Click here for the 25 Years of Women of Scholars Program Booklet

1989 — 2014
“Behold, I am about to do a
new thing; now it springs forth,
do you not perceive it.”
Isaiah 43:19 NRVS
3
Forward
By Angella Current-Felder
Executive Director, Office of Loans
and Scholarships (1985-2010) retired
The seeds were planted on the
Grand Bahama shores, during a
workshop led by Bishop Leontine
T.C. Kelly and the Reverends Dr.
Karen Collier, Linda Lee, and Linda
Thomas at the first convocation of
United Methodist Black Clergywomen
in June 1987, sponsored by the General Board of Higher Education and
Ministry. Bishop Kelly was the first African American woman bishop
of any mainline denomination. The Rev. Dr. Karen Collier was the
first UM black clergywoman with a Ph.D. in Religious Studies
(Church History). The Rev. Linda Lee (now Bishop Lee) and the
Rev. Linda Thomas were the first African American clergywomen to
serve as staff at Methodist Theological Seminary in Ohio and Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., respectively.
Amongst the issues discussed during this historic convocation, was
the lack of women of color faculty and staff in theological education
in the United States, particularly at our 13 United Methodist-related
theological schools. The church needed to create a pool of United
Methodist women of color religious scholars to fill that void and add
those voices to the Academy of Religion. Led by GBHEM staff including its General Secretary, the Rev. Dr. Roger Ireson, the Rev.
Kathy Nicholson Sage, Angella Current-Felder, and the Rev. Dr.
Donald Treese, a design team formed, funds were identified, and in
1989, the Women of Color Scholars Program held its first mentoring
session with its first scholars: the Revs: Yar Bratcher, Youtha Hardman Cromwell, Ai Ra Kim, Rosetta Ross, Tumani Mutasa Nyajeka,
and Linda Thomas.
Our first mentors were: Drs. Karen Collier, Convener, Jacquelyn
Grant (AME), and Clarice Martin (Pres.). We are especially grateful to the mentors, some of whom are former WOC scholars, who
counseled, prayed, and supported the scholars through their academic and personal life challenges from the program’s early beginnings or at different stages of its life: Drs. Rita Nakashima Brock,
Katie Cannon, Karen Collier, Jung Ha Kim, Renita Weems, Daisy
Machado, Anne Joh, HiRho Park, Rosetta Ross, and Linda Thomas.
Twenty-five years later, we celebrate 65 Women of Color Scholars
who have participated in this unique and only denominationally
sponsored program of its kind. We are proud of our 39 graduate
scholars who are teaching in seminaries and theological schools in
the United States, Africa, Korea, and Vietnam who still actively
engage in completing their work.
The program’s success comes not only from its scholars and mentors but also from the commitment of GBHEM’s general secretaries: the Rev. Drs. Roger Ireson, Jerome King Del Pino, and Kim
Cape, GBHEM’s board of directors, and staff of the Office of Loans
and Scholarships and Division of Ordained Ministry. Thanks be to
God for “doing a new thing, which has sprung forth” and is transforming the world!
5
Presenting our
distinguished
Women of Color Scholar
graduates*
*Note: Biographical sketch not available from all graduates.
A full listing is available on page 30
7
Graduate
Cheryl B. Anderson
Cheryl B. Anderson is a professor of the Old Testament at GarrettEvangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. She joined the
faculty there after completing her doctoral work at Vanderbilt University
in 2000. Earlier in her career, Anderson was a practicing attorney with
the federal government in Washington, D.C. Anderson is also an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church.
Her research interests focus on women and biblical laws, as well as
liberationist readings of biblical texts. Her first book, Women, Ideology,
and Violence was published by Continuum Press in 2004. Her second
book, Ancient Laws and Contemporary Controversies: The Need for
Inclusive Biblical Interpretation, was published by Oxford University
Press in 2009. She has published numerous articles, in addition to
lecturing extensively in the United States and sub-Saharan Africa.
During the last few years, she has studied the church’s response to the
AIDS pandemic in the African American community and in South Africa, the country with the highest number of persons in the world who
are living with AIDS. She has received two major grants for her work—
one from the Louisville Institute and the other a Fulbright
award. Anderson is committed to using her academic background to
help African and African American communities face this pandemic.
Graduate
Yoo-Yun Cho-Chang
“The Women of Color Scholarship program not only assisted me finan-
cially with achieving a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and Religion at
Boston University but also shaped my understanding of call in academia and influenced my research as a woman of color. Interaction with
other mentors and scholars in the program pushed my horizons and
challenged me to think critically about the contribution I can make in
academia, which is often dominated by the discourse from the center
and continues to dismiss the voices from the margin. Instead of working in isolation as a person of color, I learned the importance of solidarity with other women of color who boldly and subversively try to address the issues of justice and oppression and change the course of
dominant stream in intellectual enterprise. The relationships I made
with these scholars continue to give me solace and sense of connection in my journey of being a scholar, and I am grateful for the lifetime
gift that I have received from the Women of Color Scholarship program.”
The Rev. Dr. Yoo-Yun Cho-Chang is an ordained elder in the New
England Conference of The United Methodist Church and serves The
United Methodist Church of Woburn, Massachusetts. She is co-chair of
the Board of Ordained Ministry of the New England Conference and
also a member of Extraordinary Ordination Work Area of Church Within
a Church Movement. Cho-Chang teaches Pastoral Care classes at the
Local Pastor’s Licensing School of NEUMC as an associate director.
She also taught Spiritual Care and Counseling at Harvard Divinity
School as a lecturer and will be teaching Introduction to Pastoral Care
and Counseling at Boston University School of Theology as an adjunct
faculty in fall of 2014.
9
Graduate
Cristian De La Rosa
The Rev. Dr. Cristian De La Rosa is assistant professor of Contextual
Theology and Practice and director of Contextual Education and Community Partnerships at Boston University School of Theology. Originally
from Mexico, De La Rosa is an ordained elder with the New England
Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. She previously
served as director of Continuing Education and Course of Study School
at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary; as national director for
Tertulias Pastorales, an ecumenical clergy initiative sponsored by the
Lily Foundation, of the Association for Hispanic Theological Education;
and as national director for the Hispanic Youth Leadership Academy at
Perkins School of Theology.
De La Rosa received her Ph.D. in Theology and Ethics from Chicago
Theological Seminary where her dissertation focused on contextual dynamics of power and agency. Her areas of interest include feminist theology, cultural theory, Latin American liberation theology, and the Hispanic/Latino community and its religious history. She is invested in ecumenical dialogue thorough scholarship, teaching, and community organizing.
She currently serves as administrative co-convener for the National Association of UM Latina Clergy Women, a board member for the Massachusetts Council of Churches, national coordinator for the Hispanic
Youth Leadership Academy, and chair for the Theological Education
working group of the National Council of Churches.
Graduate
Leah Gunning Francis
Dr. Leah Gunning Francis is the associate dean of Contextual Education at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. A frequent
guest lecturer, preacher, and workshop facilitator, she draws on her
marketing experience, pastoral leadership, and academic training to
creatively equip students, clergy, and congregations for transformative
social action.
In 2012, Gunning Francis was awarded the prestigious Engaged Scholars Fellowship to study issues of risk among middle-class African American young males. She argues that the meta-narrative about young
black males makes all of them “at risk” regardless of socioeconomic
class, and utilizes the narrated experiences of black mothers to construct a new narrative about young black males that promotes wholeness and well being.
Gunning Francis has served as an adjunct professor for the Methodist
Theological School in Ohio, and has provided pastoral leadership for
congregations in Georgia, Illinois, and Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of
Science degree in Marketing from Hampton University; a Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University; and
a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.
A native of Willingboro, New Jersey, Gunning Francis is married to the
Rev. Rodney Francis, senior pastor of Washington Tabernacle Baptist
Church. They live in St. Louis, Missouri, with their sons, Evan and Desmond.
11
Graduate
Youtha Hardman-Cromwell
“Because of the support of the Woman of Color Scholarship program, I
have been able to pursue my passions for teaching, preaching, and
helping to prepare leadership for the church in a variety of ways and
positions. I am grateful. I was honored and proud to be in the first class
of Women of Color Scholars .”
Dr. Youtha Hardman-Cromwell received her Ph.D. in December 1992
and continued her work at Howard Divinity School in Washington D.C.,
where she taught Facing Your First Pastorate and Sexual Issues in Parish Ministry. She worked there as director the Ford Field-Based Fellowship Program from 1987-1999.
In April 1998, Hardman-Cromwell was selected at the associate director
of the Practice in Ministry and Mission Program at Wesley Theological
Seminary. She became the director in 2001. In 2008, she was tenured
as full professor of Practice in Ministry and Mission, and then was appointed assistant dean of Wesley at Mount Vernon Square, a new venture to take the seminary into downtown Washington in a new building.
Hardman-Cromwell served as associate dean of Community Life at
Wesley from November 1, 2013 to June 30th, 2014. She is retired from
the Virginia Conference of The United Methodist Church since June
2012, but continues to teach full time at Wesley. Her current course load
includes: Sexual Issues in Parish Ministry, Studying Congregational Ministries, Facing the First Pastorate, and Preaching Practicum: Images and
Illustrations.
Graduate
Mentor
Wonhee Anne Joh
“At most institutions, mentoring happens capriciously, accidentally, selec-
tively, informally, and sporadically. It is usually characterized as a one-onone, discreet relationship that is decentralized and unmoored from the very
life of the institution. However, good mentoring is about guiding and assisting the birth of a unique scholar — a scholar who can find her own sense of
professional identity. This understanding of mentoring places it at the heart
of institutional life. Thus a contribution to the emerging theological landscape would be finding ways to deepen and broaden our practices of mentoring within and across institutions. This effort would include thinking
more precisely about the distinctions between mentoring and advising, as
well as the formal and the informal dimensions of mentoring.
“Mentoring and advising are two distinct ways of nurturing doctoral students. They are not mutually exclusive, but they are also not synonymous.
Although an advisor is usually someone within the student’s home institution, the ideal mentor or mentors are best when they are not. Mentors contribute to the student’s evolving understanding of him/herself as a critical
scholar, who contributes to the transformation of both her/his own professional field and the communities to which s/he is accountable. The United
Methodist Women of Color Doctoral Scholarship was an indispensable
part of my scholarly formation. The financial commitment to my study was
important but it would not have been as effective or formidable without the
mentoring component. My mentors varied over time and in terms of academic disciplines. The most critical component is that while being critical
and forceful in always pushing me to the limits, the Women of Color mentors made it clear they believed in my potential to contribute to the church
and the academy. Their commitment and capacity to see promise in me
even during times when I could not see promise in myself held me together and held me up. I am who I am thanks to the faith and commitment of
this program.”
13
Graduate
Hannah Ka
“I consider the Women of Color Scholarship a divine gift beyond any meas-
ure. The financial support was extremely helpful; equally important were the
eight years of mentoring (2003-2011), academic advising, emotional support, and spiritual/theological inspiration I received and having communion
among other women of color scholars and mentors. The Women of Color
Scholarship program expanded my theological horizon and deepened my
relationships with others while affirming my own place in academia.”
Hannah Ka is a recent graduate of Claremont Graduate University where
she constructed a Korean feminist notion of the self as an indebted existent
in multiple indebted relationships. By highlighting how one is both ontologically and functionally indebted to others throughout one’s various phases
and aspects of life, Ka claims that one’s indebtedness to others cannot be
confined to the functional level alone, but must be expanded to the ontological level where one’s existential continuation is not merely interdependent
with, but utterly indebted to, all others. When the self is understood as such,
one can move beyond the limits of what justice-care requires of her, to be
respectfully graceful and gracefully respectful towards others whose presence and functional diversities sustain her existential continuation. Building
upon her Korean feminist notion of the self, her current research focuses on
expanding the extent of indebted relations to include both human and nature—both living and non-living existents.
Ka currently serves as an associate pastor of discipleship at The Korean
United Methodist Church of San Diego. She continues to carry on her research and authors essays that integrate her scholarship in ethics with pastoral experiences, embracing both theory and praxis in her teaching and
ministry.
Ka earned a Ph.D. in Theology, Ethics, and Culture in 2011 from Claremont
Graduate University and a M.Div. from Boston University School of Theology in 2001. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Theological Studies from
Methodist Theological University, Seoul, Korea, in 1997.
Graduate
Namsoon Kang
Namsoon Kang, professor of World Christianity and Religions, joined Brite
Divinity School faculty at Texas Christian University in 2006, having taught
previously at the Faculty of Divinity, Cambridge University in Cambridge,
United Kingdom, and Methodist Theological University in Seoul, South
Korea. Her most recent books include Cosmopolitan Theology, and Handbook of Theological Education in World Christianity (co-edited), and Diasporic Feminist Theology (forthcoming 2014). Teaching, researching, and
writing from interdisciplinary spaces, her particular theoretical interests are
in discourses of apophatic theology/philosophy, deconstruction, postmodernism, postcolonialism, gender studies, and diaspora. Her writing on cosmopolitan theology engages recent theories of cosmopolitan rights, justice,
and hospitality, especially those of Immanuel Kant, Hannah Arendt, and
Jacques Derrida.
An acclaimed speaker who lectures throughout the world, she has
been actively involved in various international ecumenical organizations
and programs, was a plenary speaker at the WCC 9th Assembly in Porto
Alegre, Brazil in 2006, and serves on the Programme Guideline Committee
of the World Council of Churches at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan,
South Korea. She is currently president of the World Conference of Associations of Theological Institutions and global faculty for the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute.
She received the Louise Clark Britten Endowed Faculty Excellence
Award twice, in 2009 and 2012, and Catherine Saylor Hill Award of Faculty
Excellence in 2013 at Brite Divinity School.
15
Graduate
J. Kabamba Kiboko
“The Women of Color Scholarship program has benefited my
higher education goals to have a pulpit in this global world. I
earned a Ph.D. in Biblical Interpretation (Old Testament) from
the Iliff School of Theology and University of Denver Joint Ph.D.
Program. As I love God and have passion for the church, the
WOC Program gave me the opportunity to be equipped for the
pulpit at the intersection of the church and academia in our
global world.
“As both a biblical scholar and an ordained clergywoman, I am
equipped to help build a bridge between these two institutions
through preaching in churches and academic settings as well
as through publishing. Words will never express the depth of my
humble heartfelt gratitude to the WOC Program.”
J. Kabamba Kiboko was the first clergywoman to be ordained
elder (1983) in the Southern Congo Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church. She holds her Ph.D. in Biblical Interpretation (Old Testament) from the University of Denver and liff
School of Theology Joint Ph.D. Program (2010), M.Div. from Iliff
School of Theology (1995), M.Th. from Perkins School of Theology (1991), B.A. from Drake University (1988), B.Div. from Institute Supérieur de Théologie, Mulungwishi, DRC (1981).
Graduate
Felicia Howell LaBoy
Dr. Felicia LaBoy is a scholar, teacher, pastor, and community developer who believes that the ultimate goal of theological education
is to educate, equip, and empower leaders to respond to and transform creatively the church and world. A business leader and entrepreneur, LaBoy is a recognized expert in the fields of faith-based
community development, social justice, evangelism, racial reconciliation, and leadership development in community and professional
organizations. In particular, LaBoy is known as one who interweaves her business, theological education, and experience to create unique solutions that bring together diverse groups to develop a
shared vision and work in concert to achieve better communities
and organizations. She is often described as one who moves from
the “seminary to the street, from the pulpit to the pavement,” in helping others to understand and utilize complex business and theological concepts to create solutions for communities and organizations.
In 2012, LaBoy became the assistant professor of Evangelization in
the Heisel Chair at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.
She is the only woman of color in the denomination currently teaching evangelism at this level in any United Methodist-related seminary.
17
Graduate
Boyung Lee
“The Women of Color Scholars program provided me a space that is
authentically hospitable and challenging. I was at a doctoral program
where I was the first Asian or Asian American. When I was longing for
deep conversations on my scholarship grounded in my cultural roots and
theology, the Women of Colors Scholars program provided the very
space. The mentors challenged me to do not only excellent academic
work, but also to do a just work without essentializing my people’s stories for the sake of my career progress. With several of the fellow scholars I also cultivated a sisterhood friendship which will last for the rest of
my life. Thanks to our mutual encouragement and accountability, I am
still growing to be a better scholar and person.”
“When I became the first woman of color to receive a tenure at the Graduate Theological Union in 2007, the first thing that came to my mind was
the mentoring I received through Women of Color Scholars program. I
try to provide a similar mentoring — hospitable challenges to my students, particularly women of color students here.”
There were no women teachers or preachers when the Rev. Dr. Boyung
Lee was growing up in Korea, and she decided to leave her country in
part because, as a woman, she could not be ordained. She became the
first Asian Ph.D. candidate at Boston College, and then the first person
of color (and second woman) to pastor The United Methodist Church in
Bolton, Connecticut.
yung Lee
Graduate
Tamara Lewis
Tamara E. Lewis was awarded her Ph.D. in 2014 from Vanderbilt
University Graduate Department of Religion in Church History with a
concentration in Reformation and Early Modern English Religious
Studies.
Currently, she is assistant professor of the History of Christianity at
Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology, where
she teaches courses in Early Church History; Medieval and Early
Modern Christianity, Reformation History, and Social Justice; and
History of the Black Church in America. Her dissertation, To Wash a
Blackamoor White: The Rise of Black Religious Rhetoric in Early
Modern England, chronicles the increasing use of images of Africans
in English Protestant writing during the late sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries.
Additionally, she is working on several projects: (1) the influence of
early modern English Calvinist and Arminian thought in the development of the ideology of race as a social construct, (2) black Baptist
women’s religious lives in seventeenth century England, and (3) Wesleyan theology and race, centering the historical background of John
Wesley’s eighteenth century abolitionist campaign. Lewis is an ordained elder in the Tennessee Conference of The United Methodist
Church.
19
Graduate
Pamela Lightsey
“The Women of Color Scholars program has become a well-respected
name at United Methodist-related seminaries. Administrators and faculty
are assured that women who are alumna of this program are sound
scholars, bring helpful new insights to pedagogical models, and have a
passion for doing research that improves the lives of persons across our
global communities.
“I was a recipient of the Women of Color scholarship and mentoring,
2001-2005. The program provided me with funding to complete my doctoral studies and dissertation writing. I also benefitted from strong mentoring from scholars who even today remain ‘go-to’ persons when I am
contemplating a vocational opportunity or challenge.
“As an African American woman I was particularly touched by the relationships I built with women of color from around the world. We formed a
strong sisterhood and network within the academy.”
Pamela Lightsey is a scholar, social justice activist, and military veteran
whose academic and research interests include classical and contemporary just war theory, Womanist theology, Queer theory and theology, and
African American religious history and theologies. An ordained elder in
the Northern Illinois Conference of The United Methodist Church, Lightsey pastored an urban church on the south side of Chicago, has done
work for several UM general agencies, and has strong connections within several mainline denominations. She has been a member of the Pan
Methodist Commission for the last two quadrenniums.
Graduate
Velma Love
Velma Love is currently the project director of the Equipping the Saints
Project, and joined HUSD in 2012. She was formerly the assistant professor of Religion at Florida A&M University, where she joined the faculty in
2005. She received the M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in 1999,
and a Ph.D. from Claremont University in 2006. Prior to her professorial
appointment, she served as assistant director of the Institute for Signifying
Scriptures housed at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California, for three years and as research assistant with the African Americans
and Bible National Research Project at Union Theological Seminary in
New York City for five years.
Her research interests include sacred texts and society, religious autobiography, the Ifa/Orisha tradition, as well as other expressions of African and
African American religions, and the New Thought/Ancient Wisdom Movement. She also served as research director of the African American component of the Ethnology of Scriptures Project, a national research project
housed at the Institute for Signifying Scriptures at Claremont Graduate
University.
Publications: “The Bible and Contemporary African American Culture: Hermeneutical Forays, Observations, and Impressions” in African Americans
and the Bible: Sacred Texts and Social Textures, 2000; “African Americans
and the Bible: a Multi-Disciplinary Conference,” in Religious Studies News,
1999; “Making and Re-Making Worlds: African Americans and the Bible,” in
Union Seminary Quarterly Review, 2003;“Awakening to Self,” in Well
Springs: A Journal for United Methodist Clergywomen , 2003.
A native South Carolinian and second career academician, Love has extensive experience in non-profit management, cultural work, youth development, and community service.
21
Graduate
Beauty Rosebery
Maenzanise
The Rev. Dr. Beauty Roseberry Maenzanise, who was born in Mutare, Zimbabwe, is known as a leader in theological education, especially in The United Methodist Church worldwide. She currently
serves as the dean of the School of Theology at Africa University,
having received her Ph.D. in liturgical studies from Casperen School
of Graduate Studies, Drew University. In 2010, she received the Distinguished Service Award from Drew University. Maenzanise was the
first female dean at Africa University, and also the first African female
to be a Plenary Speaker at the Oxford Institute of Methodist Theological Studies in 2013.
She also holds a master’s degree in Sacred Theology and M.Div.
from Drew Theological School. She taught at Lancaster Theological
Seminary in Pennsylvania from 2002 to 2004 before relocating to
Zimbabwe where she took up a faculty position in theology at Africa
University. Africa University, located in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe, is the
first fully accredited United Methodist-related educational institution
on the African continent established by action of the General Conference.
Throughout her career as a devoted servant of God, she has shared
her knowledge in presentations around the world, giving particular
attention to African theology, the role of women in the church and
society, and the incorporation of African traditional religious practices
into Christian worship.
Graduate
Quynh-Hoa Nquyen
“The Women of Color Scholars program made significant differences in my
professional and personal life. The funds helped me complete my Ph.D.
and the mentoring truly influenced my idea of a ‘strong woman.’ Coming
from a largely patriarchal culture where women are viewed as subordinate,
I used to value suffering and silence as virtues in women. I used to define
a strong woman as her ability to endure and survive under any circumstances. Yet, as a Woman of Color Scholar, I found a woman’s strength in
her capacity to give voice to the values she believes in.“
Quynh-Hoa Nguyen is a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church serving as director of leadership
development of the United Methodist Mission in Vietnam. One major need
is for trained pastoral and lay leadership, and also for the development of
indigenous trainers. Nquyen has special responsibilities in accomplishing
these goals, especially through teaching at Wesley Theological College in
Vietnam.
Nguyen was born in Vietnam and grew up in a Christian home in Danang.
The fall of Saigon in 1975 brought major change to her family since her
father had been a member of the South Vietnamese armed forces. He was
placed in a “re-education” camp while she and the rest of the family went
“through relocation, discrimination, and deprivation of college education.” The experience of being marginalized led her to seek God’s will for
her and to discern a call to work with others in such circumstances. In
1998, Nquyen came to the United States to pursue academic and practical
grounding in Christian theology and practice. She earned a B.A. degree in
English at Ho Chi Minh University in 1994.
In California, Nquyen received a M.Div. from United Methodist-related
Claremont School of Theology in 2003, and a Ph.D. in Religion from the
Claremont Graduate University in 2013.
23
Graduate
Kirsten Sonkyo Oh
The Rev. Dr. Kirsten Sonkyo Oh is an ordained elder in the California
Pacific Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church and holds a
Ph.D. in Practical Theology. Her research focuses on Christian ministry,
Intercultural Christian ministry, and pastoral counseling, intersecting
theology with psychology. Along with Dr. Cameron Lee, Oh worked on
a published Wabash research project: “Theological Education in a Multicultural Environment: Empowerment or Disempowerment?,” which appeared in Theological Education in Fall 2008. Also, Oh published a
book chapter focusing on Asian American female leadership: “Irit Redeemed: Casting My Lot With Lot's Wife,” in Mirrored Reflections: Reframing Biblical Characters in 2010.
Currently, Oh serves as an assistant professor of Practical Theology at
Azusa Pacific University. She also serves as one of the United Methodist representatives to the National Council of Churches of Christ. In addition, she regularly preaches and lectures at churches, retreats, and
universities. Prior to being at APU, she served as associate dean of
Student Life and adjunct faculty at Claremont School of Theology, as a
student chaplain and adjunct faculty at Fuller Theological Seminary,
and as pastor of several United Methodist churches in Southern California. Living life to the fullest, Oh enjoys listening to music, swimming,
hiking, and traveling with her husband, Scott.
Graduate
HiRho Park
As a Woman of Color Scholar the Rev. Dr. HiRho Park describes her
calling in this way: “The image of my calling is a hand opening a door: I
was the first and only Korean American woman in many circumstances
within the church. I am opening a door for the younger generations of
Korean American women since somebody had to do it, and I was willing
to be that somebody. Because of this ‘holy burden,’ I know that I’ve been
extra diligent in my education, work, and ministry. I thank the Woman of
Color Scholars program that provided support, confidence, and courage
to fulfill my call as a racial-ethnic Christian woman leader to strive to support women with equal access for higher education, seek justice for all
people, and always to keep hope alive in Jesus Christ!”
Park is director of Clergy Lifelong Learning for the General Board of
Higher Education and Ministry of The United Methodist Church. Park
oversees the continuing education, online learning programs, spiritual
formation for clergy, and provides support for United Methodist clergywomen, as well as racial and ethnic clergy in areas of theological education, enlistment, and research. She is an ordained elder of the BaltimoreWashington Annual Conference and holds a Doctor of Ministry degree
from Wesley Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Boston University
School of Theology in the area of practical theology focusing on Ministry
in Church and Society.
Park’s leadership philosophy is to integrate theology and practice so
Christian belief will be relevant to our daily life. Park has directed research projects at GBHEM such as Demography of UMC Continuing Education of UMC (2007), UMC Salary Study (2010), Lead Women Pastors’
Leadership Style (2011), and Racial-Ethnic Cross-Racial and CrossCultural Lead Pastors’ Leadership Style (2014). Park is a co-editor of
Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling (2013), editor of WellSprings: A Journal for United Methodist Clergywomen, and a contributor
of the upcoming publication, Encyclopedia of Christian Education. Park
served as a co-director of the WOC program between 2005-2011.
25
Graduate
Rebecca Jeney Park-Hearn
“My involvement with the Women of Color Scholars program provided
the pivotal and foundational elements I needed to complete the Ph.D.
program at Claremont School of Theology. The mentors were astute in
the questions, untiring in their support, and relentless in their hope
(when hope could not be found) for us students at various points in our
respective programs. As a Woman of Color Scholar, I learned that
mentor-student collaboration in the academy is vital to the pursuit of
knowledge and to the ever expanding reaches of ministry. I'm ever
grateful for the financial assistance and the nurturing and guidance that
mentors and fellow students availed to me during critical junctures of
my program. Congratulations to the Women Of Color Scholars program.”
Dr. Jeney Park-Hearn graduated from Claremont School of Theology
with the Ph.D. in Practical Theology with an emphasis in Spiritual Care
and Counseling. Her dissertation, "Will No One Shed a Tear: Disenfranchised Grief and a Pastoral Theology of Prayers of Lament for Second Generation Korean American Christians,” explored how the church
can be more responsive to Korean Americans as racialized subjects. She currently resides in Seattle, Washington, with her husband
and daughter .
Graduate
Mentor
Rosetta Ross
“As a member of the first class of United Methodist Women of Color Scholars, I
entered the program at a time when the number of women of color Ph.Ds. and
Th.Ds. in religion and theology were few. The program proved essential to my
success as a doctoral student by providing access to women of color mentors
and models Jacquelyn Grant, Katie G. Cannon, Karen Collier, Rita N. Brock,
and Renita Weems. Coupled with a scholarship award that eased the financial
challenge of pursuing advanced study, these mentors’ support and the consistent affirmation of GBHEM’s Loans and Scholarship Director, Angella Current
-Felder, the WOC program provided a space of affirmation that was invaluable
in nurturing my development as a scholar and leader. I continue to marvel at the
visionary leadership shown by the WOC scholarship design team and United
Methodism in developing a program in 1989, that was miles ahead of its time in
preparing women scholars and leaders to respond to contemporary demographic realities of the country and the church.”
Rosetta E. Ross is professor of Religion at Spelman College. She has led in the
religious academy and the American Academy of Religion (AAR) as co-chair of
steering committees for the Womanist Approaches to Religion and Society
Group and the Women and Religion Section, and as a member of the AAR’s
Academic Relations Committee. She was elected to the U.S. Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians and coordinates that association’s spin-off
the Transgressive Theologies Group. Recently Ross coordinated (with Evelyn
Parker and Rose Mary Amenga-Etego) the 2012 and 2014 Consultations of
African and African Diasporan Women in Religion and Theology in Accra, Ghana. As former chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at
Spelman College, Ross led a substantial revision and update of the institution’s
study of religion. Ross is convener of the WOC Mentors team.
Her scholarship explores religion and black women’s activism, especially during
the Civil Rights Era. The author of more than three dozen essays, Ross has
authored the only text that examines religion and black women’s leadership
during the Civil Rights Movement, Witnessing and Testifying: Black Women,
Religion, and Civil Rights. She has lectured widely in this area. Currently, she is
completing a moral analysis of the life of United Methodist laywoman and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) administrator Ruby Hurley, who directed the NAACP’s southeast region from 1951-1978.
27
Graduate
Dianne Stewart
“I was awarded a Women of Color doctoral scholarship for three consecutive
years (1995-1997). With WOC funding, I was able to concentrate on my
coursework and field research, and I completed each stage of my doctoral
program with great success and in a timely fashion. However, the WOC
scholarship program provided much more than funding. It offered exposure
to professional conferences, receptions with presidents and deans of UMC
institutions, professionalization workshops, and a network of mentors and
mentoring resources. This holistic approach to supporting women of color in
doctoral programs was pioneering and effective, thanks to the vision and
efforts of Angella Current-Felder and Dr. Karen Collier. The WOC scholarship program helped to launch my career and prepared me to navigate academic environments that are either ambivalent about or hostile toward the
presence and influence of black women and other women of color. For this,
I am perpetually grateful!”
Dianne Marie Stewart was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. She has a B.A. from Colgate University in English and
African American Studies, a M.Div. from Harvard Divinity School, and a
Ph.D. in systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York
City. Currently an associate professor of Religion and African American
Studies at Emory University, Stewart is the author of Three Eyes for the
Journey: African Dimensions of the Jamaican Religious Experience
(2005). She is also co-editor of Duke University Press’ Religious Cultures of
African and African Diaspora People series. Stewart’s research and teaching interests include theologies and religious practices of the African diaspora with particular emphases upon African heritage religious cultures in the
Americas and the Caribbean; Black, Womanist, and Caribbean liberation
theologies; theory and method in black religious studies; and interreligious
dialogue among the African diaspora. Stewart has committed herself to the vocation of teaching and research with
the intention of inspiring students and other audiences (whether in the classroom, church, temple, mosque, prison, or community center), to commit to a
life of critical, healthful, and progressive thinking about religion, politics, and
social, communal, and personal formation.
Graduate
Mentor
Linda E. Thomas
“The Women of Color Scholarship and Mentoring program made all the
difference in the quality of my life while I pursued my Ph.D. degree. The
funds made it possible for me to graduate debt free and the mentoring
program helped me to keep my soul and have a focused pursuit of my
scholarship. I salute the program for making it possible for me to fulfill my
call to teach in theological education primarily at United Methodist institutions.”
Dr. Linda E. Thomas has taught in the fields of anthropology, cultural
studies, ethics and theology. She is particularly focused on the experience of African American women, and is passionate about uncovering
and exploring historical and contemporary experiences and ideologies
that govern actions, policies, and norms surrounding sex, race, and class.
She always incorporates multiple teaching and learning methods in the
classroom; in addition to traditional sources, she regularly uses literature,
music, and film to provide variety and relevance for her students.
Thomas is well-published. Her first book, Under the Canopy: Ritual Process and Spiritual Resilience in South Africa (1999), explores the everyday lives of black South Africans trapped by systems of structural poverty
and the ways religion and culture fueled their resilience during the apartheid era. Her second book, Living Stones in the Household of
God (2004), is a collection of essays about Black Theology in the new
millennium. Dr. Thomas edited the book and contributed two essays. She
has published dozens of articles in academic journals and contributed
essays to several scholarly books. Her third book is co-edited with Dwight
Hopkins, is titled: Walk Together Children: Black and Womanist Theolo-
gies, Church, and Theological Education.
29
Graduate
Cynthia Wilson
“The Women of Color Scholars program casts a wide vision by providing: extraordinary mentoring processes led by a brilliant, diverse array of
academicians (all women of color), generous resources which include fellowships, exposure to diverse seminary settings, and open portals to future
career possibilities. Consequently, I have been able to not only complete my
Ph.D. but I have also been situated as a bridge-builder within seminary culture, helping to narrow obvious gaps between liturgical rhetoric within the
academy, and organic ritual practices of the global church. For this, I am
deeply grateful!
“At the turn of the century, research revealed that only 2 percent of all Liturgical Scholars in the U.S. were African American. Having served in the local
church for over four decades, I am painfully aware of the liturgical and musical droughts that can be conspicuously found in Christian public worship/
ritual celebration across the continental United States, particularly in the
Black Church context. This realization has led me to ask the burning question, ‘Who will prepare 21st century music and worship leaders?’ Yet, it is
because of the visionary leadership of Angella Current-Felder and the
Women of Color Scholars program that this startling statistic is rapidly
changing across the globe.”
The Rev. Dr. Cynthia Wilson is an ordained deacon in The United Methodist
Church and has received degrees from Dillard University and Southern
Methodist University Perkins School of Theology. Wilson is a popular lecturer, preacher, teacher, conductor, and concert artist. Wilson provided leadership for the National Task Force that produced the historic liturgical resource, Songs of Zion (1981).
Presently, Wilson is the dean of students at Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary in Evanston, Illinois where she completed her Ph.D. in Liturgical
Studies and Theology.
31
Graduates
Cheryl Anderson
Vanderbilt University
Hebrew Bible
Yoo-Yun Cho-Chang
Boston University School of Theology
Counseling, Psychology & Religion
Jae Haeng Choi
Graduate Theological Union
Christian Spirituality
Sunju Chong
Chicago Theological Seminary
Psychology & Religion
Elenora Mackey Cushenberry
Interdenominational Theological
Center
Pastoral Counseling
Cristian De La Rosa
Chicago Theological Seminary
Theology, Ethics & Social Sciences
Kabamba Kiboko
Iliff School of Theology &
Denver University
Hebrew Bible
Ai Ra Kim
Drew University,
The Theological School
Women & Religion
Jeong S. Kim
Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary
Feminist Theology
Hee Kyung Kim
Boston University
Systematic Theology
Seong Hee Kim
Drew University,
The Theological School
Biblical Studies/New Testament
Debra Mubashshir Majeed
Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary &
Northwestern University
American Religious History
Quynh-Hoa Nguyen
Claremont Graduate University
New Testament
Tumani Mutasa-Nyajeka
Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary &
Northwestern University
Church History
Kirsten S. Oh
Fuller Theological Seminary
Theology
HiRho Y. Park
Boston University School of
Theology
Practical Theology
Felicia Howell LaBoy
Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary
Theology, Ethics & Economics
Rebecca Jeney Park-Hearn
Claremont School of Theology
Pastoral Counseling
Boyung Lee
Boston College
Religion/Education
Rosetta Ross
Emory University
Christian Ethics
Yar D. Gonway-Gono Bratcher
Emory University
Women’s Studies
Yvonne Yong-ja Lee
Iliff School of Theology &
Denver University
Religion & Social Change
Naomi Southard
Graduate Theological Union
Comparative Religious Studies
Andrea D. Green
Emory University
Moral Development
Tamara E. Lewis
Vanderbilt University
Church History
Youtha Hardman-Cromwell
American University
Education Administration
Pamela R. Lightsey
Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary
Theological Ethics
Linda Hickmon Evans
Claremont School of Theology
Religious Education
Leah Gunning Francis
Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary
Religious Education
Wonhee Anne Joh
Drew University,
The Theological School
Systematic Theology
Velma Love
Claremont Graduate University
Religion & Culture
Hannah Ka
Claremont Graduate University
Theology, Ethics & Culture
Mazvita Margaret Machinga
Claremont School of Theology
Pastoral Counseling
Namsoon Kang
Drew University,
The Theological School
Theology
Beauty Roseberry Maenzanise
Drew University,
The Theological School
Liturgical Studies
Dianne M. Stewart
Union Theological Seminary
Systematic Theology
Linda Thomas
American University
Cultural & Social Anthropology
Traci West
Union Theological Seminary
Christian Ethics
Cynthia Wilson
Garrett-Evangelical Theological
Seminary
Liturgical Studies: Worship
Scholars
Elyse Ambrose Minson
Drew University,
The Theological School
Religion & Society: Christian Ethics
Sun-Young Kim
Princeton University
Theology, History of Christian Doctrine
Amy Barbour
Garrett-Evangelical
Theological Seminary
AHyun Lee
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Pastoral Theology & Personality & Culture
Patricia Bonilla
Drew University,
The Theological School
Religious Education
Grace Mercy Tisitsi Mazhandu
Claremont School of Theology
Religious Education & Spirituality
LaGretta J. Kennedy Bjorn
Drew University,
The Theological School
Systematic Theology
Mary Cheng
Graduate Theological Union
Christian Spirituality, Ethics, &
Neuroscience
Jung-Hyun Choi
Harvard Divinity School
New Testament & Early Christianity
Imani-Sheila Newsome-Camara
Boston University School of Theology
Church History
Eun Joo Park
Boston University School of Theology
Lyssette N. Pérez
Drew University,
The Theological School
Social/Christian Ethics
Elonda L. Clay
Lutheran School of Theology
Theology
Rosario L. Quinones
Drew University,
The Theological School
Bible & Ethics
Bessie Collins
Claremont School of Theology
Theology & Personality
Kimberly Russaw
Vanderbilt University
Hebrew Bible
Ruth Cortez
Drew University,
The Theological School
Theology & Religion
Justine Smith
Harvard Divinity
New Testament
Lisa Dellinger
Garrett-Evangelical
Theological Seminary
Theology, History, & Ethics
Diane Turner-Sharazz
Vanderbilt University
Homiletics/New Testament
Felicia George
Iliff School of Theology &
Denver University
Religion & Social Change/Theology,
Philosophy & Cultural Theory
Kyung Sun Hong
Drew University,
The Theological School
Religion & Society
Hyun Hui Kim
Drew University,
The Theological School
Theology & Religion
Michele Watkins Branch
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Theology, Ethics & History
June Hee Yoon
Drew University, The Theological School
Christian Social Ethics
Carol Youngbird-Holt (deceased)
Graduate Theological Union
Cultural & Historical Study of Religion
University of California Berkley
Ethnics Studies Program
33
Mentoring
“In order to be a mentor, and an effective one, one must
care. You must care. You don't have to know how
many square miles are in Idaho, you don't need to know
what is the chemical makeup of chemistry, or of blood or
water. Know what you know and care about the person, care about what you know and care about the person you're sharing with. So if you know how to change
a tire and that's all, that's good. But teach them by
showing, by caring that they know these things. Then
that will be of use some day. And it may never be actually called out. I don't think I'll be called out to change
a tire. But I know fundamentally how to change a tire,
and if I physically can't do it, I may be able to attract
some young person, and tell him how to take the lugs
off...See? So a mentor helps the person to interpret
the world.”
- Maya Angelou
Current Mentors
Former Mentors
Program Design Team
Rita Nakashima Brock
Jung Ha Kim
Rosetta Ross, Convener
Karen Collier
Daisy Machado
Katie Cannon
Clarice Martin
Jacquelyn Grant
Linda Thomas
Wonhee Anne Joh
Renita Weems
Mary S. Barth
Bishop Linda Lee
Karen Collier
Kathy Nicholson Sage
Angella Current Felder
Linda Thomas
Bishop Leontine T.C. Kelly (deceased)
35
Afterword by
GBHEM Office of Loans and Scholarships
Executive Director, Allyson Collinsworth
It is a pleasure to be able to continue and be a part of this vital program of scholarship and mentoring for today’s United Methodist
Women of Color Scholars. I am grateful to the initial Design Team,
the mentors, graduates, and scholars who made the idea a successful reality 25 years later and counting. We continue to see
some of the brightest scholars in the denomination take part of the
program and thrive from the collective support that makes them
aware they are not alone in their journey.
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry supports these
women by providing the scholarship funding and coordinating the
group of mentors, graduates, and scholars to meet. There would be
no success to this model without the priceless guidance from the
mentors. The mentors provide the heart of the support to our Women of Color Scholars. I applaud the mentors for taking the time to
not only blaze the trail for women to follow their lead, but for actually
walking alongside current scholars making their path a bit easier
than mentors may have experienced.
Please consider giving to the Women of Color Scholars Endowment
Fund. To help us to award, mentor, and support more United Methodist Women of Color Scholars in the future, you may easily donate
by visiting www.gbhem.org/wocdonate or mail in your gift to:
GBHEM Office of Loans and Scholarships
Women of Color Scholars Fund
PO Box 340007
Nashville, TN 37203-0007
Thank you!
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www.gbhem.org