Saints Herald

Matthew Bolton (who posts as politicalminefields) has worked for seven years in a dozen countries on issues of humanitarianism and conflict, as an aid worker, freelance journalist and academic. He has a PhD in Government from the London School of Economics. Matthew is author of Apostle of the Poor, a biography of the Community of Christ missionary and humanitarian Charles D. Neff, and an upcoming academic monograph, Foreign Aid and Landmine Clearance: Governance, Politics and Security in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan.

Rich Brown is publisher of Isaac’s Press, which he founded to produce progressive Christian curriculum for Community of Christ and beyond. A former newspaper reporter with a B.J. degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Rich studied at Vancouver School of Theology before eventually earning a M.A. degree in religion from Park University. After 23 years at Herald Publishing House and Community of Christ headquarters (the last three as Herald editor), he accepted early retirement in mid-2009 after his job was eliminated because of budget cuts. Rich authored a half dozen Herald House books; his new book, What Was Paul Thinking?, is now available on Amazon. For more than 30 years he’s been husband to Sally. Their young-adult son and daughter live and work in Denver, while Blue Springs, Missouri, remains the family home.

Kevin Bryant lives in Nauvoo, Illinois with his wife, Katie. They met through the Community of Christ “Liahona” (college) group at the University of Central Missouri, where they both graduated. Both work at the Joseph Smith Historic Site while Kevin finishes his MA in American History at Western Illinois University.

Seth Bryant is an eighth-generation Latter Day Saint, who converted to Community of Christ from the LDS Church. The oldest of two children, Seth was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Dan and Sue Bryant; he spent his adolescence living near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon, where fishing and trails were more tempting than classes. He and his wife Jennifer met while they were serving LDS missions in Raleigh, North Carolina. Unlocking their hearts (upon returning home), they were married in 2003 and have two children, Lincoln (5) and Ella Rebekah (2). Starting in the fall of 2009, Seth will enter a PhD program in historical studies in religion at Vanderbilt; he has an M.A. degree in religion from the University of Florida, a B.A. degree in English from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, and is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. Seth enjoys fishing, hiking, grilling up “mean steaks,” and spending time with his family.

Matt Frizzell is married to Margo, a father of two, and lives in Chicago. His favorite color is midnight blue. Matt has served as a stay-at-home dad, a full-time pastor, youth minister, and Mission Center President. He grew up in the Community of Christ and has served it for seven years. Matt’s approach to Restoration faith is a mix of critical theory, interpretation of history, myth, and scripture, as well as personal testimony. His work forms a conversation between Christian theology, the cause of Zion or Christ’s earthly Kingdom, and ethics. Matt is finishing a PhD in Theology and Ethics from Chicago Theological Seminary and currently serves as Chicago Mission Center President in the Community of Christ. He loves Journey, U2, fair-trade coffee (decaf), his motorcycle, and the smell of firewood.

John Hamer is the publisher of John Whitmer Books, a non-profit press specializing in the history of the Latter Day Saint movement. John’s ancestors first joined the Latter Day Saint movement seven generations ago in 1833. He and his partner of 13 years, Mike Karpowicz, are directors of the John Whitmer Historical Association. They currently live in Ann Arbor, but plan to move to Toronto, Ontario, as soon as the global economy shows signs of stability.

David Howlett is a sixth generation member of the Community of Christ as well as a convert to the church. Baptized at age eight in the RLDS church, he came of age in the fundamentalist Restoration Branches movement (a separatist RLDS movement) where he learned to love the heritage of his faith. In his mid 20s, he joined the Community of Christ and currently attends the Iowa City, Iowa congregation. David holds a master of arts in history from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is a PhD candidate in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Iowa. He specializes in American religious history. Currently, he is writing a dissertation on Kirtland Temple as a site of contested pilgrimage in the late twentieth century. David is a board member for the John Whitmer Historical Association. In fleeting moments of spare time, he enjoys recreational reading, playing the piano, cooking, playing online Scrabble, and consuming Mountain Dew.

Shannon McAdam thinks of herself as a theological entrepreneur. With a Master of Divinity degree from the Vancouver School of Theology and a Master of Theology (in preparation for a PhD) on-the-go, Shannon can be found flexing her theological and pastoral muscles in various
environments from the concierge desk of an Apple retail store to the classrooms of the Community of Christ Seminary. Shannon is currently pastor of the Vancouver, Canada Community of Christ congregation, and has also taught in congregations of other denominations around her home in beautiful Vancouver. Shannon’s passion is for contemporary, constructive theologies that help people answer the question “how then shall we live?” In her treasured spare time Shannon loves to cook up wonderful things with local organic produce, drink good beer, crochet up a storm, compete at online scrabble (often with David!) and play with her friends – in the kitchen, at the beach, or wherever!

Elray Henriksen (who posts as mormongandhi) currently lives in Oslo, Norway. A former member of the LDS church, he is now considering joining the Community of Christ, which he regards as “the peace church alternative” to his former church. He regularly posts commentary to the Book of Mormon on his website “latter day satyagraha”, where he joins Gandhi’s ideas of truth and nonviolence with mormon characteristics of faith and culture. He has a B.A. in Peace and Development Studies from Bradford University in the UK, where he studied religious peacebuilding, as well as a M.Sc. in Peace Operations from GMU in Washington D.C. mormongandhi is looking for alternative and more peaceful ways of thinking and living. He calls himself an advocate for nonviolence in the Restoration movement.

Erica Blevins Nye is the Young Adult Disciple Formation Specialist for Community of Christ. Translated: she produces resources, consults, and advocates for the denomination to build effective ministry for those of us 18-35(ish). Her background is in campus ministry at both Missouri State and Michigan State Universities. Erica has an occasionally handy B.A. in Theatre Performance Writing and is currently pursuing a Masters in Christian ministry at the Community of Christ Seminary. She and her husband, Michael, live near Detroit, MI.

Rene Romig (posting as truthiana) is currently working at the Joseph Smith Historic Site giving tours and working on development for a new museum space for the Visitor Center. Originally from Independence, Missouri, she graduated from Rice University in December 2008 with a degree in sociology. During her undergraduate years, she spent two summers guiding at the Kirtland Temple and a year abroad in Bolivia and Peru. She is interested in the sociology of religion, Spanish, and museum studies.

Barbara Walden is the site coordinator at the Kirtland Temple, a National Historic Landmark and the first temple built by Joseph Smith and his followers. She learned her first lessons in church history from a small Community of Christ congregation that gathered in a three-car garage in her hometown of Ridgecrest, California. Years later, she received her BA in history from Graceland University and a master’s degree in museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. Although often reminiscing over the warm winters of southern California, Barb and her husband, Jody, have called Kirtland home since 2002.