Fall 2020 Newsletter

GTF SCHOLAR

THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE
GRADUATE THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATION

FALL 2020
SPECIAL TRANSITION EDITION

_____________________________________________________________

01 | Transitional Reflections: | 09 | Faculty Step In as John Morgan
| Retires
Dr. John Morgan
| 11 | New Library Taking Shape
|
03 | Transitional Reflections:
| 13 | Community Spotlight:
Dr. Vincent Strudwick | New Students

08 | Meet Our New President: | 14 | Community Spotlight:
|
Dr. Paul J. Kirbas | New Faculty

EOLOGICAL TRANSITION REFLECTIONS:
RADUATE TH FOUNDATIO
NG Dr. John Morgan

As GTF stands at this important moment of transition, we have asked two
of our leading figures, Dr. John Morgan and Dr. Vincent Strudwick, to reflect on
this moment in GTF history. In this special edition of our newsletter, we offer
their words that will, themselves, find a permanent place in GTF history. It is our
honor to present “Comments from John Morgan”, followed by “ Prophesy to the
Wind:The Future of the Graduate Theological Foundation in the New Normal.”,
by Dr. Vincent Strudwick.

“ ”Comments from Dr. John Morgan

Better than half a century ago the Graduate Theological Foundation
commenced the educating of ministry professionals in the fine art of ecu-
menical dialogue in 1962. On the occasion of Cardinal Spellman’s call to
Rome by Pope John XXIII and in response to the initiative of the ecumen-
ical spirit growing out of Vatican II, the GTF began offering educational
opportunities for Catholic religious interfacing with Protestant clergy
within the Archdiocese of New York. Upon the occasion of the GTF’s
launching of a doctoral program designed to implement this initiative and
with the endorsement and support of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord
Robert Runcie, the GTF was incorporated in the State of Indiana where I
was President, the GTF began in 1982 to offer educational programs for a
wide range of religious leaders including clergy in the Jewish and Muslim
communities as well as a full spectrum of Christian traditions.

01

After my 38 years on the faculty and 25 years as President, the mantle
of leadership was passed to Dr. Kendra Clayton who has taken the GTF to
a higher level of international recognition and involvement. Her tenure as
President for over ten years has seen the establishment of the Canon Vin-
cent Strudwick Lecture Series at Oxford University where she was in 1994
involved in the first meeting of the GTF with Oxford University officials
which led to the formal relationship which we now enjoy. She studied in
Rome herself at the Centro pro Unione with Father James Puglisi who is
the liaison with the GTF and a distinguished member of our faculty. Her
meeting in New York with the President of Al Azhar University of Cairo,
Egypt, inaugurated a heightened enthusiasm for the GTF’s internationally
acclaimed Islamic studies program under the oversight of Dr. Omar Sha-
hin. The GTF has now also established a doctoral studies program in Cuba
in consort with a seminary there facilitated by the liaison work of Father
Jorge Colon and Dr. Clayton. The securing of the accreditation of the
GTF’s doctoral program in Pastoral Logotherapy from Vienna is attribut-
ed to Dr. Clayton’s initiative in consort with the oversight of the program
by Dr. Anne Graber. The list of accomplishments during the past decade
is extensive for from New York to Oxford to Rome to Vienna to Havana
and now Oklahoma City is no small journey. Dr. Clayton’s most recent
and monumentally important work of facilitating the smooth transition of
the GTF from Indiana to Oklahoma in consort with our newly appointed
Chairman of the Board and President Elect,
Dr. Paul Kirbas, marks the beginning of a
second half-century of creative endeavors
in the educational advancement of
professionals in a wide spectrum of
ministries. Under the leadership of Dr.
Kirbas, the Paul Tillich Professor of
Theology and Culture at the GTF who
is a distinguished alumnus of the GTF
and a long-time member of our faculty,
the future looks bright for the GTF and I
wish the new administrative leadership the
successful continuance of the GTF tradition.

02

EOLOGICAL TRANSITION REFLECTIONS:
RADUATE TH FOUNDATIO
NG Dr. Vincent Strudwick

Prophecy to the Wind

The Future of the Graduate Theological Foundation in the
New Normal

When Dr John Morgan carefully began planning the new chapter for GTF following his retirement
there was no hint of a global pandemic in the air. Nor was there when Dr. Paul Kirbas, when ap-
pointed Chair of the new Directorate, began to outline plans for the Fall 2020. However confronted
suddenly by Covid 19 radical fresh plans had to be conceived, and to set these in motion and focus
our attention on the task, Paul invited me to offer an historical perspective of the vision of the Foun-
dation, as a basis for thinking about the future in the new normal of Post Coronavirus world, because
the story of my life for the past thirty years has been entwined with that of the Foundation in many
important respects.

A Call for Ecumenical Collaboration

It was in 1982 that John Morgan, newly appointed Director of GTF heard Robert
Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury speak in the National Cathedral in Washington
DC, calling for Roman Catholics and Episcopalians, Orthodox and Protestants to
learn to work ecumenically to face the changes he foresaw in that time of political
and cultural instability and uncertainty. John Morgan wrote to Runcie, explaining
the work of the GTF and in particular the new Masters program he was planning.
He not only received a warm affirmation of this, but also appointed the then bishop
of Bristol, the Right Reverend Professor John Tinsley, to be his continuing link with
the Foundation.

03

Throughout the 1980’s the annual convocation lecture was offered by a succession of leading academics
in a wide variety of faiths, all reflecting the spirit of Runcie’s call.At this time, the GTF was unknown to
me but I also had been working to explore the work of the churches in adult and continuing education,
and co-incidentally was asked by Robert Runcie to be the Education process consultant at the Lam-
beth Conference 1988 –a gathering held every ten years for the world-wide Anglican (Episcopalian)
Communion.
At that time I was both Principal of a
distance learning theological course,
and Tutor in Religious Studies at
Oxford University’s Department for
Continuing Education. From this base
in 1992 I pioneered among other
ventures a two week international
summer program at Christ Church,
Oxford to resource people engaged
in ‘doing theology’. It was during the
second year of the new school that
Dr Morgan arrived without warning
and explained his vision for GTF
offering to guarantee a number of students for the summer program each year. The immediate
outcome was an invitation to visit the GTF, then with office, library and conference premises on the
convent campus of the Ancilla Domini, headquarters of an order of nuns in Iowa, to learn about
the GTF and to enthuse about the summer programme. This I did, and learning of the Runcie link
particularly thrilled John Morgan; while I was impressed by the students I met, and looked forward
to their presence at the summer program.

04

During the whole of the 1990’s I
was frequently in the USA ful-
filling lecturing engagements on
behalf of the embryonic Kellogg
College, the University faculty of
theology, and the Smithsonian In-
stitute. Whenever possible I began
to combine these trips with a visit
to GTF, both to be involved in its
activities when invited, and also
to foster the relationship, growing
into a friendship, with John, his
wife Linda GTF Provost and the
Morgan family.
GTF was rapidly becoming part of the planning process for the
Oxford summer school as well providing a stream of eager and diverse students (including one Paul
Kirbas); and in 1998 John Morgan offered the resources of the GTF to provide a brochure outlining the
themes and lecturers for publicity purposes.
From experience we knew that those coming held differences and convictions in versions of history
offered, and widely differing points of view in evaluating the standpoint from which events are viewed
from differing geographical and cultural settings. There are diverse rules of scholarship associated with
interpreting sacred texts. Skilled work is needed to understand and provide for the cultural norms and
expectations of a global grouping in a social setting, and we needed to learn those skills. I am not say-
ing we succeeded in all this. Of course not, but rather that it was now part of our continuing learning
agenda.
In the Roman Catholic Church, the
Anglican Communion, Judaism,
Islam, Buddhism and every faith
community, the understandings
outlined need attention whenever
change is on the agenda, and some
members engage in providing a
setting and environment where
the pursuit of truth is prioritised
as a risk worth taking while others
choose to affirm the traditions of
the past to maintain their integrity.
GTF was to embrace change.

There were practical principles and patterns of learning between the GTF and the SAOMC , the course
of which I was Principal, about which we agreed and tried to follow.

05

In summary:
- All institutions exist in two modes: gathered & dispersed. All students, whatever their religious affilia-
tion, would be familiar with this pattern, so it should be replicated in the life of the learning provider (GTF
and SAOMC)
- Members join with a formation background that is to be valued and taken seriously.
- When in ‘gathered’ mode the dynamic of each course session should be structured with boundaries for
high quality in-put and discussion.
- As each course series develops, there is need for flexibility, with attention both to the input and question-
ing of both lecturers and learners because of the tensions outlined above.
- When in gathered mode there must be daily opportunity to develop fraternal friendships and engage in
informal discussion at meals and through social opportunities.
- Corporate conference worship, and worship according to the tradition of each member or group of mem-
bers is always to be on offer and expected.

‘The Two faces of Janus’

Janus is the Roman god of beginnings and endings, he faces both backwards and forwards, which is
what I understand I was asked to do. The past year has been a tragic and unimaginable year for many
of us in matters both personal and public.

The Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote: ‘No worse, there is none. Pitched past
Pitch of grief,
More pangs will, schooled as forepangs
Wilder wring.
Comforter, where, where is your
Comforting ?’

Looking back to recent history, I gain strength from the way GTF has responded to earlier crises. In
the post 9/11 world we have had a series of ‘wilder pangs’ in which we looked backwards and for-
wards, trying to surmount the barriers, and build bridges of understanding which Paul Kirbas set out
in 2008 in a book I edited.

He described theological principles for theologians in a time of change, and I recognise them as part
of the GTF tradition in which I have been involved:

-They are not formulated in a vacuum but inter-act dynamically with the environment in which
they are offered. ( VS: For us, this is one of climate change, economic hardship, increasing politi-
cal tensions, and a new ‘dark age’.)
- Faith in God is not the same as clinging to dogma. It is bound up in the dynamics of relation-
ship. (VS: the dialogic practice pioneered and described in Foundation Theology 2008 with all
the multi-faith contributors makes compelling reading for today, not least the essay on Moral
06 Leadership by Paul Kirbas.

In the same volume Senad Agic writes: ‘Relationships of Love are an essential and integral part
of faith in God’ and ‘Sympathy for one’s neighbour – and even formal inter faith prayers – are not
enough.’ They must be accompanied by generosity and self sacrifice, or else as one leading Turk-
ish scholar of inter-religious dialogue wrote: ‘We live in a world in which either we live together
or we will perish together’.

‘ Prophesy to the Wind’

The Hebrew Scriptures which are part of the tradition of Islam and Christianity take us to the valley of dry
dead bones.
Can these dry bones live ? GTF theologians are ‘out there’ in different parts of the world to resource the
people, and the Foundation’s task is to resource them. My conviction is that with the collaborative leader-
ship that GTF has pioneered, and with a dialogical process appropriate to the uncertainty of the times, it
can be done.
From my own Anglican tradition I conclude with this:
‘ I am doing a new thing says the Lord, pay attention to it’.

Vincent Strudwick
Oxford August 2020

This is an edited version of a longer essay offered by Dr. Strudwick. To see the full text of his essay, please visit 07
News - Prophesy to the Wind: The Full Text of Vincent Strudwick’s Essay

EOLOGICAL
RADUATE TH FOUNDATIO
Meet Our New President!

NG

As Dr. Paul Kirbas assumes the role of the third
president of the Graduate Theological Foun-
dation, “THE SCHOLAR” decided to ask him
some questions about his past experiences that
have equipped him for this role, and his future
hopes and plans for the years ahead.
The following offers some excerpts from our
conversation:

When were you first introduced to the Graduate Theological Foundation?

I first met GTF in the summer of the year 2000. I was serving as a Presbyterian pastor in southwest Florida at the time, and my church graciously offered
me a two week leave and an all-expense covered trip to attend the summer theology school at Oxford University. While I was there, I noticed that a large
percentage of the students attending that summer school were students of GTF. One of them invited me to join a reception for GTF in Oxford, and it was
there that I first met Dr. John Morgan. From that point, I became a PhD student, then a faculty member, then the Chairman of the Board, and now the
President. It has been a wonderful journey so far, and I am so glad I went to Oxford back in the summer of 2000!

What are your particular academic interests?

I have always been interested in the intersection of theology and science. I was very fortunate to do my PhD studies in that area under the guidance of
Dr. John Kerr, the past president of the Society of Ordained Scientists in the UK. After I earned my degree, I was invited to lead a program for the Fetzer
Institute in Kalamazoo Michigan that brought leading thinkers from Science, Theology, and Philosophy to discuss the sanctity of nature. From that
event, the Kirbas Institute was born. This institute offers events and programs that bring theology and science together in addressing many of the major
existential issues that face our world. For the last 10 years, the Kirbas Institute has been an independent 501c3 organization, but we are now working with
an attorney to bring the Kirbas Institute under the umbrella of GTF, so it can become the GTF center for Faith and Science.

What are some of new developments you hope to bring to GTF?

Many of them are now in the early stages. Granted that the COVID19 pandemic has interfered with our progress, but we hope to get back to full activity
on them soon. One new development is our partnership with the Evangelical Seminary in Matanzas Cuba. In recent years we have offer our PhD pro-
gram on the campus of that seminary for 15 PhD students, most of whom were the faculty members of the seminary. Now, we have entered a partnership
for GTF and the seminary to offer Doctor of Ministry studies for pastors throughout Latin America. Another major development is our partnership with
the Humane Society of the United States and the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, as we develop our new Certificate in Faith and Animal Ethics. We are
also excited about working with the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies to hold a new summer school for Islamic studies. When we get past COVID and
people can travel again, we plan to hold more residential classes at our offices in Oklahoma City, and expand our residential offerings to Florida during
the winters. I am very excited about these and many more initiatives that are on the horizon.

As you begin your work, what would you like the GTF community to know?

I would like the community to know that I am very eager to get to know people, including students, alumni, and faculty. I invite and welcome emails,
phone calls, or zoom gatherings so that we can get to know each other. I would like the community to know that after 32 years of pastoral ministry, I am
retiring from pastoral service in order to take on the role of President. My retirement will become effective on January 1, 2021. Until that time, my role at
GTF is only part time. If it takes a little time for me to get back in touch with you during these months, this is why. I would like the community to know
that as our two-year transition has taken place, most of the existing staff of GTF have retired and the previous Board of Directors has stepped down. A
new staff team is now in place, and a new Board of Directors is active. This new team has lots to learn, so please be patient as they do. Finally, I would like
the community to know how delighted I am to be in this role, and that I look forward to a very fruitful journey ahead!

08

EOLOGICAL For decades, Dr. John Morgan, past pres
RADUATE TH FOUNDATIO pathology, has developed and offered co
NG file has grown to include 30 different co
has stepped into retirement at the end o
standing faculty members have stepped

Dr. Ann-Marie Neale is the Karen Horney Professor
of Counseling and Psychology. Dr. Neale
earned a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy
in Clinical Psychology from Michigan State Univer-
sity, East Lansing, Michigan, as well as an Academic
Associate and Diplomate in Logotherapy
from the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy,
Abilene, Texas. She is also an accredited member
of the International Association of Logotherapy
and Existential Analysis at the Viktor Frankl Institute
Vienna.

Dr. Neale will be taking over the following classes developed and
previously taught by Dr. Morgan:

• Alfred Adler and Individual Psychology | • Clinical Pastoral Psychotherapy
• Developmental Psychology | • Clinical Psychopathology and Personality Disorders
• Ethical Systems in the Modern World | • Cognitive Behavior Therapy: A Study of Aaron Beck
• Existentialism and Personal Responsibility | • Erik Erikson and Developmental Psychology
• Geriatric Psychotherapy: | • Human Behavior and Moral Development
| • Modern Schools of Psychotherapy
Pastoral Care and Nurture of the Elderly | • Moral Development and Child Psychology
• Harry Stack Sullivan and Interpersonal Psychoanalysis • Psychoanalysis and the Whole Person
• Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis • Psychology of Religion: Its History and Theories I
• Viktor Frankl and Logotherapy • Psychology of Religion: Its History and Theories II
• Classical Schools of Psychotherapy • Transactional Analysis: A Study of Eric Berne
• Carl Jung and Analytical Psychology
• Child Psychopathology in Clinical Practice

09

sident and Research Professor of Clinical Psycho-
ourses to hundreds of students. His teaching pro-
ourses. This offers quite a challenge as Dr. Morgan
of August 2020. We are very thankful that two out-

into the gap.

Dr. Mike Brock is The Carl Ransom Rogers Professor of Counseling
Psychology. Dr. Brock is an adjunct professor at the University of Dal-
las School of Ministry and former Director of the
University of Dallas Counseling Center. He is in private practice
as a psychotherapist focusing on all adult issues. Dr. Brock has a
master’s degree in history from Western Connecticut State University, a
master’s in counseling from Amberton University (Dallas), and both a
doctor of psychology and doctor of philosophy
degree in clinical and pastoral psychotherapy from the Graduate
Theological Foundation. He is a trained spiritual director (HeartPaths)
and the author or coauthor of several books on parenting
and spirituality. He is currently completing work on a study of
spirituality and the humanistic psychology movement.

Dr. Brock will be taking over the following classes
developed and previously taught by Dr. Morgan:

• Abraham Maslow and Humanistic Psychology | • Cognitive Behavior Therapy:
• Carl Rogers and Person-Centered Psychotherapy A Study of Aaron Beck
• Private Practice:
Considering a Counseling Career | • Erik Erikson and Developmental Psychology
• The Scope of Psychiatric Practice: | • Human Behavior and Moral Development
An Overview for Counselors and Therapists
• Secular Spirituality: • Modern Schools of Psychotherapy
Post-Biblical Religion in a Post-Modern World
• Classical Schools of Psychotherapy | • Moral Development and Child Psychology
• Carl Jung and Analytical Psychology | • Psychoanalysis and the Whole Person
• Child Psychopathology in Clinical Practice
• Clinical Pastoral Psychotherapy • Psychology of Religion:
• Clinical Psychopathology and Personality Disorders
| Its History and Theories I
| • Psychology of Religion:
| Its History and Theories II
| • Transactional Analysis: A Study of Eric Berne

We ask all of our current and future students to make note of these changes as they
register for courses. We are deeply thankful for all that Dr. Morgan has developed, and
will be continued by Dr. Neale and Dr. Brock.
10

EOLOGICAL
RADUATE TH FOUNDATIO
New Library Taking Shape

NG

The John Morgan Library is grow-
ing, thanks to book and journal
donations. In addition to the gen-
eral and reference collections, our
new library will have several special
collections.
These will include…

• The Linzey Center for Animal Eth-
ics, named after GTF faculty mem-
bers Andrew and Clair Linzey, a fa-
ther and daughter team that are the
leaders of the Oxford Centre for Ani-
mal Ethics.

• The John Macquarrie Special Col-
lection, which includes the personal
library of one of the most distinguished
theologians of the 20th century. This
room also contains personal notes and
sermons written by Dr. Macquarrie.

11

• The Center for Jewish and
Islamic Studies, which in-
cludes many resources for
our large and growing de-
partments in the Jewish and
Islamic faith traditions.

• The Center for Latin American Studies,
designated for our new partnership with
the Evangelical Seminary in Mantanzas,
Cuba. This room will contain books
written by Latin American scholars, or
written about Latin American culture
and theology.
If you have books or resources that you can
donate to help us build the new GTF library,
please consider sending them to us at The
Graduate Theological Foundation, 116 East
Sheridan Avenue, Suite 207, Oklahoma City,
OK. 73104. We will include your name on a
special donor plague that will be placed in the
new library. Together, we can create a robust li-
brary that will be a wonderful resource for our
GTF community and the wider Oklahoma City
community

GTF Alumni Dr. Michael McGlathery recently donated
200 psychology books to the GTF library

_____________________________________________________________

GTF receives grant from the Brooks Institute for the
creation of our new Certificate in Animal Ethics
We are pleased to report that the Graduate Theological Foun-
dation has received a grant in the amount of $62,000.00 from
the Brooks Institute for animal rights law and policy located in
the Chicago area. This grant is for the creation of the courses
that will be part of our new Certificate in Christian Theology
and Animals program. This grant is in addition to a previous
grant we received from the Kirkpatrick Foundation in Okla-
homa City for this new project.
The Graduate Theological Foundation is partnering with the
Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics in this new certificate pro-
gram. Our goal is to begin our first cohort of students in the
12 fall of 2021.

EOLOGICAL
RADUATE TH FOUNDATIO COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: Students
NG
We Welcome the Following Students to GTF Programs

Imam Muhammad Abdur Rahman Khan is a new student in the Master of Theolo-
gy in Islamic Studies program. He is currently the Imam and Youth Director at the Islam-
ic Center of Charlotte.
Imam Daniel Hernandez is enrolled in Doctor of Philosophy in Islamic Studies. He
is currently the Imam at the Pearland Islamic Center and the President of the Houston
Imams Association.
Imam Mohamad A. Hakim is a new student in the Doctor of Philosophy program in
Islamic Studies. He is currently the Imam and of Islamic Research and Dawah Center.
Rev. Charles Obinwa has enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry program. He serves as
the Parish Priest and Pastor to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Fort Jennings, OH as well
as a Chaplain for St. Rita’s hospital in Lima, OH.
Deacon Neil Fuller is a returning student enrolled in the Master of Theology pro-
gram. His current work is as the Elderly Nutrition Program Manager with the Office for
Aging in Jefferson County, NY as well as a Pastoral Associate with his church.
Pastor Thomas Tarpley is a new student in the Doctor of Ministry in Theological
Studies program. He serves as the Pastor of Main Street United Methodist Church in
Reidsville, NC.
Dr. Eugenia Ogbah is enrolled in the Doctor of Psychology degree program. She is a
Specialty Doctor in the area of Acute Adult Inpatient Psychiatry.
Deacon Thomas O’Toole is a new student in the Doctor of Ministry in Applied Min-
istries. He serves as a Deacon for the Diocese of Calgary.
Ms. Dalynn Cross is enrolled in the Doctor of Education program. She is currently a
high school teacher.

New student who signed the privacy statement on their application have been excluded from this list. 13

EOLOGICAL
RADUATE TH FOUNDATIO COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT:
NG
Faculty

Dr. David Couturier, Dean R. Hoge Professor of
Pastoral Planning and Church Management, has
recently completed a trilogy of articles/book that
have been published this summer. The first is a
peer-reviewed article in Cross Currents on “The
Surveillance of the Victim: Visibility, Privacy and
the Crisis of Bodies in Franciscan Thought.” The
second is another peer-reviewed article in Educatio
Catholica (an Italian journal), on “The Theology of
Risk in Laudato Si: An Ecological Formation,” and
the third is a book Dr. Couturier Co-Edited entitled
Franciscan Women: Female Identities and Religious
Culture, Medieval and Beyond (Franciscan Institute
Publications, 2020).

Dr. Vassilios Bebis has been named the Georges V. Florovsky
Professor of Eastern Orthodox and Ecumenical Theology at
GTF. He is a priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of
America (since 1995), and an Eastern Orthodox Chaplain
at Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), where he earned a
Higher Education Teaching Certificate in 2020 (from Har-
vard’s Derek Bok Center). He holds a B.A. and M.Div. from
Hellenic College - Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of The-
ology (Brookline, MA) and the S.T.M. from Boston Univer-
sity (Boston, MA). In 2011 he earned a Ph.D. in Church and
Dogma History from North-West University (SA) / Greenwich
of Theology (UK) and in 2020 he earned the Th.D. in Dog-
matics from the University of Thessaloniki (Greece). To see his
full profile, visit our homepage and click on the New Faculty
Appointment link in the Announcement column.

14

The GraduateTheological Foundation (GTF) is a 501(c)(3)
not-for-profit educational institution.

GraduateTheological Foundation - 116 E Sheridan Ave,
Ste 207, Oklahoma City, OK 73104

800-423-5983 - 1-405-653-9410 - Fax: 1-405-653-9435