Claremont School of Theology

"Be where you are" by Steve Garnaas-Holmes When you are in a dark place and you want to get out of it,... remember that life is not somewhere else, but where you are. The story may or may not be that you quickly escape. But the story surely is that God is with you where you are. Before you leap toward the escape hatch, be where you are. Notice. Look around, even in a dark room, and see God there before you leave. Image captured in downtown Salem, Oregon on February 13th, 2021 the day after the ice storm. #WeAreCST

In honor of Black History Month, we've been digging into the CST archives. Today we’re highlighting James A. Joseph, who guest preached at CST c. 1970 while he was serving as Chaplain of the Claremont Colleges. Since then, Rev. Dr. Joseph has served as a civil rights activist, business leader, professor, adviser to four American presidents, and ambassador to South Africa. In his sermon at CST he said: While this is the period after Easter in the Christian calendar, I want t...o suggest this morning that it is still a Good Friday in the history of Black people. The Easter message of hope and the joyous cries of victory are dimmed by the reality of pain and the constant presence of tragedy. And so to say that we live in a Good Friday world is to say that we live in a world where our best men still die young. No longer crucified on a public cross, but put to death by the bullet of assassins, self-appointed killers of the dream. To say that we live in a Good Friday world is to say that we live in a world where those in power are more interested in keeping the peace than they are in making the peace. Like Pilate, they sacrifice justice for the expediency of orderand proclaim the law as the fulfillment of love rather than love as the fulfillment of law. And so I saw it loud and I say it plain: to be Black in 20th century America is to live in a Good Friday world. But for those of us who gather on occasions like this, our Good Friday world is post-Easter. We feel the pain of a people, but we have faith that Love crucified, dead, and buried will rise again. And so we have kept the faith because we know that truth may be postponed but never cancelled Click the link to hear this powerful, brief convocation in full. Sermon begins at 6:18. https://archive.org/details/josephmlkconvocation #blackhistorymonth #WeAreCST Image Michael Kinsey, Fair Use

Living a life of faith means learning to respect and love others regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity and economic class. It is a call to a deep commitment to be a big-tent church, a fully inclusive church, where all people are welcome as beloved people of God and share equally in the ministry and leadership of our church. - President Jeffrey Kuan Where Love Lives is a 12-month long campaign happening throughout the Conferences of the Western Jurisdiction (WJ) of the The United Methodist Church designed to lift up the faith values that have undergirded the jurisdiction’s long-term commitment to a scripturally based fully inclusive ministry. Last week President Kuan participated in their "Monday School" Series of biblical/theological learning videos. #WhereLoveLivesUMC #WeAreCST

Congratulations to PhD candidate Jeongyun April Hur for being named student of the month at Pacific, Asian, and North American Asian Women in Theology and Ministry! Click the link to learn more about her field, what inspires her, what brings her hope, and what she's been bingeing on Netflix.#WeAreCST

In honor of Black History Month, we’ve been revisiting the CST archives. Today we are highlighting Dr. Samella Lewis, who guest lectured at CST back in 1986. Dr. Lewis, who has been called the Godmother of African American Art, is an artist, museum curator, educator, art historian, activist, and scholar. In 1951, she became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Art History from Ohio State University. This last Saturday, Dr. Lewis was awarded the Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement from the College Art Association. Learn more about Dr. Lewis by revisiting our recording of her lecture at CST at https://archive.org/details/lewisafricanamericanart or experiencing this short film in which she shares some of her art and scenes from her life. #blackhistorymonth #WeAreCST

Peek into 2020/2021 winter life in Oregon through this student blog update from 3rd-year MDiv student, Hannah Boggs! https://cst.edu/winter-adventures/ #WeAreCST

In honor of Black History Month, we've been digging into the CST archives. In our 1991 MLK Lecture, scholar, sociologist, minister, professor, and writer Dr. C. Eric Lincoln shared several of his poems with us, including the title poem of his book of poetry, The Road Since Freedom (1968): America My native land How long this road since freedom... How scourged with peril is the path How bitter is the aftermath Of our sojourn in Edom? America My native land Here on your promises I stand. O Land Land of the free Home of the brave Will ever there be For the son of a slave A place in your scheme: The American Dream? O Land Land I have loved so much Land I have served so long When did I fail you Where did I falter What is my crime But my belief in America? America You were my teacher. In the statement of your law I heard of justice. In the dogma of your faith I learned of mercy. Enshrined in every public place I meet your precepts face to face: Democracy Equality Morality and Love. America You commanded me and I surrendered up the ancient ways, the ways I knew before this land became your land, before you gave your law to be my law, before you made your God to be my God. The ancient ways, The laws I kept, The Gods I knew are gone. How can I know these ways again? What am I if I am not American? Experience the rest of this poem at the 34:45 mark of the lecture. Please note that this poem contains graphic violence and racial slurs. https://archive.org/details/lincolnmlk #BlackHistoryMonth #WeAreCST Photo: Professor C. Eric Lincoln, 1985, from C. Eric Lincoln Lecture Series Collection Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library

Our friends at Disciples Seminary Foundation have put together a collection of Lenten reflections from DSF folks, including several CST alumni/ae and students! Starting us off yesterday on Ash Wednesday was CST alumna Beth Parker '19. Click the link to read Beth's entire reflection and check out more. #DSF #WeAreCST

Last month, several CST faculty members read After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging by Willie James Jennings and formed a book club to talk about what they were learning. Professor of Practical Theology, Spiritual Care, and Counseling Duane Bidwell had preordered the text because I respect Dr. Jennings as a scholar and because it directly addressed a major issue in theological education: the centering of whiteness as an unacknowledged norm and goal that distorts teachin...g, learning, and research. Dr. Bidwell had read the book last Fall and, feeling convicted by it, he yearned for conversation partners to engage his ideas and experiences. He explained, Much of what Dr. Jennings wrote felt like a gentle indictment of unintentional and unexamined norms in my teaching and mentoring. At the same time, CST faculty had embarked on discussions about anti-black racism in connection with CST’s renewed commitment to anti-racism, so Dr. Bidwell emailed the faculty to ask if anyone would like to join him for an informal series of Zoom conversations, one meeting per chapter. Click the link to learn more. #WeAreCST

Join our friends at the Center For Process Studies for the Common Good Film Festival beginning this Friday, February 12th! This film festival - this year 100% virtual - meets annually to celebrate films that foster social and personal responsibility to others and the earth films that represent the spirit of Whiteheadian thought. CST students get in for free! Email [email protected] for the discount code. Click the link to check out this year's selections and get m...ore info. #WeAreCST http://centerforprocessstudies.activehosted.com/index.php See more

As classes have moved online this year, so have community gatherings at CST, including spaces for group worship and discussions around spirituality. Today, CST’s virtual worship experience, Connection, hosted by CST alum and Director of the Writing Center, Stephanie Rice, returns for the spring semester. Stephanie said: A lot of people were expressing a need for spiritual connection. In an informal and collaborative environment, participants read scripture, reflect and p...ray together, and ask one another how it is going with their souls. Stephanie is especially passionate about engaging those who may not connect as much with traditional worship, as this worship experience is more experimental and synergistic. She emphasized the gift of this opportunity to play and see what unique ways of worship come out of virtual spaces, especially considering how much of CST’s education is online or hybrid. Click the link to read more about the virtual spiritual programming offerings at CST this year!. #WeAreCST

I am now inviting you out of the memory and into the procession. CST alumna Rev. Dr. Claudia Highbaugh, ’78 MDiv, ’85 DMin. In honor of Black History Month, we have been digging into the CST archives. In this recording of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Lecture in 2000, CST alumna Rev. Dr. Claudia Highbaugh helps us revisit Black history in the United States, highlighting some oft-neglected figures and reminding us of the charge to step out of the memory and into the procession. https://archive.org/details/highbaughmlk #BlackHistoryMonth #WeAreCST