Your One Wild and Precious Life: Women on the Road of Ministry

The title of this lecture is taken from a poem entitled “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver. For most of the poem she meanders through open fields on that gorgeous day, observing details of grasses, bugs, and birds. At the end she muses: Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn\u27t everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? The poet here poses the question of vocation. You have only one life, and it is a treasure. It is also finite: some day you will die. How will you spend your hours and your energies? What will you do “with your one wild and precious life?” I chose this title to highlight the astonishing fact that in our day women in remarkable numbers are answering this question by choosing to engage in ministry. Let us be clear that women have always been ministering in the church, in unofficial and undervalued, though irreplaceable, ways. Think of the millions of women named “anonymous” through the centuries who have handed on the faith and enacted God’s love in the world. The better-known story of the ministries of women’s religious orders is another magnificent case in point. But now a surging wave of lay women are becoming educated with theological and pastoral skills in order to take initiatives and serve in ministerial positions. The women students and alumnae of the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministry here at Santa Clara are a good case in point; your ranks are swelled around this country and around the world. What makes this phenomenon so striking is that it is a free choice. No woman has to do this; our culture applies no social pressure on a woman to become active in ministry; women today have multiple career options, and this surely is a path that will make no one rich! What is behind this? It is a matter of vocation. You may know the lovely line by Frederick Buechner: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Women with deep gladness are responding to a call from the Holy Spirit of God, heard deep in their hearts, to take the giftedness of their “one wild and precious life” and meet the world’s deep hunger for meaning and healing, liberation and redemption. I hasten to add that laymen, too, are responding to this call and giving their lives in service to the world through pastoral ministry, and not one of these dedicated lives should be overlooked. But given the history of women’s subordination in the church and exclusion from many ministries, a situation that continues even as we speak, the phenomenon of growing numbers of women in pastoral ministry deserves a special look. There are now more qualified women in ministry than ever before in the history of the church. Something new is afoot. In this lecture I invite you to consider this subject in three points [the proverbial 3] roughly organized in terms of past, present, and future. First, we will place this development in an historical framework. Second, we will move .to the spiritual heart of the matter, the vocational call to ministry rooted in women’s baptism. And third, in view of the conflicts and ambiguities that continue to plague much of women’s experience in the field, we will draw encouragement from the dangerous memory of biblical women to accompany us into the future

A Comparative Analysis of Extant Oceanic Shark Species Using Trait-Based Ecology

Over the past few decades, scientists have been working together to mitigate human impacts on global shark populations, but deciding which species need the most immediate attention can be difficult. This study uses a newly emerging approach to ecology, trait-based ecology, to identify trends in trait expression with depth and determine which species have the most unique sets of traits. While trait-based ecology has already been applied to numerous fields, a trait-based approach to shark research is still in its infancy. A total of 15 traits across 337 oceanic shark species were examined to identify trends in trait expression and determine which species have the most unique sets of traits. These species are likely invaluable to the proper functioning of their ecosystem. Surprisingly, the trait that caused the most variance between species was not vertical distribution, but the presence or absence of an anal fin. It was discovered that species with an anal fin have higher trait diversity compared to species without an anal fin. More research is needed to understand the function and importance of the anal fin. Of the 33 species with unique sets of traits, one species, Carcharhinus obscurus, is Endangered and needs immediate protection to help preserve the species’ unique traits and the important role it plays in the functioning of the oceanic ecosystem. Literature analysis revealed a severe lack of available trait data. Additional research on traits across all shark species is vital to identifying and protecting unique species before it is too late

Influencing the Growth and Expansion of Alternative Transportation for St. Charles County, Missouri

This thesis will focus on the study of communication, leadership and Total Quality Management The case study establishes a link between these concepts and their application, directed at influencing of the growth and expansion of alternative transportation for St Charles County, Missouri. The subject of TQM is a common point of discussion within the engineering and construction industry, with numerous technical publications written on the subject The primary concern within the industry is the. lack of implementation for continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. Documentation on resistance to change describes why the process of TQM is beneficial, but the issue of lack of implementation persists as the participants of an organization view TQM as a program, not a corporate lifestyle transformation. This thesis explores the application of military leadership tools used to complete a mission, through iterative and cyclic processes, in relation to the challenges of influencing a change in an organization or system. In this case, the organization is the St Charles County community and the system is the growth and expansion of alternative transportation. The tools are dependent on the communication ability of the leader to advocate the process. The framework for implementing the TQM process is the Army\u27s Eight Troop Leading Procedures and the After Action Review. The research of human behavior, public relations, Situational Leadership, organizational development, addiction, quality systems, Statistical Process Control, etc. support the communication process of influencing the application of TQM principles through these practical leadership tools. The results of the thesis are qualitative, and subject to perception and interpretation of the reader. This does not have an adverse impact on the theory of applying the military leadership tools for implementing TQM, other than continued resistance Jo change. The human nature aspect of the process requires a vision for transformation as a necessity for continuous improvement and customer satisfaction in an organization or system

Drosophila Cappuccino alleles provide insight into formin mechanism and role in oogenesis.

During Drosophila development, the formin actin nucleator Cappuccino (Capu) helps build a cytoplasmic actin mesh throughout the oocyte. Loss of Capu leads to female sterility, presumably because polarity determinants fail to localize properly in the absence of the mesh. To gain deeper insight into how Capu builds this actin mesh, we systematically characterized seven capu alleles, which have missense mutations in Capu's formin homology 2 (FH2) domain. We report that all seven alleles have deleterious effects on fly fertility and the actin mesh in vivo but have strikingly different effects on Capu's biochemical activity in vitro. Using a combination of bulk and single- filament actin-assembly assays, we find that the alleles differentially affect Capu's ability to nucleate and processively elongate actin filaments. We also identify a unique "loop" in the lasso region of Capu's FH2 domain. Removing this loop enhances Capu's nucleation, elongation, and F-actin-bundling activities in vitro. Together our results on the loop and the seven missense mutations provides mechanistic insight into formin function in general and Capu's role in the Drosophila oocyte in particular

Conducting Qualitative Research on Parental Incarceration: Personal Reflections on Challenges and Contributions

Methodological challenges of conducting research with protected populations using qualitative methods are abundant. Inmates and children are two vulnerable populations, requiring rigorous processes and permissions to gain access to individuals in these populations. Qualitative research requires intimate interactions and discussions of sensitive topics, posing challenges related to extracting information and creating emotional responses from researcher and participant. Drawing on interviews with incarcerated mothers and children with incarcerated parents, we discuss challenges and benefits of qualitative methodology for research on parental incarceration and offer suggestions for overcoming barriers to access, data collection, and publication