T H E V O I C E O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y

kairoj
kairos
A Weekly Newspaper Issue 191, Oct. 26 - Oct. 30, 2009
Invite to Write Reason to Celebrate Extensions of an Olive Corpus Christi Capital Campaign Listening Project
Branch Campus Improvements
Stella Burkhalter Roy Cotton, spouse of Editor Mary Elizabeth Student Group Corpus Unfortunately The
shares a reflection from Karen Cotton is Prentice reflects on Christi issues a Vice President for Listening Project has
her directed study. honored for his work at peace, unity, challenge to the Business Affairs been cancelled.
Manos de Cristo community and community. presents improvements
identity. made to the campus .
Page 1-2 Page 2
Page 2 & 3 Page 6
Page 4
Page 5

The Fourth I love you:

My daughter thinks it’s weird that we say “I love you” to
each other in seminary. She heard me say it as I hung up
the phone with a classmate once, and it caught her
Stella Burkhalter is a Senior MDiv student completing a directed study attention. “I didn’t know you were talking to Dad,” she
at a Methodist Church in Austin.
had said. “I wasn’t,” was my reply. When I realized she
wanted an explanation, I said, “That’s just the way we are
It snuck up on me, for it was so unexpected. I had just
with each other in seminary.” I had forgotten how
done something deliberately silly at the church dinner and
countercultural that is.
in response, one of the teenagers laughed and said, “I love
you, Stella!” Just like that. Matter of fact. She barely
When I remembered Lisa’s farewell, I remembered that I
knows me. Plus, what I had done wasn’t all that funny. I
had seen Shane on campus and he had noticed that I was
had spent most of that day in the depths of a pity party,
having a rough day. He had changed course and veered
and that “I love you” from such an unlikely source finally
from the sidewalk, deciding a wave from afar was not
jarred me out of it.
sufficient. “I love you,” he had said as he hugged me, as if
we had been best friends forever instead of people who
I thought about it for a minute and I realized that wasn’t
had had one class together last year. I was grateful for the
the first time that day someone had said, “I love you” to
person he is.
me. Earlier I had gone to campus to meet my spiritual
direction group and I hung around afterwards, reluctant
“That’s three ‘I love you’s in one day, not counting the
to leave my indispensable source of strength. As I walked
ones from my husband and kids,” I thought to myself.
away, Lisa called out, “I love you!”
And then I remembered there had been another. The
drama of the day had prompted a phone call to the pastor
© 2009 Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

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who had been my SPM supervisor. I had called to ask for donated his time to help configure the computers
her advice, and as usual, she had ended the call by prior to the start of classes, as well as volunteer at
saying, “I love you.” Coupled with Lisa, Shane and my the Back to School program in August.
SPM supervisor, the young woman from church made
four “I love you’s.” I had been hearing “I love you” all
day long.

I don’t know what it was about that fourth “I love you,”

but when I heard it from that young woman, I finally got
it. God had been loving me all day long, carrying me
through the whatever thing I had blown up and made
bigger than it should have been, sustaining me through
self-doubt and anxiety, faithfully grounding me as I
moved through the day unaware. The unbelievable love
of God is radiated to us through the slightly more
believable love of our fellow human beings and through
all of creation, and we are rarely awake enough to receive
it.

I’m working on a directed study project this semester

examining the theology of evangelism in the Methodist
Church. I’ve been trying to understand how we are to
bring others to Christ in our postmodern era, and I’m
concluding that we do that best by inviting others into
Christian community. At first I had wondered why we’re
starting new churches when the current ones aren’t full,
and I questioned the point of evangelism as simply Roy will be recognized on October 25, 2009 at the
inviting people to church as if it were just another club. Zilker Clubhouse from 4-7 p.m.
As I read and think and pray and watch, I see that
inviting people into community is everything. Because I
am enmeshed in Christian community, I am surrounded
by people who are living instruments of grace. Because I
Extensions of an Olive
spend my days in Christian community, I got to hear God
say “I love you” out loud four times today.
Branch:
Reflections on Peace, Unity, Identity &
How blessed we are to be in these kinds of communities.
How blessed we are to be called to build them. Community

-Stella Burkhalter Mary Elizabeth Prentice is a Senior MDiv student under care of
Grace Presbytery and Editor of Kairos.

Congratulations I got beat up by my olive branch last week - in more ways

than one, but I will only share this one story.

Roy Cotton, supporting spouse of Junior-Middler
Karen Cotton was named Volunteer of the Year for
the Education Program for his work at Manos de
Cristo.
Roy has been teaching with Manos twice a week
since the beginning of the year and also generously
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Monday, October 12, I was privileged enough to attend
the U2 360 tour at the new Dallas Cowboy Stadium. We
had general admission tickets, which meant we stood in
the longest line, but we were able to get within spitting
distance of the outer stage.
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The circular center stage was set up at one end of the advocating freedom to all people, and the list goes on. He
stadium and a circular multimedia cone was suspended has also had affairs and lives the life of a rock star, but hey
above which descended and captured the camera angles he is human after all.
of The Edge, Bono, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.
From the center stage two silver bridges extended over to “This tour in part is dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi,
an outer ring of stage. The first 1,500 people in the door whose only crime, was being the democratically elected
had the privilege of standing in the inner ring. The outer leader of Burma, for which she has served 20 years in
ring was 360 degrees around the stage and the band prison,” Bono proclaimed before he sang “Walk On.”
members would cross the bridge and come and play on This was he message of the night.
the outer ring. It was a pretty ingenious set up.
Bono went on to boldly congratulate an unpopular
I was actually four people deep from the stage and had I former President for his work in preventing the spread of
had go-go gadget arms surgically installed, instead of Malaria and increasing Humanitarian Aide to Africa. A
repairing my old arms, I would have been able to wipe to pre-taped message from Archbishop Desmond Tuti was
sweat off of Bono’s brow. I have to say that I am not played before the song “One” was sung. Clearly the
really much for famous people, but there are exceptions. message was meant to draw out our commonalities and
As for example Bono, because: find unity. (Unity in the sense that we may be different,
but we are all broken human beings. Unity in the sense
A. He is from Ireland. that diversity is respected, celebrated and proclaimed.)
B. He sings a song about The Troubles in Northern
Ireland (Bloody Sunday). I’m a big fan of educating Throughout the concert, I was struck by the ability of
people about The Troubles! people around me that found commonalities amongst
C. He is the son of an Anglican mother and Roman themselves. There was a sense of unity during the
Catholic father in Ireland (almost unheard of in the late concert (olive branches abounding), I just wonder why it
60’s early 70’s). It is like he is an olive branch himself. didn’t make it out to the parking lot.
D. He has an Irish accent thus is pretty dreamy! (No
offense to my boyfriend) After standing for nearly 7 hours my knees were swollen
and my body ached. So before I got into the car I decided
I am not going to shove and push people about to get to stretch. Granted my stretching techniques are a bit
closer to a famous person, but I am intrigued when our idiosyncratic – they are, however, extremely helpful in
paths nearly intersect. I have never been to a concert like loosening up these old joints and getting blood flowing.
this before, much less been 4 people deep to the band.
Needless to say, it was amazing. As I was doing what I called the Sumo-wrestler stretch
(Imagine legs-out, knees-bent, squatted and stretching the
During one part of the concert, as Bono sang “City of gluteus maximus, minimus and anterior pelvic joint.)
Blinding Lights,” he pulled a 14-year-old Napoleon Two girls walked by pointed and loudly exclaimed: “OH
Dynamite looking kid from the inner pit. Hand in hand MY GOD! SHE LOOKS HILARIOUS!” The friends I was
the kid walked and ran around the outer circle and was with directed my attention to them and I called out – “At
entranced by his 10 minutes of fame. least I can walk when I’m 30 because I am doing these
exercises!” I know - it didn’t make sense, but I felt like
The teenager wearing a hooded sweatshirt and glasses, saying something!
stuffed his hands in the pockets of the sweatshirt and
looked bewildered as Bono sang, “You are so beautiful Needless to say the peace, love and unity I was feeling
tonight.” In the end the kid walked off gifted with Bono from the concert was briefly interrupted, but what can I
signature sunglasses. say – I’m broken in so many ways.

This was all a part of the theme “What time is it?” I think But “Now is the time” and I am trying to find unity and
I understood what Bono was trying to get at – Now is the love in the midst of being beat up by an olive branch.
time. Bono has been politically active in helping to stop
mounting debt to Africa, promoting AIDS education,

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 ISSUE 191
Justice Challenge
Fair Trade
Corpus Christi, a student group focused on exploring issues
threatening the unity and/or the efficacy of the church, is issuing a
“challenge” to the Seminary community for each of us to begin
finding ways to practice social justice in our everyday lives. Members
of Corpus Christi will be publishing articles in Kairos each week that
highlight a particular issue and offers practical suggestions on how
we can make a difference. The challenge is for members of the
community to pick just one suggestion and put it into practice, AND,
if you so desire, to write about your experience and submit it to Mike
Clawson (mike.clawson@gmail.com). The best stories will be printed
in Kairos and one will be selected at the end of the semester for a
special prize.
This week’s focus is on Fair Trade. The following is adapted
from Julie Clawson’s Everyday Justice: The Global Impact
of Our Daily Choices (available at amazon.com):
If we are to attempt to live justly in the everyday, how we
shop is one of the most basic habits we can alter. Where
we choose to spend our money affects not just us or the
large corporations, but everyday people around the
globe. Making sure workers around the world receive fair
wages for their work through programs like fair trade is
one way to put love into action. Here are a few ways you
can support fair trade:
1. Educate yourself. Find out more about fair trade
online at www.transfairusa.org,
www.tradejusticeusa.org, and
www.maketradefair.com.
2. Buy fair trade. Obviously. By purchasing fairly
traded items, we not only ensure the producers
were paid fair wages for their work, but we also
send a message to corporate entities that we care
about how people are treated. Next time you buy
coffee (or tea, sugar, spices, vanilla, rice, fruit or
nuts) look for the fair-trade label and choose to
consume ethically. Visit www.equalexchange.com
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or www.fairtradefederation.org to shop online or
to find a fair trade business near you.
3. Ask your local stores to carry fairly traded items.
If you don’t ask they will never know there is a
local demand. Get your friends to ask as well:
more voices mean greater demand. And of course,
if they start carrying the items you asked for, be
sure to buy them there.
4. Get your church to serve fairly traded coffee and
tea. Check out Equal Exchange’s Interfaith
Program (http://interfaith.equalexchange.com)
that helps churches extend their fellowship to
coffee farmers by providing churches with
educational resources, information regarding how
to promote fair trade and opportunities to
purchase fairly traded goods in bulk.
5. Raise awareness. Talk about fair trade with your
friends and family. Write about it for your local
newspaper or church newsletter. Post information
on your website, blog, or Facebook profile. Write
to the major coffee companies and tell them that
your support fair trade practices. Write to your
government representatives and let them know
that their constituents care about how trade
policies affect the lives of real people.
And, don’t forget, if
you try any of these
things above, write to
Corpus Christi about it
and let us know how it
Look for the Fair Trade Logo when
shopping. went!
Mission Statement of Corpus Christi: To be inclusive and
supportive of the APTS community and to serve the APTS community
by creating a safe place where we can discuss and explore issues
threatening the unity and/or the efficacy of the church. Our mission, in
its broadest sense includes increasing awareness of and dialogue
related to Social and Ecological Justice issues.
 ISSUE 191
2009 Summer Campus Capital Projects
Safety and Security
- Installed card access control system Currie Hall on all
exterior doors, residents’ rooms and guest room doors.
- Purchased 2 way radio’s for emergency communications
in event phone system goes down.
- Safety & security tree trimming and bamboo thinning
along creek.
- Installed new fire alarm panel and system in Stitt
Library.
- Installed fence at W.30th apartment playground.
- Installed security gates at 402 East 30th apartments.
Classrooms
- Purchased new chairs for all remaining McMillan
classrooms & common area furniture.
- Installed new a/v equipment in McMillan classrooms &
McCord meeting rooms.
- Installed additional electrical outlets in all McMillan
classrooms and other locations.
Student Housing
- Painted & caulked exterior of all student housing
buildings.
- Painted & caulked exterior of Hicks Community House.
- Purchased patio furniture for Anderson House.
- Purchased bike racks for Currie Hall and Anderson
House.
- Cleaned exterior windows on all student housing
buildings.
- Replaced all mattresses in Currie Hall.
Guest Housing
- Replaced all mattresses McCord, Currie & Smoot.
- Installed new “Eco” carpet in common area lower floor
McCord
- Painted & caulked exterior of Smoot Center & Cottage
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Buildings & Grounds
- Chapel Roof repair.
- Seal-coat & stripe Hicks parking lot.
- New furniture for Student Affairs office.
- New exercise equipment, flooring, lighting, mirrors in
McMillan gym.
- Painted gutters & power washed exterior walls at Trull.
- Installed approximately 40 lighting occupancy sensors
in several buildings across upper campus (carbon
footprint reduction & energy conservation measures).
- Installed variable frequency drive on chilled water
pump in Physical Plant (carbon footprint reduction &
energy conservation measures).
- New furniture Trull atrium.
- Installed new combination code entry lock to upper
floor exterior door in McMillan.
- Installed decomposed granite in front of Currie Hall.
Office Moves
‐ Office of Ministerial Formation from McCord to
McMillan
‐ Student Affairs from top floor McCord to middle floor
McCord
‐ Christian Leadership Education/College of Pastoral
Leaders from middle floor McCord to top floor McCord
Most of these projects were accomplished under direction
of the Physical Plant and Information Technology
Departments and the Dean’s Office and with cooperation
of many, many others on campus.  I would like to lift up
for particular recognition Julie Newton, Jim Many, and
Alison Riemersma for their hard work, resourcefulness
and creativity.  The majority of the funding came from the
Seminary’s Capital Expenditures Reserve Fund.
Kurt A. Gabbard
Vice President for Business Affairs
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Listening Project comes to

Campus

d
The Listening Project Dr. Muhammad Sammak is a journalist and political
analyst for the Ahram newspaper in Cairo, the Ittihad
newspaper in Abu Dhabi, and the Al-Mustaqbal
newspaper in Beirut.  He served as counselor to the late

lle
Wednesday, October 28, 2009, Austin Presbyterian Prime Minister Rafic Hariri and
Seminary will participate in the Interfaith Listening now serves as Counselor to his
Project organized by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). son, Saad Hariri, leader of
The Listening Project provides opportunities to engage in Almustaqbal Parliamentary
Muslim-Christian dialogue and learn about new Group. He also serves as
developments in Muslim-Christian relations. Counselor to the Mufti of the
Lebanese republic, Sheikh
APTS will host Mary Mikhael, President of the Near East Mohammad Rashid Qabbani.
School of Theology in Beirut, Lebanon, as well as, The Mufti is the chief authority
ce
Muhammad Sammak, a political analyst, journalist and on religious law for Muslims in
advisor to the Mufti of Lebanon. Lebanon, and their
representative to official agencies
in Lebanon and abroad. Dr.
Dr. Mary Mikhael has served as president of the Near Sammak studied political sciences in Islamic Thought and
East School of Theology since 1994. She was director of has served in dozens of positions including Secretary
the Women’s Program of the Middle East Council of General of the Christian-Muslim Committee for Dialogue.
Churches, and has been a university lecturer on
n

theological education, women’s issues, and churches in

the United States, Europe, Due to heart conditions Dr. Muhammad Sammak was
and the Middle East. unable to travel from Beirut. Dr. Mary Mikhael did start the
Mikhael received her EdD trip and attended several schedule events, but “It became
from Columbia University increasingly uncomfortable for her as she tried to speak as
Ca

and Union Theological a Christian about Muslim-Christian relations without her

Seminary in New York, a
Muslim partner.  The Listening Project is premised on the
Master of Education from
principle that people from each tradition must speak for
the Teachers College at
themselves and not for the other.”
Columbia, a Master of Art in
Christian Education from
the Presbyterian School of Dr. Whit Bodman hopes that “some future opportunity will
Christian Education in arise, or can be organized, so that the energy and interest
Richmond, Virginia, and a Bachelor of Education from invested in this program can be reinvested in something
Haigazian University. Mikhael is the first woman to equally worthwhile for all of us.”
become the president of a seminary in the Middle East.

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 ISSUE 191
Kairos Guidelines
Editorial Guidelines
1. Kairos is the voice of students at Austin Seminary.
2.Kairos generally carries no advertisements for sale of goods
or services by individuals. An exception is the sale of a
student or professor’s library or other study aids.
3.It is not possible to make all program announcements which
are submitted by individual church. Kairos is more likely to
be able to run announcements which apply to ecumenical or
interfaith groups or groups of churches.
4.No letters which attack individuals or groups will be run in
Kairos. This is to be distinguished from letter which might
criticize the actions of individuals or groups.
5.Kairos will publish letter to the editor that contribute to
Christian conversation on the APTS campus. All letters must
be signed.
Submission Guidelines:
Email submissions to the editor, Mary Elizabeth Prentice, at
kairos@austinseminary.edu. Editorial decisions are based on
urgency, availability of space and editorial guidelines.
Deadline is Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. Submissions made after
the deadline must be accompanied by a bribe.
Boxes needed
We re collecting shipping boxes of various
sizes for the bulk Advent devotional orders.
Please bring your boxes, flattened, to the
Institutional Advancement office by Friday,
October 23. Contact Sandy Wilder
(404-4806) with questions.
Reformation Roast
Thursday, October 29, 2009
5:30 p.m. Chapel Green
Bring a lawn chair and enjoy the grilled
burgers provided by Senate.
W W W . A U S T I N S E M I N A R Y. T Y P E P A D . P O R T A L / K A I R O S . H T M L
APTS Trunk or Treat & Fall
Carnival
Saturday October 31st, 6:00 p.m.
Set up 5:30 p.m.
Hick's House Parking Lot
We are expanding our annual Trunk or Treat
event to include a Fall carnival! Teams of
individual students or APTS student groups are
encouraged to "sponsor" a Halloween themed
carnival game or booth. (Think ring toss, bean
bag toss, fishing booth, face painting, crafts,
etc...). Each group will be responsible for the
construction of the booth, people to run the
booth, and small prizes or candy to hand out to
the kids. Awards for "Best in Show" and "Most
Creative" will be presented.
Families with children are requested to bring
canned goods for tickets to play the games &
participate in the booths. Each canned good
gets you 2 tickets. All canned goods will be
donated to the Micah 6 Coalition and Manos de
Cristo of Austin.
All students, families, faculty, and staff are
invited to attend! We are also inviting the
families of our friends at Seminary of the
Southwest.
Happy Haunting!
Contact John Leedy or Lauren Falco for more
info.
Baptist Student Group
Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 7–9 p.m.
APTS, Stotts Dining Hall
Baptists students and current Baptist leaders are invited to enjoy
good conversation, snacks and make connections for the future.
Please feel free to come and go as you choose.
Contact: Amy Wiles
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Campus Happenings
Chapel Twas A Dark Mark Your
Schedule and Stormy Calendars
Monday, October 26: Night
 Friday & Saturday October
11 a.m. Nikki Stahl Halloween music concert 30-31, 2009

Senior Sermon Discovery Weekend

When: Monday, Oct. 26
Tuesday, October 27: Where: Shelton Chapel, APTS
Time: 7:00 p.m. Thursday, October 29, 2009
11 a.m. Rev. Dr. Cynthia Rigby
Cost: Free
Reformation Roast
The Lord s Supper & a
Reflection on the Psalms This long-time Austin tradition
features organist Kevin Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, October 28: McClure / Count Dracula and
Fall Carnival and Trunk or Treat -
numerous hilariously ghoulish
Manna see page 7 for more information.
friends playing to a costumed
Thursday, October 29: audience of all ages.
Ghost artists include Friday, November 13, 2009
11 a.m. Doug Fritzsche
trumpeter Bob Cannon, the
r!
Come join the staff, faculty and
Senior Sermon Dead Tenors, and the Horns of a te
Doom. The hour of creepiness s lEllen
students in roasting Dr.
il
a
Friday, October 30: et retired
Babinsky, our drecently
le d
will end with ‒ of course! ‒ J.S.
du re Professor.
Church eHistory
o
11 a.m. Service of Healing Bach's beloved Toccata in D sch r m
and Wholeness led by Still Minor. e Re6:30 e fop.m. Stotts
b e r
Small Voice To k h
o
Lo a side dish for a potluck
Bring
and be prepared for lots of
laughs and great fun.

Saturday, December 5,
2009

Polity Bowl - Football game

against our sister seminary

2:00 p.m. More info to come!