MAPCC Program Archives - Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary

Wired for Chaplaincy

Marketing and Communications — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 18:44:08 +0000

By Allie Lundblad

“I am literally praying every day in the parking lot before I walk in because I don’t know what I’m going to walk into,” says Rev. William Mack III, describing his chaplaincy experience. “I’m wired for that. I love that. My wife says I’m wired for chaos. Chaplaincy is this pastoring in the margins, and you never know what you’ll get on any given day.”

In his time at Garrett Seminary’s Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling program, Mack has come to understand his abilities to thrive in chaos and to engage creatively as giftsfor chaplaincy. Over the course of the program, he has completed three units of Clinical Pastoral Education at two different sites. Most recently, he has been working with students in kindergarten through eighth grade at Oakdale Christian Academy, preparing them for a dinner theatre production of The Wiz and using that work to engage them in conversations about identity, community and self-expression. Before that, he worked with a group facilitating peace circles at Stateville Correctional Center, inviting the men there into conversations about peace, reconciliation, and “how, from the inside, they can contribute to the outside.” Mack was able not only to employ his own spiritual direction skills but also taught an introduction to spiritual direction and formation class, at the men’s request. When the state closed the facility in spring of 2025, the heaviness of saying goodbye was both a significant part of his chaplaincy education and a testament to the work he was doing.

“I’ve worked with a lot of men over the last couple years of this degree program,” he said, “holding space for men to be vulnerable and transparent in a moment when the world tellsthem they have to be strong. In those moments, I can just sense God at work there. To hold this brother’s tears, to hear him confess ‘I’m scared’ or ‘I don’t know,’ that’s been a real gift. They have their own pastors, but in that moment, they just needed somebody to be the ear. That’s probably the biggest impact that I’ve had, to hear these brothers dream out loud.”

The other facet of Mack’s chaplaincy education—his coursework at Garrett—has also been a space where students are encouraged to bring their full selves into the classroom. He remembers Dr. Brian Bantum’s class, Art as Theological Practice, as a helpful opportunity “to lean into both the creative and the theological.” In exploring that intersection, using art as spiritual practice and expression, he also came to recognize that he was carrying significant grief and learned skills to process it. That’s the kind of formative experience he has come to expect in the classroom.

“There has not been a class that I’ve taken yet—even in my Bible classes—where we didn’t get the opportunity to look through the lenses of our own context and the context of the people that we serve, which has really been a gift,” he said. “It’s been academically rigorous, but it’s also been an opportunity for me to bring space into it. I’ve leaned into the fact of what it means for me to be an African American male practitioner from the South quite a bit. With some of my queer brothers and sisters, they’ve been able to look through those lenses as well. To be able to bring all of that into the class and then take that back out into our praxis has been a gift. It really has been.”

Experiencing such a fullness of human emotion and diversity of stories has also impacted Mack’s image of God as well as his theological language. He grew up in a tradition with an understanding of God as “big and holy and judgmental,” and not to be questioned. Then, as a pastor, he encountered people dealing with challenges that required a far more expansive understanding of God’s presence in the fullness of human experience. Mack chose Garrett in part because of the diversity of the community, and his experiences here—walking alongside others as a chaplain, swapping stories and support with fellow students—have deepened his appreciation of how God meets people where they are: not with judgment but with love.

“That’s what I’m hoping that people could know,” he said. “Who they are is enough to reflect God’s love into a world that needs a lot of love, that needs a lot of light. In a world that will tell you that you’re not enough or that you’ve got to be more male or you’ve got to be more female or you’ve got to be whatever, I want you to know that you are enough just as God created you. And if you can abide in that and live in that and serve out of that, then that alone is a gift to somebody else. That’s what I’m always trying to share with my kids and extend through my ministry.”

This image of God is not new to Mack, who was raised by his grandmother and, during his time at Garrett, has come to recognize her as his first pastor. She was a model for chaplaincy as she regularly visited the nearby correctional facility to throw birthday parties for the women there and to lead Bible studies. Eventually, she built an apartment in her basement where the women could get back on their feet for a few months after release.

“She was definitely planting seeds in my heart that this is what it looks like to just love and care for people that other people would say don’t deserve it,” Mack said. “I didn’t realize until recently how many of those seeds are coming to fruition now. What I’ve learned over the last couple of years at Garrett has given language to what I experienced in and through her.”

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Just Like Jesus

Marketing and Communications — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 22:46:43 +0000

By Allie Lunblad

Aabiskar Sharma is a big fan of Jesus. Their vibes match.

Jesus, after all, empowered women, cared for everyone, and sought justice for the marginalized. Those are Sharma’s passions, too.

“And Jesus was a forgiver,” she adds. “I’m a forgiver too. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, hate is too much to take and love is so easy. With Jesus, it was all about love, love, love. He would go to the tax collectors, be with them, and just forgive. We should do that. We should learn how to forgive more.”

Sharma, who was born in Nepal, remembers a childhood full of questions about things that just didn’t seem quite right to her. Why, for example, did her family serve lower caste workers with an entirely different set of utensils than the family themselves used? Why were boys allowed to play outside while girls had to spend their time “learning to be the ideal wife?” And why were “all the women in the kitchen working while all the men were outside of the kitchen enjoying the food?” Sharma remembers being told that as a woman she would have to compromise. She was unsatisfied with that answer and that vision of womanhood, for herself or for others.

“It was so hard for me to find that role model where I could say, ‘Oh, I want to be like her!,’” Sharma says. Then one day, scrolling through YouTube, she came across a documentary about Malala Yousafzai. Malala’s story — her advocacy for women’s education and her perseverance even after being shot —  was inspirational. “That was motivating. She was a role model for me. For a girl who was in Nepal and struggling to find a role model who could help me, she was the one.”

Sharma’s own passion for learning also started young. She remembers going over to friends’ houses and ending up with the adults, watching the news, wanting to “know big things.” As an adult, Sharma became a nurse, and it was in nursing school that she first encountered psychology through a class in Behavioral Science. Working at a rehabilitation center, Sharma talked with patients’ families about the stereotypes and taboos that people face when struggling with mental illness.

“We were there to support them, and they were really thankful,” she says. “They were so happy that there are people who really care about it. I told them that I was really interested in addressing mental illness and maybe in the future I would want to do psychology. They were so happy, I was able to see the need.”

Eventually, Sharma did go to India to study psychology and then made the decision to come to the United States for further education after she was encouraged by Bishop Laurie and Rev. Gary Haller, United Methodist clergy whom she’d met in Nepal. They took her to visit Morningside University, where she then completed a degree in Counseling Psychology, Religious Studies, and Non-Profit Management.

Sharma’s friendship with the Hallers also coincided with a major shift in her religious life. Just a few months before meeting them, Sharma, who was raised as a practicing Hindu, attended a service with her sister at the Punjabi Church of Signs and Wonders.

“I felt something, and it was weird,” she said. “I was like, ‘Huh. Let me check out who this dude Jesus is.’ Then I started learning about Jesus on my own. Nobody forced me. I was going through Google, searching Bible verses and learning about Jesus.”

After arriving in the U.S. for school, Sharma asked the Hallers if they would take her to visit church, and they readily agreed. Then, at a United Methodist Church in Milwaukee, Sharma again experienced that sense of connection and welcome and decided to be baptized. When the Hallers suggested that she look at Garrett for graduate school, Sharma was excited that she could study to be a counselor and nurture her faith at the same time. She was also impressed by Garrett’s values and the fact that it was founded by a woman, Eliza Clark Garrett. Plus, Chicago reminded her of Kathmandu.

“There is something about Chicago that reminds me of home. We don’t have such huge buildings, but still there is something. Maybe it’s the people,” she says.

Now, Sharma is excited to be here. She has plans to earn the M.A. in Pastoral Care and Counseling and then return to India where she hopes to start both a counseling practice and a nonprofit that supports education for women. She also envisions doing doctoral work with a focus on intergenerational trauma before too long. Despite the challenges, she’s committed to providing care for people who otherwise would not have access or be able to afford it. Sharma hopes to help as many people as possible — just like Jesus, but with her own spin.

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Counselor, Know Thyself

Marketing and Communications — Tue, 17 Jun 2025 19:37:27 +0000

Sanjog Patro | MAPCC

“The more you learn about yourself, the more you feel compassion.” In a few words, Sanjog Patro cuts straight to one of the facets that makes Garrett’s pastoral care and counseling program so distinct. “The crux of what we’re taught is to venture deeply into who you are, knowing yourself, pushing your boundaries, expanding where you feel comfortable.” With its focus on trauma-informed care, spiritual formation, and emphasis on clients as protagonists in their own story, the MAPCC has quickly become the seminary’s fastest-growing degree program. As Patro graduates, he already has a job lined up as an expressive therapist at Lake Behavioral Hospital, ready to put what he’s learned into practice.

For the past two years, Patro has served as a counselor to people who have suffered sexual trauma, an experience that swiftly challenged him to employ that training. “For someone like me who had no prior experience working with clients, you’re thrown right into the deep end and you learn to swim,” he says. “But I fell in love with counseling, and pastoral counseling specifically.” One particularly helpful lesson was to reflect on the energy he brings into a counseling space. “I still remember so freshly the first class I had, Dr. Nolasco’s course on human relations,” he says. “The skill of being present sounds so simple yet is so complex. But if you truly believe that the image of God is in the person before you, then you become holistically present to their life.” At his new job, he’ll mostly counsel formerly incarcerated people and folks undergoing court-mandated therapy, but he says Garrett prepared him to see the commonalities across different patients. “Trauma may manifest with different symptoms, but its roots are the same,” he notes. “And regardless whether someone has suffered sexual trauma, emotional abuse, or physical violence, your task is to create a collaborative process that places your client at the center of their own healing.”

As he describes the excitement he feels to enter this new chapter of his vocational journey, Patro expresses deep gratitude for the ways Garrett makes theological education accessible. “It’s very important to understand how Garrett provides a financial possibility for students like myself,” he says. “We want to talk about ideologies or counseling disciplines, but you have to understand that as a foreign student, financial access comes first. I never thought it was possible to study in the U.S. The aid Garrett provides is why the program is a space of such diverse voices, which is essential for effective counseling.”

Overwhelmingly, what emanates from Patro is abundant joy at the prospect of leaving seminary ready to do the work to which God calls him. “It feels almost surreal, after all the classes and hundreds of clinical hours,” he exclaims with a wide grin. “I’m excited to work, man.” Not only is he poised for meaningful service, he’s entering that vocation brimming with confidence. “Self-actualization is so important to counseling’s ongoing, dynamic process,” he says. “What’s powerful about Garrett is they know that spiritual formation for the self is essential to care for someone else.”

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A Beautiful and Enriching Community

Marketing and Communications — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 21:14:53 +0000

Meet Sara P. Miller (G-ETS 2022)

Degree Program

Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling

What is your hometown and educational background?

My hometown is Louisville, Kentucky. My educational background is in youth ministry.

How has your time at Garrett-Evangelical shaped your ministry and calling?

My time at Garrett-Evangelical has shaped my ministry and calling in more ways than I could begin to list here! This time has pushed me to lean further into my call and hone particular gifts and skills of pastoral care. I’ve been empowered to be my authentic self and learn how to honor this self while carrying out the work of ministry. Furthermore, my time at Garrett-Evangelical has emboldened me to ask questions and have difficult conversations for the sake of bringing God’s loving and just kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

What is your most transformative experience at Garrett-Evangelical?

The most transformative experiences I’ve had at Garrett-Evangelical have taken place at various Wednesday chapel services. From Sacred Worth chapel to the Spoon Collective chapel, I’ve found a beautiful and enriching community that seeks to honor whole persons, beyond the academic endeavors of seminary. With holy creativity and imagination, students and staff curiously sought God’s movement in worship. These experiences have given me hope for the church and have sustained my faith in today and tomorrow’s church leadership.

What’s next? What are your plans or your hopes for your future?

My vocational plans are still to be determined; however, it will be something in pastoral care and/or family ministry for sure! My hope is that wherever I land, I am at peace knowing that it is the right fit and where my gifts can be best used by the Spirit. I am grateful that my time at Garrett-Evangelical has given me the confidence to feel prepared with the right tools for whatever lies ahead.

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Responding to the Challenges and Opportunities Facing Theological Education Today

Marketing and Communications — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 16:09:37 +0000

An Interview with D. Scott Ostlund, Vice President for Enrollment Management

Last summer, 91PORN welcomed Reverend D. Scott Ostlund as vice president for enrollment management. A provisional elder in the Oregon-Idaho Conference of The United Methodist Church, Ostlund came to Garrett-Evangelical from Drew Theological School, where he served as associate director of theological admissions.

An advocate for those who have been underserved by traditional approaches to theological education, Ostlund worked with key administrators and faculty in his first year at Garrett-Evangelical to expand the accessibility and adaptability of the seminary’s programs for a broader range of prospective students.

Theological education is changing. What is Garrett-Evangelical doing to recruit new students?

I think in the past, mainline seminaries embraced a dominant enrollment model that was almost entirely focused on remaining in close proximity to the networks and communities associated with their founding denomination. The thinking went something like this: If we continue to lean into our United Methodist roots, United Methodist students will continue to attend our seminaries in large enough numbers to sustain us moving forward. As many of us are aware, this is no longer true, no matter the denomination your institution is affiliated with. Beyond that fact, such an approach fails to reflect the ecumenical or interfaith commitments that many ministers and practitioners are feeling called to.

Now having said that, Garrett-Evangelical is unique in that it has an incredibly rich relationship with The United Methodist Church that continues to be a source not just of incoming students, but also of shared ministry across a diversity of contexts. Moving forward, our plan is to build on this relationship while investing in other non-UMC denominational partners. This includes thinking more broadly about our Methodist heritage by connecting deeply with Pan-Methodist partners, inclusive of alums, faculty, and thought leaders from the AME, AMEZ, and the CME traditions, among others.

What about partnerships outside the church?

A higher percentage of students who are applying to seminaries are interested in vocational tracks that do not place them within traditional institutional or denominational spaces. In response to this, we are intentionally collaborating with communities who form leaders to serve in some of these new innovative pathways, whether they are community organizers, community development practitioners, non-profit managers, counselors, or chaplains to name a few.

We are also increasing our partnerships with organizations that are creating new communities and networks for historically marginalized populations. Whether this is due to race, gender, sexual orientation, or histories of colonialism, it is no secret that traditional institutional Christian spaces are not always generative or safe for marginalized people, and so Garrett-Evangelical’s commitment to partnering outside of those traditional spaces is key to developing an equitable approach to enrollment. One example would be our continued work with Faith in Place, an environmental justice organization that draws together people from a diversity of lived experiences and religious traditions to fight for those most impacted by environmental injustice.

I would also say that we expect to see an increase in our partnerships and collaborations across the board thanks to the exciting work that is being led by Reverend Becky Eberhart and the Office of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships.

Have we developed any new programs?

Yes! This past fall, Garrett-Evangelical announced two new tracks within current degree programs that we are very excited about. The first is our new “Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care” track within our master of arts in pastoral care and counseling program, and the other is our “Leadership for Social Transformation” cohort within the doctor of ministry program that started this summer. Both tracks create space for students who feel called to a diversity of vocational ministry contexts to be in the same classroom together.

It will be common for pastors to find themselves next to chaplains, counselors next to organizers.

But the biggest news to come out of our faculty’s work around program development is the launch of new hybrid master’s degrees. Starting in the fall of 2022, Garrett-Evangelical will enroll hybrid students into our master of divinity degree, as well as any of our master of arts programs. This will allow students to participate in Garrett-Evangelical degree programs without being forced to move full-time to the Evanston/Chicago area.

This news of our increased hybrid offerings is exciting for multiple reasons. The average student enters seminary amidst a multiplicity of life commitments and complexities that include health, family, professional commitments, and of course issues of equity and injustice that have a disproportionate impact on people of color, women, and LGBTQIA+ students. By creating avenues for students to remain in their community, our hope is that Garrett-Evangelical’s programs are becoming more accessible and affordable, removing material barriers that consistently block students from seminary and theological study.

Many of our incoming students have also already noted how these hybrid programs will allow them to fully embrace the place-based values of the Garrett-Evangelical curriculum. Like our faculty, these students recognize that one cannot be equipped as a minister, scholar, activist, or theologian unless the tools and insights that they are introduced to through their degree programs are able to speak back to their distinct context, while accounting for local histories and traditions, as well as the power dynamics that have structured their communities. These hybrid options will strengthen this approach to theological education even more.

How is Garrett-Evangelical’s faculty preparing for the future?

Garrett-Evangelical’s faculty is doing incredible work to prepare for the changing landscape within ministry and theological studies. One thing I really appreciate is how they are approaching the future inter-disciplinarily. They recognize that students and leaders don’t encounter theological questions or obstacles within a disciplinary vacuum, and so they are creating experiences that encourage this kind of innovative reflection and practice.

I am also excited about some of the place-based work that I mentioned above. Specifically, the new direction that our Office of Field Education is taking, led by Dr. Sara Williams. Field Education from this new perspective means more than dropping a student into a ministry role, where they can learn abstract skills as if they will apply the same across any distinct ministry context. Instead, students will be expected to reflect on the historical, socio-political, and contextual realities of the place and communities they are serving within. They will be asked to consider how the ministry skills or theological knowledges they have learned throughout their courses help (or don’t help) within the ministry context where they find themselves.

Williams could speak to this much more eloquently, but you can trust me that this is an incredibly innovative approach to thinking about internships and ministry placement experiences within theological education.

What are the challenges and opportunities facing theological education today?

As cliché as this sounds, I think the challenges that theological institutions like Garrett-Evangelical face are also some of our key opportunities. The fact that denominational affiliation can no longer be a school’s only or primary missional signifier or source of enrollment means that seminaries must reflect more deeply on what it is that makes us distinctive as we do the work of the Gospel throughout the world. It also encourages offices like mine to invest deeply in networks and partnerships that are being built amongst faith leaders both within and beyond traditional institutional forms.

I think the other challenge for theological education has to do with this issue of access and the increasing precarity of many of our students that I’ve already mentioned. I was raised by community college educators. In that higher education context, it was always expected that the average learner had to balance family, jobs (or multiple jobs), issues of systemic injustice and economic inequality, health, life, and more. While growing up, I felt like those concerns were unique to the terrain of community colleges and that most of higher education failed to take those students and their systemic realities seriously.

From my perspective, theological education could learn a thing or two from the community college world. When we look first at who our students are and second at what our mission is as a Wesleyan institution committed to holiness and justice, it becomes clear that we need to have a sense of urgency around removing obstacles that keep individuals and communities from living into their call in the world.

The last thing I will mention is a challenge that I think faces both theological institutions and mainline denominations more generally and that has to do with the changing role of ordination throughout the institutional Church. Ordination is still the goal for many students who attend Garrett-Evangelical, but increasingly, students on those credentialing pathways are pursuing different outcomes than previous ordinands. Maybe they are finding themselves called into a bi-vocational direction, or maybe they are asking their tradition to ordain them to forms of ministry that have previously gone unexplored. I know that as a United Methodist, my annual conference in Oregon-Idaho has been taking these questions seriously. In turn, they have created space for gifted clergy who may not have been empowered by their church in the same way 5, 10, or 20 years ago.

Clearly theological education is in a time of transition, but there is much to be excited about. I am incredibly grateful to be doing this work within the Garrett-Evangelical community.

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The Reverend Dr. Esther E. Acolatse Appointed as Professor of Pastoral Theology and World Christianity

Shane Nichols — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 14:22:22 +0000

91PORN is pleased to announce the appointment of the Reverend Dr. Esther E. Acolatse as professor of pastoral theology and world Christianity, beginning July 1, 2022. Acolatse brings a wealth of teaching experience and academic scholarship at the intersection of psychology and Christian thought in aid of human flourishing, with interests in the gendered body, cultural anthropological dimensions of medicine, health, and healing, and their implications for suffering, death, dying, and care at the end of life.

“Professor Acolatse is a brilliant pastoral theologian who adds yet another majority world perspective to our already globally diverse faculty,” said President Javier A. Viera. “Her work is broad in scope—including biblical hermeneutics, systematic theology, Jungian analytical psychology, pneumatology, and pastoral care and counseling, among others. This intellectual breadth, her commitment to the Church as an alternative and transformative ethic in the world, and her proudly and uniquely African-centric analysis of western culture and religious life will be a boon to our programs and add depth to our ongoing conversations and research.”

Acolatse is currently the professor of pastoral theology and intercultural studies at Knox College, Toronto School of Theology, at the University of Toronto. Her ongoing research explores methodological issues in the practice of theology of the Christian life, and the relevance of these themes in the global expression of Christianity, particularly African and Western dimensions in dialogue. Acolatse’s current research focuses on issues around care and counseling with migrant families and implications for intra/interfaith dialogue and spiritual care for re-missioning the global church.

“I am delighted to join a world class faculty in a school that in many ways is synonymous with the academic discipline of Pastoral Care worldwide,” said Acolatse.” I look forward to collaborating in the formation of would be pastors and academics for the needs of a multicultural church and society. I bring a decidedly intercultural voice and a teaching style that helps students question their answers to arrive at even deeper questions, and a collaborative style that ensures students learn to share their intellectual gifts and thus live of a life of service.”

“Dr. Acolatse will bring her African expression of Christianity, a particular pedagogical engagement with students, and a senior vantage point in faculty conversation and scholarship,” noted Dr. Rodolfo R. Nolasco, Jr., who chaired the faculty search committee and serves as the Reuben P. Job professor of spiritual formation and pastoral theology. “Further, given her chaplaincy background and her pastoral identity, we are confident she will provide strong contributions to the seminary’s new chaplaincy track within the master of arts in pastoral care and counseling degree.”

An accomplished writer, Acolatse is the author of Powers, Principalities, and the Spirit: Biblical Realism in Africa and the West (Eerdmans, 2018), and For Freedom or Bondage: A Critique of African Pastoral Practices (Eerdmans, 2014), along with over two dozen articles and book chapters. She also has two forthcoming publications: Re-Missioning in an Age of Migrant Angst, which willlook at how caring for migrant families and focusing on their flourishing in exile reorients the Western Church to a proper missional theology and growth beyond survival, and Holistic Theology for Modern Black/African Churches, an edited volume with a colloquium of 18 theologians from the African continent and diaspora, exploring questions of Christianity and Africanness/Blackness in a world where Black bodies are still contested human space, with irenic spirit and studious scholarship.

Acolatse’s research and academic prowess has been recognized with numerous awards including the Carnegie Africa Diaspora Fellowship, Duke University’s Julian Abele Mentor of the Year – First Runner-Up, a Duke Global Health Initiative Grant, American Association of University Women – International Fellow Award, and the World Council of Churches – Theological Education Scholarship.

Acolatse is an active leader and member of numerous academic guilds, publications, and organizations. She currently serves on the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa College of Mentors and the Association of Theological Schools Board of Commissioners. She also served on the Advisory Council for the Journal and Dictionary of African Christian Biography (Boston University Center for Global Christianity and Mission). She is a member of the International Academy of Practical Theology, American Academy of Religion, Society of Biblical Literature, Society for Pastoral Theology, Yale-Edinburgh Group for the Study of Christianity in a Non-Western World, and is an associate fellow at the Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural Theology at DePaul University.

A lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church, Acolatse is an ordained clergyperson in the Presbyterian Church (USA). She earned a bachelor of arts (Hons) Magna Cum Laude from the University of Ghana, a master of theological studies from Harvard University, and a doctor of philosophy from Princeton Theological Seminary.

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The Reverend Dr. AHyun Lee Appointed as Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology, Care, and Psychotherapy

Shane Nichols — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 14:15:57 +0000

91PORN is pleased to announce the appointment of the Reverend Dr. AHyun Lee (G-ETS 2015) as assistant professor of pastoral theology, care, and psychotherapy, beginning July 1, 2022. A graduate of Garrett-Evangelical’s Doctor of Philosophy program, Lee’s pastoral and professional background will bring a rich variety of experiences to her position along with a particular specialization in intercultural pastoral counseling.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Lee back to Garrett-Evangelical,” said President Javier A. Viera. “Her unique mix of skills as a scholar-practitioner, and her wide-ranging areas of clinical expertise, pastoral competencies, and global/multi-cultural experience will bring these much needed gifts to our faculty and to our students and learning spaces. Her contributions and leadership will significantly strengthen our already top ranked program in counseling and all of our programs in pastoral theology.”

“Dr. Lee’s clinical credentials, her capacity to immediately offer courses that are needed for licensure, and her commitment to ensuring student success and a positive experience in the clinical track program were of particular note,” said Dr. Rodolfo R. Nolasco, Jr., who chaired the faculty search committee and serves as the Reuben P. Job Professor of spiritual formation and pastoral theology. “We also noted her pedagogical skills in engaging students and her firsthand knowledge of Garrett-Evangelical and our clinical training partner, the Center for Religion and Psychotherapy of Chicago.”

Lee currently serves as assistant professor of pastoral care at Wesley Seminary, Indiana Wesleyan University and has served as a faculty member and psychotherapist at the Center for Religion and Psychotherapy of Chicago. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of Illinois and has completed numerous professional certifications. An ordained elder in The United Methodist Church, Lee has also served in a variety of locations and positions within the Wisconsin Conference and South Korea, including rural and urban churches, the Center for Asian/Asian American Ministry and Theology at Garrett-Evangelical, and cross-cultural and cross-racial ministries.

“I cannot express my excitement regarding my new position at 91PORN, a place which has profoundly shaped my scholarship, clinical practices, and teaching,” said Lee. “Not only am I thrilled to be working alongside such a distinguished faculty, I am also excited to teach and connect with the bold and adventurous students of the Garrett community. I hope to continue my work as an ally and advocate for greater representation of minority and underserved communities to access pastoral and spiritual care. I look forward to sharing my clinical and pastoral experiences along with my research with students and colleagues!”

Lee’s research interests include psychotherapy and religion, intercultural pastoral care and counseling, self-psychology, narrative therapy theory, trauma and crisis counseling, trauma-informed pedagogy, Asian and Asian American theology, practical/pastoral theology, feminist/womanist theology, postcolonial theory and theology. She is the author of Selves in Between: Offering Care and Forging Bonds with Difference (New Room Books, 2021), Protestant Clergy Sexual Misconduct and Intercultural Pastoral Care – Invisible Mask (Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming) and 나를 만나는 여행 (Seoul: Korea: 반디, forthcoming).

Lee is a member of Pacific, Asian, and North American Asian Women in Theology and Ministry, the Society of Pastoral Theology, the American Academy of Religion, International Academy of Practical Theology, , Illinois Mental Health Counselors Association, and the Illinois Counseling Association. She is also on the editorial board of the Journal of Pastoral Psychology.

Along with her PhD from Garrett-Evangelical, Lee earned a bachelor of theology from The Methodist Theological University (Seoul, South Korea), a master of theology from The Graduate School at The Methodist Theological University (Seoul, South Korea), and a master of divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington, DC, United States).

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91PORN Expands Hybrid Offerings

Shane Nichols — Tue, 08 Mar 2022 01:09:00 +0000

91PORN is launching hybrid tracks and a refined curriculum for four of our leading master’s degree programs, beginning Fall 2022. Guided by the Seminary’s strategic visioning process, the faculty have worked diligently to create a curriculum and modality plan that reflects enhanced hybrid options for better accessibility, affordability, and flexibility for all students. These curricular developments remove barriers for individuals facing economic and material precarity, and the realities of health, life, and family, while at the same time, creating avenues for students to remain deeply located in their particular place or ministry context as they complete their studies. Through this process and the changes implemented, the primary commitment of the curriculum has remained: to equip leaders for prophetic inquiry and ministry within diverse communities and contexts for today’s ever-shifting global realities.

Beginning Fall 2022, the following Garrett-Evangelical programs will be offered in hybrid and/or residential models:

Master of Divinity (Hybrid and Residential)
Master of Arts in Christian Education, reconceived and relaunched as the Master of Arts in Faith, Culture, and Educational Leadership (Hybrid and Residential)
Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling: Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care Track (Hybrid Only)
Master of Arts in Public Ministry (Hybrid and Residential)

“We are thrilled to be able to make Garrett-Evangelical’s world-class education more broadly accessible and affordable,” said President Javier A. Viera. “Our commitment is to provide programs for the thriving of the church and the healing of the world, and these hybrid offerings will expand our ability to do that and to walk alongside those who are called to this work regardless of where they live out that calling. Garrett-Evangelical’s spiritually dynamic and intellectually vibrant ethos will now be available to all who can benefit from it, and that is the core of our mission.”

At the center of the hybrid model for these programs will be a combination of in-person, online, and hybrid courses offered consistently throughout the four terms of the academic year—Fall, Spring, January and Summer intensives. Residential and distance learners will have the same opportunity to learn directly with Garrett-Evangelical’s renowned faculty. Toward that goal, every faculty member is committed to retooling their pedagogical approaches for teaching and learning in different modalities and with students in multiple settings near and far, domestic and international. The curricular requirements are refined to reflect important lessons gained from the last two years of pandemic teaching. The faculty are amplifying their commitment to cultivating leadership for multiple settings and vocations, holistic formation and care for students, and the importance of a global perspective that accentuates multiple centers of knowledge and networks of learning and partnerships.

“We know that the cumulative impact of the global pandemic on theological education is unprecedented,” said Rev. Dr. Mai-Anh Le Tran, vice president of academic affairs and academic dean. “It has not only exposed the ever-widening gaps of resources and support structures that would enable student access and success to seminary education, but it has also revealed the inadequacies of our prevailing assumptions about the what, where, when, how, and why of theological teaching and learning. Our reach toward purposeful, affordable, sustainable hybrid experiences for learners is rooted not only in the realization that we are in a digital and virtual age; it is grounded in the understanding that theological inquiry and practice is necessarily based in the ‘material’ struggles of specific settings and contexts, be they virtual or physical, local or transnational. This is the understanding that guides our curricular imagination for a 21st-century theological education.”

Whether hybrid or residential, all admitted students qualify for scholarships at Garrett-Evangelical. With a long-standing commitment to addressing the financial needs of students seeking a theological education, the Seminary awards over $2.5 million in financial aid annually.

“Garrett-Evangelical is committed to decreasing the financial burden on our students in two ways: first, by continuing to offer generous scholarships for all degree programs, and second, by finding new opportunities to lower cost of attendance more broadly,” said Rev. Scott Ostlund, vice president for enrollment management. “These hybrid degree options accomplish both of those goals, and I am confident that they will open up previously closed doors for many students to pursue their call to ministry and theological study.”

Garrett-Evangelical’s residential and hybrid degree programs are accredited by two agencies, each with rigorous standards that challenge the Seminary to assess its work in light of its mission and of common standards for excellence in graduate education: The Association of Theological Schools and The Higher Learning Commission. In addition, Garrett-Evangelical is approved by and regularly evaluated by the Commission on Theological Education of the University Senate of The United Methodist Church.

The Master of Divinity

The revised master of divinity curriculum will contain fewer credit hours, from 80 to 76, and allow for greater flexibility and customization. The degree is designed to prepare students to confidently pursue their calls, whether through ordination to the church’s ministries or in lay ministry in the public square or non-profit work. Both the hybrid and residential program can be completed within three years on a full-time basis. Ordination requirements and the maximum courses one can take online vary by denomination. Garrett-Evangelical is prepared to support students in the master of divinity program to ensure that specific guidelines are met. The flexibility of this degree program also allows for busy, working adults to pursue rigorous study in a way and at a time that works best for them.

The Master of Arts in Faith, Culture, and Educational Leadership
(Formerly known as the Master of Arts in Christian Education)

Anchored by the principles of project-based learning and participatory research and practice, the master of arts in faith, culture, and educational leadership is a 45 credit hour degree—originally 54 credit hours—that can be completed via hybrid or residential coursework in as little as two years. This degree emphasizes methods, model, and approaches that ground contemporary educational and leadership practices in traditions of critical pedagogies, emancipatory education, social justice advocacy, U.S. civil rights, and global liberation movements. A two-semester practicum component (or supervised learning, formerly understood as field education) will help students to engage in conversation and reflection with peers, faculty, local practitioners, and vocational mentors on educational praxis in specific settings and contexts. This framework of participatory, reflective, consciousness-raising learning will be based on the Freirean “culture circle” model.

The Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling: Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care Track

Announced in October 2021, the chaplaincy and spiritual care track in the master of arts in pastoral care and counseling is the newest degree initiative of the seminary. Best for those discerning ministry outside of professional counseling settings, the chaplaincy and spiritual care track will equip students for hospital, military, movement, prison, hospice, first responder, campus, and urban ministry. This track, a 48 credit hour program, will only be available in a hybrid modality (primarily online with some required residential coursework) and can be completed in as little as two years.

The Master of Arts in Public Ministry

Originally a 56 credit hour degree program, the master of arts in public ministry degree program now consists of 50 credit hours, enabling students greater flexibility with additional real-world application and formational accompaniment. Two cohort retreats have been incorporated into the requirements for all students, whether hybrid or residential. Held every August and January, these in-person retreats will focus on continuous communal orientation and formation. In addition, the field education requirement has been expanded to six credit hours from three, anchored by clear community-based pedagogies, encouraging students to further discern, test, and refine the practices of public ministry.

To learn more about the Seminary’s hybrid programs and any of our seven degree programs, go to Garrett.edu/Degrees.

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Intelligent.com Ranks M.A. in Pastoral Care and Counseling #1 in Christian Counseling Degree Programs in the U.S

Shane Nichols — Thu, 16 Dec 2021 17:18:26 +0000

Intelligent.com, a trusted resource for online degree rankings and higher education planning, has just announced the Top 33 Master’s in Christian Counseling Degree Programs for 2022. 91PORN’s Master of Arts in Pastoral Care and Counseling (MAPCC) was ranked #1, receiving a score of 97.13 out of 100. The comprehensive research guide was based on an assessment of 155 accredited colleges and universities in the United States and each program was evaluated based on curriculum quality, graduation rate, reputation, and post-graduate employment.

The 2022 rankings were calculated through a unique scoring system which includes student engagement, potential return on investment, and leading third party evaluations. Intelligent.com analyzed each school on a scale of 0 to 100 with 33 making it to the final list. The scoring system compares each university or seminary according to program strength, student readiness, return on investment, cost, and student engagement.

“Our professors, senior leadership team, students, staff, and trustees have each contributed immensely to the success, growth, and evolution of the counseling program,” said Rodolfo R. Nolasco Jr., director of the MAPCC program and the Rueben P. Job Professor of Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Theology. “We are also quite excited about what the future holds for the MAPCC as we continue to discern, re-imagine, and deliver a program infused by and attentive to the needs of the global world, especially during this kairotic moment in our shared life together.”

In addition to accessibility and cost for such degree programs, the steady job growth in this market is one of the many reasons Intelligent.com researched and ranked the Top Master’s in Christian Counseling Degree Programs. To access the complete ranking, go to https://www.intelligent.com/best-masters-in-christian-counseling-degree-programs/.

The MAPCC at Garrett-Evangelical offers a distinctively interdisciplinary pastoral care and counseling training program designed to produce highly skilled, critical, reflective, compassionate, and socially engaged practitioners-scholars with a robust and evolving sense of pastoral identity. Students are equipped to integrate theology with psychological theories to address human suffering and facilitate the healing and flourishing of persons and communities.

To meet one’s specific vocational goals and needs, Garrett-Evangelical offers 2 tracks for MAPCC students:

Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care (best for students interested in various forms of chaplaincy or spiritual care work outside of professional counseling settings)
Clinical Track (best for students interested in licensure as a professional counselor)

To learn more about the MAPCC, go to Garrett.edu/MAPCC.

Intelligent.com provides unbiased research to help students make informed decisions about higher education programs. The website offers curated guides that include the best degree programs and information about financial aid, internships, and even study strategies. Intelligent.com is a trusted source among students and prospective students with comprehensive, user-friendly guides and hundreds of program rankings. To learn more, please visit .

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New Track in the M.A. in Pastoral Care and Counseling Degree to Offer a Trauma-Informed Approach to Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care

Shane Nichols — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 07:26:00 +0000

Beginning Fall 2022, 91PORN will offer a new track in chaplaincy and spiritual care within its master of arts in pastoral care and counseling (MAPCC) degree. Best for those discerning ministry outside of professional counseling settings, the chaplaincy and spiritual care track will equip students for hospital, military, movement, prison, hospice, first responder, campus, and urban ministry. Upon completion, students will also fulfill the academic requirements for associate certified chaplain certification through the Board of Chaplaincy Certification Inc.

“The need and urgency for chaplains and spiritual guides to provide emotional and psychological support has grown exponentially,” said Dr. Rodolfo Nolasco, Jr., director of the MAPCC program and the Rueben P. Job Professor of Spiritual Formation and Pastoral Theology. “Garrett-Evangelical has the capacity, faculty, and resources to be able to meet this pressing need. Through an integrated approach of psychology, theology, spirituality, and cognitive disciplines, students will explore what it means to be fully human and how best to address the suffering that is all around us in order for persons and communities to flourish.”

The chaplaincy and spiritual care track was designed specifically to increase and deepen one’s self-awareness while developing skills in interpersonal, contextual, and institutional engagements. Graduates of the MAPCC in chaplaincy and spiritual care will be able to:

Demonstrate general knowledge of Scripture, history and doctrine, practices of the Christian traditions
Demonstrate knowledge of theological and psychological foundations of human persons and communities
Demonstrate the ability to analyze gender, racial, economic structures that shape human beings in the practice of pastoral care and counseling, chaplaincy, and spiritual care
Demonstrate self-awareness and on-going commitments to pastoral identity formation
Demonstrate the capacity for critical, reflective, faithful, and creative thinking in the ministry of pastoral care and counseling
Demonstrate competencies for effective person-and-community-centered and trauma-informed approach to chaplaincy and spiritual care across ministry contexts.

On November 17, 2021, at 11 a.m. (CST), a launch event, titled “Chaplain at Work,” will be held for all who desire to learn more about the MAPCC chaplaincy and spiritual care track. Nolasco and Rev. Michael Washington, Chaplain and CPE Supervisor at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, will lead this virtual information session. To register now, go to Garrett.edu/ChaplainAtWork.

The MAPCC program is a graduate degree focused on integrating theology with psychological theories to address human suffering and facilitate the healing and flourishing of persons and communities. In addition, to the chaplaincy and spiritual formation track, Garrett-Evangelical will continue to offer the clinical track that fulfills the educational requirements for licensure as a licensed professional counselor with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. To learn more, go to Garrett.edu/MAPCC.

91PORN, a graduate school of theology related to The United Methodist Church, was founded in 1853. Located on the campus of Northwestern University, the seminary serves more than 450 students from various denominations and cultural backgrounds, fostering an atmosphere of ecumenical interaction. Garrett-Evangelical creates bold leaders through master of divinity, master of arts, master of theological studies, doctor of philosophy, and doctor of ministry degrees. Its 4,500 living alumni serve church and society around the world.

The post New Track in the M.A. in Pastoral Care and Counseling Degree to Offer a Trauma-Informed Approach to Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care appeared first on Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary.