A stunning bronze sculpture by Richard Hunt will crown renovations to the Disciples Divinity House that symbolize welcome and provide barrier-free access to the historic building.

A magnificent gift in honor of James E. Stockdale funded the courtyard redesign and related renovations to ensure access to the first floor. When University Christian Church in Seattle, Washington, ceased its common life in 2018, the congregation wanted to honor him, their esteemed former minister. The sculpture was commissioned by the family of Thomas V. Stockdale in his memory. He was Minister Emeritus of Union Avenue Christian Church in St. Louis.

One of the most important sculptors of our time, Richard Hunt became the first African American artist to have a major solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1971). Over 150 of his public sculptures are displayed throughout the US, including in the National Museum of African American History and Culture and in a current solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Mr. Hunt's sculpture creates a conversation between fluidity and metal’s strength, form and transformation. In the accompanying photo, he and the model for the sculpture are seen in his Chicago studio. The artist's direct metal technique involves cutting, shaping, and welding sheets of bronze into a shape-shifting, ascending form.

Richard Hunt grew up in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago and graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago. His history converges with that of Jim and Tom Stockdale on East 57th Street: as young man, Richard had taken classes at the University of Chicago and worked in the biology laboratories a block away from DDH where Jim and Tom Stockdale both studied.

James E. and Thomas V. Stockdale grew up in Peoria, Illinois, where both graduated from Bradley University before coming to the University of Chicago Divinity School as Disciples Divinity House Scholars, Jim arrived in Chicago in 1952; after graduation and ordination in 1956, he served Orchard Street Church in nearby Blue Island before moving downstate to Mount Carmel. In the mid-sixties, he was called to University Christian Church in Seattle, from which he retired in 1994. He was a member of the DDH Board of Trustees from 1985-2019.

Tom followed his older brother to DDH and the University in 1956, graduating in 1960. He served Disciples congregations in Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, Nebraska, and Maryland. From 1986-99 he was the senior minister of Union Avenue Christian Church in St. Louis. After his death in 2016, his family decided to commission a sculpture in his memory. They envisioned an angelic evocation that would remember him and inspire future generations of House Scholars; they discovered the remarkable artistry and vision of Richard Hunt.

Tom and Jim Stockdale were both devoted to congregational life and worship, to ecumenism, and to social and community outreach. Each loved the arts—music, visual arts, architecture, theater, theology, and poetry. In their lives and ministries—as in Richard Hunt's sculpture—form was ever being transformed, with God's spirit descending, ascending, and ever-moving amidst the earthen stuff of shared life.

The courtyard and sculpture will be dedicated on October 24 at 1:00 pm, CDT. The dedication will be videocast. RSVP here.

Scholarship funds allow Disciples Divinity House Scholars to immerse themselves in learning without incurring significant debt. Student achievement and promise have been recognized with these special awards. 

Several awards have been established or will be fully funded as part of DDH's 125th anniversary. These include the Martin Family Scholarship, being awarded for the first time to Joel Brown (see related article), and the Dr. Geunhee and Mrs. Geunsoon Yu Scholarship, which was newly awarded last year to Aneesah Ettress, a third-year MDiv student. The Yu scholarship recognizes high promise for innovative pastoral and intellectual leadership, especially within multicultural contexts.

The Edward Scribner Ames Scholarship for high academic achievement has been awarded to Mark Lambert, a PhD candidate in Theology, his dissertation is titled, “The Sacramental Sickness: The Perceptual Interplay between the Eucharist and the Leper-Christ in Medieval Theology.” The William Barnett Blakemore Scholarship for ecumenical vision and academic achievement has been awarded to Benny VanDerburgh, a second-year MDiv student, DDH librarian this year and co-convener of Open Space, a weekly ritual gathering for students at the Divinity School. Landon Wilcox, a second-year MDiv student and Head Resident this year, is the Bernard F. and Annie Mae Cooke Scholar. The scholarship was established by a spirited lay woman from Houston who prized excellence in ministry.

MDiv student Ross Allen is the recipient of the M. Elizabeth Dey Scholarship. LaSalle Street Church is his field education placement site. Emily Springer, second-year MDiv student, is the recipient of the Drum and Tenant Scholarship. Gilead is her field education placement site. Both of these scholarships were established by Katherine Dey, who wanted to remember her grandmother and dear friends.

The Henry Barton Robison Scholarship is awarded to Paige Spencer, a second-year MA student, for promise in biblical studies. Hiatt Allen was awarded the Rolland and Laura Frances Sheafor Scholarship which was established by a longtime DDH trustee who was the founding president of the Christian Church Foundation and his wife. A dual degree student, he is studying at the Harris School of Public Policy this year. Third-year MDiv Sarah Zuniga is the recipient of the M. Ray and Phyllis Schultz Scholarship which recognizes promise for congregational ministry. She is working as a digital content special at Crossroads Antiracism Organizing and Training this year. Ainsley Grey, first-year MDiv student, is the Oreon E. Scott Entering Scholar. Alexa Dava, first-year MDiv student, is the William N. Weaver Entering Scholar.  

The Martin Family Scholarship for leadership in congregational ministry or scholarship and teaching, which was established at the Disciples Divinity House by Jerry and Donna Martin and Chad and Crista Martin, has reached the full funding level. It has been awarded for the first time in the 2020-21 academic year to House Scholar and PhD student Joel A. Brown.

The Martin family has seen the impact of DDH graduates firsthand. They established this scholarship to foster future leaders who will enrich the work of the church. Jerry Martin, a Disciples minister, got to know DDH and its students when he chaired the region’s Commission on Ministry. Donna Martin, who taught writing at a community college and was a lay leader in the region, especially appreciated the women graduates from the House she met in the wider church. An inheritance from her parents, Roy D. and Mary Zoe Heath, provided for the initial gift for this fund.

Chad Martin, their son, became a trustee. He had served with Kris Culp on the Administrative Committee of the General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and also had the connection to the House through his parents. A graduate of TCU with an MBA from Stanford University, and now a CFO of a software company, he brought financial and executive expertise to the work of the DDH Board of Trustees. Over the last twenty years, he has served as its treasurer, president, and, most recently, chair of the 125th Anniversary Celebration and Campaign. Crista Martin’s passion has animated the family’s commitment to women in ministry, congregations, and intelligent leadership.

Joel Brown, a PhD candidate in Religions in America, is the inaugural recipient. He studies how leaders of Black Chicago congregations shaped the Social Gospel movement. He recently served as editor of Sightings, the biweekly electronic publication of the Martin E. Marty Center at the Divinity School, and co-taught the Senior Ministry Project Seminar with Cynthia Lindner. Joel and Erin Brown with their daughter Margot, are resident assistants in the Undergraduate Housing System.

A beautiful courtyard renovation symbolizes welcome and provides barrier-free access to this historic building. It will be dedicated October 24, 2020, at 1:00 pm, CDT. It will be videocast. Please reply here.

University Christian Church in Seattle, Washington, has honored James E. Stockdale, their esteemed and beloved former minister, with a magnificent gift of $500,000 to the Disciples Divinity House. The gift has enhanced the welcome of this historic building by providing for an ingenious courtyard design and adaptations to the first floor.

An alumnus, longtime trustee, and impassioned advocate of the Disciples Divinity House, Jim Stockdale depicted the House as a “threshold to excellence” for its centennial celebration. How fitting that this gift removes barriers at that threshold. Click here to read more. 

The videocast will be on a separate page of the DDH site, but also streamed on YouTube. 

A new fund will honor Teresa M. Gilmore, music educator and grandmother of Yvonne T. Gilmore. By creating the fund, the Gilmore family pays tribute to her life and to the enduring power of sacred music, arts innovation, and courageous congregations. The Gilmore family also celebrates the 125th anniversary of the Disciples Divinity House, an institution to which they were first connected through her.

Teresa Marlene Gilmore (1933-2010) grew up in Coffeyville, Kansas, and attended the University of Kansas, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education in 1955. In 1956, she married Wilfred Gilmore and moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where Mr. Gilmore was serving in the Air Force; they finally relocated to Washington, DC. Soon after her arrival in DC, she met Arthur A. Azlein, a pastor who was introducing himself door-to-door in their neighborhood, and joined the new Michigan Park Christian Church. Azlein, a DDH alumnus, was a fellow Kansan. She was among the first African-American members of the congregation, and became the choir director for the senior choir and a member of the Christian Women’s Fellowship.

A pillar of music education and arts innovation, she was a music teacher in the DC Public School System for over thirty years. She co-directed the Region V Children’s Chorus, which performed throughout the DC metro area and at the 1984 World Exposition in New Orleans. Her passion for music and education converged at Michigan Park, where she steadfastly built the ministry of music for several decades. Some of the students that she mentored in the public schools joined the music ministry of Michigan Park and went on to become accomplished composers and musicians. These included Nolan Williams, who became the music editor of the African American Heritage Hymnal, a publication for which she served on the editorial committee.

She raised three children, Pamela (Steve Washington), David (Margo Gilmore), and Kesha Gilmore (Mark Rich), and, in time, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Yvonne recalls, “When I gave birth to my youngest daughter, my grandmother shifted her retirement and came to live with me, making space on her journey to help with Assata, then a preschooler, while I pursued my MDiv, and later to care for my second daughter, Kharis.”

The final lines of a poem that Yvonne Gilmore composed after her grandmother’s death explain, She was a church charter of the gospel of better not more, better living not more stuff, better eating not more food, better rising for we are all phoenix … / she outgrew straight lines before I ever learned to describe them / she was an epic hymn sung in rounds worth repeating.

Two new Disciples Scholars will begin in their MDiv studies this fall. Alexa Dava is part of the leadership team at Gilead Church (alumna Rebecca Anderson is the founding co-pastor); she has been a parent educator at a Chicago nonprofit, and is a graduate of Wheaton College. Ainsley Grey is a 2020 graduate of Carthage College, where she majored in Asian Studies and studied in Japan. She has been a HELM Fellow; alumnus Beau Underwood was her pastor in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Two additional MDiv students are new DDH residents: Emily King, a 2019 graduate of Stanford University, and Shradha Jain, a 2019 graduate of the University of Southern California, where former DDH resident David Albertson was a mentor.

New and returning House residents have been moving in to DDH this week. Administrator Daette Lambert has been directing the effort, which involves reduced occupancy to allow for better social distancing, especially given the community kitchen and shared restrooms. Disciples Divinity House is committed to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and to supporting the health and well-being of its community.

Associate Dean Yvonne Gilmore will step into a national leadership position within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Effective in December, she will become the Interim Administrative Secretary of the National Convocation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) (NCCC) and the National Christian Missionary Convention (NCMC) for a two-year period. She will be charged with providing the leadership, management, and vision necessary to undergird the ministries of the NCCC and the NCMC, which are historic organizations of Black Disciples. The Administrative Secretary's office is located in the Office of the General Minister and President in Indianapolis. She follows the 17-year tenure of Timothy James. The news was announced on August 15 at the 26th biennial Session of the National Convocation.

"For the last seven years, it has been my great honor to serve as Associate Dean," she commented. "Furthering the pioneering educational work and mission of Disciples Divinity House in collaboration with Dean Culp, the Board of Trustees, staff, students, alumni/ae, and friends has been my daily privilege and joy. Partnering with emerging scholars, ministers, and 'thought leaders' at DDH and across the denomination to activate theological imagination to support and transform our church and world, and working to launch and lead the Constructive Theologies Project has been a rare gift to me. I am grateful for the enduring cloud of witness and inquiry, baptismal audacity, capacious hope, and creativity that I’ve encountered at our 'House.'"

Yvonne Gilmore's many accomplishments as Associate Dean include creative programming for chapel services and Monday forums; the Constructive Theology Project, which has been funded by the Oreon E. Scott Foundation and Reconciliation Ministry; support and mentoring of students; outreach to alumni/ae and support for the Alumni/ae Council; ongoing care for donors; editorial work with the DDH Bulletin, Grail Sightings, and DDH Facebook page; and support for the 125th Anniversary Celebration and Campaign and other major initiatives. In addition, she serves as one of the Core Trainers for the anti-racism/pro-reconciliation work of Reconciliation Ministries, and she is regularly sought as a guest speaker and preacher across the US.  

"This list doesn't begin to capture how admired and beloved she is," added Dean Kris Culp. "She is loyalty personified. Her vision, ideas, and incisive analysis animate meetings and motivate participation. She is generous with insight and with care for others. And, she will always be a DDH alumna. The timing is right for her to move into this crucial arena of ministry and to build on her experience in organizational leadership and theological education and anti-racism work. I could not be more thrilled for her. We have so much to be grateful for and to anticipate eagerly in her next chapter of ministry and leadership."

She will continue as Associate Dean through this fall. That will allow for time for transition, and, importantly, for grateful celebration of her. 

John Emory McCaw, who had been DDH’s oldest living alumnus, died on June 29 in Des Moines, Iowa. He was 104. The son of a Disciples minister and one of four siblings, he was born March 3, 1917, to C.C. and Mildred McCaw in the small river town of Lomax, Illinois. His parents served as missionaries in the Philippines for three years before returning to the Midwest and eventually to Des Moines, where he became valedictorian of his high school class and graduated from Drake University. He would return to Drake to become the dean of its Bible College, which he led to full accreditation as Drake Divinity School (now defunct). After retirement, he continued to live on the southside of Des Moines, enjoying good health and beekeeping, gardening, fishing, writing newspaper editorials and two novels, and corresponding with many individuals.

John McCaw entered the Divinity School of the University of Chicago as a Disciples Divinity House Scholar in 1939 and earned his BD degree. He was later a Fellow at Union Theological Seminary and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. In 1942, he married Maxine Mae Gambs, a concert pianist who studied at Drake University, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and Chicago Musical College. They would raise four children, Clayle, Milva, Maxhn, and Janine, and share 70 years of marriage before her death in 2013.

Mr. McCaw was a member of the Drake faculty from 1950 until 1982. He was instrumental in the construction of Medbury Hall and Scott Chapel and received numerous recognitions, including the Centennial Award, the Dawson Award, the Alumni Distinguished Service Award and the Drake Medal of Service. His leadership to religious and civic organizations included the Des Moines School Board, a mayoral commission, membership in Wakonda Christian Church, service to the regional and general church, and helping to establish the Des Moines Pastoral Counseling Center. In 2013 he established the John and Maxine McCaw Scholarship Fund for Prophetic Living, Teaching and Preaching, an endowed scholarship for seminarians which is administered by the College of Regional Ministers.

He is survived by three children, Milva Lou Sandison, Maxhn H. McCaw, and Janine G. McCaw Mack, and by their partners, children, and grandchildren. Memorial plans have not been announced.

This was not the year we expected or could even have imagined when DDH began its 125th anniversary year. It has been a challenging but rewarding year. Many of DDH’s students finished the academic year in places they did not expect to be—literally dispersed by pandemic responses, sometimes also finding themselves in unanticipated emotional, intellectual, and spiritual places. The 2020 graduates are nevertheless ready to lead and to serve, even as they know the contexts of leadership and service are changing dramatically.

Confronting us all are realities of health precarity, global interdependency, racist brutality, and social suffering. DDH and its students have been challenged, stressed, horrified, enervated, activated, and animated by these days—often some of each in the same day. Students’ questions—about the nature of community, about how to teach, learn, worship, care, comfort, oppose injustice, bring about transformation, heal, and prevent harm—are lived and very real. Seldom have the purposes and contexts for pursuing vocations of ministry, teaching, and community leadership been more manifest than under the life-altering conditions of economic, social, and racial disparities of health and safety in which we are living.

We don’t yet know exactly what campus life will look like in the fall—the University will announce its plans later this month. But we do know that 3 entering DDH Scholars will join 18 returning Scholars plus additional ecumenical residents in a remarkable community of learning and support. By providing full scholarship support, durable connection, and learning that orients lifelong service, DDH will continue to advance preparation for vocations of vision, understanding, and transformation. Scholarships, staff, and building maintenance will not be reduced. Thanks to the generosity of alumni/ae and friends, DDH is as well situated as we could hope for facing current challenges.  

For the time being, DDH’s physical offices remain closed, as does the rest of the University, but the building is still “home” for ten students, six of whom are international students. DDH will continue to be a physical home next fall, using valuable lessons learned for creating a safe space. Not all 23 student rooms will be occupied in order to allow for more socially distanced interactions. Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder at Monday dinners won’t be possible, but conversation will rise in new forms. Study will continue in the library. The Chapel of the Holy Grail will still beckon and orient. As ever, students will go forth to envision and build new communities and ideas.

For 125 years, alumni/ae and friends have given their fierce dreams, their creativity and canny, and their most demanding ideas, not only to DDH but to the world. When we began this academic year, we could not have imagined the scale and scope of changes that would overtake us. To affirm that we are, nevertheless, grateful for what is to come, is to dedicate ourselves to prepare for a future that we cannot fully anticipate and that, ultimately, we will receive from the hands of others.    Kristine A. Culp, Dean

DDH's 125th academic year concluded on June 12 with an online fanfare for the graduates, Kate Gerike, Kevin Gregory, Savannah Gross, and Victoria Wick, including a short celebration, blessing, and sending forth. All four received the Master of Divinity degree. House Scholar Victoria Wick will provide leadership for the Christian Temple in Baltimore this summer during the pastor's sabbatical; this fall she will return to Chicago for extended Clinical Pastoral Education at Northwestern Memorial Hospitals. Her senior ministry thesis was entitled, Salvation Stories. Kate Gerike, whose senior thesis addressed climate change, misplaced hope, and the power of God in the anthropocene, will complete her internship year with an ELCA congregation in Minnesota. Savannah Gross, who like Gerike was an ecumenical DDH resident for all three years of the degree, is now living in Alabama and considering next steps in her journey as a theologian. Kevin Gregory, who has served as DDH's librarian, has been called to service two United Methodist congregations in Minnesota. Special congratulations to Victoria Wick and Kate Gerike who received the Divinity School's highest recognition of MDiv graduates, the John Gray Rhind Award, for excellence in academic and professional training and promise of significant contribution to public ministry.