School Notes: Yale Divinity School
May/June 2021

Memphis alums merge faith and public health in face of COVID-19

A trio of Divinity School alumni—G. Scott Morris ’79MDiv, Jason Turner ’06MDiv, and Joshua Narcisse ’19MDiv—are merging their shared commitments to faith and public health to lead the fight against COVID-19 in Memphis. The effort revolves around Church Health, a nonprofit health-care provider for uninsured and underserved people in Memphis and its suburbs. Morris is the organization’s founder and CEO and Narcisse is its inaugural faith and health resident; Turner, senior pastor of 4,000-member Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, serves on the Church Health executive board. In tandem with the city’s churches, synagogues, and mosques, Church Health is coordinating drive-through COVID-19 testing and providing groceries and other support to struggling families, among other services. 

Continuing education center capitalizes on new online opportunities

The Divinity School’s fledgling Center for Continuing Education has pivoted to largely online offerings—with great success—since the shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “The pandemic gave us a remarkable opportunity to build a far more robust online presence that has drawn more people from around the world than we ever possibly could have done in person,” said Joel Baden ’99, professor of Hebrew Bible at YDS and director of the center. Baden’s Yale Bible Study course on Genesis has furnished a prime example: The course attracted 300 participants per week from 
35 states and 15 countries over the winter months. 

Inauguration prayer service spotlights YDS alumni

Yale Divinity School alumni figured prominently in the National Prayer Service for the inauguration of President Joe Biden, held January 21 at Washington National Cathedral (whose dean is Randy Hollerith ’90MDiv). In addition to Hollerith, the prayer event featured Otis Moss III ’95MDiv, Frederick Davie ’82MDiv, Michael Curry ’78MDiv, and Robert Fisher ’98, ’05MDiv.