From The Dean

Following Jesus’ death the disciples were scared and disorganized. They had followed Jesus for three years and didn’t believe him when he said that he was going to be betrayed and crucified (Mt 20:17-19). Most of them hid in the Upper Room and locked the door. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times. Cleopas and the […]

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7   As we watch the horrible reports of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, my heart goes out to the Ukrainian people who are out-manned and out-gunned, but not disheartened. These scenes of violence and […]

August 30, 2021 The Book of Isaiah chapter 40: 3-5 reads “A voice cries out:“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be lifted up,    and every mountain and hill be made low;the uneven ground shall become level,    and the rough places a plain.5 Then the glory […]

“Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised.” – Mark 16:6     April 4, 2021 This holy week I was on Wesley’s campus and many of the offices were closed as most faculty and staff are working from home under our Tier 3 protocols. The […]

August 31, 2020  –  As we begin a new academic year at Wesley Theological Seminary we are also mindful that our world is in disarray. The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 180,000 Americans and infected more than 6 million. The pandemic has also revealed the racial and social inequalities in America as disproportionate numbers […]

January 13, 2020 I would like to begin this reflection with a clarification that the “Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace through Separation” is just a proposal that will need to be approved by the General Conference delegates, and thus, these ruminations are merely hypothetical. However, the Protocol comes with a great deal of weight given […]

May 14, 2019 Given that Wesley Seminary is in the nation’s capital, democracy is important to who we are as a church and as an institution that serves our nation and world. The United States of America was established as a republic in response to the cry “No taxation without representation.” The Methodist Episcopal Church […]

March 2, 2019  As a young missionary I was assigned to Cuba during a time when the Soviet Union was collapsing, which provoked an economic, political and spiritual crisis on the island. Cuba had been very dependent on the former Soviet Union and its systems reflected that dependence. The early 1990s brought shortages of food, […]

  August 17, 2018 I am writing these words from the Oxford Institute for Methodist Studies, a gathering of 170 scholars from around the world who gather together once every five years to reflect on Wesleyan theology in light of the Bible and our current contexts. This year’s theme is “Thy Grace Restore, Church Revive,” […]