Nicole Partin Abdnour (M.Div./M.A.C.E. ’04) has accepted a call to serve as Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church, Mount Pleasant, SC.

Thom Bower (Ed.D. ’03) now serves as pastor of The Church of Three Crosses, Chicago, IL.

Robert “Bob” E. Button (M.Div. ’67) is currently serving as Interim Pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Sanford, NC.

Keli Shipley Cooper (M.Div. ’19) now serves as Pastor of Tuckahoe Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA.

H. Hampton Deck (M.Div. ’88) honorably retired as a Minister of the Word and Sacrament. He was the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Vallejo, CA for over 29 years.

Renny Domske (D.Min. ’78) serves as Parish Associate for the Church of the Covenant, Washington, PA.

Connor Ferreri (M.Div./M.A.C.E. ’23) was called to serve as the new Director of Religious Education at U.S. Army Garrison, Fort George G. Meade, MD.

Daniel W. Massie (M.Div. ’72, D.Min. ’75) is serving as Interim Pastor of The Presbyterian Church of Barnet, Barnet, VT.

Chad McCain (M.Div. ’09) now serves part time as Hospital Chaplain at Virginia Baptist Hospital, Lynchburg, VA. He is also serving as Supply Pastor in the Presbytery of the Peaks.

Elizabeth Lovell Milford (M.Div./M.A.C.E. ‘09) has accepted a call to serve as Pastor of The Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg, VA.

Kurt Noll (Th.M. ’92, Ph.D. ’96) has retired from teaching at Brandon University in Canada.

Crystal R. Sygeel (M.Div./M.A.’96) now serves as pastor of Greenwood United Methodist Church, Glen Allen, VA.

Ernest “Ernie” T. Thompson, III (M.Div. ’88) has retired as Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, NC.

Amanda K. Chamblee-Hill (M.Div. ’17) married Mary Chamblee on November 14, 2024.

Ann Whitfield Carter (M.Div. ’24) was ordained and will continue to serve as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Music at Glen Allen Baptist Church.

Linda Davis (Th.M. ’24) was ordained by Ebenezer Baptist Church in Beaverdam, Virginia.

Leah Epps (M.Div. ’16) was installed as vice-moderator of the Synod of the Mid-Atlantic in September 2024.

Daphne Hill (M.Div/M.A. ’24) was ordained by St. Paul’s Baptist Church on November 17, 2024.

Lynn McClintock (D.MinS ’87) has retired as Director of Pastoral Care at Westminster Canterbury, Richmond, Virginia.

Angela D. Sims (Ph.D. ’08) has been elected vice-president of the American Academy of Religion.

Amy Busse Stoker (M.Div. ’95) received her Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) degree from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, Louisville, KY on May 17, 2024.

Elizabeth McMurray “Betty” Rand (M.R.E. ’52), spouse of Joseph O. Rand (B.D. ’53) – October 11, 2024

Andar Ismail (Ed.D. ’88) – August 25, 2024

Constance Ismail (M.A. ’86) – January 20, 2025

Evalyn Mebane Gordon Estes (PSCE ’45-’46) – March 26, 2025

William H. McLean (B.D. ’68, M.C.E. ’67) – March 23, 2025

Betty A. Anderson (PSCE ’51-’52) – March 31, 2025

Joseph W. Walker (B.D. ’54, Th.M. ’59, D.Min.M. ’76) – March 30, 2025

Edward Cox Wilson (B.D. ’65) – October 4, 2024

William L. Burnett (B.D. ’67, M.A. ’73) – June 17, 2025

John E. Miller (M.Div. ’74, Th.M. ’77) – June 22, 2025

Charles L. “Chuck” Aaron, Jr. (Ph.D. ’96) – November 29, 2023

Craig A. Buxton (M.Div. ’84) – February 20, 2023

Edward G. Connette (M.Div. ’56, D.Min.M. ’76) – December 10, 2024

Edward E. Crutchfield, Sr. (Former UTS Board Member ’91-’92) – January 2, 2024

Robert “Doc” L. Ellis (M.A. ’99) – September 1, 2023

Margaret A. Fox (M.Div. ’88) – December 21, 2023

Katherine “Kathy” Regan Harrold (M.A. ’73) – January 3, 2024

Sandra Lee Harris (M.C.E. ’69) – April 6, 2023

P. Douglas “Doug” Heidt (B.D. ’68, Th.M. ’69, D.Min. ’73), spouse of Sharon McGloshen Heidt (M.C.E. ’68) – February 20, 2024

Brent O. Johnston (D.Min.S. ’86) – May 26, 2023

Theodore “Ted” W. Kalsbeek (D.Min.M. ’80) – August 11, 2023

Fitzhugh M. Legerton (B.D. ’49) – February 7, 2024

Robert “Bob” Lewandowski (M.Div. ’99) – November 11, 2024

Philip G. Lockard (M.C.E. ’66) – December 9, 2023

Stephen G. Maling (D.Min.M. ’74, M.A. ’90) – July 17, 2022

Margaret McCutchen (PSCE ’63-’64) – April 7, 2024

Roger A. Nicholson (M.Div. ’72), spouse of Pamela M. Nicholson (B.C.E. ’69) – December 29, 2023

George L. Oehler (M.Div. ’72) – January 17, 2024

Timothy T. Pohmer (M.Div. ’57) – March 24, 2023

Robert H. Ramey, Jr. (B.D. ’54, Th.M. ’55, D.Min.M. ’74) – October 18, 2023

Loren E. Scott (M.C.E. ’62) – December 24, 2023

Margaret M. Shaw (B.S. ’59, M.A. ’82) – January 8, 2025

Jerold “Jerry” Shetler (B.D. ’61) – March 11, 2025

Paul R. Snell (B.D. ’69) – February 27, 2024

June Francis Soud (M.A. ’60), spouse of Eugene S. Soud (M.Div. ’61, D.Min.M. ’73) – December 29, 2023

Donald R. Steele (M.Div. ’83), spouse of Kathleen “Kay” Deans Steele (M.Div. ’83) – January 24, 2024

Wilfred “Fred” B. Webb (M.Div. ’68) – September 23, 2023

Rich Christensen (Ph.D. ’92) – was awarded Lancaster Theological Seminary’s 2025 Robert V. Moss Award for Excellence in Specialized Ministries in recognition of his teaching career as a missionary in Botswana, Professor of Church History at Phillips Seminary in Oklahoma, and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Lakeland College in Wisconsin. Dr. Moss was one of his teachers at Lancaster Theological Seminary and served as president of the seminary from 1957-1969.

Frances Taylor Gench (M.Div. ’82, Ph.D. ’88) – won an Award of Excellence in Biblical Interpretation for her reflection on female pastoral leadership and the biblical interpretations. The Associated Church Press (ACP) awards recognize the best in faith-based media.

William “Bill” Caruso (M.A. ’79) has published Choir Camp: The Story of Thomas L. Are and the Presbyterian Youth Choir. The PYC was an Assembly-wide program in the PCUS from 1960-1977, attracting hundreds of high school youth to a high-quality program of choral music training and singing in churches. Thomas L. Are was the father of Tom Are, Jr., currently the Interim Pastor of 4th Presbyterian Church, Chicago.

Robert A. Bryant (M.Div. ’89, Ph.D. ’00) has contributed two more volumes for The Kerygma Program, both under the title, The Book of Revelation: All Creation’s Hallelujah. The Resource Book is a commentary, and the Leader’s Guide offers teaching approaches and ready to use materials for an adult ten-week study of Revelation. The link to the book is: https://kerygma.com/products/revelation_rb

John M. Cleghorn (M.Div. ’07) authored Building Belonging The Church’s Call to Create community and House Our Neighbors, published by Westminster John Knox Press, 2024. In many neighborhoods, soaring housing costs have created an alarming wave of instability, leaving congregations situated at the heart of communities grappling with housing insecurity. Simultaneously, societal divisions across ideologies, racial lines, class disparities, and diverse perspectives have eroded the fabric of these communities, leaving a void in shared connections. Churches, amid declining membership and dwindling engagement, have an opportunity to provide a key role in these changing landscapes. In Building Belonging, John Cleghorn, a pastor from Charlotte, North Carolina—a city where prosperity and poverty uncomfortably coexist—shows how numerous congregations across the United States are leading the charge, embracing innovative approaches to ministry that leverage their resources to become havens of both welcome and shelter. By examining the theological and sociological dimensions propelling congregations toward a radical transformation of their material and relational landscapes, this book weaves together narratives, insights, and experiences from diverse congregations at the forefront of this movement. Readers will be inspired to look at the unfolding narrative of unaffordable housing in a new way and be inspired to shape their ministry to harness all available resources to foster access and justice by housing neighbors. Written from the heart of a pastor who is deeply engaged in a church’s years-long housing journey, this book does not stop at simply showing these challenges. Cleghorn also provides a roadmap for communities to initiate transformative processes, leveraging their unique abilities and resources to tackle significant local issues.

Andrew Das (Ph.D. ’99) authored Remarriage in Early Christianity, published by Eerdmans Publishing Co. in 2024. The New Testament sends mixed messages about divorce. Jesus forbids it in Mark’s and Luke’s Gospels, but he seems to make an exception for victims of infidelity in Matthew’s Gospel. Paul permits divorce in 1 Corinthians when an unbeliever initiates it. Yet other Pauline passages imply that remarriage after divorce constitutes adultery.  Andrew Das confronts this dissonance in Remarriage in Early Christianity. Challenging scholarly consensus, Das argues that early Christians did not approve of remarriage after divorce. His argument—covering contemporary Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts, the Gospels, Paul’s letters, and ante-Nicene interpretation—reveals greater consistency in early Christianity than is often assumed. Das pays special attention to the Greek words used in contemporary bills of divorce and in the New Testament, offering much-needed clarity on hotly contested concepts like porneia.  At once sensitive and objective, Das finds an exegetically sound answer to the question of remarriage among early Christians. This bold study will challenge scholars and enlighten any Christian concerned with what Scripture has to say on this perennially relevant topic.

David B. Howell (M.Div. ’81) authored All Saved Great and Small: Surviving a Chesapeake Cult and an Appalachian Apocalypse, published by Wipf and Stock Publishers in 2024. The book is the story of a Presbyterian theologian and a consultant to the Department of Homeland Security n religious cults, assists the FBI in their attempt to stop a dangerous cult led by an AI scientist who claims to be a descendant of Mary, mother of Jesus, and has the DNA evidence to prove it.

Thomas A. James (Ph.D. ’04) and David True (Th.M. ’96, Ph.D. ’05) have co-authored a new book in theology and ethics, The Transcendence of Desire: A Theology of Political Agency, published by Palgrave Macmillan. The Transcendence of Desire is both a sophisticated work of public theology and a bracingly concrete call to action that offers a Christian realism that transcends capitalist realism. And it calls churches to give up pretenses of solvency and lean into their precarity in order to discover new solidarities with their neighbors and connect with the deep desire that has the power to transform politics. This remarkable book performs the prophecy for which it calls.

Merwyn S. Johnson (B.D. ’63, Th.M. ’64) has authored From Then to Now: Calvin’s Hermeneutical Bridge, published by In Christ Supporting Ministries. John Calvin’s use of the Bible was so powerful in sermons, commentaries, and theology because of the necessary step he takes to bridge the time gap from the ancient Scriptures to his audience in 16th Century Geneva. When the interpreter takes this step, the words of the Bible convey the Word of God authentically to contemporary people. For Calvin the hermeneutical bridge is historical typology, identifiable in his sermons, commentaries, and theology (Institutes of the Christian Religion). In the larger context of Biblical interpretation (the hermeneutical circle), historical typology distinguishes Calvin from seven other distinct approaches to the Bible. In the context of Church history, Calvin differs from his predecessors who approached the Bible looking for timeless truth concepts; he also refuses to separate the literal from the spiritual/figurative sense of Scripture, as his forebears had done. In the context of modern Calvin scholarship, we have to check for our own assumptions about the Bible which may keep Calvin from speaking with his own voice. Calvin’s hermeneutical bridge was crucial to his role in reforming Church and culture during the Protestant Reformation. He is helpful today, too, because we are in the midst of an epochal paradigm shift as he was, and Christians face the same issues in the 21st Century that he faced in the 16th Century.