EEWC Conference 2006

Presenter Biographies

Martha Ann Kirk is professor of religious studies at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX and a member of the Sisters of Charity. A recipient of an "Art of Peace" award for her use of the arts in peacemaking, she directs a program of ecumenical presentations on justice and peace, using story, drama, dance, and music. She is internationally recognized for her work in building bridges between Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Her most recent book is Women of Bible Lands: A Pilgrimage to Compassion and Wisdom (Liturgical Press,  2004).

Catherine Cuasay is a music therapist who integrates her gifts of singing, playing, dancing, drawing, acting and prayer leadership to transcend cultural and language barriers in healing work. Originally from the Philippines, she and Martha Ann Kirk have been collaborating in creative prayer with music, mime, drama, and dance since 1991.

Janice Pope earned her master’s degree in piano performance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her master of library science degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to using her musical gifts at every opportunity, she works as a reference librarian at Central Carolina Community College.

Reta Halteman Finger is assistant professor of New Testament at Messiah College in Grantham, PA and is the former editor of Daughters of Sarah magazine. Reta is uniquely skilled in relating the Bible to today’s issues. She is the author of Paul and the Roman House Churches: A Simulation, and co-editor with Kari Sandhaas of Wisdom of Daughers: Two Decades of the Voice of Christian Feminism.

Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, a frequent speaker for EEWC conferences, is the author or coauthor of 13 books, including Women, Men, and the Bible; Sensuous Spirituality; The Divine Feminine; Omnigender; and (with Letha Dawson Scanzoni) Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? A Positive Christian Response. Dr. Mollenkott's web site is http://virginiarameymollenkott.com.

Mary Emma Evans is a Pentecostal-Holiness pastor and an elected member of the Henderson (NC) City Council. She formerly served as a minister in the United Church of Christ and contributed to the book, God Speaks, Women Respond: UCC Women in Ministry Tell Their Stories. Mary Emma is an activist for civil rights and economic justice and has a special ministry to homeless people. She is also a gospel singer whose voice has been compared to that of Ethel Waters and Mahalia Jackson. Her CD of gospel music, Happy with Jesus Alone, is available from Minnow Media. 

Mary Louise “Mel” Bringle is professor of philosophy and religion and chair of the Humanites Division at Brevard (NC) College and author of several books. She is also a hynmwriter and has won numerous international hymnwriting competitions.  In 2002, the Hymn Society of the U.S. and Canada honored her by voting her “Emerging Hymn Text Writer.”  Her first single-author collection of hymn texts, Joy and Wonder, Love and Longing, was published by GIA, and a second hymn collection will be published in the summer of 2006.  She wrote “Songs as Yet Unsung: Why the Church Needs New Hymns” for the Spring 2003  issue of EEWC Update.

Alena Amato Ruggerio is assistant professor of communication at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, OR. She is a prolific writer whose articles have been published in EEWC Update, Christian Century, The Other Side, Sightings, and Oregon Humanities.

Nancy A. Hardesty is professor of religion at South Carolina’s Clemson University.  Her books include Women Called to Witness, Inclusive Language in the Church, Faith Cure:Divine Healing in the Holiness and Pentecostal Movements, and All we’re Meant to Be (with Letha Dawson Scanzoni).

Nancy Hastings Sehested describes herself as “a Baptist preacher and storyteller.” She is a chaplain at a state maximum-security prison for 900 men. She also serves as co-pastor of the ecumenical Circle of Mercy Congregation in Asheville, NC.

Rebecca Kiser is a Presbyterian pastor in Norfolk, VA and has written for The Other Side, EEWC Update, and other publications. She also holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Creation Spirituality where she studied with Matthew Fox

Workshop Preview

Open Art Studio. Led by Kathryn Pigg, artist, poet, and retired Methodist minister, this workshop will be ongoing throughout the conference, offering attendees opportunities to express the conference theme in various media. 

Mary Jo Cartledgehayes, a Methodist minister and author of  Grace: A Memoir, tells How to Get Published Now.

Ken Sehested, long-time peace activist and co-pastor of Circle of Mercy Congregation in Asheville, NC, joins his wife Nancy Sehested in a workshop on Doing Justice and Loving Mercy.

Psychiatrist Elizabeth S. Bowman, who also holds a Master of Sacred Theology degree, presents The Good, the Bad, and the Downright Ugly: Distinguishing Healthy from Unhealthy Religious Systems.

Literature editor and retreat leader Linda Williams guides us in Transformations: Reading the Poetry of Jane Kenyon, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Mary Oliver.

Hospice chaplain Jan Clark on end-of-life issues.

Methodist minister Peggy Michael-Rush on the theology of Elizabeth A. Johnson

Writer Anne Eggebroten on Christian Feminism 101

Peace Corps volunteer Anna Warren, back from her work in Mali, on women in the developing world

Marriage and Family Therapist Sharon Billings on Growing through the Fear Factor Exploring Spiritual Journeys We Didn’t Expect to Take.

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