Faculty

Emeritus Faculty

Adjunct Faculty

Dean and President, the Rev. Dr. Gary Hall Dean and President, the Rev. Dr. Gary Hall
Professor of Anglican Studies

The Very Reverend Gary R. Hall, Ph.D., became the ninth Dean and President of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in January, 2005.

Prior to coming to Seabury, Dean Hall was rector of the Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania for four years. For the eleven years prior to that he was Senior Associate at All Saints, Pasadena, with particular responsibility for Education, Church Growth, and Incorporation of New Members. A native Californian, Dean Hall received his A.B. at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his M.Div. with distinction at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He returned to California to study at UCLA where he earned both his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in English.

Dean Hall has served parishes in California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Among his ministries, he has been Chaplain at the Cranbrook Schools in Michigan, Vicar of St. Aidan's Church in Malibu, California, and Member of the Standing Committee and later Sexual Misconduct Officer for the Diocese of Los Angeles. In Pennsylvania he chaired the Campus Ministry Study Committee, the Diocesan Review Committee, and the Committee on Diocesan Finances.

Dean Hall also has extensive teaching experience as lecturer in Episcopal Polity at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, as yearly lecturer in leadership and ethics at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, as long-time lecturer in American Literature at UCLA, and as faculty member at the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont. He was also English Teacher, Director of Studies, and Interim Principal at Oakwood School in North Hollywood, California.


"Ah, Yes!" - Dean Hall's blog

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A. K. M. Adam A. K. M. Adam

A.K.M. Adam teaches New Testament and Early Church History at Seabury. He received a bachelor's degree in philosophy at Bowdoin College, an M.Div. and S.T.M. from Yale Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in New Testament from Duke University. Ordained to the priesthood in 1986, he has served a number of schools and parishes, most recently including the Parish of St. Luke's, Evanston. AKMA has taught at Eckerd College and Princeton Theological Seminary before coming to Seabury. He spent one semester at the Names Foundation in San Francisco, studying the inter-textual relation of the Bible and the AIDS Memorial Quilt. He has written and edited numerous books and articles, including What is Postmodern Biblical Criticism? (1995), Making Sense of New Testament Theology (1995), A Grammar of New Testament Greek (1999), and A Handbook of Postmodern Biblical Interpretation and Postmodern Interpretations of the Bible: A Reader (2000). His articles have appeared in Interpretation, Teaching Theology and Religion, Scottish Journal of Theology, Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, and Anglican Theological Review.

He gives presentations at academic meetings and technology conferences as an invited keynote presenter. His work in postmodern theory and theological interpretation has been the subject of panel discussions at the Society of Biblical Literature and the Catholic Biblical Association, and he has been sought out to consult and give presentations on technology, spirituality, and theological education. His widely-read weblog appears at the Disseminary website.

His classes at Seabury emphasize the value of learning to read the New Testament through the church's interpretive tradition, in order to enhance students' preaching, pastoral practice, and spiritual engagement with Scripture. He is presently working on projects on the Gospel of Matthew, the Epistle of James, and exegetical method.

For the academic year 2007-2008, Professor Adam has been accepted in residence at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey, where he will work on a project entitled “Signifying Matthew,” an interpretation of Matthew’s Gospel as a model for disciples’ negotiating the ramifications of their faith in relation to culture. Visiting Professor of New Testament, Raj Nadella, will be teaching for Professor Adam this year.

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Paula Barker Paula S. Datsko Barker

Paula Barker teaches medieval and Reformation church history, with a focus on developments in England, and Spirituality. She holds a bachelor's degree in music composition from the University of Michigan, a master of divinity degree from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in church history from the University of Chicago. She is excited about her recent work in theological aesthetics, which finds practical expression in her use of the arts to teach history, theology, and spirituality. Having studied mystical theology for many years, her research and writing now focus on how music has been understood theologically over the centuries as a means of experiencing the divine. She is working on a book entitled Music and Experience of the Divine in Early Modern England. Her most recent article is on "The Psalms as an Instrument of Social Cohesion in the Ecclesiastical Polity of Richard Hooker," forthcoming in Psalms in the Early Modern World. Other articles and reviews have appeared in The Sixteenth Century Journal, Anglican Theological Review, Church History, Journal of Religion, and Journal of Ecclesiastical History.

She continues to study voice and has begun to experiment again with musical composition. She also continues to work on developing resources from Christian spiritual traditions to strengthen communities and constructively engage conflict. Formerly ordained in the United Methodist Church, Paula has been an Episcopal priest since 1993.

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John Dally John A. Dally

John Dally teaches Christian Communication at Seabury, looking at the past, present and future of the ways Christians express their views of God, history, the natural world, and human life over two millennia. Using images, music, film and texts, John's courses acquaint participants with both the variety and the continuity of Christian communication across time, place and cultural locations. Preaching classes build on this historical awareness and explore the most effective and apt means of conveying the gospel in the 21st Century. John holds a bachelor's degree in comparative literature from the University of California at Irvine, a master of divinity degree from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in religion and literature from the University of Chicago. He is the author of seven stage plays, numerous works for speech choir, and a cycle of dramas for children. His book, Choosing the Kingdom: Missional Preaching for the Household of God, is due out in early 2008.

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alt= Rosemary D. Gooden

Rosemary D. Gooden is the lecturer in Modern Church and Mission. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan's Program in American Studies where she specialized in American religious and social history and the history of American women. In addition to modern church history, Dr. Gooden teaches the following courses: “The Episcopal Church and American Society,” “Healing and the Religious Imagination,” and a new course she developed in 2007, “Healing Wounded History: Forgiveness and Reconciliation in Chicago.”  Her research interests include African American women’s religious history, African American Episcopal history, and healing and religion. Dr. Gooden compiled, edited and wrote a critical introduction to Faith Cures, and Answers to Prayer by Mrs. Edward Mix (2002). This reprint of the healing testimonies of the first known African American healing evangelist, Sarah Mix, also includes her spiritual autobiography. Dr. Gooden serves the wider church as a member of the Standing Commission on Ministry Development and as a board member of the Anglican Theological Review.

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Ruth Meyers Ruth Meyers

Ruth Meyers, priest, teacher, scholar, and Academic Dean, has taught liturgy at Seabury since 1995. She earned her Master of Divinity degree from Seabury and then her M.A. in theology (1989) and Ph.D. in liturgical history (1992) from the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Meyers has served as a presenter and keynote speaker at numerous national, diocesan and parish events. She served as Diocesan Liturgist in the Diocese of Western Michigan from 1991 to 1998. She also taught "Essentials of Good Worship" for the Leadership Program for Musicians from 1996 to 1997, and was a member of the summer school faculty (M.A. program, liturgical studies) in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame during the summers of 1994, 1996, 1998.

A past president of the North American Academy of Liturgy, the major scholarly association for liturgical studies in North America, Dr. Meyers is also a member of Societas Liturgica (an international ecumenical organization of liturgical scholars) and an Associate Member of the Council of Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission. Since 1999 she has been a member of the Anglican/ Roman Catholic Consultation in the United States. Dr. Meyers has been an active participant in the meetings of the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation and served on its Steering Committee from 1991 to 1995. Throughout the 1990s she served on the Expansive Language Committee of the Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music.

Dr. Meyers is the general editor of the Liturgical Studies series of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, an assistant editor of Studia Liturgica, and an editorial consultant for the journal Worship. She is the author of Continuing the Reformation: Re-Visioning Baptism in the Episcopal Church and over twenty articles. Her most recent book is Gleanings: Essays on Expansive Language with Prayers for Various Occasions (2001), which she edited with Phoebe Pettingell. From 1996 until 2002, she edited Open, the journal of the Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission.

In 1998, Dr. Meyers received a grant from the Episcopal Evangelical Education Society for a project to study the inculturation of the liturgy in three congregations of the Episcopal Church. Three years later she was awarded an Association of Theological Schools Lilly Theological Research Grant to continue this research.

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Raj Nadella Raj Nadella

Raj Nadella is Visiting Professor of New Testament, replacing Professor A.K.M. Adam while he is on sabbatical. Nadella comes to Seabury with a strong and varied teaching background. He has been a visiting instructor at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia; Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia; and Mennonite Bible College, Hyderabad, India. Since 2005, he has been a Biblical Scholar-in-Residence at Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia. He holds many honors and awards from United Theological College including the Samuel Lecter Prize and the Stanton Morris Prize in New Testament Studies. Nadella is completing his Ph.D. in New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia.

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Raj Nadella Meredith Woods Potter

Meredith Woods Potter steps out of semi-retirement to become Interim Director of the Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Development. She received both her M. Div. and D. Min. in Congregational Development degrees from Seabury. Before retirement she served Seabury as Director of Academic Affairs, Director of Extension for the D. Min. program and as a faculty member. Prior to Seabury, she was vicar of the Korean Congregation in Chicago and Vice-President of Episcopal Asian American Ministry Council. She is currently a steering team member of Lake County United, the IAF organization in Lake County, and part time vicar of St. Gregory’s Church, Deerfield.

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Milner Seifert Milner Seifert

M. Milner Seifert is Lecturer in Sacred Music. He teaches courses in liturgical music and serves as Director of Music for the Charles Palmerston Anderson Chapel of St. John the Divine. Milner has a Master of Music in Music History and Literature (1976) from Northwestern University and a Certificate in Liturgical Studies from the University of Notre Dame (1993). From 1969 until 2003 he was Choral Director at Evanston Township High School. Milner serves as Choir Director for St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in Wilmette, Illinois. In the past he has been a member of the Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of Chicago and served a term on the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (1997-2003).

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Beth Sheppard Beth Sheppard

Beth Sheppard is the Director of the United Library. Sheppard’s background is both in library management as well as theology. She holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom; a M.L.S. degree from Emporia State University, Kansas; a M.A.R. degree from Iliff School of Theology, Colorado; an M.Div. degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, New Jersey; and a B.A. from Albright College in Pennsylvania. In addition to being the library director of Southwestern College, Sheppard also taught Latin, Greek and Hebrew, among other courses, at the college. She also brings with her an understanding for parish ministry, being a pastor for Little River United Methodist Church from 1995-1997. Most recently she was the Library Director at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas since 2004 and on the library staff since 1999.

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Ellen Wondra Ellen Wondra

Ellen Wondra is Seabury's Professor of Theology and Ethics. She has degrees from Pomona College, the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.  Her teaching and research interests include the theology and practice of authority, the intersections of gender, race, and class, and the development of Anglican theology for a global church.  A widely published author, she is also the Editor of the Anglican Theological Review, which is headquartered at Seabury. Prof. Wondra has served the Episcopal Church in numerous capacities at both the diocesan and the national level and has been a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Consultation in the U.S.A. since 1992.

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Frank Yamada Frank Yamada

Frank M. Yamada is Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible at Seabury. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. His scholarly interests are in the areas of hermeneutics, ethics of reading, and culturally contextual interpretation, especially Asian American biblical interpretation. His classes emphasize literary and theological interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures and explore the difference that social and cultural location make in the interpretative process. He is minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). His forthcoming book is entitled Configurations of Rape in the Hebrew Bible: A Literary Analysis of Three Rape Narratives (Peter Lang). He is also an editor for The Peoples’ Bible, a multicultural study bible (forthcoming from Augsburg Fortress).

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Emeritus Faculty

O.C. Edwards, Jr.
President and Dean, 1974-83; Professor of Preaching, 1983-93
AB, Centenary College, 1949; STB, The General Theological Seminary, 1952; STM, Southern Methodist University, 1962; MA, University of Chicago, 1963, PhD 1971; DD, Nashotah House, 1976; DD, University of the South, 2006

William P. Haugaard
Diocese of Chicago Professor of Church History, 1979-1994; Vice President and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, 1984-1994
AB, Princeton University, 1951; STB, The General Theological Seminary, 1954, ThD 1962

Leonel Lake Mitchell
Professor of Liturgics, 1978-1995; Registrar, 1984-1995
BA, Trinity College, 1951; STB, Berkeley Divinity School, 1954; STM The General Theological Seminary, 1956, ThD 1964; DD, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, 1991

John L. Dreibelbis
Professor of Christian Ministries, 1994-2004
BA, University of Chicago, 1956, PhD 1990; M.Div., Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, 1959

Adjunct Faculty 2007-2008

Richard F. Bough  - Richard Bough will teach Spiritual Formation in Small Groups: The Artists’ Spirit in the Spring Term.  He has a M.F.A from the School of Fine Arts, Indiana University and is a Certified Spiritual Director.  He has taught and exhibited widely in the Chicago area. 

Jeannette DeFriest - Jeannette DeFriest will teach Church, Ministry, and Culture, required for middlers.  She is currently Rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Evanston.  Prior to arriving at St. Luke’s she served at Church of the Messiah, Chester, New Jersey, leading that congregation from mission to parish status.  Jeanette holds a D.Min. in Congregational Development from Seabury.

Therese DeLisio - will be teaching Introduction to Christian Theology during the Spring term.  She has a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary in the fields of Systematic Theology and Worship.  She has a Master of Philosophy and a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary, New York.   She also has a Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law, Jamaica, New York.

John Dreibelbis - Professor Emeritus of Christian Ministries will return to teach “Congregational Leadership: How Is Congregational vitality Stimulated & Nurtured?” in the Spring term. John has his M.Div. from Seabury, and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He is continuing his research and writing in the “Toward a Higher Quality of Christian Ministry” research project.

Bradley S. Hauff - Dr. Hauff is enrolled in the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge (Lakota), and has seventeen years experience in parish ministry as an Episcopal priest. He is Supervisor of the Adolescent program at The Domestic Abuse Project, Minneapolis. He is a graduate of Augustana College, Sioux Falls, and earned his M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling from South Dakota State University, his M.Div. from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois (where he serves on the Board of Trustees), and his Psy.D. (Doctor of Clinical Psychology) from The Minnesota School of Professional Psychology of Argosy University.

Suzi Holding - returns to Seabury as the primary instructor for Practice of Ministry.  She will also be teaching a two and a half day intensive during the J-Term titled:  Encountering World Christianity.  She is rector of the Episcopal Church of Our Savior, Elmhurst, IL.  Suzi obtained her M. Div. from Seabury and has a Master of International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management.

Al Johnson - will be teaching a two and a half day intensive during the J-Term titled:
Parish Leadership: A Systems Approach.  He is the Rector of St. Michael’s Church in Barrington, IL, and holds a D.Min. in Congregational Development from Seabury.

Andrea Mysen - will be one of the primary instructors with Suzi Holding of the course Practice of Ministry-Small Groups during the Fall & Spring terms.  She has an M.Div. from Seabury, and an M.A. in Counseling from Denver Seminary.  Andrea is currently the rector of Trinity Church, Highland Park, Illinois. 

Clare Nolan - will be co-teaching The True and Lively Word  with John Dally this spring.  Clare is a Core Professor with the ACTS D.Min. Preaching program and an Acting Instructor at Columbia College, Chicago, IL.  Clare does free-lance work as a performance coach mentoring and supporting ordained ministers’ work in preaching.

Bonnie Perry - will be teaching a two and a half day intensive during the J-Term titled: Leading Change in Congregations.   She is the Rector of All Saints’ Church in Chicago and holds a D. Min. in Congregational Development from Seabury.

Kara Wagner Sherer - will be teaching Practicum in Liturgical Leadership in the spring.  She is the Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Chicago, IL and served for two years as Assistant Rector at Church of St. Paul & the Redeemer.  She holds an M.Div. from Seabury.

D.Min. in Congregational Development Faculty


Seabury Faculty for D.Min. in Congregational Development

A.K.M. Adam, Professor of New Testament
Paula S. D. Barker, Associate Professor of Historical Theology
John Dally, Associate Professor of Christian Communication
Rosemary Gooden, Lecturer in Modern Church and Mission
Gary Hall, Dean and President and Professor of Anglican Studies
Ruth Meyers, Professor of Liturgics
Milner Seifert, Lecturer in Sacred Music
Newland F. Smith, Associate Professor of Bibliography
Ellen Wondra, Professor of Theology and Ethics
Frank Yamada, Assistant Professor of Old Testament

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Adjunct Faculty for D.Min. in Congregational Development

Paul Buckwalter, Community Organizer, Tucson, AZ
Derek Harbin, Rector, Church of the Beloved, Charlotte, NC
Melissa Hartman, Director, MS Program, School of Business, Capella University, Minneapolis, MN
Alvin Johnson, Rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, Barrington, IL
Bonnie Perry, Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Chicago, IL
Meredith Woods Potter, Former Director of Extension, Seabury Institute, and former faculty member of Seabury-Western; currently Vicar of St. Gregory's, Deerfield, IL
Arlin Rothauge, Former Director of Congregational Development for the National Episcopal Church, author, consultant, artist

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D.Min. in Congregational Development Guest Presenters

John Adler, Rector, Iona-Hope an emerging Episcopal congregation, Ft. Myers, FL
Alvaro Araica, Vicar, Iglesia Cristo Rey, Chicago, IL
Margaret Babcock, Congregational Development Officer, Diocese of Idaho
Tom Beaudoin, Lecturer and Author on X-Generation Ministry, Atlanta, GA
Sharon Daloz Parks, Associate director and faculty, Whidbey Institute
Carl Dudley, Professor of Church and Community and Co-Director, The Center for Social and Religious Research, Hartford, CT
James Fowler, C.H. Candler Professor of Theology and Human development, and Director, The Center for Ethics in Public Policy and the Professions, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Robert C. Fuller, Professor of Religious Studies, Bradley University, and author
Clifford Harbin, Church Planter, Church of the Beloved, Charlotte, NC
John Kitagawa, Rector St. Philips in the Hills, Tucson, AZ
Eric H. F. Law, Author and Consultant in Multicultural Ministry Development, and Congregational Development Officer, Diocese of Los Angeles, CA
Luis Leon, Rector, St. John's Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.
George Martin, Evangelism and Church Growth Consultant, Rosemount, MN
Roy Oswald, Author and Senior Consultant, Alban Institute, Bethesda, MD
Pimitivo Racimo, Vicar, St. Margaret of Scotland, Chicago, IL
Michael Regele, Author and Co-founder, Percept Inc., Costa Mesa, CA
Sydney Reed, Family Systems Therapist, Evanston, IL
Catherine Roskam, Bishop Suffragan, Diocese of New York
Tex Sample, Author and Robert B. and Kathleen Rogers Professor Emeritus of Church and Society, Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, MO
Elizabeth Davies-Stofka, Adjunct Professor of Humanities, Front Range Community College, Westminster, CO
Mark Vincent, Lead Partner, Design For Ministry, Mukwonago, WI
J. Denny Weaver, Professor of Religion, Bluffton College, Bluffton

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