Whitworth Theology Department Annual Newsletter 2025

Dear friends of the Whitworth Theology Department,

Summer is upon us once again, and we are more than ready for the rest it promises to bring. What a wonderful 2024-25 academic year it has been! As always, our theology majors spent the year thinking deeply about life's critical questions and building lasting relationships with one another that will carry them well beyond their time at Whitworth. We are grateful for the ways in which our students have poured so much of themselves into their studies and relationships this year, and we are honored to have been asked to join in the good work that God is doing in their lives. Below is a taste of the adventures and events that filled our calendars this year, as well as information about our student achievements and theology graduates.

Department Events and Highlights

• Ice Cream Social: We launched the 2024-25 academic year with ice cream! Theology majors and faculty gathered in the courtyard to the Beeksma Family Theology Center and shared about their summers of work and adventure. It's always great to reconnect after a summer apart!
  
  
  
  
• S'more Theology Bonfire: In October, we held our annual S'more Theology Bonfire in Pirates Cove. As usual, it was a wonderful time of hearing from theology students and faculty and welcoming students interested in the major.  
  
  
  
  
• Spokane Civic Theatre: In lieu of our annual gingerbread house competition, in December students and faculty attended A Christmas Carol at the Spokane Civic Theatre! It was a lovely cultural event, made even better by the fantastic group of students who were able to attend.
  
  
  
  
• Pacific Northwest Undergraduate Theology Roundtable: One of the highlights of the year was the first gathering of theology faculty and students from around the PNW at Camp Ghormley for the PNW Undergraduate Theology Roundtable. Thanks to the hard work of Associate Professor Jeremy Wynne and a generous Lilly Foundation grant, students and professors spent a weekend discussing the Nicene Creed (on its 1,700th anniversary) and enjoying time in the mountains with one another. You can read more about the event in Jeremy Wynne's faculty update below.
  
  
  
  
• Beeksma Burger Bash: Students and faculty enjoyed the spring weather with a cookout in April. Josh Leim was the grill master, Jonathan Moo shared his playlist, and graduating seniors made last-ditch efforts to catch virgin pine cones falling all around. It was great fun!
  
  
  
  
• Senior Sendoff Picnic: In early May, faculty and the eight graduating seniors gathered to share a final meal and memories together at Jeremy Wynne's house. Students shared their favorite highlight from their time at Whitworth, their immediate plans for after graduation and how we (and you!) can pray for them. See their responses below! We will miss having them in our classes and offices but wish them every blessing on their paths ahead.
  
  

Student Achievements

• Senior Jude Ruetschle was chosen as the recipient of the Outstanding Theology Senior Award, which recognizes consistent record of academic excellence.
• Senior Oliver Hammond is the department's recipient of the annual Zondervan Theology Award, which recognizes both academic excellence and leadership in various endeavors on campus.
• Celeste Depew is the Zondervan Hebrew Award winner.
• The Theology Writing Award was given to Jude Ruetschle for his paper, "On Kissing Ground," in Professor Jonathan Moo's fall 2024 course, Environmental Ethics.

Graduating Seniors

Eight students are graduating with theology degrees this year.

• Emma Childs: Emma's favorite memory from her time at Whitworth is swimming in the Aegean Sea on the Jan Term course, Early Christian Sites in Greece, with Jonathan Moo. After graduation, Emma hopes to teach English at a private Christian school.
• Wilson Fisher: Wilson considers his experience on Assistant Professor Samantha Miller's Jan Term course, Monasticism: Ancient and Modern, to be a highlight of his time. Specifically, Wilson gained a deep appreciation for liturgy and the way it can shape a person's relationship with God. After graduation, Wilson will attend Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, where he hopes to earn a master's degree in counseling, specializing in religious trauma.
• Oliver Hammond: Oliver notes that a personal highlight for him has been the connections he has made with the theology faculty at Whitworth. He says, "From the very first theology class I took with Haley Jacob to my final major class with Jeremy Wynne, every professor I have studied with has taught with an unmatched authenticity. Their authenticity has spurred me on toward thoughtful engagement and steered me away from easy ideological answers." Oliver will go on to get married to his fiancée, Liza, and begin a yearlong pastoral residency at Coram Deo Presbyterian Church in Spokane before starting seminary a year from now.
• Caeden Harrison: Caeden's highlights stemmed from two of the courses he considered the most difficult: Biblical Greek and Old Testament Theology. In both courses, he was challenged to wrestle with concepts and ideas that were foreign to him but very rewarding. This summer, Caeden will head to Los Angeles where he will study acting before returning to Spokane to pursue an MFA here at Whitworth. We'll be glad to have him back on campus with us!
• Caleb McGever: Caleb remembers his time at Tall Timber Ranch with Professor Jonathan Moo as his favorite memory. There he was forced to be disconnected from technology, experience the outdoors and practice Lectio Divina, all of which created space for him to discover more clearly his own vocational endeavors. Caleb will remain in Spokane for the time being, where he hopes to do journalism full time. Currently he does freelance work for several local organizations including The Fig Tree and Spokane FAVS.
• Abbey Rodriguez: Abbey remembers two courses as her highlights from her time at Whitworth: Christian Theology with Professor Adam Neder and Theology of Justice & Diversity with Derek Taylor, both of which taught her how to see Christianity in a new light. Abbey will remain in Spokane after graduation. From here, she will pursue an online master's in library and information science from Simmons University in Boston.
• Jude Ruetschle: Jude's favorite memory is from his Jan Term course, Backpacking with the Saints, with Assistant Professor Samantha Miller. He remembers his feet being so frozen they hurt but also the joy of learning and memorizing a poem with friends as they hiked. Jude will spend the summer in Portland with family before moving across the country to pursue an M.Div. at Duke Divinity School. While there, he will live in a "Friendship House" out of Reality Ministries, where divinity students and persons with developmental disabilities live together in intentional community.
• Kat Wilkins-Luton: One of Kat's highlights was when she participated in the Diversity Monologues. In doing so, she found a wonderfully supportive community here at Whitworth. After graduation, Kat will move to Seattle to be near family and friends. She will live in a house of young adults (18-30 years old) who are seeking to develop their faith as they live together in intentional Christian community, while she waits for God to pull up the curtain on the next stage of her life.

Our Gratitude

Because of you, theology faculty are able to support our students in numerous ways beyond the classroom. We are grateful for the Welch Foundation and the funds they have donated to help support students who lose the Washington College Bound grant by declaring a theology major. We were able to offer $53,300 to 13 theology majors out of additional merit and need-based departmental scholarships, made possible by many of you.

Additionally, we are grateful for the many one-time or monthly gifts that our supporters have made. In the departmental events noted above and in hours spent over coffee in the Mind & Hearth Coffee House, your donations have allowed us to create a department in which every theology student feels at home and is able to connect with one another and with faculty. From roasting s'mores around a campfire to enjoying a stage performance together, your gifts have made this departmental ethos possible. Additionally, we as faculty are extremely grateful. Your donations allow us to participate in conferences and scholarship in a way that would otherwise be impossible.

On behalf of all of us, thank you.

Faculty Highlights

• Bruner-Welch Endowed Chair: Congratulations to Professor Jonathan Moo, who officially became the Bruner-Welch Endowed Chair of Theology in fall 2024.
• Most Influential Professors: Congratulations to Assistant Professor Samantha Miller, Associate Professor Josh Leim and Professor Jonathan Moo, who were voted some of Whitworth's "Most Influential Professors" for the 2024-25 academic year! Well deserved!
• Professor Karin Heller's Retirement: After 22 years of teaching and mentoring at Whitworth, Professor Karin Heller will retire at the end of spring 2025. Heller has shaped the lives of countless students through her courses over the years, particularly those on Christian spirituality and women and gender in the Bible. Her legacy will continue in the shape of the Karin Heller Professorship of Theology & Gender. Read more about this incredible gift in Professor Heller's faculty update below. Congratulations on your retirement, Karin. We are so grateful for you and the contributions you have made to the life of Whitworth University.

On behalf of the entire theology department, thank you for all the ways in which you have invested in us as faculty and in the students whom we are called to teach and mentor. So much of what we do is because of you. May the Lord bless you and your loved ones. May he refresh your soul this summer and bring you his peace. Please keep this department and our students in your prayers.

Keeping Christ at the center,

Haley

A message from the director of the Graduate Studies in Theology Program, Jeremy Wynne

On May 17, our two remaining graduate students, Bendi Benson Schrambach and Adam Rodriguez, crossed the commencement stage. Their perseverance is a wonderful witness to the fact that even in hard times, the work of the gospel continues on. It has been encouraging, in fact, to hear from so many of you, our students, lately about your new leadership roles and opportunities, and your gratitude for time spent here in this program.

Our students have often remained close to another. This spring, we enjoyed two thesis presentations: Alex Fergus presented "He Will Lead Me: A Spiritual Biography of Oscar Knutson, Pentecostal Minister, Evangelist and Gospel Publisher," and Kylan Kracher presented "Deus Absconditus: Revelation of the Hidden and Incomprehensible God as Seen in the Theologies of Martin Luther and Karl Barth." They were terrific! Each of these scholars demonstrated patient attention, careful judgment and a love for the gospel. It was amazing, too, to see how many of their classmates turned up to support them.

With this newsletter article, we press the pause button on the grad program. We live in a cultural moment where – perhaps for understandable, if not entirely good, reasons – we, the church, are simply too tired. Pair that with our desire for quick, practical solutions to the challenges we face, and fewer and fewer have room in their lives for the kind of deep, extended period of formation that a graduate community offers. But things have not always been this way, and I trust they will not always be this way. When the time is right, we’ll be here. And by God’s grace, we’ll be ready to follow.

Soli Deo gloria

Karin Heller (2003-25), Professor of Theology

This last year was a good, productive and intense year. My article titled "Christianity, Sexuality and Gender" is now published in the Routledge Handbook of Christianity and Culture (2025, 247-261). Another article, titled "Religious Anthropology, Myth and Science Fiction: An Invitation to a Spiritual Quest" was also published by the LIT Verlag, Berlin (2024, 253-266). It was my contribution to the Conference on Being Spiritual while Doing Research, organized by the GBFE (Gesellschaft für Bildung und Forschung in Europa) near Cologne in August 2023.

I was also very happy to speak in September 2024 at the 7th Leadership Conference organized by the Károli Gáspár University, Budapest, Hungary, in collaboration with the GBFE on the following topic, "Leading People: How Do Idol and Icon Intersect with Power, Sex, Death and Love?" The manuscript is already submitted for publication in the LIT Verlag, Berlin.

In January 2025, I was again able to give my annual cycle of six presentations at the University of Besançon/France. This year the focus was on feminism and European culture. My closing guest lecture on Simone de Beauvoir's contribution to make European feminism known worldwide ended with a standing ovation. The university already booked me for another cycle in 2026, which will focus on gender equality and love, as well as for an additional lecture series in April, given that I'll have more available time.

This summer, I will retire from Whitworth and move into a new phase of life I will mostly spend in France. My house sold on Easter Monday, and after graduation, I'll be off for a new adventure. My legacy for Whitworth University is to initiate the full establishment of the Karin Heller Professorship of Theology & Gender. For this reason, my story with Whitworth just moves into a new stage of development. I'm very grateful to the university for its warm welcome 23 years ago. Whitworth gave me a voice as a theologian, teacher and scholar! Now, my goal is to continue to serve the university in different ways, through the generations of students it was my privilege to teach and mentor and by remaining faithful to my vocation of advocating for Christianity of diversity and full inclusion.   

 

Haley Jacob (2015-present) Associate Professor of Theology, Theology Department Chair

Many of us recognized a notable shift this year on campus, from post-pandemic slump to renewed vitality. I felt it in my own classroom experiences and couldn't be more glad for it. In December, I celebrated the publication of my new book, The Preacher's Greek Companion to Colossians, which is for anyone whose Greek has slowly gone into the tomb and is looking for a way to resurrect it! In January, I enjoyed co-teaching a course with my wonderful colleague, Associate Professor Jeremy Wynne, on the way in which food has cross-disciplinary impacts – from the fields of sociology to theology to chemistry to art. The highlight of the moment, particularly to my children, are the six chicks currently growing feathers in our living room. We look forward to becoming a backyard chicken family this summer, as well as so many other summer adventures to come.

 

Josh Leim (2015-present) Associate Professor of Theology

First, for much of this year, I have been working on Whitworth's new Introduction to a Flourishing Life course with my colleague Joelle Czirr (psychology), which the Whitworth faculty voted to include as part of our shared curriculum redesign. All incoming students will take the course during their first semester at Whitworth. We designed the course with three interrelated components: principles, practice and process; with the goal of enfolding students into the Whitworth community and mission from the very beginning of their college journey. Drawing on the biblical narrative and the Christian tradition's vision of humanity as formed in the "image of God," our underlying conviction is that human flourishing is an "embodied vision of life together to restore the communion and agency for which we were made." As creatures summoned into fellowship with the Triune God and one another (communion) and sent by the Triune God to embody his character and kingdom in the world (agency), the course seeks to help students think about (principle) and embody (practice) together (process) human flourishing within the context of their Whitworth education. Beyond this course, I have continued teaching courses that I love, such as The Life & Teachings of Jesus (TH 242) and Faith, Fear & Fragility (TH 322); the latter of which seeks to integrate biblical theology with psychology.  

 

Samantha Miller (2020-present) Assistant Professor of Theology

I acted as historical theologian for the Office of Church Engagement's Resilient Churches initiative again this one more year, which was a great way to serve the church from my expertise. I also ran the first year of our pilot Wilderness Spirituality program for faculty spiritual development last summer thanks to a $30,000 grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning Theology and Religion. It was such a great time to connect with colleagues on a backpacking trip and to experience wilderness spirituality as I already do with students. In May, I'll get to tour ancient Christian sites in Turkey with a group of Wesleyan scholars for the 1,700th anniversary of Nicaea and then present at a conference on "Love of Neighbor and Human Flourishing" in Rome. The real highlight of the year, though, was teaching my Jan Term course, Backpacking with the Saints, which took students backpacking through a canyon in Arizona and a stay at a monastery to learn why Christians often go to the wilderness to encounter God and grow in faith. It was stunning and stunningly cold – ask the students what it's like to try putting on frozen boots! 

 

Jonathan Moo (2010- present) Bruner-Welch Chair of Theology, Professor of New Testament and Environmental Studies

My departmental colleagues know that I am skeptical about whether anyone actually reads these yearly updates. But I suppose it is good for me at least to have the opportunity each spring to reflect on God's faithfulness to me and our department over the past year.

This year has been marked by a fresh energy among students on Whitworth's campus and many extraordinary examples of God's work in their lives. I pray that may continue. I have taught my usual suite of courses, including another wonderful Jan Term teaching Ecology & the Bible at Tall Timber Ranch. These Jan Term courses feel more precious every year as the distractions of our world conspire to keep us from the sort of deep attentiveness to our place, to each other and to God's word that Jan Terms enable.

Coming back from sabbatical in September, I resumed my public speaking ministry, with one highlight being the chance to connect with the academic council of the Au Sable Institute, a ministry which provides environmental field courses and rich Christian community for students from a range of Christian colleges from across North America, including Whitworth. My friend and colleague, Professor of Biology Grant Casady, teaches for them regularly, and I was reminded at their meeting how much I love hanging out with scientists. I continue my work on the board of A Rocha USA, a thriving Christian conservation organization that has expanded in the last year to offer more opportunities for churches to get involved in our work. I also continue to support the work of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge, U.K., serving as president of the Friends of Faraday. This year has seen the first cohort of Whitworth students taking advantage of the opportunity to study for a semester at the University of Cambridge with the Faraday Institute, and I hope many more will follow their lead. It has been encouraging to hear reports from the folks in Cambridge that our students are flourishing there and making us at Whitworth proud!

One more highlight was a recent trip to Tirana, Albania, for a large gathering of Christian leaders from around the world associated with the International Council on Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE). It was such an encouragement to pray and worship and share meals and conversation with sisters and brothers from nearly every country of the world. I am now working with a small team of about 40 people from 30 different countries to explore what the needs and opportunities are for integrating more deeply a theology of creation and creation care into the curricula of theological colleges and seminaries. Based on my conversations at ICETE, there is a large unmet need for this especially in the majority world.

Finally, I can report that at the start of September, I submitted to Zondervan the manuscript of my commentary on Revelation (which ended up being over 270,000 words – if nothing else, it may prove a useful doorstop). I am today writing the acknowledgements for the commentary, which has reminded me of all the friends, colleagues and students who have supported me in this work and continue to do so. My research is now focused primarily on a Theology of Revelation, under contract with Cambridge University Press. Most of my summer will be devoted to that project, some of it while I am in New York City, where Stacey will be studying for a time. In between, I hope for some time in the mountains and on the rivers of the great PNW.

 

Jeremy Wynne (2010-present) Associate Professor of Theology, Director of the Graduate Studies in Theology Program

What a terrific year!

The classroom has been a wonderful and energizing place. I'm grateful for two things in particular. Haley Jacob and I put together a shockingly fun Jan Term course, which, in good liberal arts fashion, considered the role that food plays in our lives, and we did so from approximately 15 disciplinary perspectives! Big hat tip to our colleagues from across campus who made guest appearances in the classroom. Second, this spring's group of students in Christian Theology has kept me running. Their energy and insights make me so grateful to be at Whitworth and so hopeful for the future.

My old friend at Seattle Pacific University, Dean Brian Lugioyo, and I received a grant from the Lilly Network to fund the first ever PNW Undergrad Theology Roundtable, which took place April 4-6. Theology faculty and students from four PNW universities met at a central location, just west of Yakima. We had two goals: 1) to make connections across institutions, generate excitement and support, eat together, and be refreshed in our lives as Christians; and 2) we wanted to lean into the challenges of having better conversations about the gospel and living lives as Christians in the PNW. By all accounts it was a huge success, and we are hoping to make it an annual event.

My essay entitled "Gospel of Jealousy" appeared in the Journal of Reformed Theology, as well as a book review in International Journal of Theology, and I delivered a paper at American Academy of Religion, entitled "Only Four Last Things," on Jonathan Edwards' unusually dynamic understanding of heavenly life. I will spend the summer turning that paper into a formal article.

I also participated in the inaugural cohort of Whitworth's Call & Character Seminar, facilitated by my colleagues Davey Hendrickson and Nate King. It was so great to read, discuss, write and enjoy good food together. These leaders are experts in the area of virtue ethics, and the group of colleagues they assembled was inspiring! For me, it's helped solidify a picture of the formation that can and should happen in the classroom. The experience also provides a foundation for a scholarly project I'll jump into during next year's sabbatical.

With no big trips planned, this summer will be spent quietly at home. Asher continues to travel and excel at jazz trumpet; Hannah is graduating high school and, after a long process of looking around (which we required her to do!), she's chosen to attend Whitworth next year. I couldn't be happier.

Peace and contentment to you all. God is good every day.

Emeriti Faculty

Keith Beebe (2001-23), Professor of Theology

Greetings from Pasadena! Here is what I've been up to this past year:

Despite the disruptive and destructive fires in nearby Altadena this past January, I continue to enjoy living in Southern California and am grateful for the friendship and fellowship of the Monte Vista Grove retirement community. (In a weaker moment, I even agreed to serve as a member-at-large on the Residents Executive Council. We Presbyterians love our committees.) We have several people displaced by the Altadena fire living here in guest units until they can rebuild or get resettled, and it is good to have them in our midst.

I've continued to administer my mother's trust, which has required much more time and energy than I had imagined. Hopefully it will wind down sometime soon.

I have been worshipping at a fairly new church plant in the heart of Hollywood, comprised of scores of young people in their 20s and 30s (and a handful of 40s and 50s). I'm easily the oldest dude in the room! It's a wonderful Christian community, and I've been happy to preach a couple of sermons over the past few months.

It has been great to live in a city with good public transportation, and I am putting my Senior TAP card (35 cents/ride during off-peak hours) to good use. Whenever possible, I take the bus or LA Metro rail to study at the Fuller Seminary Library, to go to downtown L.A. or Hollywood, to do shopping, and other activities, and so far have accompanied eight others to Union Station by bus and rail so they could get their own senior TAP cards and learn the routes to and from Monte Vista Grove. (Folks here call me the "public transit evangelist.") Ever so often I use my car, which usually reminds me why I prefer public transit to getting stuck in L.A. traffic.

In July, I traveled north (by car) to First Presbyterian Santa Rosa to give a presentation on "Presbyterian Revivals?" for their summer Enlighten Up lecture series. The traffic there and back confirmed my preference for public transportation.

I've recently developed a webpage on Substack ("Touched by the Fire" at https://keithedwardbeebe.substack.com) focused on the Spirit's work of renewal in the church and world. A main feature of the webpage is a book I wrote 30 years ago but never published, titled, Touched by the Fire: Presbyterians and the Power of God. As time permits, I am editing and then serial-posting chapters of the book, and providing other articles and resources (book reviews, sermons, videos) to encourage the Christian community during these challenging times.

On top of these activities, I've had visits from several friends and family since moving here, for which I am grateful. If you find yourself in this neck of the woods, I hope you'll consider a visit, as well. 

Grace and peace to you in Christ Jesus,

Keith

Dale Bruner (1975-97), Professor Emeritus of Theology

Dear colleagues,

I am currently writing The Kids' Bible. It's a translation of the New Testament in language that I hope young people can understand. I hope it works! Blessings, good friends.

Sincerely, Dale Bruner

 

James Edwards (1997-2015), Professor Emeritus of Theology

Grace and peace to all of you – former students, alumni, colleagues, friends and family – who constitute the special community of the Whitworth Theology Department.

Janie and I are now in our second year living in Colorado Springs, with a majestic view of Pikes Peak off our back patio. We are active in First Presbyterian Church, where I preach occasionally and teach regularly, and we host a spirit-filled Monday-evening Bible study in our home.

Here are some special events of our past year:

• After four and a half years of preparation, I submitted my Commentary on Genesis and Its Reception in the New Testament to Eerdmans in November (tentative publication date: April 2026). It's a big book (ca. 850 pages), and as the title suggests, the uniqueness of the commentary is its attention to the role that the characters, themes, key words and concepts of Genesis play in the presentation of the gospel in the New Testament. The delightful burden of this project has been a source of strength and joy for which I am eternally grateful.
• Janie and I are currently making plans to lead a group of 30 friends on a tour of Turkey in October of this year. Turkey is a wonderful stage on which to rehearse the history of early Christianity – and consider its lessons for today. After the tour, we will travel individually to the eastern parts of Turkey where the early Christians turned eastward rather than westward, eventually taking the gospel as far as China.
• Perhaps our greatest joy is to see our family – Mark and his family in Princeton, and Corrie and her family in Washington, D.C. (and boys in Chicago, Spokane and Seattle!) – walking in faith and serving the church.

Blessings to all of you who have played such an important role in my life and for whom I am deeply grateful.

James R. Edwards

Roger Mohrlang (1978-2016), Professor Emeritus of Theology

Warm Christian greetings to you from Rockwood at Whitworth!

With Dottie's strokes (she now walks with a walker) and multiple myeloma and my macular degeneration, we have left our home of 45 years with all its happy memories and settled into nearby assisted living. ("Dad," our son Mark said, "the best gift you can give us is to make this move now and not wait till some crisis in the future when you won't have a choice.")

Here in assisted living, we find ourselves in a whole different world, living with residents who have limitations of all kinds – hearing loss, speech difficulties, vision deficits, mobility problems (the biggest danger is falling), beginning dementia, etc. But we are very grateful to be here and pray the Lord would use us in any way he can to bless the people around us – both the residents and the staff, many of whom are immigrants – with the Good News of Jesus.

What does a typical day look like in this place? My day begins with early morning exercise, prayer, scripture and hymns from the British Methodist Hymn Book. (I love the gospel-centered hymns of Charles Wesley.) After breakfast, Dot and I have devotions and prayer together. The rest of the day is typically filled with caregiving, frequent medical appointments and seemingly endless emails. After Dot's long afternoon nap, we take a walk or bike ride (Dot on her three-wheeler, me on my 47-year-old Raleigh) through the neighborhood. After supper, we often have friends in to tell us the story of their lives and how God has worked in them. Our day closes with prayer, and then I play hymns on the keyboard as Dot goes to sleep.

We are very grateful for all the kindness and help shown us by our Christian friends, who drive us to all our medical appointments. And I am very grateful for the nearly 50 years of marriage to my wonderful wife; what a gift she has been!

Other news: the 30,000 copies of the Kamwe Bible that were dedicated in volatile Northern Nigeria in 2023 are being used, thank God, both in individual Christians' lives and in the churches. I send frequent emails of short Kamwe Bible passages for them to read.

For those of you who are interested, my last two books (in English!), both of which are available on Amazon, are Paul and His Life-Transforming Theology: A Concise Introduction and My Life: A Story of God's Grace.
Please know that I continue to pray for you my students, that you would be strong in your faith in Christ and your service of him and the gospel.

Do send me an email (rmohrlang@whitworth.edu) and let me know how you are doing; I love hearing from you.

The Lord bless you – and use you in the service of our Savior!

Roger

Gerald Sittser (1989-2020), Professor Emeritus of Theology; (2015-present) Senior Fellow in the Office of Church Engagement

Dearest friends of Whitworth's theology department,

We celebrate another year of grace and goodness in the Sittser family, deeply aware of God's presence in our lives. Four of our five children live within five minutes of us; only one family lives at a distance, though Seattle hardly qualifies as a distant place! We see our kids and grandkids often. We will be adding one more to "Sittser Nation," which identifies our family text thread, in the next month. Pat continues working two days a week as a mental health counselor and mentors a few young women.

I spend a great deal of time with many local pastors and enjoy preaching in their churches. I'm still traveling a little, mostly to speak in churches or at conferences. On occasion, I serve as a guest on podcasts, too. Water from a Deep Well is going to be released next year in a new and revised edition. It appears that people are eager to discover their Christian roots as the church loses its historical memory. A Grace Disguised was released two years ago in a new edition and continues to encourage people who experience the pain of loss.

Since last fall, eight churches have been using my new manuscript, "The Christian Faith as a Way of Life: A New Catechumenate," as a long on-ramp into the faith and life of the church. I meet with the pastors on Zoom calls to evaluate how it is going. I am discerning what the future of this book might be. My Dominant Faith: How the Church Used—and Abused—Power during the Age of Christendom, and What We Can Learn from It is currently in hibernation. I will return to it after I figure out what to do with my catechumenate book.

I am grateful for the many years I served at Whitworth. I am fortunate to be able to spend an hour here and there with colleagues still serving there. Mindy Smith is kind to keep me around as a consultant in the Office of Church Engagement. I am finishing up a video series, which will include study guides, to help train Certified Ruling Elders (basically, lay pastors). Many current theology faculty are contributing to it. I am hoping it will serve as a useful resource for the church.

God bless you all, dear friends.

Jerry Sittser

Ron White (1974-81), Professor Emeritus of Theology

Cynthia and I live at Monte Vista Grove Homes in Pasadena along with Whitworthians Terry and Suzette McGonigal, Dale and Kathy Bruner and Keith Beebe.

I serve as Scholar in Residence at the San Marino Community Church, a vibrant Presbyterian USA congregation.

Speaking in 2024 included Seattle Pacific University, the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, and the Civil War Round Table of New York City. In September, I spoke at the dedication of Lincoln Hall at Hildene, the Lincoln family home, in Manchester Vermont. Hildene was the summer home of Robert Todd Lincoln, the only surviving son of Abraham and Mary Lincoln, and an eminent leader. Each year, Hildene hosts 40,000 visitors, has educational programs for 11,000 students, and conducts a Lincoln essay contest for eighth graders in Vermont.

In writing biographies of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and now John Quincy Adams, I seek to lift up the faith stories of each of these remarkable leaders. I am finding a great challenge today is that politics is increasingly determining our Christian beliefs instead of our Christian beliefs determining our politics. 

With appreciation for Whitworth, past and present,

Ron White