User:ArthurOgawa/Rebecca Ann Parker

Rebecca Ann Parker (born 1953) is an ordained United Methodist minister in dual fellowship with the Unitarian Universalist Association. She served as President of Starr King School for the Ministry from 1990 to 2014, the first woman to serve as the permanent head of an accredited theological school, and is emerita Professor of Theology at Starr King.

Career
Parker's theological roots are in the liberal Protestant traditions of the Social Gospel, Boston personalism, process- and feminist theology. Her family heritage includes four generations of liberal Christian ministers and progressive churchwomen.

She served as a parish minister for ten years in the Pacific Northwest and taught part-time at Northwest Theological Seminary in Seattle.

Her doctoral studies focused on Alfred North Whitehead’s theory of consciousness as a basis for a spirituality that integrates aesthetics and social engagement.

The focus of her work has been in critical analysis of the links between Christianity and violence, especially sexual abuse, and in the constructive creation of a post-patriarchal theology, using the methodologies of feminist theology and philosophical theology. Her wider concern is not just in theology: it is in progressive faith as a way of life, a way of community, and a way of social engagement.

Her current research interests include the gospel of John, the interpretation of the death of Jesus in early Christian art and ritual, and theologies of nonviolent resistance to oppression, injustice, and war.

As a religious activist, she has engaged with Central American issues, women’s issues, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender concerns. She serves on the board of an interfaith think tank focused on progressive religion and politics called Faith Voices for the Common Good. Parker is also an accomplished cellist.

Works
Parker's theological work, sermons, and poetry have been published in academic journals, essay collections, and anthologies.

Books

 * Feminist critique of the Christian doctrine of the atonement, using memoir as a mode of theological reflection.
 * See article.
 * A novel lens on the history of Christianity, from its first centuries to the present day, asking how its early vision of beauty evolved into a vision of torture, and what changes in society and theology marked that evolution.
 * Originally titled "A Hand is Laid Upon Us: the Theological Challenge of Community Ministry" in Community ministry: an opportunity for renewal and change, Starr King Community Ministry Project, 1995.
 * A novel lens on the history of Christianity, from its first centuries to the present day, asking how its early vision of beauty evolved into a vision of torture, and what changes in society and theology marked that evolution.
 * Originally titled "A Hand is Laid Upon Us: the Theological Challenge of Community Ministry" in Community ministry: an opportunity for renewal and change, Starr King Community Ministry Project, 1995.
 * Originally titled "A Hand is Laid Upon Us: the Theological Challenge of Community Ministry" in Community ministry: an opportunity for renewal and change, Starr King Community Ministry Project, 1995.
 * Originally titled "A Hand is Laid Upon Us: the Theological Challenge of Community Ministry" in Community ministry: an opportunity for renewal and change, Starr King Community Ministry Project, 1995.

Articles

 * Excerpted from Proverbs of Ashes
 * Adapted from an address delivered in March 2002 to the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association Convocation in Birmingham, Alabama.
 * Adapted from Blessing the World
 * Adapted from Saving Paradise
 * Adapted from A House for Hope
 * Adapted from Saving Paradise
 * Adapted from A House for Hope

Poetry and Music

 * Excerpt from Blessing the World.
 * Sheet music and audio for a hymn, based on a poem by Rev. Parker, composed by Ms. Norton.
 * Sheet music and video for a hymn (a 4-part round), based on a meditation by Rev. Parker, composed by Ms. Norton.

Sermons

 * At Starr King School for the Ministry, Opening Convocation
 * At All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C., one day after participating in the March on Washington for Women’s Lives.
 * At Starr King School for the Ministry, Opening Convocation
 * At meeting of Pacific Central District, Unitarian Universalist Association.
 * Opening Convocation Sermon at Starr King School for the Ministry.

Speeches

 * At the Fourth Annual Boulder International Humanist Symposium in Boulder CO.
 * A discussion upon the publication of Blessing the World.
 * At the International United Methodist Clergywomen’s Consultation Multi-Ethnic Panel of Theologians.
 * At the International United Methodist Clergywomen’s Consultation Multi-Ethnic Panel of Theologians.

Media
See the Starr King School for the Ministry's Video & Podcast page for links to media featuring Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, as well as:
 * Sermon presented to a meeting of the UUA Pacific Central District, introduced by Rev. Dr. David Sammons, answering the question, "Is there a limit to Unitarian Universalist beliefs?"
 * The authors of Proverbs of Ashes read excerpts.
 * Excerpt from Blessing the World, read by Kathleen Young.
 * Sermon delivered at All Souls Unitarian Church (Tulsa, Oklahoma). Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
 * Discussion of the book, A House for Hope by the authors, interviewed by Steve Schumacher.