The CTSA remembers and prays for Teresia Mbari Hinga.

Eternal rest grant unto Teresia, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen. 

Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga Funeral Mass Service
Provided by Teresia Hinga's family to the CTSA through Theresa A. Yugar

Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga’s funeral mass services are scheduled for Wednesday April 5th, 2023, 11:30am at St. Celestine Church, 3020 North 76th Court, Elmwood Park, Illinois. Officiated by Father Paul Kalenzi and Father Stan Chu Ilo.

The Kenyan funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday April 4th, 2023, in Ndumberi Kiambu.

Teresia Mbari Hinga was born January 25, 1955, as the youngest of seven children to her late parents Agnes Wairimu and Ernest Hinga in the village of Ndumberi, Kiambu in British-occupied Kenya. She was sister to her late siblings: Zita Nyambura, Norbert Kamau, Regina Wang’eri, Alphonse Mungai and Stephen Chege. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and godmother who protected her children and helped them flourish with her grand sense of humor, love of song, and faith in God. As a single mother who balanced her professional life with her home life, she is survived by her two beautiful children: son Anthony Hinga, daughter Pauline Wairimu Kenly, her son in-law Thom Kenly and her two grandchildren, Zoe and Nia Kenly, all in Chicago. In Kenya she is survived by her brother Michael Machua, her many nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, friends, and colleagues.

Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga earned a B.Ed. in English Literature and Religious Studies which she passed with first class honors from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Nairobi University. She earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies/African Christianity from the University of Lancaster in England in 1990. She was an African Christian feminist who pioneered the fields of African feminist theology and ethics. Dr. Hinga was an Associate Professor of Religion at Santa Clara University, California (2005-2023). Before that, she had joined DePaul University, Chicago in 1994-2005 having previously taught at Kenyatta University in Nairobi Kenya (1987-1994).

Service for her began at home supporting family members with their financial needs for education and medical purposes.Beyond that, she was a devoted friend to her home village of Ndumberi - Kiambu, finding seed money for local farmers, planting and growing trees, facilitating training for rainwater harvesting and organic farming methods.

She was a dedicated professor of religion and a welcoming friend who mentored hundreds of students and young scholars and promoted the scholarship of fellow professors, making them feel welcomed, known and heard. Dr. Hinga was a founding member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians in Accra, Ghana in 1989. She promoted the Circle throughout her career. She was also a founding member and on the executive committee of the African Association of the Study of Religion (AASR), a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), she was on the board of the Journal of Global Catholicism and a member of the Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC) Network until her death.

She bowed to a protracted battle with cancer on the March 31st, 2023, at Chicago Illinois, surrounded by her family and friends after receiving all the Catholic rites by Fr. Paul Kalenzi and Fr. Stan Chu Ilo.

We would like to invite you contribute towards Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga’s funeral expenses. Through the following methods:

Zelle: phkenly@yahoo.com or CashApp: Pauline Kenly $profTeresia2023

Dr. Hinga was born in Kenya. She received a B.Ed. in English Literature and Religious Studies from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Nairobi University, also in Kenya. She earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies/African Christianity from the University of Lancaster in England. Her thesis on the role of women in African Christianity focused on women's power and liberation in the African Independent Church. Dr. Hinga's research focuses on religion and women's issues, particularly in Africa, African religious history, and expression in the global religious landscape, religion and public policy, and the ethics of globalization. She is a founding member of the "Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians," a pan-African association of women who study the role and impact of religion and culture on African women's lives. She is also a member of the Black Catholic Symposium of the AAR and of the Association for the Academic Study of Religion in Africa (AASR). 

Dr. Hinga joined the Santa Clara University faculty in 2005 and teaches courses on women and religion, feminist theologies, African religions and society, and religion and contemporary moral issues.   

Above reference provided through the The Department of Religious Studies', Santa Clara University, website (Accessed 3/31/23 < https://www.scu.edu/cas/religious-studies/faculty--staff/teresia-hinga/>

CTSA Contributions include:

"Women Healing Earth: Revisiting Rosemary Radford Ruether's Work on Moral Agency & Ecological Ethics among Women of the Global South", Proceedings of the CTSA, 72.

"A Response to Gerald M. Boodoo's 'Space of Possibility' Toward Another Possible Nonviolent World: Recognizing the Gift and Insights of 'Glo-cal' Theologies", Proceedings of the CTSA 74, 62-70.

"Bioethics & Healthcare Ethics: Prophetic Healthcare Ethics: A Panel Discussion on Catholic Women Theologians on the HIV/AIDS Pandemic", Proceedings of the CTSA 65.

"Catholic Theologies, Intrafaith Dialogue, and Pluarlism", Proceedings of the CTSA, 61.

The CTSA's Consultation on Sexual Abuse and the Church has been working on a bibliography of scholarly resources on sexual abuse and the Catholic Church.  The consultation invites all CTSA members to view this in-progress bibliography and suggest additions to Julia Feder at juliafeder@creighton.edu.

Congratulations to CTSA member Sister Carla May Streeter on the release of Avoiding the Sin of Certitude Podcast.  

Commentary from Rabbi Susan Talve of Central Reform Congregation, St Louis, MO and Sister Carla May Streeter of Aquinas Institute, St Louis, MO on the book Avoiding the Sin of Certitude - courageous conversations around contemporary issues.

The Podcast may be accessed at https://www.buzzsprout.com/2155109

CTSA Members Elissa Cutter and Mary Kate Holman invite you to join Wednesday, March 22 (7 - 8 p.m.) virtual event

The Recovery of Women's Voices in Catholic Tradition:
A Conversation

Georgian Court Critical Concerns Week website: https://georgian.edu/critical-concerns2023/

Zoom link: https://georgian.zoom.us/j/98068749037

The Catholic-Mennonite organization Bridgefolk will hold its annual gathering in conjunction with the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary's conference "Rooted and Grounded: Land and Christian Discipleship" September 28-30, 2023 in Elkhart, IN. Proposals for papers and workshops will be accepted through April 30. Registration opens May 1.

Dear colleagues, 

The International Thomas Merton Society holds its biennial conference June 22-25, 2023, at Saint Mary's College, South Bend, IN. Wonderful lineup of plenary speakers, creative presentations, academic papers, and communal prayer. Registration now open, with early-bird pricing until April 15. Students and emerging scholars are encouraged to apply for Daggy Scholarships. Please help us spread the word!

Thank you,

Christopher Pramuk (ITMS President)

http://merton.org/2023/default.aspx

The 2023 Silber-Obrecht Lecture in Interreligious & Interfaith Studies with Francis X. Clooney, S.J.

The inaugural Silber-Obrecht Lecture in Interreligious and Interfaith Studies, to be held from April 25-27, 2023 at Loyola University Maryland, will be delivered by Francis X. Clooney, S.J., a theologian at the Harvard Divinity School and a leader in the field of interreligious studies. Shubha Pathak, Ph.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at American University in Washington D.C. will be the respondent.

The lecture is sponsored by the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies in Baltimore, and is co-sponsored by Goucher College, the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, Loyola University Maryland, Morgan State University’s Center for Religion and Cities, and St. Mary’s Seminary & University. All lectures are free and will be live streamed.

Lecture #1: "What is the State of the Emerging Field of Interfaith and Interreligious Studies?" with Francis X. Clooney, S.J., Tuesday, April 25, 2023, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EDT. Register for Zoom link: https://icjs.org/events/the-2023-silber-obrecht-lecture/

Lecture #2: "What is the Future of the Field," with Francis X. Clooney, S.J. Response by Shubha Pathak, Ph.D., Ph.D. Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM EDT. Register for Zoom link: https://icjs.org/events/the-2023-silber-obrecht-lecture-2/

Workshop: Thursday, April 27, 2023, 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM EDT, at the ICJS Library (by invitation only).

The Silber-Obrecht Lecture, the first endowed lectureship in the emerging field of Interreligious and Interfaith Studies, is a semiannual three-day academic residency in Baltimore. The lectureship aims to advance the field of study by presenting new and creative work by a senior scholar and interreligious practitioner. 

The CTSA remembers and prays for long standing member Denise L. Carmody who died at home today, March 15.

Eternal rest grant unto Denise, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May Denise's soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

Denise Carmody was born in Baltimore, MD. She received an A.B. at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland (1958), and an M.A. at Boston College (1966). She had loved philosophy as an undergrad; in particular, questions about epistemology (how people know) led to an abiding interest in comparative religious studies. She pursued that interest by earning a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion from Boston College in 1970. Denise has published over sixty books, including the 7th edition to Ways to the Center. Her research interests are Roman Catholicism and world religions. She retired in June, 2012.  ( Picture and above statement accessed on 3/15/23 <<Religious Studies, Santa Clara University, https://www.scu.edu/cas/religious-studies/faculty--staff/denise-carmody/>>.)

CTSA Proceedings Contribution 

Denise L. Carmody, The Role of Women in Theology: Summary of the Discussion, CTSA 38th Annual Convention Proceedings, Minutes of the Meeting: 74-76.

The Thomist is pleased to announce its first annual Rising Scholar Award: https://www.thomist.org/rising-scholar-award.  Submissions are due by March 7, 2024.  

The Msgr. John Mary Fraser Centre for Practical Theology at Regis St. Michael's Faculty of Theology invites you all to join our online panel reflecting on Pope Francis's recent visit to Canada and our next steps towards reconciliation. 

Panelists include: 

• Dr. Michel Andraos, PhD (Dean of the Faculty of Theology at St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada)
• Sr. Priscilla Solomon, CSJ (CSJ, Faith and Justice, Ojibway First Nation)
• Sr. Sheila Smith, RSCJ, PhD (St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada)
• Fr. John Meehan, SJ, PhD (Director, Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, Trinity College, Toronto, Canada)
• Fr. Peter Bisson, SJ, ThD (Jesuits of Canada)
• Mr. Noah MacDonald, JCL (Canon Lawyer, Archdiocese of Toronto, Michipicoten First Nation)

The event is on Tuesday March 28, 2023 from 7-9 PM (Toronto time). Registration is now OPEN and can be found here: https://frasercentre.ca/event/panel-reflecting-on-pope-francis-visit-to-canada/

The Zoom link will be sent out closer to the event date. If you do not see it in your inbox, please check your junk/spam folders as mass emails can be filtered into that folder. If you do not receive this email by noon (Toronto time) on the day of the event, please feel free to email our webmaster Ashley Tran at frasercentrewebmaster@gmail.com

We hope to see you all at the event!