Yale Divinity School

Notes from 2007

Since graduation, Joe Case '70 B.D. has been ministering to the larger society through higher education administration, first for five years at United Methodist-related Oklahoma City University, then for six and a half years in New York at the College Scholarship Service of the College Board, and since 1981 as dean and director of financial aid at Amherst College.  A major motive in his work, built upon his seminary experience, has been extending educational opportunity and broadening the socio-economic profile of the college-going population.  Though not what he envisaged when entering YDS in 1967, his work allows him to practice distributive justice, shape policies and influence the practices of state and national organizations. He has thoroughly enjoyed this rewarding career.

Wayne Conner ’70 B.D. opens, “Retirement time is in sight for even the youngest of us, isn’t it? And there are days when that sounds attractive! Health permitting, there are some other things I’d like to do beyond my work here. Some of the ‘Volunteers in Mission’ programs look good. And having been a pastor in Kalamazoo now for 36 years (who’da thought?), I certainly know where lots of volunteer time could be spent in fulfilling ways.” Now working with an interim head-of-staff, Conner still does youth ministry, even the canoeing, camping and sleeping on hard church floors. He staffs outreach ministries and is active in community peace and justice groups. Pastoral care to those who’ve known him all these years will also be one of his primary assignments between now and retirement. The parents of those kids with whom he originally worked after coming to First Pres, Kalamazoo, in 1971 are now at that age when pastoral care needs are increasing, and their shared relationships over all these years give an added depth to that role. He’s still a Yankee fan despite their present travails, joining others in Derek Jeeter’s hometown. His email address is wayne.conner@kalamazoofirstpres.org.

Michael Finley '70 M.A.R., after a career in health management, including stints in city governments in New Haven and Nashville, a public health degree from Harvard, consultancy at a health clinic in Boston, and a position as manager in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has now retired to his farm in Tennessee. There, in the spirit of Francis of Assisi, he tends to his animals who, in turn, tend to him.  He relived many wonderful memories upon hiw return to YDS for the new quadrangle rededication in 2003.

Sam Gladding '70 M.A.R. has come to appreciate his Yale Divinity School education even more than ever over the last ten years. He is in higher education rather than ministry, but there is hardly a day that goes by when he is not engaged in a situation of theological significance. For the record, he is the Associate Provost and Chair of the Department of Counseling at Wake Forest University, enjoying both the administrative and teaching responsibilities involved with these positions. He and his wife, Claire, celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary recently. Their three musically inclined children are the source of much amusement and very much enjoyed a recent family visit to the Sterling Divinity Quadrangle. Since 1997, Sam has been president of the American Counseling Association, having written ten books and traveled all around the states both for ACA and Wake Forest. Still, most days he can be found at his home on Beecher Road in Winston Salem. He is now a United Methodist, not a great change from having been a Baptist, and teaches Sunday School on occasions.

Since 2000 Paul Harris '70 B.D. has been working half-time as Teaching Pastor at Easter Lutheran in Eagan, MN, a large suburban ELCA church with two locations a mile apart. This has been a very happy chapter for him, doing a lot of adult classes, preaching nearly every Sunday he's there, and working on social justice and global missions. He also has been teaching theology three months a year at Tumaini University in Iringa, Tanzania. His wife Sally is able to come for two months a year to teach legal writing and research.  They have had strong ties with Tanzania since 1990 and have been involved in helping link 65 congregations in the Saint Paul Area Synod with the 65 congregations of the Iringa Lutheran Diocese. He is even working on starting a Christian radio station in Iringa. Working half-time has also allowed time for recreational pursuits including working on circumnavigating Lake Superior in their self-made tandem sea kayak and cross country skiing their 26th Birkbeiner race (31 miles). Finally, their children are doing well,  Ken is a Lutheran pastor with two excellent little ones and Arwynn is married and living in Salt Lake City.

Bedford Hines '70 B.D. and Barbara Brayton Hines '70 M.A.R. are doing well, as is their daughter who is now living in Colorado and working toward a second BA preparatory to applying to veterinary school.  Barbara and Bedford share an office in which they continue their primary work as licensed mental health counselors.  This arrangement means that they are both employed part-time – a condition which both of them relish. Bedford has two avocations.  One is as an amateur investor, especially the stock indices.  The second is as a life coach.  He is also interested in writing. Barbara loves writing poetry and is quite good at it.  She also has talents in organizing and leading groups focused on improving the world.  Her latest efforts involve improving the environment while her major earlier one created a sister cities pairing between Appleton and a Russian city.

After leaving YDS, John Holbrook '70 Div., '71 M.A. took a master's degree in Administrative Sciences at Yale and an M.D. at Harvard. His career in medicine has included public heath in the New Mexico prisons, emergency medicine in Massachusetts, and finally hospital administration. In the 1990's, he took up software design; since 2001, he has been involved in medical analysis for insurance companies. For the last 5 years, his wife, Greta, and he have devoted their free time to "Shape note" Sacred Harp singing. Their journey has been interesting, full of surprises, and, lately, filled with music.

David Keller ’70 M.Div. is the pastor of the South Avenue Untied Methodist Church in Wilkinsburg, east of Pittsburgh (SouthAvenueUMC.org).  His wife Kathy continues her career and ministry with early childhood education.  They have been enjoying traveling and growing old together.  He lists his contact information as:  444 Valley View Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15215.  Home: 412- 963-6656, office: 412-371-7421, RevDFKeller@aol.com.

Jerry Kirkpatrick ’70 B.D. is still in transitional ministry, where he has been for the past seven years.  It has involved being away from his wife and family some, but it is rewarding work.  He heartily recommends the training of the Interim Ministry Network.  He has traveled over much of Texas, working with large and middle-sized congregations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  Right now, he’s at the First Christian Church of Temple, which is about a year from calling a settled pastor.  After that, he plans to do one more pastorate before retirement.  Then he and his wife Brenda plan to go national after they both retire. They’ll hit the road, setting up home base near one of their children, but probably in Fort Worth. His email address is mrstardad@yahoo.com.

Marilyn (Lynn) Barnes Miller ’70 M.A.R. is ending a long career as a public school administrator at the end of this summer.  She is currently serving at Assistant Superintendent at the Palisades School District in upper Bucks County, PA. Gary R. Miller ’70 B.D. retired as Chaplain at Lafayette College in 2003 after 31 years of service and now teaches a course or two a year at the college and does volunteer work in Easton, PA. They have three children: Jon, a realtor in Easton; Cynthia, a professor at NYU; and Zee, an entrepreneur in L.A. Cynthia is married to Shamil Idriss who works for the United Nations, and they have given Lynn and Gary a lovely grand-daughter, Aniset. In their retirement the couple spends as much time as they can with their grand-daughter and her family and at their summer cottage in Guilford, CT. Gary’s email address is millerg@lafayette.edu and Lynn’s is mmiller@palisades.k12.pa.us. 

Gary Turner ’70 M.Div. finished his (financially compensated) ministry as interim senior at the American Church in Paris and found, upon return, that no Wisconsin UCC congregation within an hour's drive of Madison (where he was) wanted an intentional interim.  He did not want anything less, having spent the previous six years in three challenging and invigorating spots. So we and his wife Kathy Turner ’69 M.Div. both looked at the UCC Pension Funds, liked what they saw, and moved "home" to Seattle, where live all of Greg's family and their children and granddaughters, just up the road. Local ecumenical and teaching commitments keep him up nights, but support for the many seminarians in their University Congregational UCC is a joy. Greg closes, “We both are pledged, if only in fantasy, to return to Paris every year.” Their email address is RevsTurner@aol.com.

Chuck Wildman ’70 B.D. writes, “Yes, we are getting to that certain statesman age, aren't we?  Ron Evans is setting the pace. Personally, I prefer not to use the R word but rather something like, ‘life transition.’” He has announced to his congregation that he will leave full time parish ministry April 13, 2008.  A few days after that, he and his wife Anne will relocate full time to their home on Cape Cod: 318 Tower Hill Rd., Osterville, MA 02655, (508-428-0793).  He hopes to do emergency and part time parish, conference and/or national UCC work, perhaps some article or newspaper column work, affordable housing advocacy, and enjoy their little boat and “all that this special spit of God's earth has to offer.”  They also have international travel plans. Until April, he continues in Arlington, VA, where they have been for 19 years, as he finishes his era as senior pastor of Rock Spring Congregational UCC, training new, younger ordained colleagues and support staff and helping the congregation to envision its future. He leaves profoundly grateful for the opportunity to serve Rock Spring and thereby to serve on the global stage. His email address is chuck@rockspringucc.org. 

Sandy Wylie ’70 B.D. is in his sixth year as superintendent of the McAlester District of the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church and has just completed 40 years of service in this Conference.  He’ll probably retire in 2008 or 2009 and will move to Bella Vista, AR, where he hopes to continue writing, teaching, golfing, volunteering, and whatever else the Holy Spirit leads him to do.  Susan, his wife of 34 years, isn't quite ready to retire and may continue to be employed in health care in the Fayetteville/Rogers area. He lists his contact information as: 6 River Oaks, McAlester, OK 74501, 918-916-0407, mcaldist@allegiance.tv.