Ripples

I am sending news of more ripples caused by the article you wrote about me in inSpire [see "Pastor without Portfolio" in the winter 2000 issue]. Someone passed along the article to Don Postema, the chaplain at the University of Michigan, who has written some nice books on the spiritual life—Space for God and Catch Your Breath. He then initiated contact with me and sent me a copy of Catch Your Breath.

Also, I received a call from Tom De Bree, a 1977 PTS graduate, who invited me to come and speak to a group of twelve diverse clergy in Denver who meet monthly for growth and for support in their commitment to urban ministry.

And so it continues—because you followed a moment of inspiration! Thank you for the way you have impacted the present and future of what God is working out in my life!

Gary Barckert (’67B, ’68M)
Seattle, Washington

Which Version?

Could you tell me from which version of the Bible the words of Revelation 14:13 in In Memoriam are taken?

Robert W. Richards
Roswell, Georgia

editor’s note:
We appreciate your calling our attention to this rendering of the verse. We were using a paraphrase, but we are now using the NRSV.

Thanks

I just read the latest and very best issue of inSpire. I read it all, though most interesting for me was the article on the three new faculty members. InSpire is interesting, informative, and educational. You are improving something that is already excellent. Thank you.

Gerald Mills (’56B, ’75P)
Waxhaw, North Carolina

The Other Spanish Christ

Thank you for the latest issue of inSpire and especially for the article "Companions on the Journey." Some years ago while doing mission work in Ecuador, we found John Mackay’s The Other Spanish Christ to be a very helpful resource. My son and his wife are now serving in the Dominican Republic and have interest in using the book. I no longer have a copy. Could you please give us information about where we could obtain The Other Spanish Christ, preferably in English but also in Spanish?

Merle Crouse (’66M)
St. Cloud, Florida

editor’s note:
The Other Spanish Christ is out of print, but it can be requested through interlibrary loan by contacting Speer Library at 609-497-7940.

"Retiring" Volunteers

I appreciate receiving inSpire and enjoy all of it, particularly reports by retirees on ways in which they continue to fulfill their vocation through volunteer service. This has been very rewarding for me. For the first ten years after I retired at "475," I continued to serve the Presbyterian Foundation as a volunteer in opening the Synod of the Sun for a regional representative. When they were able to employ a person, I served for eight years as volunteer chaplain for the not-for-profit hospice program in this area. When they were able to employ a person, I shared in organizing a Presbyterian AIDS Care Team on which I continue to serve.

I find that retirement can be just as enjoyable and fulfilling as the happy experience of my employed years.

Jim Spivey (’36B)
Denton, Texas

Bodybuilding and Bike Riding

To follow up on (not compete with) the article about the bodybuilding pastor, on May 20 I did my fifth successful Assault on Mt. Mitchell, which is a 102-mile bicycle ride (not a race) from downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, to the peak of the highest mountain in the East—over 6600 feet. Is there anyone else out there who does this? I’d like to know so that maybe we can do it together, or could do some other kind of serious bike touring. Thanks!

Thomas Blair (’83B)
Hendersonville, North Carolina
blairhug@
mindspring.com

Christian Art in Korea: The Reverend Yun-ho Ye

I thank you for your sincere service to alumni/ae. I enjoy reading inSpire here in Korea. It is always nice to hear about the Seminary and the people who are making a difference for the glory of our good Lord.

I would like to share information about the painter, the Reverend Yun-ho Ye, whose painting of Miller Chapel was shown on the inside cover of the spring issue of inSpire. I recently got to know him because I am interested in Korean Christian art, as he was. He passed away a few years ago (my condolences to the Reverend John Valk) and left his numerous art and antique collections to the Presbyterian college and seminary in Korea. He used to teach there, and he was a director of the museum where most of the items are his own collections. I recently visited the museum and found his painting of Princeton Seminary with which he won a prize at the National Art Exhibition in the 1960s. He was one of a few people who appreciated and promoted the value of Christian art in Korea. Since I am doing a project on the history of contextualization (or indigenization) of Christian art in Korea, I will use some of his writings and collections to learn more about him.

Jung-Sook Lee (’97D)
Seoul, Korea

PTS Connections Continue

I had the honor, as an executive committee member of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, to vote for Setri Nyomi as our new general secretary [see "Breaking the Chains" in the spring 2000 issue of inSpire]. Some years of our studies overlapped at PTS, and we were both in the same area of concentration. I am now professor of pastoral theology at Near East School of Theology in Beirut. I still miss many parts of PTS life and often meet graduates and classmates at ecumenical meetings.

Paul Ara Haidostian (’88M, ’93D)
Beirut, Lebanon

Please email — we love to hear from you!
	We welcome correspondence from our readers. email should be addressed to: email: inspire@ptsem.edu Messages may be edited for length or clarity, and should include the writer’s name and telephone numbers.

Good Statement, Bad Title

It is always good to receive my copy of inSpire, to read its varied and informative articles, and to catch up on happenings among alumni/ae. I see my Class of ’54 gradually moving closer and closer to the front of Class Notes.

In the spring 2000 issue were a surprise and a disappointment. The surprise was to find some "beefcake" on page 36 (On and Off Campus). I wondered if I was reading a muscle magazine or if this was really a product of my theological seminary. The Reverend William Buie Jr. makes a profound statement about the body being the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is a corrective to the anti-body stance of mainline Protestantism. What a surprise to see this connecting of body and spirit! Thank you for including it.

My disappointment was the line used as a title: "I bet my pastor can beat up your pastor." The secular world sees physical prowess as a tool for violence and domination. Further-more, our society continues to value male physiques as tools for war and killing. In addition, the Presbyterian Church (USA) has made a commitment to peacemaking, and the title for the article does not honor that intention.

What a surprise it would have been and what attention it could have received if your article had been headed, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." Some might even have begun to rethink their assumptions about the body and the spirit, a needed task in this violent-prone culture.

Thanks for reading this far and I hope my comments serve a positive purpose.

E. Ellwood Carey (’54B)
Madison, Wisconsin

editor’s note:
We apologize for any negative connotation in the title. We were humorously recalling playground braggadocio, where boys boast to each other about their friends, brothers, fathers, etc. saying things like, "Well, my dad is stronger than your dad." The violence in our culture, especially directed at children and at women, is anything but humorous (see end things article in this issue). At the same time, one suspects that eight-year-old boys in the Reverend Buie’s congregation are secretly quite proud of his physique, which is not that of the average minister! We appreciate your calling our attention to handling with care the subject of violence; we are in full accord.