Nearly a year into her role as director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, the Rev. Dr. Donna Giver-Johnston is finding her stride. A Pittsburgh native, she came to the Seminary in January 2023 after 20 years serving as an ordained Presbyterian pastor, most recently at Community PC of Ben Avon…
Author: ptsblog
Strength in Neighbors
Do neighbors matter? When we think about our social lives and wellbeing, our minds typically go first to the people closest to us: family, close friends, romantic partners. But what I’ve come to realize is the importance of “weak ties,” a term coined by Stanford sociologist Mark Granovetter. Weak ties are casual acquaintances, people we…
Trauma, Abuse, and Redemption
I have recently been interested in the idea of theodicy, and as a survivor of childhood trauma and abuse[1] trying to find the meaning of suffering, if there even is one. I am currently working on a devotional book on reading Scripture through the lens of trauma. The study that I have done and the…