Class of 2020 : Home

Drew: I think Jonathan is a witness to us, especially those of us who are not persons of color, as to how we should advocate for justice for everyone. His story is not so much how he died but how he lived. His work in Selma and the Blackbelt Region of Alabama, my home, is a model for all of us.

Bryn: I completed Education for Ministry the year before I started seminary, and this had been the New Testament textbook. It includes an overview of each book of the New Testament and is very readable. I found it a great resource for when I just needed a quick review, and as a bonus, it features beautiful art. I was glad to have this book on the shelf in my study carrel.

Laurent: If you are interested in a Jesuit outlook to daily life and decisions, this is the book for you. It is a good read and has practical advice for anyone’s spirituality. Learn more about every day discernment with this great read. You will also learn more about Jesuit spirituality.

Constance: In a time when the "Black" woman and "Black" girl are gasping for air in a racially-based and charged sea of forgetfulness mixed with a global social fabric of cultural appropriation, this book is one of many which can lead the way in breaking up the shaky and mostly fallow ground of enforcing AND maintaining 'justice for all' when it comes to the bodies, minds, souls and spirits of women of Black African ancestry.

Constance: This book is powerfully important as well, to add to just how challenging yet potentially reforming a topic the Black Madonna is.

Constance: This book is powerfully important as well, to round out just how complex the Black and White women's relationship is, and provide insight into how much work some disciples and ministers of Christ are facing as agents of change for true racial harmony between the two groups in their congregations and communities.

Laura: This is a book that reshaped how I think of worship. It busted it open. It released the realm of angels, the saints, the mystery! Every seminary student needs to sit with Schmeeman's teachings, to lean into the vastness of God's realm, and the closeness of God in the gathering. You'll need it for Liturgy I anyway, so grab it and get a head start. Mind blown.

Mike says: This is a good introduction to some of the idiosyncrasies of Texas and helped me understand a little bit better this place that I moved to.

Lizzie says: This concise, readable volume covers what Christians might learn from Orthodox Judaism from someone who converted. Much of your work in seminary and in ministry is in interfaith connection, undoing Anti-Judaism, and connecting with the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. This book is a gentle introduction into thinking through these concepts in an accessible, applicable manner.

Lucy says: Seminary is a time of incredible learning, growth, and community; it can also be a time of upheaval, change, and challenge. A thing that happens in times like these is we find that some of the things that used to anchor our faith or define who we are no longer do so. This can be unsettling, but when you realize you don't need those things any more and that your faith and sense of self are taking a different shape, then deep growth can happen. This book reminds us that times of uncertainty or challenge can be the times of the most profound growth, and it has helped me find the holy in times of questioning and uncertainty.

Christina: It is such a good reminder that while the theology we are learning in seminary is important and beautiful and sacred, God is with us everywhere, if only we will pay attention.