Recommended Reading from the Class of 1961

We asked members of the class of 1961, who are celebrating their 50th Reunion on May 12-13, to recommend a book or two that members of the class of 2011 must read.  Below is the recommended reading list.  What book would you add to the list?

William F. Allinder, Cadillac, MI
The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus By Peter J. Gomes
I Refuse to Serve a Dying Church By Paul Nixon
Fling Open the Doors By Paul Nixon

Francis Frederick Anderson, Holt, MI
The Go-Between God By John V. Taylor

Harold Q. Bodeen, Mahomet, IL
Walk Across the Room By Bill Hybels

Harold D. Bonath, San Antonio, TX
The Concept of Grace By Philip S. Watson

Robert D. “Bob” Bowers, Lacey, WA
The Case for God By Karen Armstrong
The Mis-fits By Barbara Wendlund

Ronald P. Bowman, Goshen, IN

Quiet Strength By Tony Dungy
Finding Your Path to Significance Uncommon By Tony Dungy

Ulysses Doss, Missoula, MT
Team of Rivals By Doris Kearns Goodwin

M. Franklin Dotts, Inman, SC
The Great Emergence By Phyllis Tickle
A New Kind of Christianity By Brian McLaren

Siegfried Gottlieb Eisenmann, Germany
The Black Swan By Nicholas Taleb

Lyman G. Farrar, Sarasota, FL
The Warmth of the Other Suns By Isabel Wilkerson

Kenneth E. Gelhaus, Madison, WI
The Hidden Messages in Water By Masaru Emoto
Truck By Michael Perry
Bury Me Standing By Isabel Franseca
Saving Paradise: Why Has Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Pain? By Rita Nakashima Brock

Helen Denney Hiebsch, Columbus, IN
The Great Eagle Calling By Millie Camille Echn-Toms
Project Pearl By Paul Hattaway

Leonard L. Huff, Mount Morris, IL
China Road By Rob Gifford.

Franklin Robert Kuhlman, St. Marys, OH
Reading the Bible Again for the First Time By Marcus J. Borg
A New Christianity for a New World By John Shelby Spong

Donald Keith Laidler, Holland, MI
Full Catastrophe Living By Jon Kabat-Zinn

Hilbert E. Lohr, Stoughton, WI
What's So Amazing About Grace By Philip Yancey

Don McClain, Kansas City, MO
Uncommon Gratitude By Joan Chittister and Rowan Williams

Phillip E. Merritt, East Peoria, IL
How to Pray After You’ve Kicked the Dog By Terry Teyhl

Douglas Irwin Norris, Mesa, AZ
Jesus for the Non-Religious By John Shelby Spong

David L. Schuldt, Coralville, IA
Anything by David Baldacci, J A Jance, Jodi Picoult, Michael Connelly, John GrishamLamott

Norman Silvester, Nekoosa, WI
From Missions to Mission By Robert J. Harman.

John C. Wilkey, Jacksonville, IL
What Have They Done with Jesus? By Ben Withering-ton III
The Collected Sermons of William H. Willimon By William H. Willimon
Small Faith, Great God By N. T. Wright

The Difference That One Gift Can Make

When searching for a seminary, I kept in mind many criteria that were important in my search. Was the seminary committed to strong education in the bible and social ethics field? Can they support a candidate for deacon’s orders and help me to articulate my call to ministry? Is the seminary community diverse, welcoming, and warm? Are there scholarships available to assist me with the funding?

A resounding YES came to me as I visited the campus of Garrett-Evangelical. I knew very quickly that this was the seminary for me. And looking back I can say that I have never been disappointed in the education I received at Garrett-Evangelical. I was as prepared as one can be to live out my call as an ordained deacon in full connection in The United Methodist Church.

My education would not have been possible without the financial support I received from Garrett-Evangelical. Before seminary, I was a United Methodist missionary serving in Detroit and then worked in a small non-profit. I have such a heart for service that a paycheck was never as important as what kind of work I was doing. The seminary scholarships allowed me to focus on my classroom and field education without the burden of working full-time as well. My seminary education was a gift to me, and I am now committed to providing that gift for others.

I believe so strongly in the mission and ministry of this seminary that in June of 2010 I became a staff person in the office of development. I marvel each day at the faithful alums and friends who give so generously of their financial resources to the annual fund and capital campaign funds (like scholarships, endowed chairs, and the general endowment). These gifts are sometimes small ($5 or $10), and they are sometime large ($10,000 or more), but most are somewhere in between. Each of these gifts, regardless of their amount, allows a student at this seminary the opportunity to fulfill their call to ministry. Each gift not only impacts that student but also all of the members of the congregation or organization that student will one day serve.

One gift does not just change the seminary, but it can change the world. Now I know that sounds a bit melodramatic but it’s the God’s honest truth. I think of my dear friend, Jeff. Jeff is a pastor of a church in a suburb of Detroit, and he is a graduate of Garrett-Evangelical. On Easter Sunday this year, Jeff baptized eleven people, many of whom were adults who had never been part of a church before in their lives. Through Jeff’s ministry and the work of the Holy Spirit, more disciples of Jesus Christ are transforming the world. Jeff and members of his congregation have been to Haiti to help rebuild after the devastating earthquake. Youth in the town are playing basketball in the churchyard because they feel welcome and safe. Is this not the ministry to which Christ has called us all?

Can you be a part of this mission and ministry? You bet! I’m proud to call myself an alum and staff person of Garrett-Evangelical but I’m even more proud to call myself a donor. Would you join me?

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April McGlothin-Eller is a deacon in full connection in the Detroit Annual Conference, assistant in the Office of Development, and the chairperson of Red Line Ministries in Chicago.