Sunday, June 01, 2008

Bethany Seminary Calls New Professors, Interim Academic Dean

Bethany Theological Seminary has called H. Kendall Rogers as Professor of Historical Studies, beginning in the 2008/2009 academic year. Dr. Rogers has served as a professor in the Religion and Philosophy department at Manchester College, North Manchester, Ind., for thirty years. He is a Manchester College graduate, and holds B. A. and M.A. degrees from Oxford University in England and M.A. and Ph. D. degrees from Harvard University.

Dr. Rogers also served as Resident Director for Brethren Colleges Abroad in Germany and China, as Fulbright Program Adviser for Manchester College, and as Coordinator for the Ministry Training Institute of Manchester College and the Church of the Brethren in Indiana. His publications and presentations include “The Church of the Brethren and Liberation Theology,” “The War in Iraq: Theological Reflections,” and “Engaging Students of Church History Through Interviews of Retired Church Leaders.”

Malinda Berry will join the Bethany faculty in the 2009/2010 academic year as an instructor in Theological Studies and Director of the M.A. program. Ms. Berry is a Ph.D. candidate at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and is currently Visiting Scholar in Religion & Women’s Studies at Goshen College, Goshen, Ind. She is a graduate of Goshen College and holds an M.A. degree in Peace Studies from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind.

Ms. Berry also served as Interim Minister at the Manhattan Mennonite Fellowship in New York City, and as Associate Director of Mennonite Voluntary Service. Her publications and presentations include “Women and Missio Dei,” “A Theology of Wonder,” and “Reading with Daughters of Sarah & Hagar: Authority, Scripture and the Christian Life.”

Richard B. Gardner will serve as Interim Academic Dean during the 2008-2009 school year. Dr. Gardner is Emeritus Professor of New Testament Studies and served as the Seminary’s Academic Dean from 1992-2003. He is a graduate of Juniata College, Huntingdon, Penn., and holds a M.Div. degree from Bethany and a D. Theol. degree from the University of Würzburg in Germany.

Dr. Gardner also served as parish ministries staff for the Church of the Brethren General Board. His publications and presentations include Matthew in the Believers Church Bible Commentary Series, “Vocation and Story: Biblical Reflections on Vocation,” and “No Creed But the New Testament.”

“I am delighted that each of these persons has accepted the call to join the Bethany Seminary faculty,” said President Ruthann Knechel Johansen. “In addition to their strong academic backgrounds, each brings a deep faith commitment to Jesus Christ and the Anabaptist-Pietist tradition, to discerning the mind of Christ through careful study of scripture, history, and theology in community, and to practicing Christ’s Way of love in a blessed but fractured world. With their variety of gifts and experiences, these people will enrich Bethany’s educational vision and mission of empowering Christian discipleship for the 21st century.”