Today has been an incredible day at McCormick – we had the inauguration of Frank Yamada as president. All those in attendance can attest to the fact that it was an incredibly powerful service. We’ll be bringing you news on that Tuesday, so stay tuned for that.

But first!

Ryan Wallace recently went with a group of clergy, seminarians and other religious leaders to the Illinois capitol to lobby for raising the minimum wage. I asked to write this blog, and it stands as a testament to the McCormick community’s continued presence in promoting justice for all of God’s children. Written below is his account of the day and why it is an important issue to fight for:

It’s safe to say that 4:45am is earlier than I want to wake up most days. But this past Tuesday, that is precisely what time I (willfully) rolled out of bed. I had a good reason though. I was on my way to meet up with about 70 others to catch an early train down to the Capitol in Springfield to lobby for SB1565: a bill to raise Illinois’ minimum wage. After all, minimum wage workers all over the state wake up even earlier than 4:45 every morning to start preparing the breakfast and coffee we grab on our way into the office a few hours later, so maybe I owe ‘em one.

At 7am sharp, our train pulled out of Union Station. After some bagels and coffee, we got down to business. We had but a few short hours to teach crash courses in minimum wage reform and lobbying. Our train car was filled with a veritable potpourri of folks—clergy, minimum wage workers, nuns, lawyers, community organizers, lobbyists, and even an economist—but we all shared in the common goal of raising the minimum wage in our state. However, in order to pass the bill, we’d need more of an argument than, “$8.25 an hour isn’t enough to live on” (though there’s no doubt that statement is woefully true). We’d need the facts to back up our moral and democratic argument that no one who works full time should qualify for food stamps. We knew we’d need to have answers to pointed questions like: How will businesses be affected by the wage raise? Won’t raising the minimum wage cost our state jobs? How can we pass a raise in the minimum wage during an economic recession?

Fortunately, we did our reading ahead of time…

First, a recent national study comparing job growth in bordering counties with differing minimum wages has effectively proven that increases in minimum wage do not negatively affect job growth. Additionally, several other studies have demonstrated that raising the minimum wage actually saves businesses money (by reducing employee turnover and thus the cost of training new employees), generates new revenue for businesses (by increasing worker productivity), and creates a better work environment (by significantly elevating employee morale).

From an economic standpoint, there is also strong evidence that suggests we should raise the minimum wage. It’s been estimated that raising the minimum wage would generate over $2 billion in new consumer spending in Illinois over the next four years. Raising the minimum wage means putting more money in the pockets of low-income families who will turn around and spend that money every month (because they still won’t make enough to put it into savings), primarily on goods and services in their own local communities. In fact, some economists project that this new consumer spending could create as many as 20,000 new jobs in Illinois over the next four years.

If that’s not convincing, I imagine most of us would agree that minimum wage should, at the very least, grow at the same rate as our economy. However, as our economy has expanded, minimum wage has lagged behind. If minimum wage had simply kept pace with inflation over the past forty years, it would be over $10 an hour today.

While in Springfield, we collectively visited the offices of all 59 Senators and every last one of the 118 Representatives, delivering to each a scroll with the signatures of more than 200 faith leaders from around the state supporting an increase in the minimum wage. Many of us were even lucky enough to catch some of the legislators and sit down to chat about the reason for our visit to our state’s capital. We then gathered in the rotunda of the Capitol for a press conference featuring clergy, sponsoring legislators, workers, and experts, all attesting to the fact that the time is now to stand up for the lowest paid workers in our communities.

Many of us were also able to track down the legislators from our own home districts. Whether our Senators are co-sponsors or opponents of SB1565, we wanted to let them know where we as constituents stood on the issue. We hope you can join us for our next Springfield excursion, but until then…

Find your Senator, ask where she/he stands on SB1565, and let her/him know that you support SB1565 to raise the minimum wage in Illinois to $10.65/hour over the next four years.

Thanks for sharing this story with us and for standing up for minimum wage workers!

See you next week!

Friday:

First, we kicked things off with a stellar worship service lead by McCormick Senior, Megan Cochran.

Senior, Megan Cochran, preaches on the book of Ester and listening for silence.

Next, we moved into a welcome and introduction with soon-to-be-inagurated President, Frank Yamada.

President Frank Yamada welcomes our prospective students to McCormick.

Next, we moved into our programming for the evening. We chatted and talked about vocation and discernment.

JC moving us into "what exactly is vocation and call?"

We polished off the night with dinner for the prospectives, cooked by some of our very own wonderful students!Then we called it a night so we could do it all over again tomorrow!

Saturday:

Breakfast was served and Tabitha came in to chat with us about just what goes on with the financial side of things when it comes to seminary.

Tabitha saying, "Show me the money!"

Next, Deb Kapp gave a presentation on Urban Ministry and the possibilities that lie in wait for students in the city of Chicago. it’s your own living laboratory for ministry!

Deb Kapp explaining urban ministry and Chicago as our "living laboratory!"

But not before we enjoyed some delicious doughnuts from Chicago’s own Doughnut Vault in the west loop.

Fresh ginger doughnuts from the Doughnut Vault in the west loop.

Next, we moved into some mini classes with some of our professors here at McCormick and we finished off the morning with moving into lunch: Kim chi for all!

Professor Ted Hiebert teaching a mini-class.

Students dig into Korean food for lunch!

After lunch, we did some spiritual practices with Sergio, one of our first year, MDiv students.

Making artwork about answering our call.

Next, we got to hear from a panel of faculty on why they taught at McCormick and then from our panel of students about their time there and advice for those discerning ministry.

Dr. Joanne Lindstom, Dr. Sharon Ellis-Davis, and Dr. Bob Cathey.

Student Panel.

We closed it all out with some finishing touches and then, of course, worship. Is there any other way to end?

Closing out worship services.

Whew! Well, that was a whirl-wind!

Last December, a few members of the McCormick community were invited to sit and have a chat with Different Drummers, a web-based program produced by CBS here in Chicago.

Lets have a look: Click to view (link opens in a new window!)

Melva Lowry, Angela Ryo (whom you might remember from a post last September), and Dean of Students Christine Vogel talk about what specialized ministry is and why it’s important. McCormick has a long tradition of preparing students for all aspects of ministry, including parish and specialized. Through McCormick’s unique degree programs, which include Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Arts in Discipleship Development and Master of Arts in Urban Ministry, students gain the tools necessary to become successful in anything and everything God is calling them to do!

See you next week!

Lilly 2012 Summer Discernment Institute now accepting applications!

We’re had some McCormick folks attend this in the past and it’s always promising! Check out the recently released information from the Lilly Foundation, think it over, and get your application in!

The Lilly Summer Discernment Institute is now accepting applications from undergraduate students at colleges and universities across the nation interested in exploring careers in ministry and/or service for the summer.  The program, which has space for twelve students, will run from June 4 – July 28, 2012.  All applications are due by March 1, 2012 and must be submitted on-line.  To learn more about the program and to apply, please visit http://life.sewanee.edu/believe/lilly-summer-discernment-institute.

Students interested in exploring vocations in ordained ministry or service with non-profit organizations are encouraged to apply for the eight-week  program which offers a $2400 stipend for work in their chosen internship. Students spend the first week at Sewanee (June 4 – 8th) engaged in activities that help prepare them for their six-week internship. They return back to Sewanee for a final week of reflection and sharing of their experience (July 23 – 28).

Past internships have been in parishes, shadowing clergy, leading youth ministry, studying monastic life, working with disabled adults and children,  the homeless, rural medical care, orphanages, refugee assimilation and more. Over 200 students from more than fifty colleges and universities have  participated in the program which began in 2002 through a grant from the Lilly Foundation. A number of these students go on to complete divinity and  graduate theological programs, work as youth ministers or in lay positions in churches, serve as teachers, or continue to work in non-profits and  medicine.

The Summer Discernment Institute is becoming widely recognized throughout the Episcopal Church as a highly useful discernment tool for men and women of college age who are considering a call to ordained ministry. The Pastoral Leadership Search Effort (PLSE) of the Episcopal Church recognizes that this internship program provides a unique opportunity for students to work in parish and other organizational environments and obtain a firsthand   understanding of what a life of active ministry entails. Ordained ministry discernment is open to students of all denominations.

Applications for the 2012 Lilly Summer Discernment Institute will be due by March 1, 2012. IMPORTANT NOTE: Students may nominate their own placements.  Students in all four years of college, including seniors, are encouraged to apply.  For more information about this program, go to  http://life.sewanee.edu/believe/lilly-summer-discernment-institute, email rhille@sewanee.edu, or call 931.598.1869.

Classes, Classes, Classes

This semester, we’ve got an awesome round of classes happening. We’ll be bringing you interviews with students, faculty and the educational assistants on some of the incredible classes that are happening here so you can have a taste of what’s going to be coming your way!

Wes Pitts is: Barbara Walters (if Barbara Walters had a beard)

Wes Pitts, our newest addition to the CURE, is going to be hunting down students, faculty, staff and even strangers on the CTA to find out what life around here is really like. He’ll be checking in with some of the student groups on campus, interviewing faculty, and he;ll be bringing you a special spring edition of the CURE: Neighborhood Spotlight. You haev to stay tuned for that one.

The Editor has to do something, right?!

Now, as your editor, I love this blog. It’s like a fat little baby that you nurture into a child. Then, into a screaming teenager, and hopefully on into adulthood. Now that I’ve got Wes helping around, it’s time that I let his maternal instincts take over. I’ll still be working behind the scenes, editing, writing, and hounding people for information. But, alas, I am graduating on May 5, 2012. I’ll still be bringing you lots of information like, covering Frank Yamada’s Inauguration, some book reviews of the clergy and non-clergy type, Faculty Search updates as we look for some new spots to fill, and information for prospective students, like out upcoming Inquiry Into Ministry that’s happening this weekend!

Speaking of IIM this weekend, check out this little ditty that we put together for your enjoyment about some of the reasons that students choose: Why McCormick?

Guest Writers

This semester, we want you to hear directly from our students, not just through an interview. So we’re going to hand over the keyboard to them and let them have their way! You’ll get to hear their voices and thoughts, just as they are.

Christine’s Corner

Rev. Dr.Christine Vogel is back with her take on things! She;ll be appearing here and there with her thoughts on things that are going on in the world of the church!

Did you know we have a Doctorate of Ministry here?!

Well, if you didn’t then you will! We’ll be checking in with Jeff, Martha, and Regina, Deb, and the DMin students on what’s going on with the program and how the students are doing!

So, are you interested yet? I hope so. If you have things you want to hear about or read up on, shoot us an e-mail at inquiry@go.mccormick.edu

Look for Wes on Thursday with his take on Different Drummers! Until then, ciao McReaders!

~Shelley D.

Chicago received its first dusting of snow overnight and McCormick gets its first post by its new blogger – ME!

For my first blog I’ve decided to introduce you to a friendly face seen around campus – Yeon-Ik Park. I first met Yeon-Ik in August, as we were both taking the summer Greek intensive. Our class only had 8 students in it, and we formed a bond really quickly (that tends to happen in a class you go to twice a day, every day, for three weeks! – Prospective students, take note – the Summer Intensive is the way to go when it comes to languages if you can make it).  He’s finishing up his degree this semester, but will be in Chicago for a little while longer. He’ll be sorely missed by our community but we wish him the best of luck in his future.

Yeon Ik and his family spending a vacation in Atlanta at the World of Coca-Cola

Wes: Tell us your name and where you’re from:

Yeon-Ik: I am Yeon-Ik Park. Yeon-Ik (連翼) comes from Chinese – Yeon means ‘connect or inherit’ and Ik means ‘wing or flutter’. Namely, it means to work connecting with someone through helping and preservation. I came from South Korea.

W: Tell us a little about yourself – What did you do before coming to McCormick? What was your dream job growing up?

Y: I was born on Je-ju island, the grandest and most beautiful island in Korea. It is like Korea’s Hawaii. I am the youngest son among three children of my parents. I was raised with strong influences of Christian heritage inherited from my grand-parents. I had learned the model of God’s stewardship from my father who has been a lay person and served the church as a faithful steward. I applied to a seminary and had made up my mind to become a minister in order to practice the life.

After I graduated from the graduate school of theology at Hanshin University, I had worked on the editorial staff at the Institute of Theological Studies of the Presbyterian Church of Republic of Korea (my denomination). I have also worked as an assistant pastor in a Korean Church, Yedarm Presbyterian Church, before coming here.

W: Yeon-Ik, you’ve told me that you have also been a Chinese food delivery driver (in Korea food is delivered via motorcycles!) and a body guard in the military, how were those experiences?

Y: I was in the army from 1999 to 2001 stationed at the Army’s headquarters in Daejeon, South Korea. I served as a body guard for generals, which was fun because when we had motorcades we would be able to drive really fast. After getting out of the army it was difficult for me to break the habit of following people really closely in my car. After the army I needed extra money in order to pay tuition for seminary, so for three months I delivered food in Daejeon. In my culture, life moves really fast (빨리빨리) and people expect their food really quickly, so I had to get the food to a person’s home in less than 5 minutes!

W: Tell us about your family – Who are they and how do they like living in Chicago?

Y: I have four family members. They are – a cute and pretty daughter named Sol-Saem, who is 4 years old and going to pre-school at Ray school; a vigorous 23 month old son named In-Bum, and a lovely wife named Yoon-Jung, who worked as a social worker in a facility for people with disabilities. They like living in Chicago except a little bit about the cold weather.

W: What do you miss most about Korea? What do you like most about living in Chicago?

Y: I miss my family, the church and congregations where I worked and I miss Korea’s scenery of seas and mountains.

What I like about living in Chicago and the US is the fresh air and wider view, which is better than Korea. Korea is really densely populated and the buildings are really close together, so I’m happy to be in a place that is more wide open. Chicago is kind of like the town that I grew up in on Jeju Island, so I like that. I also like experiencing diverse cultures and people.

W: What do you do for fun?

Y: Sometimes my family and I watch Korean television programs to quench our stress and to get away from English. At times, I have fun extra times baking breads, like Korean pancakes with sugar and peanuts or steamed bread with adzuki beans or diverse muffins or pizza, and so on. After I baked the breads, I shared with my neighborhood.

W: I have been a happy recipient of the Korean pancakes and I can attest to the fact that they are absolutely delicious!

Why did you come to McCormick?

Y: After conversations with McCormick alumni, I came to consider as McCormick the school which could offer me both pastoral and theological disciplines for further ministry. I thought that it would be a great honour for me to be a part of this esteemed school as a student. I knew of the excellent educational system for the foreign students, and that I might encounter other students gathered from all around the continent and even the world in the Cross-Cultural campus that is McCormick. I came here, because I expected that I would expand both the experimental and epistemological horizon of my study.

W: What has your experience been like at McCormick, both as an international student and a cultural minority?

Y: I have experienced multiculturalism in diverse worship services, being able to interact with people of cultures, and I have been able to introduce the Korean culture to other people. Although I thought my English ability was insufficient, I was still interested in sharing my culture with McCormick community. Moreover, I felt that the community has made an effort to understand my culture.

W: What has been your favorite class at McCormick? Why?

Y: I have been taking the Greek class from last summer to now. It has been one of my favorite classes because it is taken by only a few students (8 people), and so I am easily able to share materials of this class. To study a 3^rd language, which is classical, is not easy for me as I’m still trying on my 2^nd language, nevertheless, I have an interest in studying and working hard in order to acquire not only Greek but also the English language.

W: What’s your favorite food?

Y: My favorite food is anything make with flour. Especially, I like breads. Of course, I also like Korean foods. So, I, sometimes, would make some breads and cookies. I learned many methods of baking breads and cookies through books and websites. Probably, unless I take a job in ministry, I will become a baker. (hahahaha)

W: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?

Y: I think that Ministers/Pastors should go anywhere God calls. So, if some church or congregation calls me, I will go anywhere. So then, I haven’t decided on a place to go. However, I am convinced that God will call me as soon as I finish my courses.

I’ll be bringing you the blog once a week starting in the spring, so until then, Have a Happy Christmas and a  Wonderful New Year!

We’ve done a lot this year and there have been a lot of changes happening here that are new and exciting. Granted, there is some fear with all of those changes, but as a community, we work through them together; through the good, the bad, and the ugly. There have been new babies born, deaths of loved ones, birthdays, etc. And we’ve made it through another semester. So, what’s next?!

Beginning in the Spring semester, we’ll have a brand new edition to our blog family, Wes Pitts. You might have heard about him already. He’s a fellow Southerner and a pretty darn good cook, he works in student admissions and he’s the proud human of Norae and Sunae, who you met earlier in the year on Pigeon’s corner. He’ll be bringing us Friday’s blog. So check him out and let him know what you think! Until then, as you study for finals, bake your Christmas cookies, light the candles in your windowsills, bundle up in anticipation of the snow that Chicago somehow forgot it was supposed to have by now, and turn in those papers, I leave you with this: one of the best versions of the Christmas story I’ve ever heard.

Happy Holidays and we’ll see you in the New Year!

The Christmas Story – As Told by Children

Peace!

Shelley D.

Starting seminary is hard work.  At the end of my first semester at McCormick, I think I can safely say that continuing is even harder.  Fantastically harder.

Let me explain…

I’m not really new to higher education, or church even …. but this level of theological exploration was not exactly something I could have prepared myself for.

Back in August, I figured I pretty much had this whole seminary thing under control.  I had talked to former students, read other seminarians’ blogs, and recited the expected prayers …. I’ve been through the college and grad-school game before, so how different could it be?  Sure, I would be tested and tried … but God led me here, right?  I got this.

Sitting in the pew of churches back in August, and even September — I found myself picking out messages of encouragement from the sermons and using them to affirm my calling to be in seminary.  I was definitely on the right track.

Or so I thought….

…and then assignments were due.  Now, I was expecting to write papers and do research … I really was.  But I wasn’t expecting the emotional tie I would have with these papers, lectures, and tests.  No longer was I waiting until the last possible minute to form complicated answers to simple questions [which is no small feat for a self-proclaimed hard-core procrastinator].  No longer were the papers I was writing strictly for a letter grade —- and no longer was the studying being done because a professor was forcing me to learn something that wasn’t relevant.

Not only were the assignments completely relevant to my eventual career and life — they were about me.  They were me.  They were about God.  They were about faith and belief.  These assignments suddenly had the potential to rock me, roll me, and transform me whether I was ready or not.

Bible and history lectures were absorbed by my hungry spirit.  Baptism and communion papers were written through my poured-out heart.  Hebrew language tests were taken with hope of understanding antiquity.  Events were attended with an open-mind [and even a bit of timidness] only to fall completely in love with the people standing for a cause and scrambling to figure out my contributing part.

Something happened.  Something broke.  Something transformed.

…it was my spirit.

My spirit has been broken down and transformed into something else.  Something other.  Something beyond myself.  These days, when I sit in the church pew, I’m not picking out messages concerning my own affirmation and personal call.  Rather, I’m sitting on the edge of my seat yearning to hear God’s message for God’s people.  I’m seeking challenge and living with mystery.

This seminary business has been quite a doozy so far.  I hope it continues…

Stephanie Levan is a first year student at McCormick who can be found baking pumpkin goods, taking Spanish lessons at midnight, or searching for her perpetually misplaced apartment key.  She also loves watching Hebrew Aleph-Bet videos on YouTube and enjoys long elevator rides with her friends.  She blogs at Stepanana’s Stumbles (stepanana.wordpress.com) and you can always catch her on twitter: @stepanana.

Reflections from the third year…

When I started seminary, I was terrified. There was nothing comforting about moving to Chicago from Atlanta, leaving my friends and family behind, and moving my dogs and I into a tiny apartment with a new zip code, complete with snow. A lot of tears were shed getting here, and a lot more have been shed getting to the end. But it’s all been worth it.

When you get here, it gets hard.

Really hard.

You do pour out who you are and what you believe, but in doing that, in mulling over your own beliefs and the beliefs of your classmates, you become affirmed and strengthened in your own beliefs. Some might change, but you have reason for changing them and you have reason (that you are now aware of) for having them in the first place. While my first semester was life-shaking and also life-affirming, I can safely say that I’m just as terrified now as I was then.

Confusing? It should be.

Seminary isn’t about becoming Super-pastor, it’s not about knowing it all, it’s not even about making sure you can recite the Bible back and forth; it’s about knowing your growing edges, your gifts, and becoming realistic about them and how you can use them, stretch them and help them to develop in whatever your setting may be. It’s realizing that you know nothing at all aside from your faith.

And that’s okay.

Working in the Department of Admissions is a lot of fun. And it’s exciting to see new students, glassy-eyed, as they search out their call. Some come into seminary, confident that they have it all figured out. I pray for those people a little more than others. I know, I know, it doesn’t sound fair. But those are the ones who are in for the most shock, and the most amazing transformations. That isn’t to say that everyone isn’t in for some major life transformations while you’re in seminary, they just look different.

For everyone.

Just like we are all created good, in God’s image; we are all different. We all experience the world in different ways with our cultures, our past experiences and our various shades of rose-colored classes.

So, as I finish my last year of seminary, I look back on the Iron Chef competitions, the Halloween parties, the Advent Celebrations, the Session and Deacons meetings, the apple orchard outings, the time in prayer, the football games in the park, the time playing in the snow, the times crying through Hebrew as Ted Hiebert convinced me I actually did understand verbs, the papers written at 4am when my mind would not shut off, and the satisfaction of passing Greek… and I would do it all over again. (Well, okay, only if I had to… passing Greek and Hebrew once is enough for one lifetime.)

Now, it’s almost time to leave my seminary bubble. I will miss it. I will miss my neighbors and their silly children, I will miss study breaks, I will miss Christine Vogel’s office with candies, Jimmy’s, but I will go out being prepared and terrified for the real world that I have been prepared for with love and compassion. There have been hurt feelings along the way, hugs and laughter, and it was all worth it. Every stinkin’ moment of it.

Shelley Donaldson is a senior at McCormick. She’s currently juggling CPE, classes, and working. When not reading or hanging out at Rush University Hospital, she’s watching re-runs of Fringe, learning to re-make her favorite southern foods, trying to figure out her new smart phone, and make the perfect cup of chicory coffee. You can read her blog: thetravellingtheologian.wordpress.com or on twitter: @scdonaldson

I have two journals, one that reflects my daily (or weekly, depending on my moods) thoughts, hopes, dreams and prayers, and the second which is more like a scrapbook – filled with quotes, hymns, prayers that others have written.   They provoke moments for reflection and moments of amusement – like this whimsical one from the Portland Oregon Historical Society:  

During the 1970’s, weather forecasters relied on two touchstones to predict the weather:  the National Weather Service and the goats that grazed on Mt. Nebo.  Variable high goats = good weather; widely scattered goats – = partly sunny; low pressure goats (i.e.; grazing at lower elevations) = rain or snow.    The goats had a 90% accuracy, and the National Weather Service  – 65%.

Google: goats on Mt. Nebo

 What touchstones do you use to predict the weather in your own life, and how accurate are those predictions?    Turning again to my journal, I found a wisdom answer to that question in a recent entry from  the book Unexpected Destinations: An Evangelical  Pilgrimage to World Christianity, the 2011 autobiography of Wesley Granburg-Michaelson,  General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America.     He talks about his struggle, as a college student, to both nourish his soul and enact a relevant witness in the world.  

 He insists that the inward journey of a spiritual life must find outward expression in “inner attention, listening prayer, attuned exploration of God’s work in [one’s] life and the discovery of gifts intended to build up the body of Christ for strengthening its witness in the world…..God’s work is the transformation of lives, but also of communities, societies and the world.”   

In other words, we must do our best to adjust the chaotic pace of our lives– especially the multiple demands of seminary, work, family and church responsibilities – with a clear awareness that we are not doing this for ourselves.  Let us discipline ourselves to graze and not neglect prayer and time with God – with the excuse that we are too busy each morning, or too tired each night.   Let us not allow the rush of life’s “necessities” to override our need to attune ourselves to the necessity  of God who calls us to live and move and have our being in a way that commits us to  community and then to justice.

Last year, we brought you an interview with Cynthia Bolbach, Moderator of the 2010 PCUSA General Assembly. So, we decided to check in with her again and see what she was up to.

Moderator of the 219th PCUSA General Assembly, Cynthia Bolbach

So, you’ve been busy traveling places and what not. How have things been for you since we last spoke?

So often you all get to meet our professors and students, but there are other aspects to our community, like our adjunct professors that we want to show off as well. They’re pretty awesome, especially today’s interviewee: Janaan Hashim, Esq. Janaan teaches alongside of our favorite Nesting in Beirut Theology Guru, Bob Cathey. Not only is she one of our favorites here, she’s also a lawyer (and one of the founders) of the first law firm founded by 6 Muslim women right here in Chicago, the Amal Law Group. She’s also a maker of homemade baklava, and she has a great sense of humor. Janaan also lectures wherever and whenever she can. She covers a range of topics, and I was lucky enough to go to one of her recent lectures right next door at LSTC.

Janaan plays a really important role in the life of the McCormick community. To state the obvious at this point, she’s a practicing Muslim (trust me, there’s much more to this lady than only that!). Chicago is a place rich for interfaith learning and conversation, and Janaan helps to bring that directly into our classrooms. Personally, I can attest that she has helped me, a white, Christian, Southerner, to connect with someone of another faith and to really learn. Through interaction, we get the information first hand and that’s how people make relationships and come to have a respect for one another. This is how things change and how people learn.

Now it’s time for me to stop rambling on and on about her, you come by the Religious Pluralism class on Friday mornings and meet her as well. You’ll also get another change to meet her and take a class from her and Bob Cathey this coming Spring semester as they teach a new class, Arab Reawakening. Check it out on the McCormick page for more information! Without further ado, here she is!

Please tell us your name, where you are from, and what exactly it is you do at McCormick.

My name is Janaan Hashim, I was born a mile south of the Mason-Dixon line in Cumberland, Maryland but grew up just outside the Capitol in Rockville, MD.  At McCormick, I try to keep students in my class awake Friday mornings by engaging them in thought-provoking analysis of the faith being studied that particular day, and when we go on our site visits to various houses of worship, I do my best to set a good example of being a respectful guest and learner.  And what class would draw students out of their comfortable quarters on a Friday morning?  Religious Pluralism and the Ministry.

http://www.amallaw.com/bios/janaanhashim.html

Tell us a little bit about your family.

There’s not much to be said.  My father is from Iraq, my mom is from Ohio, so I’m a Scotts-Irish Arab…reality is, if I were a horse, I’d be valuable.

As for the boring stuff, I have two older brothers and when I was young, our family included two guinea pigs, Spicey and Cutie-Pie, two rabbits, Bunny and Fredrick, and several tanks of fresh water fish.  I went to public school (thus, my weak geography skills), played the piano for nine years and trumpet for four, enjoyed photography tremendously in high school, was a member of 4-H and spent parts of my summer on the shores of the Atlantic at Ocean City, MD.  Oh, and I was a runner doing cross-country, indoor track and spring track in middle school and high school with my mom at too many meets to count, cheering me on every step of the way… no pun intended.

You are a McCormick adjunct professor, and (besides the rumor that you make some stellar baklava), we hear you are also a lawyer. What’s that all about?

Good question.  Hmmmmm, well, I had just finished meeting my goals at the high school at which I taught (journalism and desktop publishing) and was trying to determine whether I should set new goals or do something different.  My husband reminded me of my interest in continuing my higher education and suggested law.  Since my kids were in upper elementary school, I figured why not?

I was intrigued by the analytical thinking and reasoning skills that many lawyers carry, and thought that this was something I’d like to polish.  With that, my skills as an oralist also improved, thanks to both the Socratic Method and the moot court team I was on.  Through these experiences, I came to realize that when I find myself put on the spot, whether it’s the professor or a judge wanting an answer, it was either shrivel away or step-up to the challenge.  Early on, I decided I would always try the latter and not worry about being wrong, looking silly, or anything like that.  It was an incredible learning experience to say the least and one that has made me into a better person and thinker.

How did you come to teach at McCormick? What do you teach/will you be teaching?

God really works in strange ways…at least, strange to us.  It took a trip to Barcelona, Spain to get me to McCormick – talk about taking the scenic route!  I was a panelist at the 2004 Conference of the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.  Among other speaking engagements, I participated in a panel discussion entitled, “The Headscarf Debate and Ultra-Secularism in Democratic Societies” in which two others and I talked about our head covering experiences.  Of course, with the other two democracies being France and Turkey, it was easy to make the US shine above the others in terms of religious freedom and expression while also expressing caution with the growth of Islamophobia.  Afterward, Professor Cathey’s daughter approached me, with Professor Cathey and his wife by her side, we talked and exchanged contact info.  That fall, Professor Cathey invited me to speak to his class that attended the Parliament, then the following year he approached me to tweak his Parliamment class so that McCormick could provide a course relating to the interfaith movement between Parliament events given the pluralistic city we live it.

Bob and I met, we discussed a few avenues for the course, and then came up with the current model that was based on a course I took in law school.  The course, Religious Pluralism and the Ministry was born, approved by the administration and has earned a steady spot in the fall as an elective.

The other course that I will also team-teach with Professor Cathey is Arab Reawakening which will be offered for the first time this spring.  It will be really interesting because we will look at Arab Christian and Arab Muslim immigrants who moved to Chicago from six specific Middle Eastern countries over the past 100 or so years, the impact they have had on the community and its impact on them, and then what kind of impact that may have had on current life in the Middle East all within the context of diaspora in the Bible and Quran.  Cool, eh?

Personally, I think it’s pretty important that we have you as a professor. You’re a practicing Muslim, and that’s something really great that you bring to the table for students to learn from and to engage with. Why do you think it is important that you are part of the McCormick community? What role do you see yourself playing (besides the obvious professor role)?

This is a great question.  Without a doubt, if I were to learn about, say, Judaism, I would be smart to go to an observing Jew or even a Rabbi, ask my questions and learn from them.  Similarly, a smart school would do the same if it chooses to offer a course that involves Islam: it would pull in someone who not only knows the faith, but feels it, breaths it, lives it.  That makes all the difference in teaching students because it brings in passion and brightens an otherwise dry topic.

The events of 9/11 propelled me into the interfaith world and, through it, I’ve realized that the only way we can undermine the nay-sayers out there who are convincing the world that faith is part of the world’s problem, is to step up to the plate and say, “No, faith is part of the solution.”  The basis of this is simple. I’ve found through my interfaith work, especially with the CPWR, that no faith calls for the annihilation of the other, no faith calls for starving the other, no faith calls for hate and violence toward the other.  I hope to bring that into my classroom and help my students see the beautiful world beyond the circle of their own faith.

In terms of role, I guess there’s a bit of helping the student realize his/her own stereotypes or prejudices of a person who doesn’t dress like them and helping the student overcome these preconceptions through my role as an educator.  It’s pretty fair to say that most of my students have had little contact with Islam, Muslim women, or an American Muslim woman.  I’ve noticed that over the course of the semester, the student shifts from seeing me as “the professor who wears the hijab” to “the prof who teaches the Religious Pluralism class.”  In essence, they, themselves, move beyond defining my scope or essence, in their view, by what they see on the exterior toward defining my scope or essence with what is deeper through what they see in class, experience on the road, learn from in debriefings after site visits, etc.

To me, the reality is that it’s a pluralistic world out there, especially in the US, and more so in Chicago.  The sooner seminarians can enlarge their comfort zone such that it includes “the other,” the better equipped they will be as religious leaders in their community.   I hope that my presence as a member of the MTS community helps with that process and that students years from now will say, “I had this professor who was Muslim, and I learned that when you go to a mosque, expect to see the wall lined with shelves filled with Qurans in the prayer area, or when a Sikh greets you with his hands clasped together, the best response is to reciprocate with the same gesture, or when you go to meditation at a Buddhist temple, expect to sit for a long time.”  So long as I’m making this a part of my students’ learning curve, then I can sleep well at night knowing that our future is a bright one.

You mentioned your involvement with the Parliament of the World’s Religions. Can you speak to that a bit?

I was first exposed to the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions (CPWR) in 2004 when I was invited to speak on a couple of panels at the Barcelona Parliament event.  I then stayed connected by helping with the programming of the 2009 Parliament event in the context of finding highly qualified Muslim speakers to talk on a variety of relevant and interesting issues.  In 2010, I was privileged to join their Board of Trustees.  I currently sit on the HR committee and I also served on the Site Selection Task Force Committee to determine which bid city would host the next Parliament Event in 2014.  Working with the CPWR staff, Dirk Ficca, the Executive Director (and a MTS grad!) and other trustees has been a tremendous experience and wonderful gift.

At the beginning of our reading week, you gave a lecture on the shariah at LSTC, and I hear you get a lot of requests for speaking engagements. What kinds of things do you get asked to speak about? Which one was your favorite to give?

Most of my talks involve Islam one way or the other.  Typically they address Islamophobia, eg. religious freedom in the US, the hijab, rising hate toward Muslims both at the personal level and within a legal context; women’s issues ranging from my work as a criminal defense attorney to Muslim women’s involvement in society and women’s rights in Islam; my work with Radio Islam and religion in the media; and now, as you mentioned, Shariah since it is becoming a political issue and it seems that politicians and their constituencies, including many Muslims, do not know what Shariah really is.  I really love talking about issues relating to Islam, it really lights the fire in my belly! I love informing and educating folks and seeing the light above their heads turn on as well as exploring issues with scholars and seeing my own light shine a bit brighter.

I know you’ve traveled to study Arabic. Where all have you gone and how’s that going?

I have studied classical Arabic for the past three summers in Amman, Jordan at Qasid Institute.  It’s a fabulous program and I hope to ultimately complete its five levels.  Until I found this program, learning Arabic was a great challenge and I became increasingly frustrated with the fact that, to know my faith, I have to rely on someone else’s translations, their proficiency (or lack thereof) in Arabic and English, and whatever social and personal influences they may carry when determining what English word properly translates the corresponding Arabic word.  With this handicap, libraries upon libraries filled with thousands of classical works by brilliant minds – both men and women – are closed to me; but once I learn the language, imagine, not only will those library doors be open, but I won’t need a library card to read the works!  So, with great patience, I plow forward, finding myself closer to my faith as I hear and better understand what I’m saying and reading.

Honestly, you work with Bob Cathey. How great is it to get to work with him?

I couldn’t have a better teacher to be by my side.  He has terrific patience with me, introducing me to various aspects of life in academia and the pace with which it operates.  In class, he gives me full freedom as an equal when it comes down to everything from grading to in-class analyses and discussion of students’ writings.  He has been very supportive of my interest in entering academia and provided many great ideas.  MTS is blessed to have him on board.

What is the one thing you hope your students get to walk away with when they are done with your class?

Other than my baklava?  Wow, hard to beat that.  Seriously, though, I hope they feel that their horizons have broadened, as cheesy as that sounds.  I really want my students to leave the semester saying, “I feel that I not only learned a lot, but I’m a better person now because 1) of what I learned, and 2) how I’m going to use that knowledge-base and gift that I’ve been given.”

What’s on your playlist right now?

Nothing.  Sorry, I can’t concentrate and listen to music at the same time.  You?  What’s on your playlist? (Um, I’m still listening to the Yusaf Islam CD you gave me!)

The food you hate the most?

Ugh, my mom’s split pea soup.  It’s the worst thing I ever tasted!  (and Mom knows this reality…) Thank GOD she hasn’t made this during my adult life – the memory from 35 years ago is still that painful!

If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, right now, who would it be and why (and you can’t say the Prophet!)?

Khawla bint Tha’laba.

Here’s the context:  Back in the day, one way in which divorce was possible in Arab culture was through zihar, a specific expression that reduced the wife to the status the the husband’s mother’s backside, meaning the wife was completely devoid of sensual attraction.  Under Arab custom, zihar was irrevocable and thus, it became prohibited for the husband to touch his wife, and yet she was not free of the marital bond.  It’s unknown what made Khawla’s husband, Aws ibn Samit, reject Khawla with this vulgar expression, but when it happened, she was stuck without any ability to override such norms and customs.  So she decided to take her concerns to a higher power – to God.

When Khawla approached the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) to complain of the injustice fallen upon her, she left dissatisfied because, as the Prophet explained, unless God revealed a new ruling, he was without authority to change existing custom; the change had to be through devine revelation, not the Prophet’s own decision.  The Prophet received no revelation on the issue, and thus, Khawla left disappointed, but not without hope.

Convinced that the custom was unjust, she continued to complain to God, and waited near His messenger.  The answer came in the first two verses of chapter 58:

“God has heard the words of she who disputes with you regarding her husband and made her complaint to God.  God hears your conversation.  Verily, God is all-Hearing, all-Seeing.

“Those of you who shun their wives by zihar – they are not their mothers.  Their mothers are only those women who gave birth to them.  Indeed they utter words that are unjust and false; but God is absolving of sins, all-Forgiving.”

With these verses, God openly confirmed what Khawla knew all along: that what her husband had done to her was unjust and needed to be prohibited by law.

Although she was an average person, like her contemporaries, she was involved in society and shaping its direction.  She fought in two significant battles and by the Prophet’s side.

Many years later after the Prophet died, she stopped the Caliph Umar while he was walking with another and started advising him.  She was an old woman, and as she was talking, the companion interrupted her, saying she was talking for too long, asking whether she knew with whom she is talking, and then saying that she was talking to the caliph. Then Umar said to his companion, “Let her talk.  Do you know her?  This is Khawla to whom God listened from above the seven heavens, and so Umar has to listen, too.”

I’d like to meet her because of this strong character and to see what life was like in the time of the Prophet and thereafter.  She had the distinction of having her complaint heard and answered by God, fought by the Prophet’s side, and honored when she was old and almost forgotten by the younger generation.  I think I’d like to see her thoughts on the current state of Muslims – seeing this week an expected five million pilgrims gathering peacefully in her hometown to worship and reflect, while at the same time looking at the nation-states that claim to be based on Islamic jurisprudence.  I doubt there would be enough tea for such a conversation!

What are you reading right now?

I’m reading short stories in Arabic, حكايات كليلة و دمية لطلاب اللغة العربية ,Tales from Kalila wa Dimna for Students of Arabic , To Kill A Mockingbird (it’s been about 25 years, what a great book!) and some of the books for class next semester.

What’s the most annoying sound you’ve ever heard?

A child’s cry that is not comforted …I’m not annoyed at the child, but at the caretaker for not comforting the child.

Wow, thanks for that Janaan! Well, there you have it my faithful readers. Just one more reason for McCormick to be proud of our adjunct professors!

Until Friday!

Peace ~ Shelley D.