In 2017, Logia (later, Logia International) was founded at the University of St Andrews, at St Mary’s College, within the Logos Institute of Analytic and Exegetical Theology. The activities of Logia St Andrews sit within the larger organisation of Logia International, LLC. As the founding institution, the Logos Institute and St Mary’s are a critical flagship for Logia’s initiatives, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. Both Logos and St Mary’s continue to pilot Logia initiatives under the leadership of the Logia co-Directors (Tessa Hayashida and Haley Kirkpatrick).
Some of these initiatives are: a mentoring scheme for St Mary’s students undergraduate women students, supporting student-run book studies on feminist theological works, meeting regularly with St Mary’s postgraduate women students, hosting fireside chats with prestigious women scholars, providing forums for women to share their research, running workshops on women in the academy, and hosting postgraduate conferences such as the “Women and God” conference scheduled for May 2021.
For more details of the events that are being hosted or have been hosted (to give more ideas for other institutions to adapt and develop) see the list below:
Martinmas 2020 (Hosted at St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews)
At this stage, we are planning for all Logia events this semester to be held online using Teams. We have simplified our calendar of events to focus on relational support and encouragement. We will provide development opportunities, training or resources in a more dynamic and responsive way, as we see how the semester unfolds for everyone.
Welcome Week
Logia will run welcome events for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in welcome week (7-11 September 2020). This is a chance to meet the directors, to hear a little about Logia’s aims and activities, and to find out how to be involved with things this year.
Undergraduate students welcome event: Friday 11 th September, 3:30-4:30 pm on Teams
Postgraduate students welcome event: Friday 11th September, 2:00-3:00pm on Teams
Ongoing meetings
Logia will host a weekly Teams meeting for female students at St. Mary’s, with the aims of building relationships, encouraging one another, sharing our experiences, and providing support. These meetings may also be used for training, giving feedback on written work, or other opportunities, as needs arise.
Logia Weekly catch-up: Wednesdays at 3pm on Teams
The St. Mary’s Mentoring Scheme will run again in 2020/2021. Information about signing up to be a mentor (open to male and female PG students, 2nd year PhD and above), or a mentee (undergraduate women students) should have been received via email from the office. If you are interested in signing up but have not received any information, please contact Hannah on hmc22@st-andrews.ac.uk. As mentoring involves only two people, we hope that mentors and mentees can continue to meet up in person where possible, in accordance with the current guidelines.
Candlemas 2020
All Logia events are open to anyone to attend.
Logia Connect:
(Wednesdays 1:00-2:15 pm, SCR) will be a time to see excellence by hearing stories of women faculty from St Mary’s. This will be a chance to build community among women at all levels (UG-PGR) as we listen and learn together. There will be time for discussion and for students to ask questions and engage personally.
5 Feb – Judith Wolfe (ITIA)
4 Mar – Rebekah Lamb (ITIA)
1 April – Elizabeth Shively (Biblical Studies)
29 April – Katrin Bosse (Systematic Theology)
Logia Excel:
(Wednesdays 1:00-2:15 pm, SCR) is for developing excellence: an opportunity for women students, especially from the PGR level, to “pitch a concept” to an open group. Ideally, this would be a time for the PGR presenter to work through a term or concept from her thesis in order to strengthen her project. While only women would be presenters, everyone is encouraged to attend this from any level at St Mary’s.
19 Feb – Sarah Shin (Logos M Litt Student)
18 Mar – Hannah Craven (Logos PhD Student)
15 April – Stefanie McDade (Logos M Litt)
Book Study:
(Starting Wednesday, 12 Feb, 1:00-2:15, SCR) Emilie Krenn-Grosvenor will be leading us through Laudato Si, in order to discuss the relationship between ecology and theology. This papal encyclical focuses on Christian responsibility and stewardship of the Earth and is unique among papal documents in that it addresses an audience both within and beyond the Catholic Church. In addition to being ecumenical in nature, the document employs scientific observation as a call to discipleship and promises to be theologically robust and personally challenging. This work can be found by following this link. All are welcome to this 6-week study which will meet every other Wednesday from 12 Feb through 22 April.
Homiletics Workshop:
Homiletics Workshop: Contemporary Biblical Preaching with Dr. Elizabeth Shively and Dr. Joanna Leidenhag.Saturday, 7 March, 10am – 3pm, at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, St. Andrews.This workshop is free and open to all. Tea/coffee and lunch will be provided. Free childcare is available, though prior registration is required. Please RSVP by 28th Feb to hmc22@st-andrews.ac.uk
Seminars:
Our monthly seminars as part of the Logos Seminar program (Fridays, 3:30-5pm in the SCR) can be found here.
In addition, on 5th May (10-11:30am in the SCR, coffee/tea provided) we will hold a special workshop with Dr. Erin Heim (Wycliffe Hall), including a paper and responses from St. Mary’s students.
Blogia:
Blog posts can be found here.
Martinmas 2019
Logia Connect:
(Wednesdays: 18 Sept, 1:00-2:15p; 16 Oct, 1:00-2:15p; 13 Nov, 3:00-4:15p, SCR) will be a time for women to see excellence by hearing stories of women who are on staff at St Mary’s. This will be a chance to build community among women at all levels (UG-PGR) as we listen and learn together. There will be time for discussion and for students to ask questions and engage personally.
Logia Excel:
(Wednesdays: 2 Oct and 30 Oct, 1:00-2:15p, SCR) will be a time for any of our women students, especially from the PGR level, to “pitch a concept” to an open group. Ideally, this would be a time for the PGR presenter to work through a term or concept from her thesis in order to strengthen her project. While only women would be presenters, everyone is encouraged to attend this from any level at St Mary’s. If you are a woman studying at the PGR level and want a spot, please email cm373@st-andrews.ac.uk as soon as possible.
Fireside Chat:
(Friday, 8 November, from 9:30-11:00 a.m, SCR) with Jan Evans. She is a Baylor University professor of Spanish with theological interests. She will present a short paper and we will then have time for discussion and conversation. Pastries and Zest coffee will be provided.
Mentorship:
If you are a woman and an undergraduate Divinity student, we will be providing mentors from the St Mary’s postgraduate research community. If you want to be paired up with someone, please email cm373@st-andrews.ac.uk to receive further instructions. See the attached flyer for further details.
Candlemas 2019
Book Study:
Starting Wednesday, 13 February, 2:30-4:00 in Seminar Room 1. Caron Gentry will be leading us through her book, This American Moment, which is accessible in an e-format through the University library. Her work tackles the interface of theology and action through an evocative engagement with Reinhold Niebuhr’s Christian realism. All are welcome to this 8-week study (concluding 17 April due to Spring Break), but please RSVP by 8 Feb to cm373@st-andrews.ac.uk due to space constraints.
Workshops:
“Homiletics Workshop: Interpreting a Biblical Text for Preaching,” Saturday, 2 March, from 9:30-12:30. All are invited to a free workshop as Elizabeth Shively (bio below) speaks on how to interpret a biblical text for preaching. We will meet at St Andrews Episcopal Church and are working to provide childcare. Coffee and tea will be provided. While the workshop will be interactive, no prior experience is necessary. Please RSVP to cm373@st-andrews.ac.uk by 25 February and please indicate whether you would need childcare (open to all, not only University students and staff).
Elizabeth Shively learned preaching from Haddon Robinson at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and later earned a PhD in New Testament with a secondary concentration in Homiletics from Emory University where she studied preaching with Tom Long. She later taught courses in preaching and interpreting biblical narrative for preaching at Candler School of theology. In addition, Dr. Shively served for six years on the pastoral staff of Park Street Church in Boston, where she contributed to the preaching and teaching ministry. Currently, she lectures in New Testament at the University of St Andrews. She attends St Andrews Baptist Church, where she serves on the preaching and worship teams.
“In this Together,” Tuesday, 5 March, 11:00-1:30. We will talk about the specific barriers women face in the Divinity disciplines and how we can all be proactive to see these barriers lifted. This interactive workshop will be lead by Christa McKirland and Karen Kiefer with focus on 1) articulating the unique problems facing the Divinity disciplines regarding women in the Academy 2) proposing empowering solutions for everyone to walk away feeling able to be effective change agents both here and wherever they may go from here. Catered lunch provided through a grant from the Proctor’s office. Please RSVP by 1 March to cm373@st-andrews.ac.uk due to space constraints.
“Things Fall Apart: How to Engage with Political Theology in our ‘Dystopian World’?” Logia Workshop Award Winner, Gillian Chu, will present on Tuesday, 23 April, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. in the SCR. How did you react to the Charlottesville Riots in Virginia? Or the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong? Or the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia? With all the social issues going on, doesn’t it seem like our world is falling apart? How do we critically engage with what is happening around us? Join Gillian Chu, our PGR student from the Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics, as we reflect on recent civic actions together! This is designed for up to twelve attendees, so please RSVP to agc22@st-andrews.ac.uk in order to confirm your spot. Tea and light refreshments will be provided.
Fireside Chat:
Amy Plantinga Pauw, Tuesday, 7 May, 1:00p.m.-2:30p.m. in the SCR.
Seminars:
Lisette van Inwagen, Tuesday, 4 June, 10:00-11:30 in the SCR. She will present “To Forgive–Or Not: Two Narratives,” as we kick off the Logos Conference on Reconciliation.
Amy-Jill Levine, Wednesday, 5 June, 1:00p.m.-5:00p.m. in Parliament Hall, will present a paper, “Understanding Jesus means Understanding Judaism,” moderated by Madhavi Nevader. Following this event will be a Fireside chat in the same location.
Martinmas 2018
Book Study:
Starting Wednesday, 3 October in College Hall (1:00-2:30) we will be reading womanist theologian, Kelly Brown Douglas, and discussing her work Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God.
Mentoring:
Mentoring for any Honour Divinity undergraduate students (running from Oct-May). Women from across St Mary’s Ph.D. programs have volunteered to be trained and to mentor interested undergraduate Honours students. The main expectation is to meet a minimum of three times with your mentor over the course of the academic year. Please email cm 373 if you want to be assigned a mentor by 1 October.
“What can I do with a Divinity Degree?” Lunch:
Wednesday, 17 October, 12-1, in the SCR. At this time a catered lunch will be offered to provide an overview of the various disciplines you can pursue at St Mary’s, as well as a short talk by a representative from Career Services. She will describe what St Mary’s postgraduates have gone on to do and help thing beyond traditional ways a Divinity degree might be used. Representatives from across St Mary’s have been asked to provide a brief overview of their disciplines.