School Notes: Yale Divinity School
September/October 2012

Jonathan Edwards Center seeks volunteers

The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale has created the Global Accelerated Sermon Editing Project (edit.edwards.yale.edu/) and invites scholars, pastors, graduate students, and others worldwide to help edit some 750 sermons by Edwards, best known for his iconic “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” The project combines work on transcripts of sermons that are close to 300 years old with some of the latest digital editing technology. Within three weeks of the center’s June 6 announcement of the project, more than 150 people from 12 countries had volunteered to participate as editors. Said Kenneth Minkema, executive director of the center, “The end result will be more sermons, more texts, available to the reading public at a quicker rate.”

Attridge delivers final address as dean

On Monday, May 21, 2012, Dean Harold Attridge delivered his final public address to the Yale Divinity School community during his decade as dean—his annual “charge” to the graduating class at commencement exercises. “You have learned lots, and perhaps have been transformed or reinforced in the process,” Attridge told graduates. “Don’t claim to be wiser than you are, but remain open to new learning, new insight, further growth and transformation.” Following a yearlong sabbatical in Australia, he will return to full-time teaching at YDS in 2013–14 as Sterling Professor of Divinity.

Two YDS grads join faculty

The Yale Divinity School faculty has added two new full-time professors to its ranks in 2012–13, both YDS graduates: Melanie Ross ’04MAR, ’07MDiv, assistant professor of liturgical studies, and Linn Marie Tonstad ’03MAR, ’09PhD, assistant professor of systematic theology. Ross joined the faculty after teaching at the University of Notre Dame, Saint John’s School of Theology, and Huntington University. Her research lies at the intersection of ecumenical liturgical theology, North American evangelism, and the worship practices of contemporary congregations. In 2011–12, Tonstad taught at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, where she also served as a member of the faculty of the Graduate Program in Religious Studies. Her teaching interests include systematic theology, feminist and queer theology, philosophy of religion, and theological method.