Fourteen students have been named Disciples Divinity House Scholars for 2022-23. Two additional individuals have been named the inaugural Theological Education Leadership Fellows. Scholarship funds have been increased in recent years, allowing for the creation of several new scholarships that honor individuals, extend legacies of ministry and thought, and allow for innovative leadership.

NEW SCHOLARS: Oreon E. Scott Entering Scholar Morganne Talley is a first-year MDiv student. She graduated with honors from the University of Lynchburg with a major in Religious Studies. Morganne received the Allen B. Stanger Award for commitment toward preparation for ministry and the Virgil V. Hinds Award for demonstrating a high level of academic achievement. Kate Myers is a first-year Masters student at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice. She has been awarded free housing at DDH during her studies. Kate grew up at First Christian Church in Bloomington, Indiana, and served as a Disciples Peace Fellowship intern in 2021. Luther Young, a visiting PhD student in Sociology from The Ohio State University, is conducting field research this year on black churches in Chicago. Luther is an ordained Disciples minister and the moderator of Alliance Q. He has been awarded free housing at DDH during his research.

CONTINUING SCHOLARS: Rachel Abdoler, a PhD candidate and recipient of the Barbara and Clark Williamson Scholarship, is writing her dissertation on the hermeneutical strategies of thirteenth-century Christian theological texts written in Arabic against a backdrop of Christian and Islamic polemical writing. The W. Barnett Blakemore Scholarship for ecumenical vision and academic achievement has been awarded to Justin Carlson, a second-year MDiv student, who also serves as DDH’s head resident. Third-year MDiv student Alexa Dava has been awarded the Dr. Geunhee and Mrs. Guensoon Yu Scholarship which recognizes high promise for innovative pastoral and intellectual leadership, especially in multicultural contexts. Justin Carlson and Alexa Dava received additional support from the William Daniel Cobb Alumni/ae Scholarship to support their attendance this summer at the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Karlsruhe, Germany. The Rolland and Laura Frances Sheafor Scholarship was was awarded to Kerrigan Greene, a third-year MDiv student. Marissa Ilnitzki, is the recipient of the Martin Family Scholarship, which celebrates leadership, congregations, and women in ministry. In her second-year of the MDiv program, her field placement is Gilead Church. Charlie Platt, a second year MDiv, began his field work at the University of Chicago Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and Chicago Lights as the William N. Weaver Scholar. Danny Sanchez entered his third year of the MDiv program as the Drum and Tenant Scholar, a scholarship created by Katherine Dey in remembrance of dear friends. The Henry Barton Robison Scholarship has been awarded to Luke Soderstrom, a PhD student in theology. He completed his doctoral exams last year and is now preparing to submit his dissertation proposal. PhD candidate Virginia White has received the Edward Scribner Ames Scholarship for high academic achievement. She is writing a dissertation on “Reckoning with Social Evil: Performativity as a Foundation for Re-envisioning Lament and Laughter as Moral Practices.” Landon Wilcox and Hiatt Allen are joint recipients of the M. Ray and Phyllis Schultz Scholarship as they finish their studies. Landon is preparing for chaplaincy in the US Navy and anticipates receiving his MDiv degree in December. Hiatt is writing his senior ministry thesis on the role of church camps in faith formation while finishing a MDiv/Master of Public Policy dual degree.

THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION LEADERSHIP FELLOWS: Lijia Xie has been named the Bernard F. and Annie Mae Cooke Fellow. He is particularly interested in dynamics of self-formation and conscience, as well as theological discourse and fluency in community. Benny VanDerburgh is the M. Elizabeth Dey Fellow. Benny received his MDiv from the Divinity School in June as a House Scholar, and is seeking ordination in the UCC.

The creation of a new fund celebrated Dolores Highbaugh's 95th birthday and honors Richard and Dolores Highbaugh. They are deeply Disciples, and that includes their decades-long relation to DDH.

Highbaugh ancestors were almost certainly present at Cane Ridge, one of the birthplaces of the Disciples movement. Richard Highbaugh’s great grandfather Scipio was born into slavery in Kentucky; by 1900, he brought his family to Indiana, where they bought land and homes. Richard was born in 1920 in Irvington, Indiana, which began as a separately incorporated township five miles east of Indianapolis. The campus of what became Butler University was located there, and the Christian Women’s Board of Missions built its College of Missions on the campus. In 1928, the “Missions Building” on Downey Avenue became the offices of the United Christian Missionary Society, and it served as the denomination’s headquarters until 1996. There were five or six households of the Highbaugh and Brown families in Irvington, and they were the only Black family who lived in the area until the early 1980s. Richard’s first job was to assist his uncle, who was the weekend custodian in the Missions Building, by switching off the lights in the evenings. In the thirties, Black employees were not allowed to eat in the building even if they were the cooks, so, an aunt operated a tea room across the street where they could have lunch and take breaks.

There is a story about Richard initially not being admitted to the neighborhood elementary school. His mother protested the exclusion of Black children, and she risked danger by sitting on the steps of the school for a week so that her son could attend the school that he could walk to from home. Richard became a Tuskegee Airman in 1943, with his younger brother Earl following the next year; Earl died in active service in Italy. Richard attended Amherst College, where he was one of three Black men in the student body, and then the University of Chicago for his MBA.

Dolores Jones’s family had migrated from Jackson, Mississippi, first to Detroit, and then to Chicago. In 1947, during Richard’s business school days, he and Dolores were introduced by two mutual friends who were Airmen. They were married in Chicago in 1949. Richard's mother, Margrave Castleman, directed them to the church on the southside that would soon become Park Manor Christian Church. Margrave herself was an active leader in the Second Christian Church in Indianapolis under the leadership of Rev. R.H. Peoples.

At Park Manor, Richard was an elder and taught the Bible class for twenty years. He organized the first little league team in the city under the auspices of the church; it became part of the city’s program. He started and ran the credit union in the church, a necessity when Black individuals were not welcome in the local banks, and the Cub Scout and Boy Scout troops, which offered an active community organization for boys from the neighborhood. Dolores Highbaugh was also an elder and tireless in her work at Park Manor for fifty years. She gave important leadership in the Chicago Disciples Union including brave, transformative interracial initiatives; she worked with Disciples Women in the regional and general church, often breaking the color line alongside Sybel Thomas and Eddie Griffin. Her keen insight was sought in ecumenical venues and committees, where she was typically the sole lay woman among white male theologians and clergy. She served on the 1975-77 moderator team of the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In those years, and because Dolores insisted, Richard accompanied her to General Assemblies and got involved on the credentials committee. His presence at the assemblies encouraged the denomination to secure appropriate facilities for persons who were disabled. He was the only person in a wheelchair at the General Assembly in Kentucky in 1971; by his last assembly in the 1990s, there were wheelchair accommodations and assistance. Richard Highbaugh died in 2006.

It was during the 1978 General Board meeting in Chicago that their daughter Claudia became the first Black woman ordained to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), that is, the first ordained after the 1968 Restructure and Merger. Rev. Dr. Claudia Highbaugh has been a trustee of the Disciples Divinity House since 1999, and has served in higher and theological education at Yale University, Harvard Divinity School, and Connecticut College, as a trustee emerita and visiting professor at Ursinus College, and as a trustee of her alma mater, Hiram College. The Highbaughs were proud that their children, Claudia and Burton, were graduates of the University’s Laboratory Schools. “My parents considered both a life of faith and a first-rate education to be consistent goals for their lives and for the many young people with whom they created relationships,” Claudia said.

This new fund especially celebrates Dolores Highbaugh’s pedagogical and intellectual role at DDH. She regularly attended programs and Monday dinners, and always has challenging questions for House Scholars (and the dean) as she nudges them to be educators for all people in the churches. Created with initial gifts of $10,000, the Richard and Dolores Highbaugh Fund ensures that their profound example, commitment, and challenge are sounded for future generations of learners and leaders.

2022 PhD graduate Joel Brown has been called as the next President of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society (DCHS), effective September 1. He is particularly suited for its leadership at this moment. Brown prizes the importance of history in shared life, and he relishes the place of archival work in telling and writing history. He looks forward to contributing to “the important work that DCHS has been doing of preserving and telling our history, both lifting up those narratives that tell of our movement’s faithfulness and achievements as well as reckoning with those parts of our story where we have fallen short and caused harm.”

His PhD dissertation, advised by Curtis Evans, is titled, Preparing the Way: African American Women and Social Christianity in Turn-of-the-Century Chicago. He also holds a ThM from Brite Divinity School and MDiv and BA degrees from Abilene Christian University. During his years as a House Scholar, Joel served as DDH’s associate for publications and programming and did a stint as the interim administrator. He was formerly the managing editor for the Martin Marty Center's biweekly publication, Sightings, and of the Religion & Culture Forum.

Samuel Campbell Pearson, Jr., entering class of 1951, died on June 10 at home in St. Louis; he was 91. He was Professor Emeritus of Historical Studies at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville where he taught for many years in addition to serving as Dean of the School of Social Sciences from 1983-95. Mr. Pearson was "a scholar, teacher, administrator, and colleague of uncommon insight, effectiveness, and humanity," as his 2001 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Disciples Divinity House said.

He was born in Dallas, Texas, on December 10, 1931, the son of Samuel and Edna Pearson. In 1951, after earning his BA cum laude from Texas Christian University and at the age of nineteen, Sam Pearson matriculated to the Divinity School of the University of Chicago and the Disciples Divinity House. He earned the BD and MA degrees, and in 1964, the PhD degree. He held a commission as chaplain in the Navy and served on active duty in from 1954-56. He wrote extensively on the history of Christianity, and received two senior Fulbright appointments to lecture on American History in Chinese universities. After retirement, he again taught in China under the auspices of Global Ministries of the Christian Church and the United Church of Christ, and edited Supporting Asian Christianity's Transition from Mission to Church: A History of the Foundation for Theological Education in South East Asia (2010).

He was an important figure in the life of the Disciples Divinity House and in Disciples higher education. From 1956-60, he was the Assistant to Dean Blakemore and DDH's National Representative. He served on the Alumni/ae Council and the Centennial Planning Committee. He wrote important monographs on the Disciples movement and the Disciples Divinity House. For the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), he was a member of the Board of the Division of Higher Education (now HELM), a life member of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, and a member of, and archivist for, the Association of Disciples for Theological Discussion. Union Avenue Christian Church minister and close friend Thomas V. Stockdale once remembered him as "a constant, sometimes frustrated, but relentless voice for every compassionate and enlarging project we undertook."

He is survived by Mary Alice Clay Pearson and their two sons, William Clay Pearson of Gallup, New Mexico, John Andrew Pearson (Pamela Jorden) of Los Angeles. Memorial gifts may be made to the Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Foundation, Southern Poverty Law Center, or to the Disciples Divinity House of the University of Chicago.

As DDH marked the close of its 127th academic year on June 3, Yvonne Gilmore exhorted the graduates to re-read religion and “make the exodus movement legible.” MA, MDiv, and PhD graduates were honored, including Disciples PhD graduates Joel Brown, who has been named President-elect of the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, and Hyein Park, whose dissertation compares mysticism and theologies of suffering in Buddhist and medieval Christian women thinkers. Sarath Pillai, a longtime resident and recent Head Resident, will receive his PhD from the History Department with honors. All three anticipate receiving their degrees this summer. Four Disciples Scholars are spring or summer MDiv graduates. Ross Allen will be ordained in the Kansas Region and is currently interning at the Christian Century; Monica Carmean is also a JD graduate of Georgetown Law Center. Emily Griffith, whose senior ministry project explored resources for mental health and spiritual care, will begin a chaplain residency program at Rush Medical Center. Benny VanDerburgh will be a Theological Education Leadership Fellow at DDH. Three members of DDH’s interfaith residential community are MA graduates: Cetovimutti Cong, X.K. Ding, and Jeffrey Sanchez.

Yvonne Gilmore, Interim Administrative Secretary of the National Convocation and Associate General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was the speaker. Taking Hebrews 11:39-12:3 as her text, she spoke about “Extending Exodus” by re-reading religion, discovering community, and extending joy. “What makes exodus movement legible? What gives us eyes to see and comprehend the promise of liberation historically? What makes the work of exodus legible in the Hebrew Bible, in our text, and in the world today?,” Gilmore asked. “The subtext of our text is the practice of communal re-reading. It is re-reading religion that extends exodus movement and makes possibilities for future flourishing legible to us and our communities of care and service….” (more here)

Peace, justice, and ecumenism were enduring commitments in Ernie O'Donnell's life and ministry. He died May 28 in Fort Worth; he was 91. He served local congregations in Rogers, Arkansas, and in Dallas, Longview, and, for twenty-one years, First Christian Church of Richardson, Texas.

Born in 1931 in Johnston, Pennsylvania, B. Ernest O'Donnell grew up in Tucson, Arizona. As a youth, he joined the First Christian Church and experienced the formative mentorship of its minister, Harold Lunger. Ernie attended Chapman College (now University) on a full scholarship. He graduated in 1952 and entered the Disciples Divinity House and the Divinity School that same year. In 1955, after receiving his BD degree from the Divinity School and being ordained, he served at the Hazel Green Academy in Kentucky, All Peoples' Christian Church in Los Angeles, and with the WCC InterChurch Service to Greek Villages in northern Greece. In 1959, he was called to the staff of what is now the Southwest Region as youth minister, and he met Judy Crow. They were married in 1960, and raised two sons, Kelly and Sean. Their partnership included her own MDiv and DMin degrees and congregational ministry, as well as international travel and involvement at University Christian Church in Fort Worth after their retirements.

Ernie O'Donnell co-founded the Dallas Peace Center and was active in the Disciples Peace Fellowship. He served two separate terms on DDH's Alumni/ae Council, including as its President from 1988-89. They established the B. Ernest and Judy Crow O'Donnell Fund at DDH. He is survived by Judy Crow O'Donnell, their sons, and their grandchildren.

Benny VanDerburgh and Lijia Xie have been selected as the inaugural Theological Education Leadership Fellows. They begin in September. Functioning as members of the Disciples Divinity House professional staff, Fellows will be engaged in aspects of educational and non-profit leadership on a schedule aligned with the academic year. Fellows will each develop a special focus.

Benny VanDerburgh, a current DDH Scholar, will receive his MDiv degree from the Divinity School in June. He is a 2015 magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bates College with a BA in English and a 2019 MAPH graduate of the University of Chicago. He currently coordinates DDH’s chapel services and serves as librarian and as the House Council co-president; he is also a pastoral associate at St. Pauls UCC. His fellowship project involves developing a model of digitized mutual aid that will curate materials and spotlight trustworthy resources. He intends to pursue doctoral studies to critically examine the religious lives of movement workers and collectives and, specifically, of early waves of HIV/AIDS activism outside of religious institutions.

Lijia Xie will receive his MDiv degree from the Divinity School in August. He completed field education at Urban Village Church in Chicago. He is a 2017 cum laude graduate of Harvard University where he majored in Computer Science and minored in Statistics. After college he worked as a software engineer for eBay in New York City. Lijia’s project for the fellowship is to develop pedagogy and contexts for “revitalizing theological fluency for human flourishing.” He hopes to continue similar work in a PhD program: “a revitalizing of theology in the fraught arena of public discourse, a reclamation … which I believe is indispensable to the flourishing of humanity and society.”

At the April 22-23 Board of Trustees meeting, outgoing president April Lewton passed the gavel to incoming president Pamela James Jones. Special guests, food, and toasts were part of a celebration of April's leadership through DDH's 125th Anniversary and the pandemic. She continues as a trustee. New president Pamela James Jones is a MDiv and PhD graduate of the Divinity School with a long association with DDH. She previously served as Vice President. Gaylord Yu is the new Vice President; Mareta Smith continues as Treasurer and Paul Steinbrecher as Secretary.

Colton Lott has been elected to an unexpired term on the Board of Trustees of the Disciples Divinity House. As Senior Minister of the First Christian Church of El Reno, Oklahoma, he has been instrumental in building church-community connections in El Reno and in the Oklahoma region. He pays attention to institutions and the generations who are gathered by them. A 2018 MDiv graduate of the University of Chicago Divinity School and a 2015 BA graduate of Eureka College, he was ordained in his home congregation of Ada, Oklahoma. He also serves on the board of the Higher Education and Leadership Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

James Ellsworth Stockdale, alumnus, distinguished minister, and longtime trustee, died on October 19. He was 91. A passionate advocate of the Disciples Divinity House, he was the president of DDH’s Alumni/ae Council before being elected to its Board of Trustees in 1985. He served on the board for thirty-four years, including as Vice President and chair of the Development Committee.

Born to Virgil and Catherine Stockdale on August 13, 1930, Jim grew up in Peoria, Illinois, with his younger brother, Tom. He graduated from Bradley University and, in 1952, married Patricia Gibson. They moved to Chicago where Jim earned his BD degree at the University of Chicago Divinity School as a Disciples Divinity House Scholar. His brother followed his path to the Divinity School and DDH, as eventually did Jim and Pat’s youngest son, Jonathan, who earned a PhD.

After Jim’s ordination in 1956, he began a distinguished career in congregational ministry at Orchard Street Church in nearby Blue Island, and then at First Christian Church in Mt. Carmel, Illinois. In 1970, he was called to University Christian Church in Seattle, serving as its Senior Minister until 1994. Under his leadership, the congregation extended its witness of community engagement, inclusion, accessibility, vital intellectual life, and strong support for the arts and ecumenism. When the congregation ceased its common life in 2018, it honored Mr. Stockdale through a magnificent gift to DDH that removed physical barriers and created a stunning and welcoming entrance courtyard.

In retirement, he enjoyed music, theater, and ballet events, taking regular trips to the Oregon coast, and a commitment to his grandchildren that even led to coaching soccer. James E. Stockdale is survived by his wife Pat; their children, Mark, Jennifer, and Jonathan; and their grandchildren, Graham, Catherine, Isaac, Julia, Lennox, Willa, and Theo. He was predeceased by his brother, Thomas V. Stockdale. A memorial service will be held on December 4 in Seattle.