and Kenneth.

In 2011, Angela Pfile and her spouse, Doug Job, who met at the Disciples Divinity House when they were both Scholars and who married in DDH's Chapel of the Holy Grail, decided to honor her parents by establishing a named scholarship fund at the Disciples Divinity House. In October 2012, a service at Downey Avenue Christian Church in Indianapolis, Rolland and Leverne's home congregation, recognized their leadership and the creation of the scholarship fund.

Rolland Pfile is survived by his spouse Leverne, by their two children and their partners, by one grandchild, and by two brothers. A memorial service will be held at Downey Avenue Christian Church on August 24 at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Rolland G. and Leverne B. Pfile Fund at the Disciples Divinity House (information here) or to Downey Avenue Christian Church. Messages may be sent to the Pfile family at 5406 University Avenue, Indianapolis, 46219.

Update: A memorial service for Prof. Jean Bethke Elshtain was held October 17 in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, coinciding with the "Engaged Mind" conference, October 17-18, the final part of a four-year series that explored the themes of Elshtain's scholarship.

Jean Bethke Elshtain, scholar of religion and political philosophy, 1941-2013
University of Chicago News Service, August 12, 2013
Jean Bethke Elshtain, one of the nation’s most prominent and provocative thinkers on religion, political philosophy, and ethics, died Sunday following a major cardiac incident earlier this summer. She was 72. Elshtain was the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Professor of Social and Political Ethics in the Divinity School, Political Science, and the Committee on International Relations at the University of Chicago....

Jean Bethke Elshtain, political scientist unafraid to talk God, has died
The Atlantic, August 13, 2013

Jean Bethke Elshtain, a guiding light for policy makers after 9/11, dies at 72
New York Times, August 15, 2013

Jean Bethke Elshtain, 1941-2013
Chicago Tribune, August 14, 2013

The Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago has announced a search for an Associate Dean. In the newly configured position, the Associate Dean will collaborate with and assist the Dean to further the educational work of the Disciples Divinity House (DDH) and to interpret it to key constituencies. This involves fostering educational opportunities, vocational development, and transformative conversation among current students, alumni/ae, and friends as well as in wider venues, especially the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and also in relation to the University of Chicago Divinity School. An initial focus will be thinking, collaborating, and communicating with current students, relatively recent alumni/ae, and other constituents in order to devise programs that both support career development and connect them to the Disciples Divinity House in ways that will support its mission over the long term. Review of applications will begin July 26 and continue until the position is filled.

The position was reenvisioned over several months of study and conversation led by Dean Kris Culp and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees and with the assistance of Jim Powell, former President of Church Extension (now with the Columbia Partnership). Dean Culp announced the search in her remarks to alumni/ae and friends at DDH's luncheon during the General Assembly. She sketched how the institution has been recovering from the economic downturn and how it is preparing for the future. This includes welcoming an increased number of Disciples House Scholars, rebuilding the endowment (now slightly above its previous high), resuming a full complement of capital repairs and improvements to the building, and, with the announcement of the Associate Dean search, staffing for the future. She commented, "The Board of Trustees and I are grateful for your support through this time of challenge and for your partnership as new possibilities emerge."

John R. Bean, who was recognized in 1997 with DDH's Distinguished Alumnus Award, died May 18, 2013, after a brief illness. His distinguished ministry included twenty-five years as Senior Minister of North Christian Church, Columbus, Indiana; leadership throughout the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); and passionate advocacy for human dignity and rights. He was 84.

He was born December 23, 1928 in Clarksville, Arkansas, to Walter and Margaret Bean. He married Julia Peterfy in 1958; they had just celebrated their 55th anniversary. He is also survived by his two sons, Mike and Keith, and by three sisters. Mr. Bean received his undergraduate degree from Pepperdine University. He entered the University of Chicago as a Disciples Divinity House Scholar in 1951, and received his BD from the Divinity School in 1954. He began his ministry with the regional staff in Ohio. Before moving to North Christian Church as its senior minister, he served Chicago Avenue Christian Church and Northwest Christian Church, both in Columbus, Ohio. His significant leadership in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) included service as Chair of the Committee on Structural Renewal and Reform, Parliamentarian of the General Assembly, Moderator of the Indiana Region, Vice Chair of the Council on Christian Unity, and Co-Chair of the Ecumenical Partnership Committee of the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ. He also served on the Board of Directors of Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, and on the Alumni/ae Council and the Centennial Campaign Cabinet at the Disciples Divinity House.

In Columbus, Indiana, John Bean served on the Mayor's Commission on Human Rights, and was a member of the Advisory Board of the Council of Job Corps Center, served on the Board of Directors of the Community Action Project, the Board of the United Way, as Vice President of the Human Relations Council, and was the founding president of the Columbus Ecumenical Assembly, a council of churches that worked, among other things, to minister to the community through the Mobile Health Clinic and raised over $100,000 a year to help disadvantaged families. In 1989, he received from the city of Columbus, Indiana, the William R. Laws Human Rights Award.

His lifelong passion for justice grew from his understanding of the catholicity and inclusivity of the people of God. He observed, "That church is not necessarily led by the Spirit which chooses never to take a public stand nor to make an imaginative decision."

In 1997, he was honored as the Distinguished Alumnus of the Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago. The award cited him as an “exemplar of intelligence and integrity in ministry; leader of great effectiveness and insight." It commended him: For your remarkable congregational ministry which enabled worship, education, the arts, and social responsibility to flourish together; for your influential guidance in matters of renewal and structural reform; for your advancement of ecumenism throughout the church; and for your persistent advocacy for human rights as a pastor, leader, citizen, and fellow human being. Read Bill Crowl's introduction and John Bean's remarks here.

A memorial service was held on May 22 at Northwood Christian Church in Indianapolis.

The Alumni/ae Council has selected William E. Crowl as the recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award. The Council cited his deep love for the church, especially for congregations, and his distinguished ministry throughout the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He has been a leader in shaping the future direction of the church and in mentoring and supporting young leaders.

While still a Disciples Divinity House Scholar, Bill Crowl became the founding pastor of First Christian Church of Downers Grove, Illinois. He earned his BD in 1969. He later served thriving congregations in Baltimore and Columbus, Ohio, before becoming the Regional Minister and President of the Central Rocky Mountain Region. More recently, he completed an extended interim ministry at Cherry Log (Georgia) Christian Church. He is currently the Intentional Interim Pastor at Christian Church of Arlington Heights, Illinois.

The Disciples Divinity House is among the many Disciples and ecumenical organizations that he has served. He was elected to the Board of Trustees in 1987, and was its president during DDH’s Centennial. From 2000-05 he was Associate Dean. He has been elected on three separate occasions to the Alumni/ae Council, and previously served as its president.

The Award will be presented at the DDH luncheon during the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) meeting in Orlando. The luncheon will be Monday, July 15, at the Orlando Convention Center. More information on the luncheon is available here.

William E. Crowl is the seventeenth recipient of the award, which was established in 1979. Previous recipients, in chronological order, are Arthur Azlein, Irvin Lunger, Barton Hunter, Robert Thomas, Marvin Smith, William Weaver, Frank Mabee, Dan Genung, John Bean, J. Robert Moffett, Samuel Pearson, Raymond Williams, M. Ray Schultz, Ian McCrae, Don Browning, and Bonnie Miller-McLemore.

Alumna Lee Hull Moses, Senior Minister of First Christian Church, Greensboro, North Carolina, and Vice President of the Board of Trustees, will speak at the 2013 DDH Convocation. She is co-author of two books, including the recently released Hopes and Fears: Everyday Theology for New Parents and Other Tired, Anxious People. Graduating House Scholar Thandiwe Gobledale was a ministry intern with Ms. Hull Moses at First Christian Church, Greensboro, during the 2011-12 academic year.

The 2013 Convocation will be held June 14 at 5:30 p.m. with a reception following. Convocation is a formal service that marks the end of the academic year and celebrates the achievements of graduating Disciples House Scholars and ecumenical community members. Held in the Chapel of the Holy Grail on the last Friday afternoon of the spring quarter, the service is planned by the graduates. Convocation precedes the University’s Spring Convocation, which takes place in the main quadrangle on Saturday morning.

Michael K. Kinnamon was honored by the University of Chicago Divinity School as its Alumnus of the Year on May 2, 2013. Internationally regarded as an ecumenist, scholar of ecumenism, and church leader, he received his MA (1976) and PhD (1980; Religion and Literature) degrees from the Divinity School as a Disciples Divinity House Scholar. His address was titled A Report from the Front Lines of a Renewal Movement Under Siege. During his visit, he also led a Craft of Teaching seminar at the Divinity School and spoke with Scholars at the Disciples Divinity House.

Michael Kinnamon served as the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches from 2008-12. His influential ecumenical leadership began in 1980 when he was called as Executive Secretary of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, and also included service as General Secretary of the Consultation on Church Union (later Churches Uniting in Christ), from 1999-2002. His extensive writing on the ecumenical movement includes co-editing the definitive The Ecumenical Movement: An Anthology of Key Texts and Voices, and authoring The Vision of the Ecumenical Movement and How it has Been Impoverished by its Friends, and, forthcoming in 2013, Can a Renewal Movement Be Renewed?: Questions for the Future of Ecumenism.

He is also a leader within and a major interpreter of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), who lectures widely and has written Disciples of Christ for the 21st Century and Disciples: Reclaiming Our Identity, Reforming Our Practice, co-authored with Jan Linn. Key to Kinnamon’s leadership has been a consistent theology of the church and of the ecumenical movement, articulated in writing, teaching, and leading. He follows theological issues to their broadest social impact, using his insight and stature to press these matters in faith communities across the country and throughout the world.

In August 2012, Michael Kinnamon began a three-year term as the Spehar-Halligan Visiting Professor of Ecumenical Collaboration in Interreligious Dialogue at Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry. Previously he was a member the faculties of Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Lexington Theological Seminary (also serving there as academic dean), and Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. He received honorary degrees from Bethany College and the Aquinas Institute of Theology.

On Thursday, April 18, from 5:00 to 6:30 pm, an event at the Divinity School will celebrate the publication of Hopes and Fears: Everyday Theology for New Parents and Other Tired, Anxious People by Bromleigh McCleneghan, Associate for Congregational Life, Rockefeller Chapel, and Lee Hull Moses, Senior Minister of First Christian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. Ms. Hull Moses is also Vice President of the DDH Board of Trustees and a DDH alumna. The book, which is about being not-perfect parents in a not-perfect world, is full of life, theology, and humor. The event will include a panel of respondents, wine and cheese, and books for sale and signing. Cynthia Lindner, Director of the Ministry Program (and also a DDH alumna and trustee), organized the event in conjunction with the Divinity School's Annual Ministry Conference.

McKinna Daugherty, a third-year Disciples Divinity House Scholar and MDiv student, is the co-chair of this year's annual student-run Ministry Conference with Will Storm, also a third-year Divinity School MDiv student. The April 19 conference, to be held in Swift Hall, is titled Fair as the Moon, Terrible as an Army: Sexual Beings in Religious Community. It will feature Margaret Farley and Amy Frykholm as keynote speakers, Larry Greenfield as the conference's preacher, plus workshops, conversation, and worship. Ms. Daugherty, who hails from the Kansas City area, has written her senior ministry thesis on how religious communities address sexuality; last summer she received a grant from the Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM) of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to study church camp curricula on sexuality for youth.

Disciples House Scholar Andrew Packman, an MDiv graduate and current PhD student in Theology, has joined with Divinity School MDiv classmates Neil Ellingson and Tim Kim to start a new Disciples congregation in Logan Square on Chicago’s north side.  Root and Branch Christian Church “aims to give souls in Chicago deeper roots and more expansive, outstretching branches.” Its first gathering was held over dinner on Friday, March 8, with 25 persons attending. The meal opened with sharing the bread and closed with sharing the cup; in between, prayer, song, and reflection were also shared. On March 16, Root and Branch Christian Church was granted congregation-in-formation status by the Christian Church in Illinois and Wisconsin; the new church has also received a $60,000 grant from the region. Here Rebecca Ingram, chair of the region's new church establishment committee, looks on while Andrew Packman, with Mr. Ellingson and Mr. Kim, signs the covenant with the region; a communion service followed.