Fourth Annual Thesis Day Explores Variety of Faith Traditions

The fourth annual MATS Thesis Day was held on May 11, recognizing the thesis work of four graduating seniors in the Master of Arts in Theological Studies program. This spring tradition was established in 2007 and offers graduating MATS students a venue to present their research work to the Seminary community. For the last two years, the MATS Committee of the Seminary Alumni Board has organized this event, led by MATS chair Jill Peters '07 and Pam Weiss '99, Assistant Director of Seminary Advancement, both graduates of the MATS program.

The event spanned a Tuesday afternoon, beginning with an introduction by the Rev. Dr. Deborah Appler, director of the MATS program. Each speaker was given 45 minutes to explain their thesis and answer any questions raised by fellow students, faculty and staff, and MATS alumni in attendance.

This year's presentations covered a wide range of topics:

Wicca...: Towards Understanding a New and Ancient Religion
Juliet Williamson: Juliet's thesis contributes to the effort to fill the educational gaps within Wicca and to inform appropriately the wider society about Wiccan beliefs, practices along with past and potential contributions to society. She traced the emergence of Wicca as a modern movement beginning in 1954, whose beliefs and practices are informed from a variety of sources from the 13th century forward. After receiving her MATS degree, Juliet plans to work on a book and pursue her doctorate within the next five years.

Lebenslauf and Liminality: Personal Sacred Narrative at Life Transition as Vehicle for Spiritual Formation
Judith Sheriff: The telling and sharing of one's story of faith is an intensely personal spiritual moment.  The experience of crafting a Lebenslauf (after the example of the early Moravians in Bethlehem and elsewhere), in whatever form is chosen, is an opportunity for the deepening of understanding of faith in life.  Sharing that story provides an intimate and profound opportunity to introduce others to the importance of faith in the life of the storyteller.  The use of sacred storytelling at liminal life moments - moments of important life changes - has the potential to enhance our spiritual journeys, to deepen our awareness and understanding of ourselves and of God, and to more intentionally approach our lives as people of faith." Judith will begin a residency in Clinical Pastoral Education at Lehigh Valley Hospital Network in September, looking toward eventual certification as a supervisor in CPE.

Pray for the Peace of Tanzania: Political and Interfaith Relations in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar
Noeloath Mwakalinga: The future of Tanzania, in particular Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, depends much on peace, justice, and unity among its citizen which includes Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and the followers of the African Traditional Religion (ATR). These religious groups live together in communal life and extended families. Listening, understanding,and forgiving each other will promote a sense of Nationalism. Mwakalinga argues that for peace to come to Tanzania, true tolerance has to begin at the grassroots level and take place in the minds and the hearts of people. Thus, the goal of genuine dialogue is not just words but to make the Christian a better Christian, the Muslim a better Muslim and the ATR a better ATR, as well as the Buddhist a better Buddhist. Mwakalinga will be returning to Tanzania this summer to serve in the Moravian Church.

Fethullah Gülen's Perspective on Interfaith Dialogue: Interfaith Dialogue is Indispensable
Fatih Harpci: Fatih's thesis argues that interfaith dialogue is absolutely necessary. Drawing largely on the experiences of and the literature by the Turkish Muslim scholar, dialogue, tolerance and peace promoter Fethullah Gülen (b. 1941), he discussed what interfaith dialogue means, its different perspectives, steps and principles in dialogue, its necessity in terms of social, ethical and religious references, its being a long term project, and the requisite determination to carry it through to its conclusion. Gülen, an inspirational leader of a transnational education movement centered around an openness to dialogue with citizens of other nations and members of other religions, has said “Interfaith dialogue is a must today; and the first step in establishing it is forgetting the past, ignoring polemical arguments, and giving precedence to common points, which far outnumber polemical ones.” Fatih has been admitted to the PhD program at Temple University to study and eventually teach world religions at a US university.