Rebecca Slough named dean
Rebecca Slough, currently associate professor of worship and the arts at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, will begin serving as academic dean on July 1, 2007.
Slough joined the AMBS faculty in 1998, teaching in the areas of church music, worship and the arts, in addition to serving as director of field education and director of Christian formation for portions of her tenure at the seminary. During the spring semester of 2006, she served as acting dean while Loren Johns, current dean, was on sabbatical.
Before coming to AMBS, Slough was assistant professor of ministry studies at Bethany Theological Seminary, Richmond, Ind., 1994–1998, and part-time pastor of First Mennonite Church of San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif., 1992-1994. From 1989 to 1992 she was managing editor of Hymnal: A Worship Book, published jointly by the Church of the Brethren, General Conference Mennonite Church and Mennonite Church of North America.
“AMBS faces many cultural, political and economic challenges as a school that serves the changing face of the Mennonite church in North America,” Slough said. “Through my work with students and faculty at AMBS, I look forward to honing the disciplines of worship, study, critical engagement, discernment and prayer that, by God's grace, will sustain the church in the joyful work of witnessing to God's reign on earth here and now.”
Slough earned a Ph.D. degree in liturgical studies with an interdisciplinary emphasis from Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Calif., in 1989. She also holds a master of arts in liturgical studies from the University Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind., and a master of divinity from AMBS. Her undergraduate degree is from Goshen College, Goshen, Ind.
“ Rebecca has demonstrated her ability and passion for quality education and academic excellence in the service of the church and God’s mission in the world,” Ray Friesen, chair of the AMBS board from Swift Current, Sask., said. “Her graduate work in worship and liturgy will bring a new and valued perspective to a position more traditionally held by people in theology and/or Biblical studies.”
Nelson Kraybill, AMBS president, said, “Rebecca is an outstanding person to build strong links between the church and academy. She has wide experience in the church and is known for her work on the hymnal project. Her understanding of worship brings a strength that will serve AMBS and the church well.”
Slough collaborated with Shirley Sprunger King in developing Nurturing Spirit Through Song: The Life of Mary K. Oyer (Cascadia 2007) and with AMBS colleagues Marlene Kropf and June Alliman Yoder in Preparing Sunday Dinner: A Collaborative Approach to Worship and Preaching (Herald Press 2006). She has written articles for Vision: A Journal for Church and Theology, Anabaptist Preaching, Worship Music: A Concise Dictionary, Brethren Life and Thought, Leader, Generation Why Youth Curriculum, and other church and academic publications.
Slough is married to Joseph Miller and is a member of College Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind.
AMBS is a binational seminary, serving Mennonite congregations in both the US and Canada. It is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the US and Canada and by the Commission on Institutions of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
Johns, who has served as academic dean since 2000, will shift to full-time teaching this fall. He is serving as acting president this summer while Kraybill is on sabbatical.