Resilience and Resistance: Students Post Reflections
Students in Starr King's weeklong intensive course Resilience and Resistance are finishing up their public theological works on the topics covered in the course as well as required practical experiences. Instructor Megan Dowdell created a website for the course where she is sharing student's papers.
Ritual Arts Lab at SKSM (sksm-ritualarts.tumblr.com) is a new “online lab” created by SKSM faculty instructor Rev. Michelle Favreault and students in her course Leadership, Liturgy, and Learning II: Arts and Ritual (course details). Students in the class produce a weekly Chapel service at Starr King held on Tuesdays at 1pm. Chapel is open to all and everyone is welcome.
Rev. Favreault created the blog as an online labratory for her students:
“A learning laboratory. Experiments in worship and ritual. Musings, lessons. Inspiration. ReImagining leadership and liturgy. A Community of celebration hope, soul searching and creative
connection!”
Promotion of Dr. Gabriella Lettini to Full Professor
The Board of Trustees of Starr King School for the Ministry voted to affirm the promotion Dr. Gabriella Lettini to the rank of full professor at the meeting of the board in November 2011 in Berkeley, CA.
Dr. Lettini is Dean of Faculty and Aurelia Henry Reinhardt Director of Studies in Public Ministry and
Professor of Theological Ethics at Starr King. She is the director of the Masters in Social Change program (MASC). Her full bio can be read on Dr. Letttini faculty page.
SKSM Board Chair Helio Fred Garcia spoke of Professor Lettini's promotion:
Dr. Lettini's courses in ethics and theology continue to receive stellar evaluations including her second Rome immersion class during intersession. Gabriella supervises all the students doing MASC projects and provides support for the CPE process and all community fieldwork and internships. Dr. Lettini has received national acclaim for her groundbreaking work in developing and executing the Truth Commission on Conscience and War a starting Soul Repair project. This profound work was undertaken and effectively carried forth without a sustainable amount of grant money or staff support. The publication of her book on Soul Repair is now scheduled on Veterans Day 2012. Each year Dr. Lettini gives major presentations at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion. She is part of the group that four years ago founded the Transformative Scholarship and Pedagogy Consultation. She now serves as the chair of the program manager for the consultation.
Dr. Dorsey Blake, Dean of Faculty at Starr King, commended Dr. Lettini:
In her years at Starr King and in the GTU, Dr. Lettini has shown herself to be the consummate incarnation of what theorist Antonio Gramsci calls the "organic intellectual", an individual whose scholarship is rooted in communities of resistance and accountability whether working on the truth commissions around the military and war or poverty. Dr. Lettini's work has shaped the way scholars and religious leaders are now thinking about these issues. In addition, her work in the arts and the aesthetics of justice and justice making has brought much to the life of Starr King and the GTU in general.
The entire Starr King community heartily congratulates Dr. Lettini on her promotion to full professor.
Starr King second-year student Suzi Spangenberg, a dual degree candidate in the MASC and M.Div. programs, is an energetic activist involved in many social justice causes, including several recent Occupy SF and Oakland demonstrations. Spangenberg appeared in a news video on The Huffington Post testifying before an Oakland City Council hearing concerning the massive protests and police response in that city.
... stood with Reverend Kurt Kuhwald, also a Unitarian and a professor at the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, both dressed in walking shoes and fleeces. They were joined by the Reverend Rita Nakashima Brock, a UCC minister from Oakland. The epitome of a 21st century clergyman, Kuhwald wore a black baseball cap with the word “PASTOR” embroidered in white letters (photo).
Statement on Occupy Movement from Starr King School
Statement on Occupy Movement | October 31, 2011 |
from: Acting President Prof. Dr. M. Ibrahim A. Farajajé (photo) (bio)
Starr King School for the Ministry
"As a community that is engaged in the work of countering oppressions, and building just and sustainable communities, it is important for us as progressive people of faith to be present in Wednesday's Occupy Oakland March and General Strike. Some of us will be physically present while others will be showing our solidarity and support in other ways. This moment in history is deeply related to our work as a Unitarian Universalist / multi-religious institution of thea/ological education and the values that we hold dear. As we engage in the work of the Board of Trustees this week, please let us carry in our hearts the knowledge that attention to the on-going life of the School is an important part of tending to the 'fire in the soul' and nurturing the 'revolution of the Spirit.'"
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"May this work of tending to the 'fire in the soul' and 'nurturing the Revolution of the Spirit' call us ever more deeply into sustaining the work of the Occupy Movement in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. For this is only the beginning!"
Dr. Ibrahim Farajajé
SKSM Students, Alums in Occupy SF News Coverage
Starr King students and alums were among the faith leaders and clergy at recent Occupy movement events in San Francisco and Oakland, CA. SKSM graduate Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae (M.Div. 2009) of the First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco spoke on television news and was quoted in media coverage at the Occupy protests.
Current students Rabi'a Mirhadian, Suzi Spangenberg, and Millie Phillips, among others, participated in the protests. Mirhadian spoke of her motiviations for joining the multi-faith clerics who marched in San Francisco:
I didn't intend to go, because I felt there was no clerical garb for a Muslim woman, but then I realized I am in it all the time. I had no sign, so I took my Qur'an and held it up because the Qur'an says to not make money off the poor. I believe that this is a revolution no different than the french revolution, or any other revolution where the people who are downtrodden and most taken advantage of are standing up to say no more. The people in the tents of Occupy Oakland and SF are no different from me, some are poor, some are poor because they choose to live in a way that doesn't harm the earth, other beings, or themselves. I honor these people. I want to see America be good again. I want to see people with jobs, and people with happiness again.
KTVU TV News interview with Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae:
Lettini & Brock on Huffington Post: Iraq Vets, Moral Injury
How do we repair the souls of those combat veterans returning from Iraq? This question is taken up by SKSM faculty members Dr. Gabriella Lettini and Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock in their recent article on Huffington Post:
“By year's end, 40,000 U.S. troops will return from Iraq and, according to President Obama, "America's war in Iraq will be over." But the long nightmare of the Iraq War will not be over for either side of the conflict. The U. S. will see a new surge of suffering, and it will not be over for generations.”
Brock and Lettini led the team that organized the Truth Commission on Conscience in War, co-sponsored by Starr King School for the Ministry, and are members of the leadership team for "The Soul Repair Project." They explain moral injury as "a wound in the soul",
“... an inner conflict based on a moral evaluation of having inflicted or witnessed harm. It results from a capacity for both empathy and self-reflection on moral values, which means it happens to healthy human beings. The current wars are especially morally compromising because the lines between innocent civilians and combatants are so blurred. Even women, children, and pets can be dangerous or be used as shields.”
Listed below are upcoming speaking engagements for Dr. Gabriella Lettini (faculty page), Aurelia Henry Reinhardt Director of Studies in Public Ministry and
Associate Professor of Theological Ethics at Starr King School.
“Exploring Moral Injury and Religious Resources for Moral Repair in War Veterans: The Soul Repair Project,” Paper, Session on Spirituality and the Medicalization of Religion in Mental Health Care, Religions, Medicines, and Healing Group, Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, November 19-22, 2011, San Francisco, CA.
“Moral Injury as a Hidden Wound of War and the Need for Soul Repair Communities, ”Key note presentation as Distinguished Scholar at the 2011 UU Collegium Conference, November 16-19, Los Gatos, California, Collegium: An Association for Liberal Religious Studies. For more information and to register, visit: http://www.uucollegium.org/
“Community Truth Commissions as Spiritual Discipline and Lived Theology,” Key note presentation as Distinguished Scholar at the 2011 UU Collegium Conference, November 16-19, Los Gatos, California, Collegium: An Association for Liberal Religious Studies http://www.uucollegium.org/.
New Balázs Scholar Arrives at Starr King
This year’s Balázs Scholar, Transylvanian Unitarian minister Zoltán (Zoli) Kopándi-Benczédi, and his family have arrived in Berkeley, California to begin a year of study at Starr King School for the Ministry, and to preach at Unitarian Universalist churches in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the country.
UUA President Peter Morales Shares Hopes, Challenges
Rev. Peter Morales, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association and Starr King graduate (M.Div. 1999), shared his hopes, concerns, and challenges for the future of Unitarian Universalism during a visit to Starr King School on Wednesday, Sept. 28.
Co-Sponsored by Starrr King School for the Ministry
Presentation and Sacred Music of Qawwali
Special Guest:
Riffat Sultana
Saturday, October 8, 2011 | 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
McInnis Golf Club Restaurant, 350 Smith Ranch Rd, San Rafael, CA
Riffat Sultana channels the musical wisdom of 500 years and eleven generations of master vocalists from India and Pakistan. Riffat is the first woman from her family’s musical lineage of Pakistan to publicly perform in the West, performing in a wide variety of traditional and modern sacred music from Pakistan and India.
Space is limited. Pre-registration is required by October 4th.
Presentation/performance and lunch: $25
For reservations and credit card payments, call 415-472-6959; or, register online at www.ias.org. To register by mail, make checks payable to IAS, and send to14 Commercial Blvd., #101, Novato, CA 9494
MEAL CHOICES
1. Chicken Toscana: chicken with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, garlic and fresh herbs served with potatoes and vegetable
2. Salmon Salad: grilled salmon with mango papaya salsa
3. Vegetarian: penne pomodoro with vegetables
Send your questions to swoevents@yahoo.com
Starr King is the proud co-sponsor of the Sufi Women Organization’s October 8th Luncheon featuring a very special presentation and performance by Riffat Sultana.
Riffat Sultana channels the musical wisdom of 500 years and eleven generations of master vocalists from India and Pakistan. Riffat is the first woman from her family’s musical lineage of Pakistan to publicly perform in the West, performing in a wide variety of traditional and modern sacred music from Pakistan and India.
DATE: Saturday, October 8, 2011
TIME: 11:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
LOCATION: McInnis Golf Club Restaurant,
350 Smith Ranch Rd, San Rafael, CA
COST: $25
MEALS: See choices below
RSVP: Limited seating. Pre-register by October 4th.
For reservations and credit card payments, call 415-472-6959; or, register online at www.ias.org. To register by mail, make checks payable to IAS, and send to14 Commercial Blvd., #101, Novato, CA 9494
MEAL CHOICES
1. Chicken Toscana: chicken with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, garlic
and fresh herbs served with potatoes and vegetable
2. Salmon Salad: grilled salmon with mango papaya salsa
3. Vegetarian: penne pomodoro with vegetables
RSVP to JKrovontka@sksm.edu so that we can be sure to prepare for your presence.
Immersion Course in Boston: North American UU History
Starr King is pleased to announce a new course offering, "North American U.U. History: Boston Immersion", to be held from November 18 – November 21, 2011 in Boston, MA.
Taught by Rev. Dr. Susan Ritchie, the Boston immersion course will include the traditional content of a North American UU history classes in a dynamic setting. We will explore the Unitarian engagement with the Civil War alongside a trip to the Shaw memorial on Boston Common; discuss Emerson's Divinity School Address from the very hall in which it was delivered. We will grapple with the profound issues of the Black Empowerment movement from the floor of the Arlington Street Church, where the delegates disappointed by the actions of that General Assembly gathered. And much more!
Students will be given the opportunity, if desired, to room at Pickett & Eliot House, the bed and breakfast facility of the UUA, where room sharing may be available.
Class begins Friday, 11/18/11, at 8:30am, and runs through Monday, 11/21/11. Meeting to start at the Pickett & Eliot House, 7 Mount Vernon Place, Boston, MA.
The Curriculum Committee at Starr King School for the Ministry is now accepting course applications for its 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015 course offerings. The committee decides the Adjunct Faculty courses to be offered and awards student teaching fellowships each year.
The deadline for submitting proposals for the 2012-2013 year is June 6, 2011. Submissions completed by this time will be considered on June 13 with final decisions for the 2012-2013 year on October 3, 2011. The committee is willing to receive course proposals for 2013-2015 at any time and will keep them on file for future consideration periods.
Dakotta Alex, Student Representative
Tom Bozeman, Student Representative
Ibrahim Farajajé, Chair, Faculty Representative
Rebecca Parker, Faculty Representative
Starr King Student Blog Debuts!
The Starr King Student Blog - studio.sksm.edu - is now live. The blog started as a seed idea from student Jodi Tharan who started a Facebook group to help new students 'navigate our new home at SKSM'. Since then the blog metamorphosed into a multi-faceted guide for new students, particularly those recently established in high residency in Berkeley. First-year student Dakotta Alex (website) designed and developed the blog site, with technical help from staff member Justin Waters.
Explore the blog and discover:
Residence Experience - Videos of students talking about their experience of high and low residency study.
UC Berkeley How To's - Library
Campus Maps (GTU and Cal)
Cheap Eats
Housing (GTU and Cal)
Student Sermons (please send one if you presented one here at SKSM)
Things To Do
Transportation (from airport / around berkeley / parking)
UUA Ordination
Where things are (groceries / post office / hardware store / furniture)
Rita Brock on Huffington Post: "Sacred Acts of 9/12/2001"
Starr King Visiting Scholar, Dr. Rita Nakshima Brock, reflects on the political opportunism surrounding the proposed Islamic Center at Ground Zero, on The Huffington Post:
In attacking Park51, the Cordoba Initiative's Islamic cultural center, the Geller-Palin-Gingrich-Beck-FOX syndicate has suddenly hallowed an old Burlington Coat Factory that lies two blocks from Ground Zero. Yet it appears that Ground Zero itself is suffering their neglect. They've failed to condemn the tacky souvenir stand and Burger King across the street from it, or the porn shops closer than Park51. Of course, this sudden reverence for one spot near Ground Zero is crass political opportunism. But there are things worth hallowing that the syndicate won't mention because these things don't serve their nefarious purposes.
Read the full text of Dr. Brock's article on the Huffington Post.
Starr King Announces Certificate Programs
The School is pleased to offer two Graduate Level Certificates, in UU Studies and Multi-Religious Studies, through entirely low-residency study. These certificate programs are designed for people exploring the possibility of entering Unitarian Universalist ministry, seminarians at non-UU theological schools, and interested lay people. For details about these exciting new programs, contact Crystal H. Weston, Recruitment and Marketing Director, at recruitment@sksm.edu.
The Board of Trustees of Starr King School for the Ministry voted to affirm the promotion Dr. Gabriella Lettini to the rank of full professor at the meeting of the board in November 2011 in Berkeley, CA.
How do we repair the souls of those combat veterans returning from Iraq? This question is taken up by SKSM faculty members 
