Duncan Ferguson

Each year, I enjoy sharing a brief message with others who have been associated with religious studies at Whitworth. My 15 years of engagement in this mission was life-giving beyond measure.

Dorothy and I continue to enjoy our full and meaningful lives in Louisville, Ky. We have been in the region for 17 years, since I came to serve as the senior officer for higher education ministries of the Presbyterian Church (USA). I was away from Louisville for three years, serving at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., as director of the Center for Spiritual Life and as a faculty member. Dorothy has continued her work as a counselor in the public school system. Our son Brian and his wife, Rachel, live in San Antonio; he teaches special-needs children and Rachel is at the University of Texas Medical School.

I did semi-retire two years ago, but have enjoyed a wide range of assignments and activities. I have continued to help Forman Christian College, in Lahore, Pakistan, and I serve on the American-based board of the Mar Elias Institutions, a remarkable educational institution in the Galilee. I have many opportunities to teach and have been especially interested in the spiritual pathways of world religions. I have discovered that people have a profound interest in the assumptions behind radical Islam. I love my reading and have many opportunities to write, as well. I am currently preparing some articles for the new Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity. The following books have been influential on my thinking this past year: Ken Wilbur, Integral Spirituality; Stanley Wolpert, Gandhi's Passion: The Life and Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi; and Don Edward Beck & Christopher C. Cowan, Spirial Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change. We look forward to moving to Whidbey Island in another year.