Moore will set a first as seminary dean
A UMNS Report
By Jennifer Lind*
Mary Elizabeth MooreThe Rev. Mary Elizabeth Moore will become the first deacon to lead a United Methodist seminary when she joins the Boston University School of Theology, effective Jan. 1.
Deacons have always been eligible for the office of dean in the church’s seminaries. However, Moore is the first to be named to that position, according to the Rev. Anita Wood, director of professional ministry and development at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, Tenn. Two laywomen are currently deans of United Methodist seminaries, but most deans are ordained elders.
Moore is professor of religion and education at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and she directs its Women and Theology in Ministry program. Boston University Provost David Campbell announced her appointment July 8.
“Having Mary Elizabeth Moore as a dean will be a visible witness to the Order of Deacon,” Wood told United Methodist News Service.
“She has always been a role model for those deacons called to the teaching ministry, but her visibility and presence in this position will mean that the perspectives of deacons will be represented in ways and places they have not been before,” said Wood.
Her personal credo is the Hebrew expression tikkun olam, meaning, “repairing the world,” connoting religious or social responsibility. The phrase “embraces the ideals of justice, compassion, peace and ecological integrity,” she said in a press release from Boston University.
The Rev. Jessica J. Commeret, a Candler graduate, recalled how Moore exemplified that philosophy.
“That was just sort of her thing, you know, being in solidarity with and alongside rather than being ahead or over others or creation,” said Commeret, a pastor in Columbus, Ohio. “She was very inviting to students not only to learn but … to make a mark in the world.”
“Both (the church and the Boston University School of Theology) will benefit enormously from Mary Elizabeth’s … deep dedication to, and bridge-building between, the church and the academy,” said Jan Love, dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Moore will succeed Ray L. Hart, who has served as dean ad interim of Boston University’s founding college and the oldest United Methodist seminary since 2003, when Robert C. Neville resigned.
Her areas of research are eco-feminism theology and spirituality, reconciliation theory and practice, cultural contexts and theological perspectives of youth, sacramental teaching and Wesleyan theology.
Moore has earned a doctorate from the Claremont (Calif.) School of Theology, master’s degrees from both Claremont and Southern Methodist University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SMU.
She has authored several books, including Ministering to the Earth, Teaching as a Sacramental Act, Called to Serve: The Diaconate in the United Methodist Church, Resources for Sacred Teaching, Hermeneutics and Empirical Research in Practical Theology, In the Beginning – and in the Middle, Covenant and Call, Teaching from the Heart: Theology and Educational Method and Religious Education. She is the English co-editor of the International Journal of Practical Theology.
*Lind is an intern for United Methodist News Service. She is a senior religious studies major at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Deacons have always been eligible for the office of dean in the church’s seminaries. However, Moore is the first to be named to that position, according to the Rev. Anita Wood, director of professional ministry and development at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, Tenn. Two laywomen are currently deans of United Methodist seminaries, but most deans are ordained elders.
Moore is professor of religion and education at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and she directs its Women and Theology in Ministry program. Boston University Provost David Campbell announced her appointment July 8.
“Having Mary Elizabeth Moore as a dean will be a visible witness to the Order of Deacon,” Wood told United Methodist News Service.
“She has always been a role model for those deacons called to the teaching ministry, but her visibility and presence in this position will mean that the perspectives of deacons will be represented in ways and places they have not been before,” said Wood.
Her personal credo is the Hebrew expression tikkun olam, meaning, “repairing the world,” connoting religious or social responsibility. The phrase “embraces the ideals of justice, compassion, peace and ecological integrity,” she said in a press release from Boston University.
The Rev. Jessica J. Commeret, a Candler graduate, recalled how Moore exemplified that philosophy.
“That was just sort of her thing, you know, being in solidarity with and alongside rather than being ahead or over others or creation,” said Commeret, a pastor in Columbus, Ohio. “She was very inviting to students not only to learn but … to make a mark in the world.”
“Both (the church and the Boston University School of Theology) will benefit enormously from Mary Elizabeth’s … deep dedication to, and bridge-building between, the church and the academy,” said Jan Love, dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
Moore will succeed Ray L. Hart, who has served as dean ad interim of Boston University’s founding college and the oldest United Methodist seminary since 2003, when Robert C. Neville resigned.
Her areas of research are eco-feminism theology and spirituality, reconciliation theory and practice, cultural contexts and theological perspectives of youth, sacramental teaching and Wesleyan theology.
Moore has earned a doctorate from the Claremont (Calif.) School of Theology, master’s degrees from both Claremont and Southern Methodist University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SMU.
She has authored several books, including Ministering to the Earth, Teaching as a Sacramental Act, Called to Serve: The Diaconate in the United Methodist Church, Resources for Sacred Teaching, Hermeneutics and Empirical Research in Practical Theology, In the Beginning – and in the Middle, Covenant and Call, Teaching from the Heart: Theology and Educational Method and Religious Education. She is the English co-editor of the International Journal of Practical Theology.
*Lind is an intern for United Methodist News Service. She is a senior religious studies major at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 9:34 AM
<< Home