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Paul is thrilled to work at the Wabash Center as the Communication and Digital Media Coordinator. Paul started in the role in January 2023 and is excited to spend his days with a dedicated, caring, and enthusiastic staff as well as a remarkable roster of scholars wrestling with some of life’s most interesting questions. He maintains the digital presence of the Wabash Center including its website, blogs, podcasts, and social media accounts.Paul comes to the Wabash Center from K-12 education. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, he was assigned to teach high school in Malawi, and he continued in the field upon his return to the US working for seven years at the middle school level. In addition to advocating for public education, Paul is passionate about the environment and looks forward to his work with the Wabash Center putting him in contact with scholars studying the intersections of theology and ecology.When not working, Paul can usually be found in a cozy nook with a book, perambulating around town listening to a podcast, or playing the piano. He also enjoys biking, hiking, exercise, scintillating conversation over a locally brewed pint, and a good cup of coffee.

I am not a scholar of Religion or Theology. However, my work as a creative writer and professor of Creative Nonfiction often involves identifying everyday divinities; finding the sacred in small things, the flawed, and the profane. Many of the readers/contributors to this blog might recognize my name as a kind of curator for this space. I serve the Wabash Center as an Educational Design Manager, a job that has brought me great opportunity to learn, share and reflect approaches to teaching and the teaching life. When I became aware that one of our blog publishing dates would fall on Juneteenth, I wanted to take the opportunity to write about it and perhaps encourage others to learn and teach more about the subject…Juneteenth: What is it?June 19, 1865: Gordon Granger of the Union army arrived in Galveston, Texas, to inform enslaved African Americans of their freedom and that the Civil War had ended. General Granger’s announcement put into effect the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been issued nearly two and a half years earlier, on January 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln.Juneteenth is an annual commemoration of this event and the end of slavery in the United States after the Civil War. It has been celebrated by African Americans since the late 1800s. It is the longest running Black holiday. Also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day and Cel-Liberation Day.The day was first recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, when President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law after the efforts of Lula Briggs Galloway, Opal Lee, and others.I grew up knowing nothing about Juneteenth. This history was not taught to me in my public schools. I first became aware of the day and its significance in college, thanks to my first African American literature professor, and the book by Ralph Ellison. When I  heard the story, I was angry. Understandably, I think. The idea that slavery in the United States continued quite a while after the Emancipation Proclamation was deeply frustrating. But I was also upset with the fact that this event seemed whitewashed from my education. Why wasn’t this major moment in African American history discussed every Black History Month? Why wasn’t this made a part of the curriculum I was given?Another part of me was unsurprised. As a Black person in America, I am familiar with the ways my homeland can defer its promises of equality, and how inconvenient histories can be overlooked in order to affirm narratives of American exceptionalism. The story of Juneteenth complicates our understanding of the Civil War, Lincoln’s legacy, and the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.I wouldn’t encounter Annette Gordon-Reed’s Juneteenth until I was a teacher myself, assigning it to myself and my graduate students to read together. Together, along with other supplementary texts, we’d learn more details about the factors which led chattel slavery to continue in America years after it was said to have ended…States with little or no Union Soldier presence refused/ignored the order to free enslaved people.Border states, including Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri, and of course Texas, ignored emancipation.Slave owners threatened to kill slaves if they tried to leave. Some slavers moved to Texas to keep people enslaved. Galveston, Texas was the last stronghold.The Emancipation Proclamation didn’t apply to Indian tribes. The five “Civilized Tribes” (Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee, Chickasaw, Seminole) owned Black, Mixed and Indigenous slaves. Chattel slavery among these tribes was not officially ended until 1866.These factors demanded considerable time and effort to navigate and prompted questions that were uncomfortable for the learners and for me as well. But I believe more was gained by engaging with Juneteenth in the classroom—a greater understanding of ourselves in relation to our citizenship, our communities of belonging, and one another.I wish I had the opportunity to have learned about the event sooner in my life and more often throughout my matriculation through academia. Even if it would have been awkward at times. I wish to have been able to observe this commemoration of freedom earlier, and the chances I might have had to unpack its significance with teachers and fellow students.There is no real discussion about freedom in America that does not invoke the lived experience of Black people. As the poet Terrence Hayes suggests, Black people share a historical and constant relationship to freedom. To take this further with a question: in lessons about the liberation found through God’s grace—the freedom from fear discovered in faith and divine will—why wouldn’t we center the lived experiences of a systemically subjugated population? Why not ask students to engage with a moment that signifies a turn toward a more moral universe? I would like to make a case for making Juneteenth a point of discussion in classrooms across all fields of study, but especially in theological and religious education with its potential to position scholars who lead communities and shape public thought. There is so much to be gained in the teaching of Juneteenth.Here is a resource, a Juneteenth Reading List cultivated by the Smithsonian’s National African American History Museum: CLICK HERE. As we consider how we might craft lessons around this holiday, making sure to read as much as we can on the subject feels imperative.If there are readers who have had success teaching Juneteenth and would like to share a reflection on their experience, reach out at quistd@wabash.edu.

Rachelle is associate director at Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning. Before coming to Wabash, Rachelle was an Assistant Professor of Practical Theology and Education at the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education at Fordham University. She taught courses such as Imagination, Foundations of Practical Theology, Foundations of Religious Education, Religion and Criminal Justice, and Antiracism. Rachelle is a former director of the Certificate in Theological Studies Program at a women's prison in Georgia. She was also an associate director of the Theological Education Between the Times grant and assistant director of the Youth Theological Initiative.Rachelle came to theological scholarship after a career in business management and strategic marketing, where she focused on the needs of women and families of color. She is an alum of Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion (PhD) and Emory’s Candler School of Theology (MDiv).Rachelle Green is the author of Learning to Live: Prisons, Pedagogy, and Theological Education. She relishes traveling with her family, watching Marvel movies, and enjoying good coffee. 

Sarah is associate director at Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning. Prior to coming to Wabash, Sarah served as Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Community Development in the School of Theology and Ministry at Indiana Wesleyan University. As a practical theologian, she has taught in the areas of community development, faith formation, youth ministry, and transformative pedagogy. Farmer also served as an associate research scholar and lecturer at Yale Divinity School and helped direct the Adolescent Faith and Flourishing Program at Yale Center for Faith and Culture. Sarah received her M.Div and PhD from Emory University, where she taught as an adjunct faculty and co-directed a Certificate in Theological Studies Program at a Women’s Prison.Sarah Farmer co-founded the Youth Arts and Peace Camp in Chester, PA and worked with the Youth Hope-Builders Academy at Interdenominational Theological Center. She is author of Restorative Hope: Creating Pathways of Connection in Women's Prisons. She enjoys action-packed movies, art, finding adventures to do with her children, and listening to her audiobook. 

Nancy Lynne Westfield, Ph.D. joined the staff of the Wabash Center in 2019 and is the fourth Director since the Center’s founding in 1996. She brings to this role her gifts as teacher, author, public theologian, strategist, facilitator, advocate, and imagineer, guiding the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion with vision and creativity.The Wabash Center continues to elevate conversations about teaching and learning in the fields of religion and theology. Looking toward the future, the Center embraces the challenge of rethinking, innovating, and cross-pollinating new approaches to pedagogy across diverse educational contexts. Dr. Westfield explains: “So many schools believe that offering online classes is the solution to the challenges of 21st-century higher education. In reality, this is only the tip of the iceberg. We must imagine and build learning institutions that will teach, think, create, and dream within the digital landscape—institutions known for their fluency, dexterity, equity, and freedom in pursuit of a more just society.”In a time marked by multiple pandemics, polarization, and culture wars—both in society and within the academy—Dr. Westfield leads with an artist’s eye. Her research, writing, and teaching in womanist thought and practice, informs her creative pedagogy and leadership. She is committed to honing the Wabash Center’s ability to respond with both intellect and compassion, cultivating the dynamism necessary for meaningful teaching in the digital age. She believes in the transformative power of education to liberate, heal, and renew communities.Before her appointment at the Wabash Center, Dr. Westfield served on the faculty of Drew University from 1999 to 2019 as Professor of Religious Education. She became known for her innovative course designs, her ability to connect classroom learning with congregational life and public engagement, and her justice-centered initiatives, often supported by national grants. Her work reshaped the seminary curriculum and inspired students to connect theological study with real-world practice.Dr. Westfield holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Murray State University, a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Scarritt Graduate School, a Master of Theological Studies from Drew University Theological School, and a Ph.D. from the Union Institute. She is an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church. A skilled landscape architect and avid gardener, she brings ecological design sensibilities into dialogue with her commitments to religious education, offering unique perspectives on theology and pedagogy.She believes that theologians and scholars of religion deserve a larger voice in the public square. Her podcast, Dialogue on Teaching, features conversations with colleagues whose ideas extend beyond the classroom to wider audiences. Her blog, Teaching on the Pulse, explores connections between pedagogy, public discourse, and social transformation.Dr. Westfield’s published works include:All Quite Beautiful: Living in a Multicultural Society (children’s book, 1996)Dear Sisters: A Womanist Practice of Hospitality (2007)Black Church Studies: An Introduction (co-authored, 2007)Being Black/Teaching Black: Politics and Pedagogy in Religious Studies (co-authored, 2010)Glimpses of Me and Mine (a creative biography, 2023)Her forthcoming book, Thinking Teaching, will be published in 2026.