As we enter week seven of the Autumn Quarter, the days are full with midterms, our ongoing LGBTQIA+ conversations, the changing weather, managing COVID-19, and the stressors of all that we are doing personally and carrying as a community. For these reasons I’m inviting us to come together and be “Present in Community.”

At SPU we have the privilege of living out our faith in community, bound together by the love of God, and graced with the gift of prayer. I have come to know prayer as the gift of being in communion and intimate fellowship with God. Prayer can be personal and corporate, it includes speaking to God and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and it opens us to God’s living presence in profound ways. My life has been enriched by prayer, in private, and in community. I have also learned that prayer is not a substitute for taking action on any particular task or administrative responsibility, but rather prayer provides the inner peace, encouragement of heart, and clarity of thought needed to take deliberative action in times of stress and great challenge. In the Bible and throughout history, leaders have called their communities to prayer in order to focus on God and to unify against the challenges of their day, and the Apostle Paul exhorted the Thessalonian believers to never stop praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17). So, in this time I have asked University Ministries to invite us to center prayer and community gathering on our campus. 

Please join us as University Ministries invites our SPU community to continue to gather in worship, times of prayer, times in the word, as we regularly partake in the Eucharist and fellowship together. You are invited to join us in these opportunities to be present in community with one another:

• Monday, 10/25 - Stations of the Cross will be available in Tiffany Loop.
• Tuesday, 10/26 - Chapel will focus on Luke 18:1-8, a parable on prayer. School of Theology Dean Brian Lugioyo will be speaking, followed by an immediate invitation to pray together at 12:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, 10/26 – A Gathering: Guided Prayer & Stations of the Cross at 12:30 p.m. in Tiffany Loop.
• Thursday, 10/28 – Prayer and Communion Service at 12:10 p.m. in Tiffany Loop.
• Wednesday, 11/10 – A Gathering of Prayer and Fellowship at 12–1 p.m. in Upper Gwinn This will be a time for us to gather in prayer and fellowship as a community.
• Weekly Spiritual Practice & Intercessory Prayers: Each week we will invite our community into the spiritual practice of prayer together. We will be sending out a spiritual disciplines guide with prayer requests that can be prayed individually or at our departmental/area meetings.
• Submit your prayer requests here.
• Chat with a Campus Pastor are available to pray individually or meet with groups.

Every week for the rest of the quarter, UMin will be providing a weekly guide, inviting us to practice a spiritual rhythm either individually or with others. This week, I encourage you to join us in the spiritual rhythm of Examen. The Examen for me is reminiscent of King David asking God to search his inner being and to expose anything that would lead him away from eternal things (Psalm 139:23-24). I have used the example of David in Psalm 139 in my own practice of the Examen and this has proven effective to expose the threats to the pursuit of eternal things in my life and leadership. 

SPU Community Examen & Prayer Spiritual Rhythm Guide.pdf

In addition, this guide will include some prayer requests for our campus. You can contribute and submit your prayer requests here. I hope this guide will be helpful in your own personal time or you may want to use it as you have meetings and times of connection and fellowship to engage our spiritual life in God together. As we look forward, this is my prayer in these challenging days, that we experience inner peace, encouragement of soul, and a shared direction going forward.

A message from Human Resources: Open enrollment runs Oct. 20–Nov. 5, for the benefit plan year that begins Jan. 1, 2022. To help you with your benefit decisions, Human Resources will host upcoming Virtual Benefits webinars and meetings:

• “Taking Full Advantage of Your HSA” (Zoom link) — Oct. 26, 1 p.m. 
• “SPU Retirement Plan Essentials” (Zoom link) — Oct. 28, 1 p.m. 
• “Navigating Aetna’s Tools” (Zoom link)— Nov. 2, 1 p.m.      
• “SPU’s New Wellness Program–Aetna” (Zoom link) — Nov. 4, 1 p.m. 
• Aetna 1-on-1 individual meetings — Oct. 26, 8–10 a.m.; Oct. 27, 1–3 p.m. 
• Transamerica 1-on-1 meetings — Nov. 16 and Nov. 17, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

These webinars and meetings will give you opportunities to ask questions and learn more about your SPU benefits. 

On Monday, October 25, the Office of Inclusive Excellence (OIEX) launched an anonymous and confidential Diversity and Equity Campus Climate Survey. All students, regular faculty, staff, and administrators should have received a link from SeattlePacific@hedsconsoritum.org and are encouraged to complete the survey by November 15. For more information, visit the FAQs on the OIEX website.

The 2021–22 School of Business, Government, and Economics Dean’s Speaker Series welcomes retired four-star U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey to speak on U.S. national security. The event is Wednesday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m., in the Ames Library Seminar Room. Register by emailing cal@spu.edu. Space is limited.

The Office of Global Engagement invites faculty to attend an information session on the SPU Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Fellows Program. COIL provides a way for faculty and students to have a global experience through partnerships with faculty and students from institutions around the world. Two information sessions about this research-based teaching practice will be offered.

• Thursday, Oct. 28, 11–11:50 a.m., Weter Hall, Room 202 
• Thursday, Nov. 2, 11–11:50 a.m., Weter Hall, Room 202

Full-time faculty (of all ranks and from all schools) interested in developing a course collaboration with an international partner are encouraged to attend the information session and then to apply for the 2021–22 COIL Fellowship Program. Up to five faculty will be selected to participate in the COIL Fellows program.

SPU Theatre presents: Blood/Water/Paint — a true story of 17th century Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi, written by Joy McCollough. Join us Oct. 28–30 and Nov. 3–6, 7:30 p.m., with a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Oct. 30, at E.E. Bach Theatre. SPU faculty and staff members can redeem seats for two free tickets on the night of their choice by emailing the Box Office at boxoffice@spu.edu or calling 206-281-2959. Content warning: rape and sexual assault (not depicted onstage); mental and emotional abuse; brief instances of strong language. Recommended age: 16 years and older.

The Office of Inclusive Excellence, in partnership with the Biology Department, invites you to the Faith, Diversity, and Science Lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 6:30–8 p.m. in Upper Gwinn. The keynote speaker, Julia Wattacheril, MD, MPH, will address the questions “What is creation?” and “What does God think about creation?” Learn more here.

Jackson Stava joined Seattle Pacific as athletic director in July 2016, and is the school’s fifth athletic director since Seattle Pacific began sponsoring intercollegiate sports in 1946. In this episode of the SPU Voices Podcast, Jackson shares inspiring stories about his atypical educational and professional path toward college athletics. He also walks us through the moment that the COVID-19 pandemic first impacted SPU athletics and how the coaches successfully pivoted, providing meaningful opportunities for athletes even when they couldn’t play.

More than 5,800 SPU parents and families received the October In the Loop parents newsletter, which included news about U.S. News & World Report naming SPU a “Best National University” for the sixth year in a row, a video of the 2021 Orientation highlights, and more.

From the Center for Career and Calling: Please join us by inviting your students to attend the Fall Virtual Career Fair on Thursday, Oct. 28, 1–5 p.m. Over 120 companies from all industries are currently registered and seeking to hire your students. Encourage your students to register for the fair through their Handshake accounts.

You are invited to the lecture, “Who Goes to Heaven? The Afterlife According to Saint Vincent Ferrer (1350–1419),” given by Alberto Ferreiro, professor of European history, on Thursday, Oct. 28, 11:10 a.m.–12:20 p.m., in Eaton Hall 112.

The Office of Global Engagement invites students, staff, and faculty to submit photos from their journeys around the world in the 2021 International Photo Contest. 

• Photos must be the original work of the person submitting the photo and must have been taken in a country outside the United States. 
• Each photographer can submit one photo in each category, for a total of up to three photos. 
• Categories include People, Places, and Culture. 

Photos can be submitted through Oct. 29. Get more information and submit a photo.

Winter/spring reservation requests are now being taken for the Faculty/Staff House at SPU's Camp Casey Conference Center on Whidbey Island. The dates of stay are January 3–June 13, 2022. Reservation requests are due by Oct. 31, 2021. These requests are selected by lottery and are not affected by summer stays at Casey.

Due to COVID-19 and our continued desire for guest safety, some reservations may be shorted due to vacancy requirements. If we have to cancel your stay due to COVID-19, we will refund your payment. Please request a reservation online. If you have questions, contact Camp Casey at 866-661-6604 or campcasey@spu.edu. We look forward to seeing you soon!

From the Office of the Provost: This fall the Theological Integration Fellows Program welcomed its third cohort, comprised of Carlos Arias, assistant professor of computer science, Kristen Hoffman, psychology and scholarly communications librarian, Brittany Tausen, associate professor of psychology, and Joshua Tom, assistant professor of sociology. 

This year we look forward to receiving our fourth-year cohort applications. This program and certification provides seminary training to faculty members who wish to better integrate their faith with their disciplines and professionally enhance their teaching and scholarship. If you are interested in participating in the fourth cohort of this program, starting in fall 2022, please submit a one-page application to the Office of the Provost at provost@spu.edu no later than Monday, Dec. 13. Applications must be accompanied by a letter of approval from your dean.

The Office of Inclusive Excellence offers diversity seed grants up to $1,500 to support departmentwide initiatives that advance one or more of the University’s strategic diversity goals. The application window for the quarter closes on Friday, Nov. 12.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published weekly during the academic year. The next deadline is Thursday, Oct. 28, and the next issue will be published Monday, Nov. 1. 

If you have information or event news, send it as soon as possible with an image or graphic to Bulletin editor Tracy Norlen at fsb-editor@spu.edu. Submissions may be edited for clarity.

Stephanie Armes, assistant professor of marriage and family therapy, co-authored a paper titled “A Sociopolitical Response to Vicarious Witnessing: Testimonial Therapy,” published in the Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work.

A book review by Becky Hughes, assistant professor of history, of Fiona Leach’s Reclaiming the Women of Britain’s First Mission to West Africa: Three Lives Lost and Found (Brill, 2019) was published in Early Modern Women: An Interdisciplinary Journal.

Douglas Strong, Paul T. Walls Professor of Wesleyan Studies, had his review, “The Upswing – Can We Bridge Again?” published in the October 2021 issue of AI and Faith. Doug reviewed  The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again by bestselling author Robert D. Putnam.

Alberto Ferreiro, professor of European history, has had the article, “Deacons in the Councils of Late Antique-Suevic-Visigothic Hispania” accepted for publication in the Römische Quartalschrift. Zeitschrift für Christliche Altertumskunde und Kirchengeschichte (Roman Quarterly. Journal of Christian Antiquity and Church History) published by the Gorres Gesellschaft Romisches Institut (Gorres Society of the Roman Institute), Vatican City. This detailed study is the first comprehensive study about deacons in the councils that met in the Iberian Peninsula from the fourth to the seventh centuries. Deacons occupied an important role in the church and faced many challenges that bishops had to confront surrounding the exercise of the diaconate.

A poem by Gene Lemcio, professor emeritus of New Testament, titled “A Franciscan Weekend” was published in the fall 2021 issue of God and Nature magazine. (Note: The magazine editor warns of distorted formatting in some phones and browsers.)

Please join the Office of Human Resources in welcoming these new staff members:

• Sarah Kirschner,, budget manager and assistant to the university librarian, Library
• Zeke Oien, tradesworker, Facility and Project Management

From University Archivist Adrienne Meier: October 29 marks the 130th anniversary of the groundbreaking for the first building constructed for Seattle Pacific. In 1891, construction began on the building that is now known as Alexander and Adelaide Hall. The building was completed and the first classes began in the spring of 1893. The photo shows how the hall looked in the 1890s, when it served as the only building for the school then called Seattle Seminary. (Select the link below for the photo.)

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