ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSORS AND RESEARCHERS IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
GENERAL
BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES
Minneapolis,
Minnesota
November
4, 2001
Wenh-In Ng, the President, welcomed everyone to this Annual Meeting.
It was
agreed to adopt the agenda as printed.
Bill Lord
presented the minutes for the General Business Meeting held on November 5, 2000
in Atlanta, GA.
It was
agreed to approve the minutes as posted.
The following motion arising out of the meeting of the Executive Board on November 1, 2001 regarding exploration of the relationship of APRRE to REA was circulated.
It was moved by Lorna Bowman and seconded by Wenh-In Ng that the Executive recommends to the membership of APRRE that a committee of three be established to enter into conversations with REA regarding a more formal relationship that advances our mutual benefit and that a formal motion be brought to the 2002 annual meeting for action. Carried.
Jack
Seymour introduced the motion and spoke in support of it. APRRE was established
to address the particular needs of professors and researchers and their
academic pursuits. REA was founded on to serve another purpose. A whole range
of different relationships are possible including a new form of affiliation or
merger. Any relationship must be to our mutual benefit as noted above. We
should know by spring some possible directions.
Action:
The recommendation from the Executive Board was approved and the following three persons were named to represent APRRE in the conversations: Leona English, Jack Seymour and Anne Wimberley.
Jack Seymour offered a word of thanks to Russell Moy, Lynne Westfield and Tom Walters who were completing their terms in the class of 2001.
He also presented the report from the Nominating Committee:
that Lorna
Bowman be elected as Vice-President
that Tom
Walters fill the vacancy created by Lorna in the Class of 2002
that Dori L. Baker, Steve Kang and Ronnie Prevost be elected to the Class of 2004.
Action:
There being no further nominations; by mutual consent the vote was unanimous in favor of the above slate of nominees
Executive
Secretary transition: Chuck Melchert was able to arrange for Randy
Litchfield to attend the Religious Conference Management Association meeting and
while there he learned a great deal about conference logistics. Randy remarked
on the support that he had received from Chuck in the transition time and the
excellent state of the financial health of APRRE.
Jack
Seymour paid a tribute to Chuck Melchert for his years of service to APRRE as
its Executive Secretary. On behalf of all the members, Jack presented him with
a gift of an oil lamp that had been created by an artist in the Minneapolis
area.
Annual
membership report
|
1992-93: 1993-94: 1994-95: 1995-96: 1996-97: 1997-98: 1998-99: 1999-00: 2000-01: 2001-02: |
276
members 264 287 303 342 305 302 299 302 207 as
of 10/30/01 (cf. 215
last year) |
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 |
Chicago Indianapolis Ft.
Worth Chicago Chicago New
Orleans Oakland Orlando Toronto Atlanta Minneapolis |
144
registration 134 103 141 156 176 126 173 132 136 126
pre-reg. |
Registration
by category for 2001 meeting
|
US Member |
International |
Student |
Emeritus |
Associate |
Non-member |
Total |
|
76 |
8 |
32 |
8 |
1 |
1 |
126 |
|
60% |
6% |
25% |
6% |
1% |
1% |
|
New
database: Thanks were expressed to Terri Litchfield for creating a
new relational database for the membership. It is now possible to interrogate
the data and for instance, to find people who have not renewed their membership
or do geographical or membership category sorts.
Litchfield’s
Near-term Goals: Shift the organization from one solely focused on the annual meeting to
one that is built around networking, information and research sharing throughout
the whole year. This should increase the reasons for people to join and
maintain their membership.
In 2002,
·
Provide additional features on the website, including links
to schools offering doctoral programs.
·
Implement proposal making the Newsletter available on the
website and sending an e-mail notice with a hotlink to all members. We will
move to HTML format. Continue to respond in print to the 8% of our membership
that do not have e-mail
By 2003
·
Explore where is APRRE in the ecology of other professional
organizations
·
What are the next steps for religious education and APRRE
moving into the next millennium?
Claire Smith was the representative for 2001 and Cheryl Magrini was elected for 2002.
Financial
statements for the past and current years were distributed along with the budget
for the current year.
Action:
It was
agreed by mutual consent to receive the financial reports.
The budget
approved by e-mail by the Executive committee in summer was also approved
Litchfield
indicated that the Executive Committee had made provision for a review audit be
done on the books at this time of transition.
November
1-3, 2002 at University Center Sheraton, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Anne
Wimberley circulated a two page report outlining her plans for next year.
Proposed
theme: “Leading with hope: the vocation of the religious educator”
Rationale:
“From time
to time, it is important I believe, for us to reflect critically on our image
of ourselves, how we live out and negotiate the challenges of our distinctive
vocation in the academy and in the world. It is important, I think, for us to
consider what we bring to the practices of our vocation and to articulate what
we dare hope for in this current age.”
Proposed
structure:
“...I am
suggesting a shift in format that would take place in addition to research
interest groups and colloquia. I am suggesting a format in which the entire
group would convene at round tables for 1 hour and 15 minutes in a morning
session and for 1 hour and 15 minutes in an afternoon session around a case
study focused on the theme...”
“In lieu
of a formal presentation for the banquet, I am suggesting a video of ‘Contexts
of Hope: The Religious Educator’s Vocation in Motion.’”
“For the
closing plenary, I would like to share some of my own reflections on the title,
‘Daring to lead with Hope: Religious Education Leadership in Prospect.’” This
proposal was received with strong support.
Action:
It was
duly moved, seconded and carried that we contact the Association for Case Study
Teaching and inform it of the proposed process for next year’s meeting.
WENH-IN NG: Bill
Lord offered a fitting tribute, prepared in conversation with colleague and
friend Lorna Bowman, to Wenh-In. She is
Associate Professor of Christian Education at Emmanuel College in Toronto and
will retire in June 2002. We have all seen this weekend the many gifts of
leadership that she has and so generously shares with her peers. She has
authored books on Lenten Devotions and contributed chapters to books on Asian
Theology, especially from a feminist perspective. She has helped us all to see,
in her gentle but insightful way, that each one of us has a perspectival
theology. She has been a formative leader in meetings of Asian theologians. She
is very proud of her new grandchild. So we wish her well and know that she will
continue to make her unique contribution to APRRE.
JOANMARIE
SMITH: Bob Browning spoke with great respect for the work of
Joanmarie both at Methodist Theological School in Ohio where she is the
Professor of Christian Education in the William A. Chryst Chair in Pastoral
Theology. Within APRRE, she is respected as a former president, She is a
Josephite sister who has a great impact on the field through her writings and
teaching. She has an open and probing philosophy of Christian Education as is
evident in one of her most recent books, A context for Christianity in the
21st century. She has collaborated in co-authoring books with
her dear friends Maria Harris and Gloria Durka. Her book, Teaching as
Eucharist, illustrates so well one of her great strengths and admonitions.
She says and lives, “Less is often more.” She is sorry that she was not able to
be here but her sister is critically ill in New York city. Next summer she will
begin a terminal sabbatical before retirement in 2003.
GLORIA
TAYLOR: The Secretary just learned earlier this morning that
Gloria Taylor will be retiring at the end of this academic year. It was agreed
that we would honor her at our meeting in 2002.
Curriculum
Development and Design: Sid Fowler circulated a flyer advertising a
Curriculum Development and Design Event scheduled for Feb 14-16, 2002 in
Chicago.
·
To Randy Litchfield for the very efficient manner in which
he has assumed the duties of the Executive Secretary and for all his work in
making this annual meeting run so efficiently.
·
To Terri Litchfield for all her work on developing a database
for the membership and for all her assistance during this annual meeting.
·
To Wenh-In Ng for the vision and design of this years
program and for her gifts of leadership
·
To Leona English, Michael Horan and Don Richter for serving
on the review panel for papers and research groups.
·
To all the officers and directors for their work on behalf
of the Association.
·
To all those who presented papers and the panel members for
their contributions to the program.
Adjournment
Respectfully
submitted,
Bill Lord
Recording
Secretary