PTS Out and About

Name	Dates(s)	Location	Event Description
John Welch	Aug. 18-24	Barranquilla, Colombia	Presenting paper at conference focusing on non-violence, reconciliation, and sustainable development at Universidad Reformada
Ron Cole-Turner	Aug. 19	Denver, Colo.	Participant in meeting of Iliff School of Theology Advisor Group for their grant project on science, focusing on artificial intelligence and religion
Hunter Farrell	Aug. 21-Sept. 18	Bellagio, Italy	Serving as Rockefeller Foundation Practitioner Residency
Admissions	Aug. 23	Stony Point, N.Y.	PTS presence at Seminary Fair, Stony Point Conference Center
Ayana Teter	Aug. 25	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Preaching at Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community
Leanna Fuller	Aug. 29	Rennerdale, Pa.	Presenting to the West Branch of Pittsburgh Presbytery at First United PC of Rennerdale
Karen Rohrer	Sept. 5-7	Cincinnati, Ohio	Leading a variety of capacities at Conspire
Ken Woo	Sept. 8	Noblestown, Pa.	Preaching at Noblestown UPC
John Welch	Sept. 15	Warren, Pa.	Preaching at First PC
Ron Tappy	Sept. 15	Monroeville, Pa.	Teaching adult education on "Biblical Stories and Books about Women" (#1 of 4)
Ron Tappy	Sept. 22	Monroeville, Pa.	Teaching adult education on "Biblical Stories and Books about Women" (#2 of 4)
Edwin van Driel	Sept. 22	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Preaching at Heritage PC
Leanna Fuller	Sept. 28	Zelienople, Pa.	Leading an all-church retreat for Calvin PC
Ayana Teter	Sept. 28	Detroit, Mich.	Giving presentation on church planting at PC(USA) 1001 Regional Gathering
Ron Tappy	Sept. 29	Monroeville, Pa.	Teaching adult education on "Biblical Stories and Books about Women" (#3 of 4)
Hunter Farrell and Bala Khyllep	Sept. 30	Cleveland, Ohio	Hosting McClure Lecturer Al Tizon at Pastors' Retreat, Western Reserve Presbytery
Jennifer Christmas	Oct. 1	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Presenting at the Allegheny Chapter #1 of the Society for Pennsylvania Archaeology taking place at PTS's Kelso Museum
Bala Khyllep	Oct. 1	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Hosting McClure Lecturer Al Tizon at Pastors' Retreat, Pittsburgh Presbytery
Ron Tappy	Oct. 6	Monroeville, Pa.	Teaching adult education on "Biblical Stories and Books about Women" (#4 of 4)
Ken Woo	Oct. 6	Noblestown, Pa.	Preaching at Noblestown UPC
Ayana Teter	Oct. 8-18	Cairo, Egypt	Partnership gathering with Eastminster PC
Hunter Farrell	Oct. 7-9	Mt. Pleasant, Pa.	Giving keynote address and workshop at Wee Kirk's Northeast USA annual meeting, at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center
Steve Tuell	Oct. 7-9	Mt. Pleasant, Pa.	Keynote speaker and teacher at Wee Kir's Northeast USA annual meeting, at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center
Hunter Farrell	Oct. 9	Pittsburgh, Pa.	Giving Mission Lecture at Westminster PC
Karen Rohrer	Oct. 13-17	Kansas City, Mo.	Leading Worship at 1001 New Worshiping Communities Conference
Ken Woo	Oct. 17-20	St. Louis, Mo.	Presenting a paper at the Sixteenth Century Society Conference
Denise Thorpe	Oct. 24-26	Kaunas, Lithuania	Presenting a paper at the Religious Communities in the Age of Migration Conference at Vytautus Magnus University
Tucker Ferda	Oct. 25-26	Slippery Rock, Pa.	Leading retreat - "Take Up and Read: Biblical Interpretation and the Christian Life" - for Shadyside PC at Crestfield Camp and Conference Center
Shan Overton	Oct. 28-31	Singapore	Giving main lectures, on "Bridging the Gap: Going Over and Coming Back through Theological Writing," for The Association for Theological Education in Southeast Asia's Seminar for Writers
Edwin van Driel	Nov. 2-3	Meadville, Pa.	Giving keynote address and preaching at Renewal Weekend, First Presbyterian Church
Tucker Ferda	Nov. 3, 10, 17	Sewickley, Pa.	Teaching on "The Quest for the Historical Jesus: Past, Present, and Significance for the Church Today"
Steve Tuell	Nov. 3, 10, 17	Oakmont, Pa.	Teaching adult education at Oakmont PC
Steve Tuell	Nov. 13, 20	Bethel Park, Pa.	Teaching at Christ UMC
Roger Owens	Jan. 14-15	Richmond, Va.	Leading Spiritual Practices/Rule of Life Retreat for Virginia UMC clergy at Roslyn Retreat Center
Roger Owens	March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29	Oakmont, Pa.	Teaching Lenten adult education class on Spiritual Practices at Oakmont PC
Roger Owens	March 28	Erie, Pa.	Giving keynote address for Erie Presbytery at Covenant PC

 

Archaeology

• Archaeology of the Ancient Near East/Old Testament World (Tappy)
• Jerusalem and Samaria: Royal Cities of Ancient Israel (Tappy)
• The Samaria Ostraca (Tappy)
• Tel Zayit: A Biblical Village in the Foothills of Judah (Tappy)
• The Tell Dan Inscription and the House of David (Tappy)

Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Exegesis

• Aramaic (Tuell)
• Biblical Hebrew and Exegesis (Creach, Tappy, Tuell)
• New Testament Greek and Exegesis (Ferda)
• Northwest Semitic Languages (Tappy, Creach)
• Ugaritic (Tuell)

Biblical Backgrounds

• Biblical Archaeology (Tappy)
• Biblical Literature of the Early Persian Period (esp. Ezekiel, Chronicles) (Tuell)
• Dead Sea Scrolls (Ferda)
• Extrabiblical Texts and What They Tell Us about Biblical Israel (Tappy)
• Hellenistic Jewish Literature (Humphrey, Ferda)
• Historical Geography of the Holy Land (Tappy)
• History of the Ancient Near East (Tappy)
• History of the Religions of Israel (Tappy)
• Jerusalem and Samaria: Royal Cities of Ancient Israel (Tappy)
• Kinship and Covenant in the Biblical World (Tappy)
• The Tel Zayit Abecedary and the Origins of the Alphabet (Tappy)

Christian History

• Asian-American History and Theological Perspectives (Woo)
• Book of Acts (Esterline, Humphrey, Ferda)
• Christian Responses to Persecution (Woo)
• Christianity in America (Vacek)
• Church Architecture (D. Davenport)
• Church History (Burgess)
• The Early Church/Church Fathers (Burgess, Humphrey, Ferda)
• Evangelicalism in North America (Hagley)
• Graphic Novels in American Christianity (D. Davenport)
• Gnosticism and the Church Fathers (Humphrey)
• History of Biblical Interpretation (Woo, Ferda)
• History of Christianity from Late Antiquity to the Present (Woo)
• History of Christian Mission (Hagley)
• History of the Christian Tradition (Vacek)
• History of Presbyterian Mission (Farrell)
• Irenaeus (Humphrey)
• John Calvin and Civil Disobedience (Hancock)
• History of Protestants and Mental Illness in America (Vacek)
• Protestant-Catholic Tensions in Early America (D. Davenport)
• Pulpit, Politics, and Pathos: Protestant Rhetoric and the National Socialist Revolution (Hancock)
• Reformation History (Woo)
• Twentieth-century American Protestantism (Vacek)
• Worship in the Bible and the History of the Church (Humphrey)

Christian Leadership

• Adaptive and Missional Leadership (Owens)
• Church Planting and Revitalization (Rohrer)
• Congregational Discernment (Owens)
• Congregational Mission and Leadership (Farrell, Hagley, Khyllep)
• Continuing Education for Christian Leaders (Blier, Esterline)
• Leading Bible Studies (Chakoian, Ferda)
• Motivating Congregations for Mission (Hagley)
• Nurturing Missional Mindset through Global Worship Music (K. Smith)
• Spiritual Formation (Owens, Ferda)
• Spirituality for Christian Leadership (Owens)
• Stewardship (Chakoian, Cranston)
• Teaching through Sacred Music (E. Davenport, K. Smith)

Christian Ministry

• Adult/Young Adult Ministry (Blier)
• Death, Dying, and Grief (Fuller)
• History of Protestants and Mental Illness in America (Vacek)
• Mental Health (E. Davenport)
• Older Adult Ministry (E. Davenport)
• Sharing the Good News (Hagley)
• Social Work (E. Davenport)
• Theologies of Disability and Suffering (Vacek)
• Youth Ministry (Hagley, Blier, D. Davenport, E. Davenport)

The Church and Contemporary Churches

• African-American Churches (D. Smith)
• Adaptive and Missional Leadership (Owens)
• Children and Youth in Worship (E. Davenport)
• Christian Responses to Persecution (Woo)
• Church Planting and Revitalization (Rohrer)
• Church and Politics in Russia and Ukraine (Burgess)
• Church Unity and Division: How to Think Faithfully (Burgess, Chakoian)
• The Church around the World (Esterline)
• The Church in Africa (D. Smith, Farrell)
• Churches in the African Diaspora (D. Smith)
• Churches and Social and Demographic Change (D. Smith)
• Conflict in Congregations (Fuller, Chakoian)
• Congregational Discernment (Owens)
• Family Systems Theory and Congregational Life (Fuller)
• Global and Ecumenical Theological Education (Esterline)
• The Missional Church: Its Identity (Hagley)
• Safe Church Practices (E. Davenport)
• Urban Churches (D. Smith, Owens, Gonxhe)
• What It Means to “Be” Church (van Driel)
• When Faithful People Disagree: Deliberation as a Christian Practice (Hancock, Chakoian)

Faith and Science

• Christianity and Human Origins in the Light of Evolutionary Biology (Cole-Turner)
• Creation in Scripture (Tuell)
• Science and Theology: Their Relationship (Tuell)
• Transhumanism: Living as a Christian in an Age of Human Enhancement (Cole-Turner)
• What Christians Can Learn from Science (Cole-Turner)

Global and International Issues

• Addressing Socio-cultural Systems of Injustice (Gonxhe)
• Christian Responses to Persecution (Woo)
• Christianity and African Traditional Religions (Farrell, Gonxhe)
• Christianity and U.S. Foreign Policy (D. Smith)
• Church and Politics in Russia and Ukraine (Burgess)
• The Church around the World (Esterline)
• The Church in Africa (D. Smith, Farrell)
• Churches in the African Diaspora (D. Smith)
• The Church in Latin America (Farrell)
• Cross-cultural Conflict (Farrell)
• Global and Ecumenical Theological Education (Esterline)
• Global Gender Justice (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• Human Trafficking (Gonxhe)
• Preaching in a Global Context (Khyllep)
• Religion and Social Movements (D. Smith, Riggle Young)
• World Mission and Justice (Farrell, Khyllep)

Mission

• Adaptive and Missional Leadership (Owens)
• Anthropological Tools for Cross-cultural Mission (Farrell)
• Christian Mission (Hagley)
• Church Planting (Hagley)
• Congregational Mission and Leadership (Farrell, Hagley, Khyllep)
• Cross-cultural Theological Education (Esterline)
• Cultural Proficiency (Farrell)
• Evangelism, Compassion, and Justice in Mission (Farrell)
• Gospel and Cultures (Hagley)
• Living Missionally (Hagley)
• Nurturing Missional Mindset through Global Worship Music (K. Smith)
• Presbyterian Mission (Farrell)
• Short-term Mission (Hagley, Farrell, Khyllep)
• World Mission (Farrell, Hagley)
• World Mission and Justice (Farrell, Khyllep)

New Testament Themes

• Book of Acts (Esterline, Humphrey, Ferda)
• Book of Revelation and Apocalyptic Literature (Humphrey)
• Discipleship in the New Testament (Ferda)
• First Corinthians (Esterline)
• Gospel of Luke (Esterline, Ferda)
• Gospel of Matthew (Ferda)
• Gospels and the Life of Jesus (Humphrey, Ferda)
• The Old Testament in the New (Ferda)
• Provocative Parables of Jesus (Hancock)
• Reading Mark as Story (Ferda)
• Writings of John (Humphrey)

Old Testament Themes

• The Battle of Lachish and the Theology of Jerusalem (Tappy)
• Biblical Literature of the Persian Period (Tuell)
• Book of Psalms (Creach)
• Ezekiel and the Minor Prophets (Tuell)
• Genesis and the Moral Imagination (Creach)
• Jacob, Esau, and Binding Kinship Ties (Tappy)
• Life and Times of Amos the Prophet (Tappy)
• Old Testament Ethics (Creach)
• Old Testament Historical Books (Tappy)
• The Old Testament in the New (Ferda)
• Old Testament Prophets (Creach, Tuell)
• Prophecy and Priesthood (Tuell)
• Psalm 23 and the Psalms of Trust (Tappy)
• The Ten Commandments for Today (Burgess)
• Violence in the Bible (Creach)
• Wisdom Literature (Creach)
• The Worship, Faith, and Temple Ideology of Ancient Israel (Tuell)

Practical Christian Living

• The Bath: Living into Your Baptism (Hancock)
• Christian Counseling (E. Davenport)
• Christianity, Race, and Class (D. Smith, Welch)
• Cultivating Scriptural Imagination (Ferda)
• Faith and Public Life (D. Smith)
• How to Listen to a Sermon (Hancock)
• How to Read the Bible (Tuell, Ferda)
• Leading Bible Studies (Chakoian, Ferda)
• Living Missionally (Hagley)
• Memory, Memorization, and Memory Tricks (D. Davenport)
• Practical Theodicy: What Do Christians Do when Bad Things Happen? (Hancock)
• Praying the Psalms (Hancock)
• Safe Church Practices (E. Davenport)
• Sanctity of Human Life (Humphrey)
• Sexuality and the Church (Humphrey)
• Sharing the Good News (Hagley)
• Social Work (E. Davenport)
• Spiritual Formation (Owens, Ferda)
• Stewardship (Chakoian, Cranston)
• The Ten Commandments for Today (Burgess)
• Vocational Discernment (Blier, D. Davenport)

Prayer

• Corporate Prayer (K. Smith)
• Liturgical Prayer (K. Smith)
• Prayer (Owens)
• Prayer in the Trinity (Cole-Turner)
• Praying the Psalms (Hancock)

Reformation Studies

• Anatomy of Grace (Hancock)
• Basics of Reformed Theology (Burgess)
• John Calvin and Civil Disobedience (Hancock)
• John Calvin and the Reformed Tradition (Woo)
• Karl Barth and the Practice of Biblical Interpretation (Hancock)
• Reformation History (Vacek, Woo)
• Reformed Spirituality (Cole-Turner)

Religions and Religious Traditions

• Christianity and African Traditional Religions (Farrell, Gonxhe)
• Christianity and Other Religions (Burgess)
• Doctrine of the Church (Humphrey)
• Evangelicalism in North America (Hagley)
• Gospel and Cultures (Hagley)
• History of the Christian Tradition (Vacek)
• History of the Religions of Israel (Tappy)
• John Calvin and the Reformed Tradition (Woo)
• Mythologies and Comparative Religions of the Ancient Near East (Tuell)
• Religion of Ancient Israel (Tuell)
• Russian Orthodox Church (Burgess)
• Scriptures and Tradition (Humphrey)
• Wesleyan Tradition (Morse)
• What Protestants Can Learn from Eastern Orthodox Tradition (Burgess)
• World Religions (Hagley, Ferda)

Social Issues

• Christianity, Race, and Class (D. Smith, Welch, Riggle Young)
• Christianity and U.S. Foreign Policy (D. Smith)
• Educational Diversity (Esterline, Riggle Young)
• Ethnicity and Race Relations (Welch)
• History of Christianity and Politics in America (Vacek)
• Human Trafficking (Gonxhe)
• Mental Health (E. Davenport)
• Pulpit, Politics, and Pathos: Protestant Rhetoric and the National Socialist Revolution (Hancock)
• Religion and Public Life (D. Smith)
• Religion and Social Movements (D. Smith, Riggle Young)
• Social Work (E. Davenport)
• Sociology of Urban Religion (D. Smith)
• Urban Churches (D. Smith, Gonxhe)
• When Faithful People Disagree: Deliberation as a Christian Practice (Hancock, Chakoian)
• Youth Culture (D. Davenport, E. Davenport)

Social Justice

• Addressing Socio-cultural Systems of Injustice (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• Christian Responses to Persecution (Woo)
• Global Gender Justice (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• Justice for the Poor and Marginalized (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• Old Testament Prophets and the Call for Justice (Creach)
• Race, Racism, and White Privilege in the United States (Esterline, Welch)
• Social Justice and Social Work (E. Davenport)
• Social Justice and the Teachings of Jesus (Ferda)
• Violence against Women and Girls (Gonxhe, Riggle Young)
• World Mission and Justice (Farrell, Khyllep)

Spirituality

• Christian Spirituality (Owens)
• Discipleship in the New Testament (Ferda)
• False Self and True Self in Christian Spirituality (Owens)
• Prayer (Owens)
• Reformed Spirituality (Cole-Turner)
• Spiritual Formation (Owens, Ferda)
• Spirituality for Christian Leadership (Owens)
• Spirituality and the Holy Trinity (Humphrey)

Theological Education

• Continuing Education for Christian Leaders (Esterline, Blier)
• Cross-cultural Theological Education (Esterline)
• Global and Ecumenical Theological Education (Esterline)
• Theological Education for Adults/Young Adults (Blier)
• Theological Education for Youth (Hagley, D. Davenport, E. Davenport)

Theological Themes

• Asian-American History and Theological Perspectives (Woo)
• Biblical Interpretation/Hermeneutics (Hancock, Ferda)
• Biblical Theology (Humphrey, Ferda)
• Black Theology (Riggle Young)
• C. S. Lewis and Theology (Humphrey)
• Christ and the Incarnation (van Driel)
• Ecclesiology and What It Means to “Be” Church (van Driel)
• Eschatology (van Driel, Ferda, K. Smith)
• Feminist Theology (Riggle Young)
• History of Biblical Interpretation (Woo, Ferda)
• The Idea of Scripture in Ancient Israel (Tuell)
• Liberation Theology (Farrell, Riggle Young)
• Practical Theodicy: What Do Christians Do when Bad Things Happen? (Hancock)
• Prayer in the Trinity: Recovering a Theology of Prayer (Cole-Turner)
• Reformation Theology (Woo)
• The Significance of the Hebrew Bible as Scripture for Christians and Jews (Tuell)
• Theologies of Disability and Suffering (Vacek)

Worship

• Artistic Languages of Worship (Hancock)
• Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Hancock)
• Children and Youth in Worship (E. Davenport)
• Christian Worship and the Sacraments (Burgess)
• Church Planting and Revitalization (Rohrer)
• Congregational Song (van Driel, K. Smith)
• Exploring Christian Worship (Hancock, K. Smith)
• How to Listen to a Sermon (Hancock)
• Nurturing Missional Mindset through Global Worship Music (K. Smith)
• Prayer (Cole-Turner, Hancock, Owens, K. Smith)
• Taizé-style Worship (K. Smith)
• Worship in the Bible and the History of the Church (Humphrey)

Youth Focus

• Children and Youth in Worship (E. Davenport)
• Mentoring (D. Davenport, E. Davenport)
• Theological Education for Youth (Hagley, D. Davenport, E. Davenport)
• Violence against Women and Girls (Gonxhe)
• Youth Culture (D. Davenport, E. Davenport)
• Youth Ministry (Blier, Hagley, D. Davenport, E. Davenport)

Helen Blier
Director of Continuing Education
hblier@pts.edu
412-924-1346

Cathy Brall
Director of Field Education
cbrall@pts.edu
412-924-1404

John P. Burgess
James Henry Snowden Professor of Systematic Theology
jburgess@pts.edu
412-924-1430

Jennifer Christmas
Associate Curator of the Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology
jechristmas@pts.edu
412-924-1394

Ronald Cole-Turner
H. Parker Sharp Professor of Theology and Ethics
coleturn@pts.edu
412-924-1426

Jerome F. D. Creach
Robert C. Holland Professor of Old Testament
jcreach@pts.edu
412-924-1428

Carolyn Cranston
Director of Alumnae/i and Church Relations
ccranston@pts.edu
412-924-1375

Derek Davenport
Director of the Miller Summer Youth Institute
ddavenport@pts.edu
412-924-1385

Erin Davenport
Director of the Miller Summer Youth Institute
edavenport@pts.edu

David Esterline
President, Professor of Cross-cultural Theological Education
desterline@pts.edu
412-924-1366

Hunter Farrell
Director of the World Mission Initiative
hfarrell@pts.edu
412-924-1402

Tucker Ferda
Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament
tferda@pts.edu
412-924-1391

Leanna K. Fuller
Associate Professor of Pastoral Care
lfuller@pts.edu
412-924-1459

Kimberly Gonxhe
Director of the Metro-Urban Institute
kgonxhe@pts.edu
412-924-1368

Scott J. Hagley
Assistant Professor of Missiology
shagley@pts.edu
412-924-1399

Angela Dienhart Hancock
Associate Professor of Homiletics and Worship
ahancock@pts.edu
412-924-1451

Edith M. Humphrey
William F. Orr Professor of New Testament
ehumphrey@pts.edu
412-924-1424

Bala Khyllep
Associate Director of the World Mission Initiative
bkhyllep@pts.edu
412-924-1364

David Morse
Adjunct Professor of Methodist Studies
dmorse@pts.edu
412-924-1383

Mary O'Shan (Shan) Overton
Director of the Center for Writing and Learning Support
moverton@pts.edu
412-924-1454

L. Roger Owens
Associate Professor of Christian Spirituality and Ministry
lowens@pts.edu
412-924-1458

Tracy Riggle Young
Director of Enrollment and Retention
triggleyoung@pts.edu
412-924-1423

Karen Rohrer
Director of the Church Planting Initiative
krohrer@pts.edu
412-924-1412

Kendra Buckwalter Smith
Director of the Worship Program
ksmith@pts.edu
412-924-1419

R. Drew Smith
Professor of Urban Ministry
rsmith@pts.edu
412-924-1457

Michelle Spomer
Donald G. Miller Librarian and Director of the Clifford E. Barbour Library
mspomer@pts.edu
412-924-1408

Ron E. Tappy
G. Albert Shoemaker Professor of Bible and Archaeology
rtappy@pts.edu
412-924-1427

Ayana Teter
Director of Placement and Vocation
ateter@pts.edu
412-924-1398

Denise Thorpe
Interim Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program
dthorpe@pts.edu
412-924-1421

Steven Tuell
James A. Kelso Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament
stuell@pts.edu
412-924-1407

Heather Vacek
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty and Associate Professor of Church History
hvacek@pts.edu
412-924-1453

Edwin Chr. van Driel
Directors' Bicentennial Professor of Theology
evandriel@pts.edu
412-924-1425

John Welch
Vice President for Student Services and Community Engagement / Dean of Students
jwelch@pts.edu
412-924-1401

Kenneth Woo
Assistant Professor of Church History
kwoo@pts.edu
412-924-1350