Summer School of Theology 2024 "Living in the Body: Disability as an Opportunity for Welcoming the Other"
The Eastern European Institute of Theology holds the Summer School of Theology 2024 "Living in the Body: Disability as an Opportunity for Welcoming the Other." The School will take place from July 29 to August 3 (online/on Zoom).
According to statistics of United Nations approximately 15% of the world's population, or about 1 billion people, live with disabilities. Despite significant shifts in the way we view disability that have occurred over the past thirty years in history, politics, and the social sciences, in many societies, people with disabilities continue to be charity cases with limited access to education and work. Ukraine is no exception. In the Ukrainian context, however, the situation is complicated by the Russia-Ukraine War: in the last two years of the full-scale war, more than 20,000 men and women suffered at least one amputation. The suffering of people with disabilities is exacerbated by the country's low economic standard of living and limited medical system. In addition, various communities, including Christian ones, overlook people with disabilities due to a variety of prejudices.
Recognizing that most theological institutions and religious communities do not pay due attention to disability issues, the Eastern European Institute of Theology is organizing a Summer School on the Theology of Disability. For this purpose, the Institute has gathered the best experts from various Christian traditions — theologians, philosophers, and psychologists.
Speakers of the Summer 2024 session:
Brian Brock
Brian R. Brock is Professor of Moral and Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He has written scholarly works on the use of the Bible in Christian ethics as well as the ethics of technological development and the theology of disability. He is founder and managing editor of the academic monograph series T&T Clark Enquiries in Theological Ethics, is Managing Editor of the Journal of Disability and Religion and President-elect of the Society for the Study of Christian Ethics.
Sarah Barton
Dr. Sarah Jean Barton is a theologian and occupational therapist with a Doctor of Theology degree from Duke Divinity School. She completed her occupational therapy training at Boston University. Her research interests include theology and disability, research in collaboration with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, bioethics, liturgy, and occupational engagement in religious activities. She is the author of Becoming the Baptized Body: Disability and the Practice of Christian Community (Baylor University Press).
Léon van Ommen
Dr Léon van Ommen is Senior Lecturer in Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen, where he is also Co-Director of the Centre for Autism and Theology. His research focuses on liturgy/worship and autism. Dr van Ommen is currently researching the sensory aspects of worship and liturgy in relation to autism. He also studies autism and spirituality, with a focus on non- or minimally-speaking autistic people and Black autistic people in the United Kingdom. Léon is author of numerous publications, including his recently published Autism and Worship: A Liturgical Theology (Baylor University Press, 2023).
Benjamin Conner
Benjamin T. Conner (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is Professor of Practical Theology at Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan, where he is director of the Graduate Certificate in Disability and Ministry. He is the author of Amplifying Our Witness: Giving Voice to Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities and Practicing Witness: A Missional Vision of Christian Practices.
Elizabeth Silayo
Dr. Elizabeth Silayo is a Pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT). As a member of the United Evangelical Mission, she coordinates ecumenical relationships and activities of all Protestant congregations in the area of the rivers Rhine and Lahn, Germany. She wrote her dissertation about theology in the context of people living with disabilities “The Chagga Concepts of Disability and Their Implications on People with Disabilities.” This work examines the rituals and other practices of the Chagga people that involve harming, degrading, and excluding people with disabilities.
Thomas Reynolds
Tom Reynolds is Associate Professor of Theology at Emmanuel College at the University of Toronto. While especially interested in interreligious dialogue and disability studies, he also teaches and writes on a range of topics related to constructive theology, theological method, intercultural engagements, contextual theologies, philosophical theology, and the thought and influence of Friedrich Schleiermacher. One of his latest books is Vulnerable Communion: A Theology of Disability and Hospitality.
Tabita Kartika Christiani
Tabita Kartika Christiani earned her doctorate in Comparative Theology at Boston College, USA. She is a Professor of Religious Education at the Faculty of Theology, Duta Wacana Christian University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Her research interests include disability theology, religious education, and Christian education. She is a member of the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network (EDAN) of the World Council of Churches.
Josh Morris
Rev. Dr. Josh Morris is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Union Presbyterian Seminary. Dr. Morris is an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ and a Board-Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains. He also brings fifteen years of experience as a chaplain in military and healthcare contexts. He is the author of Moral Injury Among Returning Veterans: From “Thank You for Your Service” to a Liberative Solidarity and numerous peer-reviewed articles in Pastoral Psychology, Journal of Pastoral Theology and Reflective Practice..
Louise Gosbell
Louise Gosbell is a research manager at the Australian College of Theology. Prior to that she worked at Mary Andrews College for 11 years in various roles including lecturer in New Testament, Dean of Students, and College Principal. Louise’s research is in the area of biblical studies and focuses primarily on disability in the biblical texts as well as writing more broadly on disability and church practice. She is the author of The Poor, The Crippled, The Blind, and the Lame: Physical and Sensory Disability in the Gospels of the New Testament (Mohr Siebeck).
Amy Jacober
Rev. Amy Elizabeth Jacober, Ph.D., MSW, a scholar specializing in adolescence and disability, lecturing at Ottawa University. She is a practical theologian, noted author and speaker on disability and underserved populations. She also currently serves as the Lead Pastor of a trauma-informed congregation in central Phoenix, Arizona. She is the author of several articles and books including Redefining Perfect: The Interplay between Theology and Disability.
Petre Maican
Petre Maican holds a PhD in Systematic Theology from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Since his graduation, he worked as Teaching Fellow at the University of Aberdeen and Postdoctoral Researcher at UCLouvain, Belgium. His current research project lies at the crossroad between theological anthropology, intellectual disability, and Eastern Orthodox spirituality. His latest book entitled Deification and Modern Orthodox Theology (Brill, 2023).
Halyna Teslyuk
Halyna Teslyuk holds a PhD in Theology. She is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at the Department of Philosophy and Theology at the Ukrainian Catholic University, and a doctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Consortium for Graduate Theological Studies, USA. Her research interests include biblical studies, cultural memory, women's studies, and the history of ancient Near East.
Ștefana Răcorean
Ștefana Răcorean is a psychologist and has worked as a psychotherapist in private practice for more than 15 years now. Ștefana also graduated with a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Wheaton College, USA. Currently, she is a doctoral student in theology at the University of Bucharest.
Volodymyr Moisei
Volodymyr Moisei is a practical psychologist, public activist, journalist and military chaplain. He is a Ukrainian, European, and world record holder, and the strongest man with one arm in the deadlift category. He is a Guinness World Record holder.Moisei is currently engaged at the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary in developing various methodological programs for people with disabilities.
Oleksandr Geychenko
Oleksandr Geychenko is the Rector of the Odesa Theological Seminary, Ukraine. He received his PhD from the University of St. Andrews, UK. Since 2015, he has been working as an Issue Editor of the Theological Reflections: Eastern-European Journal of Theology.
Cherith Hunt
Cherith Hunt is the founding director of Central Africa Baptist University's groundbreaking Deaf Studies program – the first of its kind in Zambia. Through this program, men and women from across Africa are trained, and upon graduation, they go back to their hometowns to minister to the Deaf from a Biblical worldview. She holds a BA in Biblical Studies with an emphasis on Counseling from Northland International University and an MA in Curriculum and Instruction: Special Education from Liberty University. She has been working with the Deaf community in the United States and Africa for over 13 years.
The School will take place from July 29 to August 3 on Zoom. All details and registration are available here.
Eastern European Institute of Theology would like to thank DniproHope Mission, ScholarLeaders, Langham Publishing, Overseas Council, and Child Theology Movement for their organizational support.
