R E A C H	
Religious Education Association Clearing House		Spring 2004	
Contents	
Organizational News
New Journal Editor Announced
From the New Editor
Reorganization Implementation
REA-APRRE Membership
REA-APRRE Website
Getting to Know Each Other	Annual Meeting
2004 Meeting Theme
2004 Meeting Location 
Working Schedule 
Call for Proposals
	Networking & Resourcing
New Visions of Youth Ministry 
Valparaiso Project
Adult Journal of Theological Education
Call for Organizational Links
Rel. Ed. in Faith Communities 
Professional Updates	

About REACH…
This is the first edition of REACH that serves both the Religious Education Association (REA) and the Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education (APRRE). It is part of implementing the joint reorganization design approved in the fall of 2003.  REACH will be published four times a year. As we live into the joint reorganization, the content and look of REACH will continue to evolve. In the short term its content will deal with organizational news, annual meeting, and the networking and resourcing of members. We will be including articles that help us understand the organizational cultures that are coming together and the opportunities the reorganization offers us. We will also use the three forums of the reorganization design to structure networking and resourcing. These three are the Religious Education in Faith Communities Forum, the Religious Education in Public Life and the Global Community Forum, and the Religious Education in Academic Disciplines & Institutions Forum. If you have announcements or quality resources to share in these areas, please contact Lawanda Smith, Executive Secretary, lfsmith@lsua.edu.

Organizational News

New Editor of the Journal, Religious Education
I am pleased to announce that Dr. Jack Seymour, Professor of Religious Education and Academic Dean of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary has accepted the position of Editor of Religious Education, effective January 1, 2005, for a period of five years.

On the web site for Garrett-Evangelical, Jack writes of his vocation as a teacher “In a world, and even in a church, where division and mistrust too often are experienced, "glimpses" of hope break through, calling us to community. Religious education begins by witnessing to those glimpses of God's grace, hope, and justice. Religious education seeks to build communities of faith in the midst of difference. Therefore, key themes in my work include theological reflection grounded in the experience of grace, exploring how cultural contexts affect the learning of the faith, and witnessing to the impact faith can have on public life.”

The Search Committee, consisting of Peter Gilmour (chair), Leona English and Mary Hess were impressed with Jack's long history with both the REA and APRRE, his understanding of the field, and his enthusiasm for the journal. They were particularly impressed with his interest in highlighting the varieties of research informing religious education, his considerable reputation in the field, and his orientation toward the future of the journal.

Welcome to our new Editor! And, many thanks to Ted Brelsford for his exemplary service as Editor during the past four years.  Jack Seymour and Ted Brelsford plan to work together to ensure a smooth transition for the beginning of 2005.

Lorna MA Bowman
President and Chair of the Board, Religious Education Association
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From Jack Seymour, New Editor of Religious Education
We are beginning a new time for REA and APRRE, at the same time we are beginning a new partnership.  I am pleased to be offered the position as editor of Religious Education.  I look forward to working with Ted Brelsford, later this year, in the transition.  We all need to extend many thanks to Ted!  He has been an excellent editor, building a new relationship with Taylor and Francis, setting an excellent standard for the journal, and being a mutual and nurturing editor.  We all wish him well as he focuses on scholarship to assist us all to consider directions and commitments in our field.  I invite you to send me suggestions for topics for the journal and ways we can build on its strong foundations as we build our partnerships.  I look forward to hearing from you.–Jack Seymour (jack.seymour@garrett.edu) 
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Progress on Implementing the 
Joint Reorganization of REA and APRRE
The implementation of the joint reorganization is moving ahead in good fashion! Many thanks should go to the REA and APRRE officers who are working collaboratively to make this happen: Lorna Bowman, Bob O’Gorman, Barbara Anne Keeley, Ted Brelsford, Lawanda Smith and Randy Litchfield. In the winter newsletter several implementation initiatives were listed and below is a status report:

•	The APRRE and REA websites will be merged
	DONE	
•	The APRRE and REA newsletters will be merged
	DONE	
•	A plan to move to a single membership will be developed
	APPROVED AND IMPLEMENTING	
•	New Executive Secretary will take responsibility for REA &  APRRE
	IN PROCESS	
•	A committee will begin work on revising the REA bylaws to reflect the “Design”
	IN PROCESS	
•	A committee will begin nominating people for the new organizational structure	IN PROCESS	

The “Design for Joint Reorganization of REA and APRRE,” ballot results and background documents are available on the website (www.religiouseducation.net).
REA-APRRE Membership
The joint reorganization will be implemented by REA revising its bylaws to reflect the joint reorganization design and APRRE members becoming REA members. The following membership plan has been approved by the REA Board, APRRE Executive Committee, and Taylor & Francis (journal publisher and membership management). 

A one-time 18-month membership to the REA will be offered running July 1, 2004 – December 31, 2005. The fee for all new and renewing regular members will be $75.00. The student and retired membership fee will be $40.00. These rates are not an increase over current REA member rates, but simply reflect an 18-month versus 12-month membership period. All new and renewing members will receive 6 issues of the journal as a benefit of membership (summer 2004, fall 2004, winter 2005, spring 2005, summer 2005, fall 2005). In January 2006, memberships will return to a 12 month period (January 1st to December 31).

For current REA members, this will mean renewing your membership as usual but with the above arrangement. 

For current APRRE members, this will mean joining the REA per the above arrangement and not separately renewing through APRRE. APRRE members will technically become REA members with this new 18-month membership. Current APRRE members will have their membership in APRRE automatically extended through December 2004 at no additional cost. The continuance of APRRE memberships through 2004 is necessary because the REA bylaw revisions per the reorganization design will not be approved until November 2004. In January 2005 separate APRRE memberships will be discontinued.

Everyone will receive a physical mailing with membership details and membership forms prior to July, 2004. 
 
Current APRRE Members…These membership changes will not be implemented until after our current budget year. We still need your financial support!! Also, being a current member of APRRE is a requirement for being eligible to submit a paper proposal for the annual meeting. If you have not already done so, APRRE members need to renew for 2003-04!!! If you misplaced your membership form, they are available on the website or you can contact Randy Litchfield at rlitchfield@mtso.edu. 
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Combined REA-APRRE Website
In early March of 2004, we launched the combined REA-APRRE website at www.religiouseducation.net. The website includes UPCOMING EVENTS (annual meeting, forum events, announcements from other organizations); PUBLICATIONS (the journal with featured articles, REACH, APRRE newsletters, APRRE “Proceedings”); OPENINGS; RESOURCES (links, other organizations, future working group support); MEMBERSHIP (forms, directory); ABOUT US (REA, APRRE, joint reorganization). Please note that important historical documents related to the REA’s centennial are available on the website. 

There are several content areas where we need to develop and expand: links to relevant organizations, resources for students preparing for leadership (particularly masters and doctoral levels), and resources related to each of the forums (books, articles, media, websites, programs, curriculum, etc.). Please contact Randy Litchfield, rlitchfield@mtso.edu, regarding these items.
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Getting to Know Each Other
Even though in 2003 half of the membership of APRRE belonged to the REA, we still need to learn a lot about each other as we bring together two organizational cultures. In upcoming editions of REACH, articles by leaders in the REA and APRRE will help us learn more about the histories, values and legacies of both organizations and the opportunities created by the joint reorganization. The following starts this process through excerpts from existing documents. 

Religious Education Association (REA)
“The Religious Education Association (REA) was founded in 1903 by William Rainey Harper, the first President of the University of Chicago. That year, hundreds of outstanding religious and educational leaders from the United States and Canada converged on Chicago for the first convention, which featured speakers such as John Dewey and George Albert Coe.” (from REA History on website)

“For a century, membership in the Religious Education Association has meant attention to diverse cultural identities, inter-faith collegiality, scholarly reflection on practices of religious education, and the enrichment of educational practices in ecclesial, academic and public contexts. The REA gathered together professionals in religious education, scholars, and public leaders in religion and education. Through its conventions, regional meetings, special programs, research projects, and journal the Religious Education Association has sustained and inspired rigorous reflection and research on religious education. This has been a distinctive difference from many other religious educational organizations, where programming focuses only on the ‘how-to.’” (from “Design for a Joint Reorganization of APRRE and REA,” May 23, 2003)

“REA is rich with diversity; its membership includes those from the Baha'i, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant and other traditions involved in all aspects of religious education.” (from REA History on website)

Association of Professors and Researchers in Religious Education (APRRE)
In the 1950's, the National Council of Churches helped sponsor and organize an annual meeting of the “Professors and Research Section” under the leadership of their Division of Christian Education.  In 1969, that section dissolved and formed an independent group, in order to encourage participation by professors whose religious communities were not members of the National Council of Churches, including Roman Catholics and Jews.  In 1970, it re-organized and met as APRRE.  (from CSSR Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 2, April 2002)

“APRRE has sought to contribute critical and constructive scholarship in religious education in order to expand and deepen knowledge in this arena; advance intellectual discourse across disciplines and faith traditions; and enhance reflective practice by providing the best ecumenical resources available to the reflective practice of teaching in university, college, seminary, and denominational offices.” (from “Design for a Joint Reorganization of APRRE and REA,” May 23, 2003)

Although a significant number of APRRE members teach in doctoral programs, members are predominantly engaged in preparing professionals (pastors, priests, religious, rabbis, and educators) who will be engaging in educational activities in religious contexts. This is also true of those members who teach in religious studies departments, some of whom have programs designed to prepare undergraduate students for service in faith communities…. APRRE membership includes Protestants, Catholics and Jews, representing a wide spectrum of theological, denominational and educational perspectives.  Currently 43 different denominations and 17 countries are represented among members. (from CSSR Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 2, April 2002)

Annual Meeting

Contextual Pedagogies: Teaching Context as Religious Text
November 5-7, 2004
Brown Palace-Comfort Inn complex in downtown Denver, Colorado
A joint meeting of the REA and APRRE
Religious education has been understood as a profession standing at a fork in the road facing “faithfulness to the ancient and honorable paths of the fathers” on the one hand, and the knowledge required for contemporary religious living on the other. Faith communities and the world demand accountability for both an authentic and usable knowledge -- knowledge to help persons understand and respond to spiritual experiences.  Much of the debate at APRRE and REA over the past years has centered on which road to take. Educators with a pastoral focus may downplay the ancient text and those with an academic focus may believe that the present context is not their major concern.

In teaching, the text is typically understood as a book containing the gathered wisdom of a scholar, or a community, that a teacher uses to help students enlighten their experience.  The context, on the other hand, can refer to the setting or times in which a particular text was produced.  Context can also mean the present reality: the places from which students come -- the influences of community surroundings, racial background, family structure; and places to which they will go -- faith communities and neighborhoods in conflict, atomized societies, pluralistic worlds. Here teachers help students both gain and use the knowledge that no “text” may yet contain. 

Perhaps, the challenge of our theme can be captured in the wit and wisdom of Yogi Berra: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Relating text and context calls us to teaching practices that, in David Tracy’s words, engage a “mutual critical correlation between an interpretation” of the religious experience and the contemporary situation. This means reading the texts with a commitment to the poor and marginalized in their contexts, teaching -- context as religious text.

The issues of text and context, while not phrased in these words, have been the focus for REA and APRRE in past discussions of “theory and practice.”  In Denver we can take a next step with a critical study of religious educators’ teaching practices (contextual pedagogy) connecting students’ learning to the contexts of life and also connecting the realities of present life to a reinterpretation of the texts. Our aim is a more dynamic teaching in religious education promoting its enhancement to benefit communities of faith and the broader public.

Questions and comments about the theme and offers to assist in the design the meeting may be directed to APRRE President-Elect, Bob O’Gorman  e-mail: rogorma@luc.edu
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2004 Meeting Location
Brown Palace-Comfort Inn Complex
Downtown Denver

Brown Palace Hotel (meeting rooms)
321 17th Street
Denver, Colorado 80202	Comfort Inn Downtown (guest rooms)
401 17th St. 
Denver, Colorado 80202	
   
The Brown Palace-Comfort Inn complex will offer meeting registrants the best of everything! Sessions will take place in the elegant and historic Brown Palace Hotel. The Brown Palace has earned a four-diamond award from AAA and “best business hotel” by Fortune Magazine. Within its long history (and with guests like Eisenhower, Churchill and the Spice Girls) there are also many fascinating stories to discover. Our guest rooms will be in the Comfort Inn, which is across the street from the Brown Palace and connected by a second story walkway. The guest rooms are very nice and have great views of the city and the mountains. By using the Comfort Inn we will have access to great facilities at an affordable cost.

The guest room rate at the Comfort Inn is $99 per night and this includes a nice continental breakfast. A small block of rooms is also available in the Brown Palace at $139 per night, including continental breakfast. The reservation cut-off date will be October 15, 2004. Following this cut off date, guestrooms are subject to availability and the hotel's prevailing room rates. 

You may find out more about the hotels on the web:
Brown Palace www.brownpalace.com
Comfort Inn Downtown Denver www.choicehotels.com/ires/hotel/CO057
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Working Schedule
This working schedule is being made available to encourage you to make space in your calendar to plan arrivals and departures so that you can attend the entire meeting.  A Note about the Schedule…At this year’s meeting, a joint meeting of APRRE and the REA, we will be enacting the joint reorganization of APRRE & REA, which will officially go into effect January 1, 2005. While this schedule does not reflect the integrated programming approved in the REA-APRRE joint reorganization proposal, it does attempt to follow the spirit of that proposal and foreshow it to a great degree. 
	
Leaders of denominational meetings, task forces, and luncheons… Please contact Lawanda Smith, lfsmith@lsua.edu, with information about your group’s convener, program, and set-up needs. Also, please send a brief description of your program by June 15, 2004 so it can be included in the summer newsletter.

Thursday November 4, 2004
3:00 pm into evening REA Board Meeting (& Dinner)

		     Lutheran Professors

Friday  November 5, 2004 

8:30 -12:00 am	APRRE Executive Committee Meeting (Last hour joint meet with REA Board)
	
12:00 - 1:30	Student Caucus Meeting (Rebecca Davis convener)

REA Journal Editorial Board Meeting
	
11:00 - 4:30	Registration
	
1:30 - 2:45 pm	Denominational/Particular Religious Traditions Meetings
	
3:00 - 4:15	Plenary I (common session planned by Program Planning Committee)  
	
4:30 - 5:45	Break-outs: Interest Groups (IG), Resourcing Workshops (RW), & Colloquia 
	
6:00 - 6:30	Time for shared Multi-Religious ritual
	
6:30 - 8:30	Banquet with program (address by APRRE Program Chair; awards/recognitions; and Celebration of the Transition of APRRE from its originating structure)	

Saturday  November 6, 2004

7:00 - 8:15 am	Continental Breakfast (cost included with guest room)
	
8:30 - 10:00	Plenary II (common session planned by Program Planning Committee)
	
10:15 -11:45	Break-outs: Interest Groups (IG), Resourcing Workshops (RW), & Colloquia
	
12:00 -1:30 pm	Women’s and Men’s Luncheons
	
1:45 - 3:15	Break-outs: Interest Groups (IG), Resourcing Workshops (RW), & Colloquia
	
3:30 - 4:45	Task Forces
	
5:00 - 6:00	Joint REA/APRRE Business Meeting
	
6:00 - 6:30	Reception
	
	OPEN EVENING	

Sunday November 7, 2004

7:00 - 8:00 am	Continental Breakfast (cost included with guest room)
	
8:00 - 9:15	Break-outs: Interest Groups (IG), Resourcing Workshops (RW), & Colloquia
	
9:30 -9:45	Time for shared Multi-Religious ritual
	
9:45 -11:00	Plenary III/closing 
(common session planned by Program Planning Committee)	

 ___________________________________________________________________________

2004 Call for Proposals and Presentation Venues
The deadline to submit paper and presentation proposals is May 12, 2004.
APRRE and REA members in good standing are invited to submit an abstract of not more than one page as a proposal for a presentation in an Interest Group, a Colloquium, or a Resourcing Workshop.  See directions following. One presentation per person, please.   PLEASE NOTE SUBMISSION OF A PROPOSAL IS A COMMITMENT ON THE PRESENTER'S PART TO BE PRESENT AT THE MEETING IN DENVER.  FOR PERSONS SUBMITTING AN INTEREST GROUP PAPER, IT IS ALSO A COMMITMENT TO DELIVER THE PAPER FOR PUBLICATION ON THE WEB AND CD-ROM BY SEPTEMBER 10, 2004
ELIGIBILITY: In order to be eligible to submit a proposal, persons must have paid their membership dues for the July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004 membership year. Renewal can accompany one’s proposal. If selected, presenters must renew for the July 1, 2004 to December 31, 2005 membership year, in which the meeting occurs, as well and register for the meeting.

THEME: While the full implementation of the joint reorganization design for meetings will not occur until our Toronto 2005 meeting, this year’s meeting will endeavor to follow the spirit of the reorganization planning. Religious education takes place through multiple practices of scholarship, research, teaching and administration in a variety of contexts. Responding to and nurturing attentiveness to this variety will happen through three foci: Religious Education in Faith Communities—A focus on religious education in local faith communities, and within and by denominational/religious bodies on regional, national, and international levels; Religious Education in Public Life and the Global Community—A focus on the role of religious education beyond religious and academic contexts in the interest of the common good as well as on inter-religious education and conversation. Religious Education in Academic Disciplines and Institutions—A focus on the engagement in and advancement of religious education in academic disciplines and in schools, colleges, universities, and graduate schools of religion and theology. 

Annual meetings of the Association have both thematic and non-thematic elements. Our theme this year focuses attention on “Contextual Pedagogies,” an issue of importance to the field that provides a common point of interaction. Non-thematic elements provide opportunities for the pursuit of unique member interests. 

The meeting theme is addressed in plenary sessions and some interest group sessions. Non-thematic issues are addressed in interest group sessions, task-forces, and meetings of particular and contextual religious traditions. Papers related to the theme of the annual meeting may receive preferential consideration for publication in Religious Education. All proposals and presentations must make clear connection between their topic and the theory or practice of religious education. 

“Contextual Pedagogies: Teaching Context as Religious Text”
Questions, Topics, Issues to Explore in Considering a Paper or Presentation
This theme offers us two fundamental questions to ponder:
•	What teaching strategies do we employ to help students correlate the text we are teaching and the context they represent? 
•	What are the contexts that impact our teaching?
As we engage contextual pedagogies we have a wide range of topics to explore:
•	Descriptions of contextual teaching – case studies where these dynamics of contextualization are alive in our present teaching practice
•	How to cultivate our students’ capacities to be present to their community’s situation and environments: 
o	Developing students’ learning skills to hear and describe the reality of present experience; 
o	Honing students’ ability to interpret the community’s realities in relation to scripture, tradition and vice versa; 
•	How contextual pedagogies open students to disenfranchised voices (especially the poor, people of color and women) that may not be represented in the reflections of the classical texts or in the power and social structures of contemporary contexts.  
•	How “communities of faith” set the focus by which religious educators determine their curriculum and teaching -- the interplay of religious and public contexts in our teaching
•	Teaching as shaping/influencing our contexts and the contexts of others 
•	Exploring models of contextualization in religious education curricula
Some of the issues at stake include: 
•	Just how we understand the word “context” in religious education 
•	Comparison of contextual pedagogies with more classical pedagogies: What makes contextual pedagogies distinctive  
•	Examining where religious educators stand in the interplay of religious community and public life.
o	Discovering what moves a religious educator towards contextual teaching 
o	Preparations for this move
o	Obstacles teachers face in undertaking such teaching
o	Change strategies necessary for teachers to make a commitment to contextual teaching practices,
o	Assessment of student learning in contextual teaching 
o	Learning how communities of faith teach us to teach
o	Satisfaction level of students, parents, and churches with contextual teaching
"Texts" as individuals and/or faith communities; Teaching these "texts" with integrity and not violation 

Presentation Venues: Plenaries (common sessions) — Plenary sessions bring together all meeting registrants at one time to focus upon the meeting theme. Plenaries may utilize a variety of formats and methods. Interest Groups, Resourcing Workshops, and Colloquia Sessions are “break-out” meetings that allow attention to specific topics related to the theme. As you consider submitting a proposal, be mindful about your topic and the best meeting venue for it. 

INTEREST GROUP sessions are presentations among a group of up to 25 members of developed research and presented in formal papers that are within one revision of being of publishable quality. All research papers will be posted on the website prior to the meeting, accessible by members/registrants only, and included in the Annual Meeting Proceedings, distributed on the website, in CD-ROM, and hardcopy. Students submitting proposals for research interest groups will be asked for a letter of reference/support from a faculty member indicating ability to present in this venue.  A moderator will be appointed to help organize the discussion around issues raised by the papers and participants.

COLLOQUIA are less formal than Interest Groups and involve presentations of religious education research, planning, and programming in their beginning stages.  An outline of ideas or sharing of practices is appropriate in this format. 

RESOURCING WORKSHOPS are presentations of scholarly and practical resources or approaches supporting the multiple practices of religious education. These sessions may seek to increase awareness or enhance performance of specific religious education practices. The context for these practices may be settings such as faith communities, higher education, wider public settings, schools, etc.

INFORMATION ON SUBMITTING PROPOSALS
Applicants must send an abstract of no more than one page (it may be single-spaced) to the Executive Secretary and the members of the Call for Proposals Committee.   Abstracts must be received by May 12, 2003.  Submission by e-mail preferred. Include the following:
	a. Title of paper, colloquium, or resourcing workshop
	b. Name of author/presenter(s), position and institution
	c. Indicate the category for which the proposal is submitted (RIG, Colloquia, Workshop)
	d. Three to four line (maximum) description for use in the meeting program
	e. Abstract
•	For papers, include main points, methodology, generally the sources grounding the paper, and the status of the research at the time of the proposal
•	For colloquia, include main concepts/issues, methodology for addressing the topic, generally sources utilized, and method of presentation
•	For resourcing workshops, include context, main concepts/issues, practice(s) being addressed, context of those practices (e.g. faith community, higher education, wider community, schools), outline of the workshop (sequence of topics and methods), resources presented and used.

Each proposal will be reviewed by the Call for Proposals Committee.  Presenters selected will be notified on or by June 14, 2004.  Proposals may be paired according to interest and topical relation.

E-mail one copy of proposal to the following four people:  Drs. Kang, O’Brien and Warner constitute the Call for Papers Committee.

Lawanda F. Smith
lfsmith@lsua.edu	[preferred]
318.427.4422 (fax)
or
Louisiana State University at Alexandria
8100 Highway 71 South
Alexandria, LA 71302
	Steve S. Kang
steve.kang@wheaton.edu [preferred]
630.752.7535 (fax)
or
Wheaton College
Christian F&M Dept
Wheaton, IL  60187-5593
	
Maureen R. O'Brien
obrien@duq.edu [preferred]
412.396.4904 (fax)
or
Duquesne Univ. - Dept. of Theology
600 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA  15282-2260	Sharon R. Warner
swarner@lextheo.edu [preferred]
859.281.6042 (fax)
or
Lexington Theological Seminary
631 S. Limestone
Lexington, KY  40508	

An additional REA representative will be added to this committee.

Networking and Resourcing
New Visions of Youth Ministry
September 16-18, 2004 Conference on Youth, Theology and Youth Ministry
Sponsored by the Youth Theological Initiative, Candler School of Theology/ Emory University

“New Visions of Youth Ministry,” YTI’s 2004 Conference on Youth, Theology and Youth Ministry, will bring together scholars and youth ministers to explore new ways of engaging in youth ministry to foster critical theological reflection among youth.  Keynote speakers will be Dr. Evelyn Parker (Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas) and Dr. Michael Warren (St. John’s University, New York).  YTI’s Director of Research and Youth Ministry Education, Dr. David F. White, will present his most recent research into the theological perspectives and practices of youth, focusing on issues of vocation.  Workshop leaders will include representatives of several theological programs for high school youth sponsored by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., drawing upon their own research into adolescent faith development and pedagogy.  Lectures and workshops will focus on integrating theories and theologies of youth ministry with practices of youth ministry.  To request more information or registration materials call 404-727-4160 or email David White at dwhite7@emory.edu.  
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The Valparaiso Project
The Valparaiso Project on the Education and Formation of People in Faith sponsors two grant programs: Practice Grants for congregations, educators, and agencies (up to $10,000) -- see www.practicingourfaith.org. Application deadlines for 2004 are June 30 and October 15. Challenge Grants for teams of youth and adults (up to $2,000) see www.waytolive.org. Application deadline for 2004 is September 15. Religious educators who are teaching youth ministry courses are encouraged to promote the Challenge Grants Program with their students. Contact Don Richter (donricht@bellsouth.net) with any questions.
Adult Journal of Theological Education
The British Journal of Theological Education is being revamped and to mark a broader range and remit of the journal the name is now the Journal of Adult Theological Education. Reg Wickett has been appointed an associate editor responsible for helping attract contributions from North America. The Journal of Adult Theological Education is an academic, peer-reviewed journal that promotes dialogue among those involved in adult theological education. Its perspective is international and ecumenical. Its contribution is both theoretical and practical. The journal is published twice a year under the sponsorship of ACATE-The Association of Centres of Adult Theological Education. 
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Call for Organizational Links
If you are a member of an organization for educators within your religious tradition and that organization has a website, please email the link to Randy Litchfield, rlitchfield@mtso.edu. We would like to add this to the REA-APRRE website.
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Religious Education in Faith Communities Forum
We will be using the three forums of the reorganization design to structure networking and resourcing information. These three are the Religious Education in Faith Communities Forum, the Religious Education in Public Life and the Global Community Forum, and the Religious Education in Academic Disciplines & Institutions Forum. 

In this issue of REACH we start off with some resources related to Religious Education in Faith Communities. These were compiled by Dr. Ronnie Prevost, Logsdon School of Theology, Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, Texas (rprevost@hsutx.edu). If you have announcements or quality resources (books, articles, programs, media, websites) to recommend for any forum area, please contact Lawanda Smith, Executive Secretary, lfsmith@lsua.edu. We are very interested in resources from diverse traditions and settings.

Jung, Shannon, et al. 1998. Rural Ministry: The Shape of Renewal to Come. Nashville: Abingdon Press. -- All too often religious education research overlooks application in rural contexts. This book grew out of Wartburg Seminary’s Center for Theology and Land: Rural Ministry Program and challenges the reader to consider the essential nature of and challenges confronting rural parishes and communities.

Pazmiño, Robert W. 2001. God Our Teacher: Theological Basics in Christian Education. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. -- Writing from an evangelical perspective, Pazmiño does a wonderful work describing how a community’s theology can and should shape the content and structures of its religious education.

Phelps, Joseph. 1999. More Light Less Heat: How Dialogue Can Transform Christian Conflicts into Growth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. -- Genuine dialogue is vital to religious education within communities. This book is helpful in showing how dialogue can remain open and frank and lead to growth without degenerating into something counterproductive at best and destructive at worst.

Regan, Jane E. 2001. Toward an Adult Church: A Vision of Faith Formation. Chicago: Loyola Press. -- A Roman Catholic, Regan suggests that refocusing on the spiritual formation of adults will be a key to religious communities being effective and transformational in contemporary culture.

Richardson, Ronald W. 1996. Creating a Healthier Church: Family Systems Theory, Leadership, and Congregational Life. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. -- Any community of faith is comprised of individuals, each of whom comes from their own diverse family systems with all the accompanying baggage. To mold these into a nurturing community/family necessary for effective religious education is a daunting task. A pastoral counselor, Richardson’s expertise is helpful in defining the issues and offering practical guidance for the undertaking.
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Professional Updates 
It is the practice of APRRE to publish once a year updates that members provide about professional accomplishments. This serves to keep us connected to be aware of new research and resources. It does however make for a longer newsletter!! We hope to make professional updates and ongoing practice of the reorganized REA, all members. 

Ted Brelsford has become Director of the Program in Religious Education at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, which now offers certificates within the M.Div. and M.T.S. programs with specializations in Ministries with Youth, and Campus Ministry, as well as Congregational Education. He is also helping to design a new concentration in Religious Practices and Practical Theology in the Ph.D. program, which will begin in Fall 2004.
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Thom Bower is currently Assistant Professor of Christian Education and Director of Curriculum Development for the DEPTH Youth Program at Chicago Theological Seminary. He has had two articles published in The Clergy Journal (with four additional articles to follow this year), and is the co-convener of the Illinois Conference Partners in Education.
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Elizabeth Box Price will be retiring from her position as Professor of Christian Education at Phillips Theological Seminary on July 1, 2004. Janet Parachin, who is already a member of the faculty, will be appointed to the position she is vacating. She will continue several research/writing projects especially regarding the New Cosmology and its implications for teaching/learning. Elizabeth received a Templeton/ASA Lecture Series Grant for this Spring. Her paper, “Cognitive Complexity and the Learning Congregation,” will be printed in the Fall issue of Religious Education.
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Bob Browning co-authored with Roy A. Reed, Forgiveness, Reconciliation and Moral Courage: Motives and Designs for Ministry in a Troubled World (Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2004) -- scheduled  for release in April, 2004. This is a  book in the Studies in Practical Theology series. Our editor was James Fowler.  The book is the third co-authored by Browning and Reed and follows up on our  research and writing about sacramental theology, religious education and  liturgy. We focus on a widened and deepened understanding and use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation on an ecumenical basis along with an emphasis on moral and spiritual education within the congregation; strong leadership from the church  in moral and character education in cooperation with families, schools, and  all aspects of the community; support for the study about religion and ethics in public education; and the development of the concept of the public church where major issues of justice and mercy are confronted and forgiveness and reconciliation can take place.
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Francis Buckley has produced the following publications: Team Teaching: What, Why, and How?  Waterstone Publishing, Chiayi, Taiwan, China, 2003 [Chinese translation]; “Parish Catechesis in a Secularized Society,” Lumen Vitae, 2002, vol. 26, no. 11, pp. 119-132.; “The Legacy of Pope John Paul II,” USF News, Fall 2002, Vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 24, 26.; “Revolutionizing Teaching via Electronic Discussion,” Explorations in Teaching and Learning, Vol. 1, No. 1,Winter, 2003, pp. 17-18.; “New Technology Promotes Ecumenism, Current Issues in Ecclesiology, Jesuits in Dialogue,” Curia, S.J., 2003, pp. 130-133. With the conclusion of the spring semester, 2004, he will retire and become professor emeritus.  He continues to give workshops, retreats, spiritual direction, and engage in sacramental ministry
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Eileen Dailey has accepted a tenure-track position in the Theology Department at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota to begin this fall. 
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Kathy Dawson will be making a move to a different institution for the next academic year. Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA has offered her a position as Assistant Professor of Christian Education beginning in fall 2004. 
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Burton Everist is the coordinator of a grant project from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion for Northeast Iowa Community College. This grant, first of its kind to community colleges, will underwrite the “Consultation on Meeting the Challenge of Teaching Religion in Community Colleges.” The consultation will be held at Northeast Iowa Community College Friday June 18th and Saturday June 19th.  Twenty adjunct and full time faculty who teach religion are invited to a  participate. For further information contact everistb@nicc.edu  
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Israel Galindo, Professor of Christian Education, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond has published a chapter titled "Spiritual Direction and Pastoral Care," in Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls, Moon and Benner eds. (InterVarsity Press, May 2004), and has a forthcoming book from the Alban Institute, The Hidden Lives of Congregations (fall 2004).
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Beginning in August, Tom Groome accepted an appointment as Director of Boston College's Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.  This has been a shock to the system - to have a real job after all these years.  This past year, Tom also co-edited with Bud Horell a fine collection of essays - mostly by BC colleagues – entitled Horizons and Hopes: The Future of Religious Education (Paulist).
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Steve Kang jointly authored with Elizabeth Conde-Frazier from Clarement and Gary Parrett from Gordon Conwell a book entitled A Many Colored Kingdom: Multicultural Dynamics for Spiritual Formation. Baker published it in March 2004.  
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Will Kennedy – “Made a talk last summer at the Presbyterian Historical Society here on Religious Education, especially Presbyterian curriculum history, title: ‘The Sunday School: Molder and Mirror of the Church.’ Fun, but no tape of it! Then lots of reading as six-year Alderman, now Vice-Mayor, of Town of Black Mountain, on everything from soups to nuts, and some explosive! Making an inventory of my educational library for Union Theological Seminary/Presbyterian School of Christian Education and its new campus in Charlotte.”
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HyeRan Kim-Cragg published "Unless You Become like Children: Insights for Asian Feminist Christology" in In God's Image: Journal of Asian Women's Resource Centre for Culture and Theology Volume 22 No. 4 (December 2003): 45-49.
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Alan Lai has sucessfully defended his dissertation entitled Teaching Asian Seminarians in the Shadow of the Holocaust at Teachers College/Union Theological Seminary on March 11.  Starting in July, Rev. Lai will be the assistant professor of religious education and the Director of the D.Min Programme at Vancouver School of Theology.  He has two articles accepted for publishing: "Preaching and Teaching After Auschwitz" in Consensus, and "A Christian Rereading of the Bible after the Holocaust: Implications for Understanding Same Sex Marriages," in The Journal of Religion and Culture.  He can be contacted using: alanlai@vst.edu
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Rune Larsson, emeritus
Dr. Assist. Prof.
Centre of Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University
Allhelgona kyrkogata 8, 223 62 Lund, Sweden.
Home: Furugatan 16, 234 41 Lomma.
home: +46 40 411364
e-mail: rune.larsson@teol.lu.se
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Cheryl Magrini completed her doctorate in Christian Education and Congregational Studies in 2003 from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL. Her research was published in the journal Doxology, vol. 20, 2003 in her article, "Re-Visioning Eucharistic Faith." She was guest editor for Liturgy, the journal of The Liturgical Conference, vol. 19, no. 1, 2004 on the theme Children in Worship, including her article, "Story in Ritual and Play with Children." 
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Chuck Melchert: I am currently teaching Educational Ministry courses at both Lancaster Theological Seminary and at Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary (while Nelson Strobert is on sabbatical).  I also continue to teach the D.Min. year-long Seminar at Lancaster.  I have written a chapter, "Perceiving Self-Deception in Teaching and Learning" for the forthcoming Festschrift for John Hull, titled, Religion, Reconciliation and in a Pluralistic World:  Essays in Religious Education and Practical Theology.  I continue my research in Biblical wisdom and educational ministry, and in the patterns of self-deception and becoming more truth-full in ministry and education.
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Joyce Mercer is on sabbatical! She has been awarded a Wabash Center Faculty Sabbatical Grant for the fall 2004 semester, to work on the teaching/pedagogical implications of congregational studies. She recently completed her congregational studies project on "Children in Congregations" and is continuing to analyze and work with that research in her present regular sabbatical. The main work of the current sabbatical is the completion of a book, a feminist practical theology of childhood. She recently had two coauthored articles published in the journal Liturgy on children and worship; and a chapter ("The Protestant Child, Adolescent, and Family") in a psychiatric text, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America: Religion and Spirituality, ed. Allan M. Josephson and Mary Lynn Dell. Her two entries for the web-publishing project "Christian Educators of the Twentieth Century" have now been posted, on Iris V. Cully and David Ng.
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Patty Myers coauthored with Ed Trimmer a book that came out March 1, 2004 entitled Between Everything: Teacher Helps for Transitioning Preteens published by Abingdon. 
Dorothy Probst authored a Master's thesis at Luther Seminary (2003 graduate) entitled, "Worshipping God:  Godly Play Joined With Intentional Intergenerational Ministry and the Ensuing Architectural Implications."  The thesis studies the Godly Play method created by Jerome Berryman, and proposes its appropriate use intergenerationally in the congregational ministry setting.  The church architecture of such an integrated mission and vision supported by an intergenerational discipleship worship method is derived from a unique, local "Architectural Theology." The creative process of discovering such a local, postmodern congregational ministry, and its architecture, forms the "Intentional Church," a congregational ministry whose worship mission, fellowship vision, discipleship goal, and building plan and form are in deliberate harmonious relationship with each other over several generations.  Probst is currently working on a modification of traditional architectural services; these evolved from her work on the thesis.  The derivations are called "Theological Planning,"  "Theological Programming," and "Theological Design," and they provide an interactive process between client and architect that emphasizes mutual discovery of unique "Intentional Churches.”
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Bert Roebben became academic dean at the end of 2002 and was engaged in the reorganisation of the theological education curriculum of our department in the University of Tilburg. During 2003 he was lecturing on religious socialisation and education in Tilburg University and presented papers on religious socialisation after Vatican II (Oxford), modern narrative identities and the subversive language of the bible in religious education (Leuven), resilient leadership and the search for meaning in young adult ministry (Brussels, Chicago), the religious identity of youth welfare organisations (Amsterdam) and the identity of the roman-catholic secondary school (with the publication of a working book for teachers Bewogenheid in beweging. Een visie op de spiritualiteit van een christelijke school, Brussels: Licap). Currently he is preparing together with a nice group of reflective practitioners the 2004 summer academy for theological professionals in young adult ministry. They want to clarify the theological language and experiences of young adults and to explore new paths of theological reflection. Together with Leo van der Tuin, he edited the book Practical Theology and the Interpretation of Crossing Boundaries. Essays in Honour of Professor M.P.J. van Knippenberg, (Münster/Hamburg/London: Lit-Verlag). For more information, see www.tilburguniversity.nl/people/hroebben
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Stephen Schmidt is Emeritus Professor of Pastoral Studies, Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University, Chicago. He is also in a three year grant as Theologian in Residence, Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, IL doing research on faith and healing. Stephen is Editor, Stauros Notebook, Stauros USA, Chicago.
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Claire Smith had her dissertation proposal, entitled “Foundations for Missional Christian Education,” approved in January 2004. She has published the following items: two entries in Abingdon Women’s Preaching Annual: Series 3, Year A, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2004; an article entitled “Education as an Integral Part of Mission in a Slave-Led Congregation: A Case Study of the Guyana Congregational Union 1808-1848” in the International Congregational Journal 3, 1, 2003; devotional material in two publications by Pilgrim Press that are entitled Harvest for the World: A Worship Anthology on Sharing in the Work of Creation and Timeless Prayers for Peace both compiled by Geoffrey Duncan, 2003; forthcoming, an entry in Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions edited by Patrick Taylor.
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Lawanda Smith's paper "Confronting Ghosts of the Christ-Haunted South:  Teaching Theology through Story" will be published in Spring volume of Teaching Theology and Religion.  Lawanda is Assistant Professor of Religion and English at Louisiana State University Alexandria.  She is Executive Secretary of REA and will be Executive Secretary of APRRE beginning July 1, 2004.
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Karen Tye has co-authored with her Old Testament colleague, Dr. John Bracke, the book Teaching the Bible in the Church which was published in June 2003.
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Linda J. Vogel moved into the status of Professor of Christian Education, Emerita as well as being named a Senior Scholar in May, 2003, when she retired from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary after sixteen years on that faculty.  She and her husband, Dwight, who also retired, are moving into this next chapter of their lives with excitement and hope. They anticipate a move to Pilgrim Place in Claremont, CA, when a home becomes available there.  Meanwhile, they continue to reside in Chicago and to spend their summers (and now fall!) at their cabin in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Linda can be reached by phone at her home in Chicago and through her Garrett.edu e-mail.
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Brett Webb-Mitchell has a new article in Clergy Journal regarding Christly gestures with children: "Radio, Off!" (March 2004).  He also has a new book coming out soon from Westminster/John Knox Press, School of the Pilgrim.
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Susan Willhauck is completing a book entitled Back Talk! Women Leaders Creating Change in the Church to be published by Pilgrim Press.  She also has an article coming out in Quarterly Review on lay education in the United Methodist Church (Summer 04).
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Dennis Williams will step down as Dean of Institutional Assessment at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary this July. He served four years in this position. Prior to this appointment he served for six years as Dean of the School of Christian Education and Leadership. He will return to the classroom as Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Church Ministry.
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Anne Streaty Wimberly has been chosen as a plenary presenter at the July 25-30, 2004 meeting of the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values (ISREV) to be held at Villanova University, near Philadelphia.  My topic will be:  "On Behalf of a Sustainable Future:  The Imperative Role of Religious Education in the Fight Against Environmental Terrorism." She will also deliver a keynote address on Black Youth, Violence, and Global Economics at the August 8-15, 2004 meeting of the International Congress on Pastoral Care and Counseling (ICPCC) to be held in Bangalore, India. Anne has been named as part of the National Council of Churches multidisciplinary  Human Genetics Policy Development Committee. She coordinated the most recent Youth and Family Convocation at Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) on February 20-21, 2004 with 1,232 in attendance. Her most recent publication is an article entitled "Hospitable Kinship in Theological Education:  Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Teaching and Learning as Gift Exchange," In:  Teaching Theology and Religion 7(1), January 2004:3-12.
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Mary H. Young has just received a $5,000 grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning to provide training in technology with the faculty at her institution, The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology.  This is connected with the completion of her own doctoral work in the area of technology and theological education.  The title of the grant proposal is "Teaching With Technology:  One Seminary's Experience in Purposeful Dialogue and Guided Preparation".  
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