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Greg Michael Osgood, M.D.
4.7 out of 5
Chief, Orthopaedic Trauma, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Languages: English, Spanish
Expertise: Femoral Fractures, Hip Conditions, Hip Dislocations, Hip Fractures, Lower Extremity Trauma, Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedics, Pelvic Reconstruction, Trauma and Post Traumatic Reconstruction, Trauma Surgery ...read more
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Dr. Greg Osgood is an assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. His areas of expertise include orthopaedic trauma, with a special focus on fracture non-unions, pelvis and acetabular injuries, and fractures and surgical infections.
Dr. Osgood's undergraduate degree is from Harvard University. He completed medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. Dr. Osgood began his orthopaedic residency training with the United States Air Force and completed this training at New York Orthopaedic Hospital at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. In 2005, he completed an Orthopaedic Trauma Fellowship at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2010 as the organization''s first orthopaedic trauma faculty member.
Dr. Osgood's interests in orthopaedic trauma care include fracture non-unions, pelvis and acetabular injuries, routine fractures and surgical infections.
Dr. Osgood is a former major in the United States Air Force. He completed several combat deployments, providing orthopaedic trauma care to our military. Dr. Osgood is actively involved in numerous professional organizations, including being the associate editor of the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma, a member of the AO North America Teaching Faculty, a member of the Education Committee of the Osteosynthesis and Trauma Care Foundation, Orthopaedic Trauma Association Military Committee, and the director of the Humanitarian Program of the Osteosynthesis and Trauma Care Foundation. ?
- Chief, Orthopaedic Trauma, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
- Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
Departments / Divisions
- Orthopaedic Surgery - Trauma Surgery
- MD, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1996)
- Presbyterian Hospital /Columbia University Medical Center / Orthopaedic Surgery (2004)
- Harborview Medical Center / Orthopaedic Surgery (2005)
Board Certifications
- American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery / Orthopaedic Surgery (2007)
Research & Publications
Selected PublicationsView all on Pubmed
Higgins LJ, Alluwaimi F, Osgood G, Wang K, Carrino JA. "Avoiding miscommunication in acute musculoskeletal trauma cases: use of standardized reporting and classification schemes." Semin Musculoskelet Radiol. 2013 Sep;17(4):341-58. doi: 10.1055/s-0033-1356464.
Wu C, Cipriano J, Osgood G Jr, Tepper D, Siddiqui A. "Human acellular dermal matrix (AlloDerm®) dimensional changes and stretching in tissue expander/implant breast reconstruction." J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2013 Oct;66(10):1376-81. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2013.05.018.
Golden RD, Kim H, Watson JD, Oliphant BW, Doro C, Hsieh AH, Osgood GM, O'Toole RV. "How much vertical displacement of the symphysis indicates instability after pelvic injury?" J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2013 Feb;74(2):585-9. doi: 10.1097/TA.0b013e31827d60f8.
O'Toole RV, Dancy L, Dietz AR, Pollak AN, Johnson AJ, Osgood G, Nascone JW, Sciadini MF, Castillo RC. "Diagnosis of femoral neck fracture associated with femoral shaft fracture: blinded comparison of computed tomography and plain radiography." J Orthop Trauma. 2013 Jun;27(6):325-30. doi: 10.1097/BOT.0b013e318271b6c8.
Osgood GM, Manson TT, O'Toole RV, Turen CH. "Combined pelvic ring disruption and acetabular fracture: associated injury patterns in 40 patients." J Orthop Trauma. 2013 May;27(5):243-7. doi: 10.1097/BOT.0b013e31826c2751.
Activities & Honors
- AO North America
- Orthopaedic Trauma Assoc
- Osteosynthesis & Trauma Foundation
- Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons
Patient Ratings & Comments
The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to physician related questions on the national CG-CAHPS Medical Practice patient experience survey through Press Ganey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score. Comments are also gathered from our CG-CAHPS Medical Practice Survey through Press Ganey and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.
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text:
Click here to download the audio companion for The Warbler Guide
|Click here to download The Audio Companion for The Warbler Guide
|Learn how to use The Audio Companion:
Audio companion booklet [PDF]
|Sample audio files:
304 c Hooded Type A1
371 c Northern Parula Black-throated Blue A3 vs B
438 c Tennessee Type A1
The Warbler Guide by Tom Stephenson and Scott Whittle is the first identification guide for warblers to focus on both the physical characteristics AND the songs, calls, and chips. As promised, the authors have assembled a downloadable audio companion for the book that contains every audio example (over 1,000) found in the book.
The Audio Companion ($5.99, via Macaulay Library) will make the sonograms and song and call analysis "come to life" for readers. These audio files are organized and labeled to ensure seamless cross referencing from the text to your favorite mp3 player.
The authors have also helpfully used sonograms for album art for individual sound files, so readers can more easily match the vocalization to the text.
To download the audio companion, please visit http://macaulaylibrary.org/guide/the-warbler-guide
The audio companion booklet [PDF] explains the features and how to use the audio files: http://blog.press.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AudioCompanion_Booklet.pdf
Here's a video that explains how to download and use the audio companion.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Preseason Women's Watch List for The Bowerman Unveiled
NEW ORLEANS – A set of newcomers comprise a majority of the Women's Preseason Watch List for The Bowerman Trophy — collegiate track & field's highest individual honor — which was announced Thursday.
PHOTO GALLERY: Women's Watch List (via Image of Sport)
Of the ten collegiate women who have been singled out as early top contenders for college track & field's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy in college football, only two return as semifinalists from a year ago and just three have ever appeared on a Watch List. The Men's Preseason Watch List was announced Wednesday.
With 2013 women's winner Brianna Rollins of Clemson and finalists Kori Carter of Stanford and Brigetta Barrett of Arizona having exhausted their eligibility and/or turned professional, two-time semifinalist Ashley Spencer — the sprinter now of Texas after transferring from Illinois — and 2013 semifinalist Dartmouth distance runner Abbey D'Agostino are the most senior members of the Preseason Watch List.
D'Agostino is the active leader among women with six total Watch List appearances, while Spencer — the lone active two-time semifinalist, male or female — has appeared five times, including on last year's Preseason Watch List.
Arizona State thrower Anna Jelmini is the lone remaining selection to have appeared on a Watch List, while San Diego State jumper Shanieka Thomas is on the list for the first time after having previously received votes but not made the top 10.
Thomas is the first Mountain West student-athlete, male or female, to have been included on the Watch List in the award's history.
The remainder of the list is comprised of newcomers to the Watch List: Texas A&M sprinter Kamaria Brown; Oregon sprinter Phyllis Francis; Colorado distance runner Shalaya Kipp; Florida mid-distance runner Cory McGee; Oregon mid-distance runner Laura Roesler and Kansas combined-event athlete Lindsay Vollmer.
The Bowerman Women's Watch List – Preseason 2014
(Click student-athletes' names for TFRRS.org profiles)
The Watch List is determined by the Women's Watch List Committee, which is made up of four individuals. Each of the four submit a rank-ordered top 10 list (vote totals will not be disclosed) and the 10 student-athletes who garner the most vote-points are included on the Watch List. Student-athletes who received votes but did not make the top 10 are also listed.
With the inclusion of Brown and McGee, the SEC is the first women's conference to surpass 100 total watch list appearances with 101. The SEC also has surpassed the mark on the men's side with 107 total appearances.
The Pac-12 improves to 88 total appearances with Roesler, Francis, Kipp and Jelmini, and the Big 12 raised its total to 40 with Vollmer and Spencer.
Roesler and Francis also give Oregon 46 total all-time appearances on the Women's Watch List as a program between seven different women — both of which are all-time bests.
Second on the list in both categories is Texas A&M, which now boasts 27 total appearances between six different student-athletes.
If last year is any indication, the Preseason Watch List is the place to be for the women: six of the 10 eventual semifinalists in 2013 were present on the very first Watch List of the year, while a seventh received votes outside the top 10.
However, only Barrett emerged from that group as a Finalist, and eventual winner Rollins joined the list in the second edition.
Spencer is looking to make some history of her own with the potential to become just the fourth three-time semifinalist in the history of the women's award. She would join 2012 Finalist Brianne Theisen of Oregon (2010-12), 2012 winner and two-time Finalist Kimberlyn Duncan (2011-13) and two-time Finalist Barrett (2011-13).
The first regular-season edition of the Women's Watch List for The Bowerman will be released Thursday, February 6.
Preseason Women's Watch List Biographies
Baton Rouge, La.
Kamaria Brown, Texas A&M
The Bowerman Notes: Brown joins the Watch List for the first time in her career. She is the sixth different Texas A&M woman to appear on the Watch List and hers is the 27th total appearance by an Aggie on the women's Watch List — both second all-time behind Oregon's women (seven student-athletes for 46 total appearances)
Last Season: Just a sophomore in 2013, Brown finished runner-up at 200 meters during the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships and was fourth over the same distance at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. With a time of 22.21w (+3.5m/s) at the Outdoor Championships, she was second to only six-time NCAA 200 meter champion and 2012 The Bowerman winner Kimberlyn Duncan of LSU.
Between the indoor and outdoor seasons, she won five of her 10 finals at 200 meters, in addition to runner-up finishes at NCAAs and the SEC Outdoor Championships. Her 22.58 (+1.3m/s) at the SEC Outdoor Championships made her the fourth-fastest wind-legal collegian of the 2013 season.
As a member of the Aggies' relay teams, she claimed a national 4×100 relay title outdoors and finished as the national runner-up in the outdoor 4×400 relay.
At 400 meters, she earned SEC runner-up honors both indoors and outdoors.
Topsfield, Mass.
Abbey D'Agostino, Dartmouth
The Bowerman Notes: D'Agostino, a returning The Bowerman semifinalist from the 2013 season, makes her sixth appearance on the Watch List — the most among active female student-athletes. She accounts for all six appearances by Dartmouth women and Ivy League women.
This Season: Fresh off an NCAA Division I Individual Cross Country title, D'Agostino won the 5000 meters race at the Jay Carisella Invitational by 88 seconds in 15:40.55, just over three seconds shy of the all-time indoor collegiate top 10 performances list.
Last Season: D'Agostino claimed NCAA Division I individual titles on the track in each of her three NCAA Championships races in 2013. Not only was she the first American woman to win both the 3000 and 5000 meters titles at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships in a single year, she was also the first to win both titles over the span of a career.
She crossed the line in 15:28.11 to win her indoor 5000 meters national title, giving her the fifth-fastest indoor time in collegiate history (non-oversized), and she claimed the 3000 title in 9:01.08, the fastest non-oversized track time of the year. She also was the second collegian across the line in the Millrose Games mile, where she ran a 4:30.03 for the eighth-fastest non-oversized time in collegiate indoor history.
Outdoors, she successfully defended her 5000 meters title at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a strong last-lap kick to finish in 15:43.68. Earlier in the season, she won the 5000 meters race at the Mt. SAC Relays in 15:11.35 to claim the third spot on the all-time outdoor collegiate top-10 list.
Overall, she was the winner or top collegian in 11 of her 12 races in 2013, including Ivy League titles in the mile and 5000 indoors and the 1500 and 3000 outdoors.
Queens, N.Y.
Phyllis Francis, Oregon
The Bowerman Notes: Francis makes her first career appearance on the Watch List. She and teammate Laura Roesler are the sixth and seventh Oregon women to appear on a Watch List, propelling the Ducks to the top of the all-time list ahead of Texas A&M (six). The Ducks' 46 total appearances on the women's Watch List is also the most in the award's history, ahead of Texas A&M's 27.
Last Season: Francis finished third over 400 meters at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships and fourth in the same race at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. In Eugene, Ore., at the Outdoor Championships, she recorded a personal-best 50.86 — the third fastest time of the outdoor collegiate season — to finish third behind two-time outdoor champion Ashley Spencer and 2013 indoor champion Shaunae Miller. She also ran legs of the Ducks' fourth-place 4×400 and 4×100 relay teams.
Indoors, she took fourth in the 400 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 52.01, but it was her performance as part of Oregon's 4×400 relay team that made perhaps the biggest impact. Running from the first of three heats apart from the top-seeded teams, the Ducks ran a 3:30.22 to claim the event title and clinch their fourth consecutive national team title.
At the conference level, she claimed the Pac-12 Outdoor 400 meters title in 51.57 and finished runner-up at 200 meters in 22.77 (+1.1m/s). She also won the MPSF Indoor title at 400 meters in 52.03.
Bakersfield, Calif.
Anna Jelmini, Arizona State
The Bowerman Notes: This marks the third appearance on the Watch List for Jelmini, who is the only woman from Arizona State who has made the list since the award's inception.
Last Season: Jelmini was perfect against collegiate competition in the discus during the 2013 outdoor season, culminating with an NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field title with a winning mark of 190-1 (57.95m) and three of the meet's best four measurements. She bested 2013 Canadian National Champion Julie Labonte of Arizona by about five-and-a-half feet to cap a streak of seven consecutive finals in which she was the top collegian.
She was one of just two women in Division I who surpassed the 190-feet mark during the 2013 collegiate season, a feat she accomplished 13 times. The other, Shelbi Vaughan of Texas A&M, broke that barrier just once. Jelmini's farthest effort came at the Mesa Classic, where she uncorked a throw of 198-10 (60.61m) and another pair farther than 194 feet.
She claimed the Pac-12 discus title with a mark of 191-11 (58.5m), again over Labonte, and finished third in the shot put.
In the shot put, she finished fifth at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships and 11th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Her throw of 56-11¼ (17.35m) at the NAU Tune Up was the sixth-best throw of the 2013 collegiate indoor season.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Shalaya Kipp, Colorado
The Bowerman Notes: This marks the first Watch List appearance for Kipp, who is the second woman from Colorado to be included on the list all-time. Combined with 2013 semifinalist Emma Coburn, the Buffaloes have nine total appearances on the Women's Watch List.
Previous Season (2012): When last Kipp competed in a Colorado uniform on the track in 2012 — before a redshirted 2013 campaign — she claimed the 3000 meter steeplechase title at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. In a tight race all the way to the line with Florida's Genevieve LaCaze, she emerged victorious by little more than a second down the stretch in 9:49.02.
The national title headlined a junior campaign that saw her go undefeated in five total steeplechase races at 3000 meters, including a Pac-12 title and a Payton Jordan Invitational win in 9:43.1 — making her the 10th-fastest performer in collegiate history. She was the only collegian in 2012 to break the 9:50 barrier, which she accomplished twice.
After running a personal-best 9:35.73 at the US Olympic Trials to finish third, she went on to represent the United States in the steeplechase at the 2012 Olympics in London. She was back on the international stage in the summer of 2013 during her redshirted year, this time at the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
Pass Christian, Miss.
Cory McGee, Florida
The Bowerman Notes: McGee makes her first appearance on the Watch List, and is the third Florida woman to have been included all-time. The Gators' 11 combined women's Watch List appearances is tied for the eighth-most in the award's history, tied with in-state rival UCF and Iowa State.
Last Season: McGee was the national runner-up over 1500 meters at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 4:13.94, less than a three-quarters of a second behind winner Natalja Piliusina of Oklahoma State. She led the tactical race on the final straightaway, but was overcome by a hard-charging Piliusina just before the line.
A middle-distance specialist, McGee claimed an SEC individual titles in the indoor mile, finished runner-up in the outdoor 1500 meters, and was the top collegian — second overall — in the indoor mile at the UW Husky Classic in 4:32.10. Addtionaly, she was the second-best collegian in the Payton Jordan Invitational 1500 meters, crossing the finish in 4:10.55 in sixth overall.
Her breakthrough in 2013 came after the collegiate season at the USA Outdoor Championships and beyond. She finished third over 1500 meters at the USA Championships to earn a spot on Team USA at the 2013 IAAF World Championships, and clinched the spot later with a World Championships "B" Standard and personal-best 4:06.67. She did not advance to the final in Moscow.
Fargo, N.D.
Laura Roesler, Oregon
The Bowerman Notes: Roesler is making her first appearance on the Watch List, and is the seventh different woman from Oregon to be included on the Watch List. She and teammate Phyllis Francis are the sixth and seventh Oregon women to appear on a Watch List, propelling the Ducks to the top of the all-time list ahead of Texas A&M (six). The Ducks' 46 total appearances on the women's Watch List is also the most in the award's history, ahead of Texas A&M's 27.
Last Season: Roesler is the top returning collegiate woman at 800 meters in 2014, having finished runner-up nationally at both the NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field championships. In finishing second to champion Natoya Goule — who is redshirting in 2014 after transferring from LSU to Clemson — at the Outdoor Championships, Roesler clocked a finishing time of 2:00.98, making her one of just two women all collegiate season to dip below 2:01. With that finish, she narrowly missed joining the all-time collegiate top-10 performers list by less than two-tenths of a second.
She also finished runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2:02.32, fast enough to merit the No. 8 spot on the all-time collegiate indoor performers list. She was also a member of the 4×400 relay team that won the event title from the first heat to clinch the Ducks' fourth consecutive national team title. Their time of 3:30.22 made the Ducks the seventh-fastest program in collegiate history.
Overall, her season included five wins in seven finals, including a win in 2:01.75 at the Mt. SAC Relays as the only collegian among a field of professionals. Following the collegiate season, she finished fifth at the USA Outdoor Championships in a personal-best 2:00.23 after running a 2:00.54q to qualify for the final.
Indianapolis, Ind.
Ashley Spencer, Texas
The Bowerman Notes: Spencer — the only returning two-time The Bowerman semifinalist, male or female — is a member of the Preseason Watch List for the second consecutive year. This marks her fifth total Watch List appearance, and hers is the first appearance by a female student-athlete from Texas on the Watch List.
As a semifinalist for The Bowerman in both 2012 and 2013, she will look to become just the fourth woman to become a three-time semifinalist along with Oregon's Brianne Theisen (2010-2012), 2012 winner Kimberlyn Duncan of LSU (2011-2013), and Arizona's Brigetta Barrett (2011-2013). Each had at least one appearance as a Finalist, which Spencer has not yet achieved.
Last Season (at Illinois): Before transferring to Texas following the 2013 season to follow coach Tonja Buford-Bailey to Austin, Spencer established herself as a back-to-back 400 meters outdoor national champion at Illinois. Her 2013 title was particularly incendiary, as she completed her lap around the track in 50.28 to win by nearly half a second with the fifth-fastest time in collegiate history. She was just the fourth woman in collegiate history to run faster than 50.3.
She was one of just three women to dip below 51 seconds during the 2013 outdoor collegiate season, and was the only one to do it twice with her NCAA Championships performance and a 50.88 at the NCAA West Prelims.
Indoors, she finished third at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, but her time of 51.27 made her the 10th-fastest performer in indoor collegiate history. She added Big Ten titles over 400 meters both indoors and outdoors to round out a season that included four wins in five finals in her signature event.
As a member of Illinois' 4×400 relay teams, she earned a fifth-place NCAA Outdoor Championships performance and a pair of Big Ten titles.
Internationally, she finished third at the USA Outdoor Championships in 50.58 to advance to the 2013 IAAF World Championships, where she was a member of the silver-medal winning 4×400 relay team. And a 400 meters semifinalist.
Clarendon, Jamaica
Shanieka Thomas, San Diego State
The Bowerman Notes: Thomas makes her first appearance on the Watch List, which also serves as the first for San Diego State and the first for the Mountain West Conference for either men or women.
Last Season: Thomas is the nation's top returning triple jumper, back for a senior season as the defending champion outdoors and the national runner-up indoors. Her outdoor campaign in 2014 was particularly prolific, capped with a national title at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a leap of 46-5¼ (14.14m) over 2013 indoor NCAA Champion and eventual USA Outdoor Champion Andrea Geubelle of Kansas. The mark is the seventh-best in collegiate history.
She leapt even farter earlier in the season, recording a measurement of 46-5¼ (14.15m) at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships to give her the fifth-best jump in outdoor collegiate history. She is the only woman in collegiate history to record two wind-legal marks of 46 feet or farther at separate meets.
She finished her season with just one loss to a collegian in nine finals, that coming in a runner-up finish to Geubelle at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships with a mark of 45-4¼ (13.82m). Earlier in the season she recorded a mark of 46-2½A (14.08m) — giving her the eighth-best mark in indoor collegiate history — at altitude in winning the Don Kirby Elite.
She won Mountain West titles in the triple jump both indoors and outdoors, and added a long jump title outdoors. Internationally, she finished sixth in the triple jump at the 2013 World University Games, and third at the Jamaican Championships.
Hamilton, Mo.
Lindsay Vollmer, Kansas
The Bowerman Notes: Vollmer is included on the Watch List for the first time in her career, becoming the third Jayhawk to appear on the list for a program total of nine appearances.
Last Season: In a prime example of peaking at exactly the right time, Vollmer set personal bests in six of the seven components in the heptathlon at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships en route to a winning score of 6086 for the program's first-ever individual women's national championship. The sophomore scored well enough to earn her the 10th spot on the all-time collegiate heptathlon performers list.
In clinching the title, she ran a four-second personal best in the 800 meter finale for a 2:19.36. She won the javelin component, and finished third in both the long jump and high jump sections.
In order to claim the title, she had to hold off the highest-scoring heptathlon field in meet history, as Arkansas' Makeba Alcide was the first national runner-up in meet history to score more than 6000 points, and each of the finishers between second and ninth scored all-time meet-bests for their respective finishing positions.
She won the Big 12 heptathlon with a score of 5644, and won the indoor pentathlon league title with a score of 4123. She finished ninth in the indoor pentathlon at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The Bowerman, which debuted in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation.
Indiana's Derek Drouin and Clemson's Brianna Rollins are the reigning winners of The Bowerman, which is named for legendary Oregon track & field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman. In addition to their collegiate achievements, Rollins is the reigning World Champion in the 100 meter hurdles — an event for which she also holds the American Record — while Drouin has won bronze medals at both the 2012 Olympics and 2013 IAAF World Championships.
Past winners include Olympic gold medalist, World Champion and decathlon world-record holder Ashton Eaton (2010), 10,000-meter Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp (2009), and 2011 IAAF World Champion at 1500 meters, Jenny Simpson (2009).
In total, the winners from the award's first four years have won three Olympic Medals, three World Championships and eight World Championships medals. When considering finalists for the award, 13 individuals have earned a combined six Olympic medals, four World Championships and 17 World Championships medals.
Bowerman served the sport of track and field in numerous ways. His leadership in the USTFCCCA's predecessor organization, the National Collegiate Track Coaches Association, and his contributions to NCAA track and field and the running community as a whole are among his many lasting legacies.
For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the trophy and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org.
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a non-profit professional organization representing cross country and track & field coaches of all levels. The organization represents over 8,000 coaching members encompassing 94% of all NCAA track & field programs (DI, DII, and DIII) and includes members representing the NAIA as well as a number of state high school coaches associations. The USTFCCCA serves as an advocate for cross country and track & field coaches, providing a leadership structure to assist the needs of a diverse membership, serving as a lobbyist for coaches' interests, and working as a liaison between the various stakeholders in the sports of cross country and track & field.


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WASHINGTON -- President Obama on Tuesday commuted the sentence of a drug convict, correcting a mistake that had extended his prison time by more than three years and could not be fixed by the courts.
Ceasar Huerta Cantu was sentenced to 15 years of incarceration after pleading guilty in 2006 to money laundering and trafficking marijuana. But because of a typographical error in Cantu's presentence report, the 180-month punishment reflected a greater penalty than called for under U.S. sentencing guidelines.
A federal judge acknowledged the numerical error but denied a motion to correct it in March 2013 because a one-year statute of limitations had expired, according to a court opinion.
"A judge ruled that Mr. Cantu did not discover this error in time to correct it through any judicial means," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said. "As a result, it can now only be rectified through clemency. The president thought it was the right thing to do to commute his sentence."
Obama's action reduced Cantu's sentence by 3 1/2 years, bringing the penalty in line with the sentencing guidelines.
Compared with past administrations, the Obama White House has been more conservative in granting clemency, which also includes pardons. The president has issued 61 clemencies, according to Justice Department statistics. Over two terms, President George W. Bush offered commutations and pardons on 200 sentences, and President Clinton granted clemency nearly 460 times in his eight years, although many of them occurred near the end of his term.
Douglas Berman, a sentencing expert at Ohio State University's law school, said commutations often carry messages. "Every commutation now, because they are so rare, is fraught with messages," Berman said. "How people will perceive and interpret the message is a big question."
He said, however, that in this case the administration may just have been filling its role as a last-resort option for correcting a judicial error. He criticized the administration for not issuing more information to explain its decision, though he acknowledged such statements were rare.
The administration typically announces several clemencies at one time, as was the case in December when the president granted 13 pardons and eight commutations. But Carney said "the president wanted to act as quickly as possible" in this case given the circumstances.
Berman said the latest commutation appeared aimed at fixing an "undisputed legal error." The court decided it could not offer Cantu relief, Berman said, because of a federal statute of limitations created in part to avoid a flood of claims.
"The problem is when they impose those restrictions, they apply to everybody, including those who have an undisputed error," he said.
The administration, in recent months, has hinted that it intends to make use of the president's ability to reduce the penalties for low-level, nonviolent offenders who meet certain criteria and were sentenced under mandatory minimum laws. During a speech in January, Deputy Atty. Gen. James Cole said the administration hoped to identify potential candidates.
Cole also announced plans to inform federal prisoners of the opportunity to petition for clemency and called on bar associations to help potential candidates apply. The Department of Justice is expected to begin informing inmates "in the forthcoming weeks," White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler announced in a speech Tuesday, according to prepared remarks.
A spokeswoman for the Justice Department said that Cantu's petition was not part of that initiative and probably would have landed on the president's desk regardless.
Cantu's case may not "stand for an obviously larger principle," Ruemmler said in her prepared remarks, but "demonstrates the importance of clemency as a fail-safe mechanism — when a worthy candidate runs out of other options, the president has the power to correct an injustice that no one else has."
Kathleen Hennessey and Christi Parsons in the Washington bureau contributed to this report.
Twitter: @danielrothberg


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One year ago today, I got quite the shock and B asked me to marry him! I remember we had literally had a conversation the week before about getting engaged. I am such a planning freak and I wanted to make sure we were both on the same page. After that conversation, I was under the impression that we were going to wait another year, and just enjoy dating for longer. I was so happy and relieved after that conversation and felt such a peace about everything that I was stressing out over.
We talked often of getting married, but wanted to wait a while, or I guess he convinced me that waiting a while would be a good idea. It's weird, once we started dating, I had that oh so cliche feeling of knowing he's the one that I would one day get married to. Everything with him is easy. Even when I get so angry, he still does weird stuff to make me laugh, which makes me even more mad that I can't be mad at him! But in the end, he is such an encouragement to me, he loves me even though I do so many weird things and he makes me the happiest girl in the world.
A year ago, after I got done tutoring, he tried to drag me to El Torito and I didn't want to go. We stopped at his house to drop something off for his passport, which I didn't know WHY HE HAD TO DO IT BEFORE DINNER because I was starving. He took FOREVER getting out of the car and I almost flipped out as he was wasting so much time, for no apparent reason. Little did I know that since November of 2010, he was working on getting my ring custom made. Little did I know that on February 2nd he had lunch with my brother to ask him if he could marry me, and I had NO IDEA that he got the completed ring on February 2, 2011, at 3:00 pm, and then, after taking what seemed like years to get out of the car at his house, he walked up behind me, got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. The night was a whirlwind after that but I have never felt so much joy and love in my heart, ever. I think Shea was just as shocked as I was, I called her like 200 times that night and FINALLY she called me back after I left the weirdest message on her phone. It was so much fun to share all the excitement with all our family and friends.
Nothing makes me smile more than thinking about us. He makes me happy. What a difference a year has made… We are married, have a house and a little doggie. It's a weird way to explain it, but things are just nice. They just flow.
No one EVER has surprised me like that in my life. Hip Hip Hooray for Engagement day!


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Value Line is regarded as the best independent research available. More than just recommendations, Value Line provides the rationale behind its picks for greater understanding.
Apartment landlords occupy a unique space within the world of real estate. Unlike real estate investment trusts that operate in other segments, apartment REITs tend to perform relatively well whether in good economic times or bad. Indeed, apartment owners benefit when the economy is expanding, as jobs are created and household formation accelerates. Interest rates typically rise during periods of growth, making it more costly for builders to secure capital and develop new properties. However, higher mortgage rates make single-family homes less affordable, increasing demand for apartments and solidifying the outlook for landlords. Moreover, apartment REITs tend to weather a downturn better than their counterparts, since shelter—as opposed to, say, office or retail space—remains a basic human need.
Equity Residential (EQR) is the prototypical example of a successful apartment REIT. The largest publicly traded owner of multifamily properties in the country, Equity often serves as a bellwether of broader apartment-market trends. Founded in 1969 by real estate maven Sam Zell, the company has gone on to amass nearly 500 properties, comprised of more than 137,000 apartment units, with a book value in excess of $15 billion. To put that in perspective, Equity's real estate assets have a book value more than double that of its nearest competitor.
As would be expected, Equity's operating results took a step back during the downturn, a casualty of the elevated jobless rate, stalled housing turnover, and the subsequent drop in demand for apartments. Still, the company's performance held up better than most of its apartment peers', and far outpaced those of operators in other real estate segments, a testament to its well-diversified, high-quality asset base. Indeed, instead of putting its eggs in one basket, EQR has cultivated several nests, with no single market accounting for more than 10% of assets. Equity has also been highly selective about which areas to invest in, choosing supply-constrained markets with solid growth prospects, such as Washington, DC (which represents 7% of assets), New York (5%), Boston (5%), and San Francisco (5%).
Cobbled together in 1998 through the merger of Avalon Properties and Bay Apartment Communities, AvalonBay Communities (AVB) has also navigated the downturn relatively well. Like its larger rival, Avalon is concentrated in well-established markets that serve as commercial, cultural, financial, and governmental centers. In fact, the Capital, the Big Apple, the Olde Towne, and the City by the Bay represent 17%, 10%, 14%, and 6%, respectively, of the company's $7 billion in real estate assets. Unlike Equity Residential, AvalonBay has been more judicious in its use of debt, and tends to focus more on high-end luxury properties.
Although apartment owners, as a group, have performed better than the broader REIT universe over the past few years, a few suffered some bumps and bruises, largely due to their concentration in some of the country's hardest-hit real estate markets. With the lion's share of their assets tied up in California, Florida, and Arizona, it's no small wonder that Apartment Investment & Management Company (AIV), BRE Properties (BRE), and UDR (UDR) have trailed their larger peers. With its operating performance sagging and cash flow on the decline, BRE lowered its dividend 33% from its peak level. UDR also came under pressure and cut its payout 45%, though part of that was attributable to a reduced asset base after divesting a good portion of its real estate portfolio. AIMCO took it a step further, slashing its annual payout from $2.40 a share to $0.40, in an effort to conserve capital at a critical time.
None of the stocks we've covered here stand out for year-ahead relative price performance. This should come as no surprise since real estate fundamentals—especially the housing market—often act as a barometer of investor sentiment about the state of the broader economy. We're optimistic about the segment's long-term prospects, however, since the elevated jobless rate and tighter credit standards for mortgages are liable to make single-family homes less attainable, driving up demand for apartments. But total-return potential here is limited, and, at the current quotations, dividend yields among the group trail both their historical averages and the mean for the REIT industry as a whole.
At the time of this article's writing, the author did not have any positions in any of the companies mentioned.


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For some of you this will be old news. I thought it might be entertaining for newbies or those who reside in places firmly anchored in reality (not Kentucky).
As the writer of this column points out "Science is a myth simply because it cannot be allowed to contradict the Bible".
As I read the article it occurred to me. I can make my great grandchildren rich off the Ken Ham books. I'll just buy a bunch of copies and store them away. They can sell them on whatever intergalactic virtual eBay that exists at the time. That's assuming they still use money in the future. Whadyathink???
Views: 138
I am so ashamed.. I didn't know Ken Ham was Australian.
On behalf of most of my fellow Australians (with the exception of the leader of the opposition) I apologise most profusely.
We accept your apology on the condition you take him back home immediately.
Actually, you can stay. We've decided we like Australians a whole lot (with the exception of Mr. Ham and the leader of the opposition. A fine fellow I'm sure but we've heard some disturbing things we'd like to clear up first. You understand I'm sure).
You still have to somehow make him leave though 'cause he's, you know...irritating...and stirring up our yokels in Kentucky.
While we are taking annoying foreign nationals from the US of A, I'll be glad to to take Obama as part of the trade.
I'll take that offer if you sweeten it by removing John Boehner as well.
I take it you don't believe the Hawaiian long form birth certificate was real. I'm not sure where to go with that.
Actually, let's forget the whole thing and go out for a beer.
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Verbum et Ecclesia
versión On-line ISSN 2074-7705
versión impresa ISSN 1609-9982
Verbum Eccles. (Online) vol.35 no.1 Pretoria ene. 2014
'Public theology' from within the church? A reflection on aspects of the theology of W.D. Jonker (1929-2006)
Piet J. Naudé
Department of Systematic Theology and Ecclesiology, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
In this essay, aspects of the work of theologian W.D. (Willie) Jonker are reframed to complement current debates about 'public theology' in South Africa. The introduction points out that Jonker worked during a crucial period in South Africa's history and that his theology is intrinsically linked to the church struggle between 1955 and 1994. The second part reframes Jonker's theology as a public theology from within the church by referring to his understanding of preaching, confessions and public witness. The last part attempts to move beyond Jonker in appropriating some of his ideas for a public theology in South Africa today.
Willem Daniel (Willie) Jonker was born on 01 March 1929 in the Lichtenburg district of the then Western Transvaal, South Africa. He studied theology and languages at the University of Pretoria until 1951, completing a Bachelor of Divinity (BD) on how conceptions of God impact on the doctrine of forgiveness in the work of Schleiermacher, Ritschl and Brunner (Jonker 1951) and an Master's degree (MA) on the Markan translation of Ulfilas (Jonker 1952). In the latter work, he demonstrated his advanced knowledge of both Greek and Latin. He then departed for The Netherlands where he completed his doctoral studies in Dogmatics with distinction at the Free University of Amsterdam under Prof. Gerrit C. Berkouwer in the period 1952-1955.1
Willie Jonker and his family returned to South Africa, and he entered the ministry in the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC), serving various congregations in Johannesburg and Potchefstroom in the period 1955-1967. He quickly rose to prominence in the church and was elected Actuary of the Transvaal Synod in 1961 with Beyers Naude elected as assessor of the same synod. He held a brief appointment as professor at University of South Africa and then accepted a professorship in Practical Theology at Kampen University in The Netherlands where he worked from 1968 to 1971. He accepted a call from the DRC as professor to the Stellenbosch Theological Faculty in 1971 where he taught Dogmatics until his retirement in 1994.
From this cursory biographical overview, it is evident that Willie Jonker was a student and professor of theology in the most turbulent years of South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy. A number of random links tells the story. He completed his doctoral studies in the year that the Freedom Charter (1955) was drafted. He was active in the DRC and its leadership during the Sharpeville and Cottesloe events (1960) and the Rivonia trial in 1964 when Nelson Mandela and others were sentenced to life imprisonment. He was professor in the DRC faculty at Stellenbosch when this church, in 1974, accepted its document Ras volk en nasie: Volkeverhoudinge in die lig van die Skrif, an exposition of a conception of pluriformity upon which separate churches for different cultures could be defended.
The Soweto uprisings of 1976 and growing repression by the ruling National Party in the 1980s were mirrored by turbulent developments in the South African church struggle. One thinks of the Lutheran World Federation's declaration of apartheid as theological heresy (1977), the suspension of membership of two Afrikaans white churches at the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Ottawa, Canada (chaired by Allan Boesak) in 1982, followed by the adoption of the draft Confession of Belhar by the Dutch Reformed Mission Church (DRMC) (1982), the Kairos document (1985) and The Road to Damascus (1989). Jonker was also part of the DRC's intense internal debates which in the end led to a new stance on race relations by the DRC in 1986, expressed in the document Church and Society, revised in 1990. This change in direction was the direct reason for a split in the DRC when the Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk, a whites-only church of roughly 40 000 members at the time, was formed. A few years later, the Rustenburg church conference (1990) was convened to talk about the role of the churches in the transition of South Africa. In the year of Willie Jonker's retirement, we saw the reunification of the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA) and the DRMC to form the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa as well as - on 27 April 1994 - the first full democratic elections in South Africa.
Over this period, Jonker played a critical role in the context of the DRC and wider church relationships. Instead of merely enumerating these milestones along this journey, this essay attempts to frame Jonker's contribution to complement the 'public theology' debates in South Africa and elsewhere.2 This 'framing' is of course somewhat a-synchronic as the debate about the 'public' nature of theology as such was not overtly raised by Jonker and his contemporaries. As far as could be established, he never referred to himself as a 'public' theologian. This, however, does not mean that some of the issues addressed in 'public theology' discourses were not also in his mind as his elegant exposition of the church in an age of modernity (Jonker 2008) demonstrates. His work is also interpreted as such by Koopman, one of the foremost public theologians in South Africa today (Koopman 2008).3
For the sake of this discussion, the contribution of Willie Jonker to a South African public theology in the period 1955-1994 will be surveyed from two perspectives. Firstly, what is theology? And secondly, how can a focus on the public of the church have an effect on the publics beyond the boundaries of the church?4 A quite simple conception of public theology5 underlies this discussion: a public theology attempts to address issues of public concern from a theological perspective and communicates this to appropriate publics in church and society.
What makes a theology 'public'?
The roots of a 'public theology' lie in the conception of what theology actually is. In an article, 'What is theology?' written for a 1976 consultation of the Reformed Ecumenical Synod, Jonker (1976a:3-7) distinguishes four models of theology. These are (1) theology as mystical knowledge of God, constituting theology as 'wisdom' (Augustine and the Eastern Orthodox tradition), (2) theology as rational knowledge about articles of faith (Aquinas and Roman Catholic scholasticism), (3) theology as knowledge of God via revelation in Scripture (the Protestant tradition inaugurated by Luther and Calvin) and (4) theology as knowledge of God via human experience or religiosity (Schleiermacher, Neo-Protestant- and Pentecostal theologies).
Jonker then makes a conscious choice for the Protestant model because - according to him - the Scriptures are taken as source, object and criterion of theology in a more adequate manner than in the other models or traditions. In the mystical tradition, Scripture is important up to a point after which mystical reflections lead to higher-order knowledge of God beyond the revelation in Scripture. In the Catholic tradition, the doctrines and traditions of the church are seen as equally important sources of revelation compared to Scripture, and Scripture itself is not the actual object of study. He, interestingly, considers the model of experiential theology the least attractive as he views this as an anthropocentric way of speaking about God with only a relative position assigned to Scripture, thereby in fact deserting the very modus of theological language (Jonker 1976a:7).
Jonker goes further and positions himself in the specific Reformed tradition within broader Protestant theology.6 He draws distinctions between Luther and Calvin and argues that the valid insights from Luther should be maintained but supplemented by the broader theological vision of John Calvin (Heyns & Jonker 1974:248-252).
Jonker obviously works in broad strokes here: in depicting the relationship between God and humans, Luther would emphasise the holiness of God and sinful nature of the human being whereas Calvin works on the basis of a Creator God in relation to a fallen creation, including fallen human beings. Justification for Luther is being saved from sin whereas for Calvin justification encompasses the recreation of all of reality and God's saving act from sin and all destructive powers. Luther interprets the rule of Christ via the 'two kingdoms' view where the law has as primary role the revelation of sin whereas Calvin views Christ's rule as a rule over all of reality in the one kingdom of God with the law as a guide to holiness and the transformation of society (Heyns & Jonker 1974:251-252).
This overt choice for the Reformed view in the tradition of Calvin is echoed in an important article on theology and social ethics (Jonker 1973b).7 This was written at a time when the social dimensions of ethics were underrepresented and when pious people with a strong individual spirituality in fact 'overlooked' the structural dimensions of the gospel in relation to apartheid society. Jonker differentiates between personal and social ethics: the former deals with the moral action of the individual whereas the latter focuses upon the relationship amongst people within the structures of society (Jonker 1973c:79).
He then points to the danger of overemphasising the personal dimension of ethical questions. This tendency has its roots in both Pietism and the subject philosophies of the Enlightenment (Jonker 1973c:81). Social ethics has the advantage that it brings the 'institutes' into critical focus (ibid:82-83). In line with his views on theology in general, Jonker points to the limitations of Luther's two-kingdoms theory which - probably contrary to Luther's intention - prioritises the individual view and may lead to a mere acceptance and even sanctioning of existing social orders belonging to the 'kingdom of the world'. Jonker also judges the natural-law tradition as too weak to be a solid foundation for social ethics as - theologically speaking - this tradition is simply too optimistic about the natural consensus amongst people of good will and makes too much of general grace compared to God's saving grace in Christ (ibid:84).
Like so often in his work, Jonker (1973c:84-85) returns to Calvin whom he admires for developing a truly social ethics on the basis of Scripture as norm for all spheres of life. In this inclusive view, the social institutes are themselves brought under the critique of God's Word - a welcome correction to the Pietism in South African Afrikaans churches in the mid-1970s.
To avoid a possible misunderstanding of the Reformed tradition as a sectarian view, Jonker emphasises that this tradition is 'catholic' in a double sense of the word. It stands in continuity with the early church and the church through the ages, and it strives to understand and proclaim the 'wholeness' of the truth as revealed in Scripture.8 That is why the Reformed tradition takes the whole canon, specifically including the Old Testament, seriously as it perceives God in the history of creation, law and the covenant (Heyns & Jonker 1974:253-259).
The above interpretation of the nature of theology provides the first answer as to the roots of Jonker's public theology: he placed himself squarely within the Reformed tradition, interpreted via John Calvin9 and Karl Barth,10 as a theology that seeks to transform all of reality according to the will of God as revealed in Scripture. The notion that theology would not include all societal spheres or publics would be foreign to Jonker. He would, however, maintain - and this is important - that the church, understood as local congregation, denomination, and ecumenical church is the gateway to the other publics.
Let us turn to this part of the discussion.
The 'public' of the church
The question now is: how can a focus on the public of the church have an effect on the publics beyond the boundaries of the church? Jonker implicitly provides a number or pathways in this regard. For the sake of brevity, three aspects that link the church's life and work with broader society and other public spheres are discussed: preaching, confessing and public witnessing.
Theology and proclamation
There is a deep pastoral and practical intent in all of Jonker's theology:11 every doctrine should serve the faithful, the church and God's honour in the world. His appointment in Kampen was in Practical Theology, and at that stage already, he published on the 'problem' of preaching in a growing secular environment (Jonker 1970a).
His short monograph, Die Woord as opdrag (Jonker 1976b), was an Afrikaans version of his lectures in The Netherlands and has become a classic for guiding and informing preaching in a perceptible and accessible manner.12 Let us look at just one excerpt from the book, namely the section dealing with the transition from 'text' to 'sermon': 'Van die teks na die preek (Jonker 1976b:68-78).
In line with the Reformed model of theology, Jonker stands firmly on the fact that preaching is preaching of the Biblical text, obviously in the context of the specific pericope or book, and in line with the whole Biblical message. Jonker opposed both fundamentalism, which takes the text at face value without a historical or grammatical context, and the different 'criticisms', which may render the text mute because the reader is forever caught up in presuppositions and hermeneutical methodologies. The role of proper exegesis is to check first impressions of the text and make sure that the scope and kerugma of the text is determined in the context of the relevant book and the Bible as a whole.
For the text to be preached, Jonker guides toward the importance of personal Bible study, which represents an existential dimension where the preacher herself is being addressed and where God is being met. This opens the preacher to both the pastoral situation of the church and the relevant topics of the day.13
Meditation upon the text is the axis point where the history of the text turns to the actual present situation in light of the preacher's knowledge of theology and insights into the 'spirit of the times'. Here 'text' (biblical) and 'text' (context) meet, and the preacher should be both theologically and socially competent to ensure a proper communication of the gospel message in the realities of the world.
The task of the preacher is to formulate one clear message, clarified from different perspectives. Jonker warns against the danger of 'thematic preaching' - even with a Biblical intent - as the preacher easily slips into no longer being a witness to the Word but an orator about a Christian topic (Jonker 1976b:76-77).
If the preacher then finally delivers the sermon, she trusts God who transforms the church and the world through Word and Spirit. Jonker therefore has the local congregation uppermost in his mind. However, it is clear that, when the Word is proclaimed, God transforms not only congregants but - through them - the world beyond the boundaries of the institutional church. Although preaching seems highly existential and personal, it is in fact a public event with a transformative power both in and outside of the church.
That this was true for Jonker's own preaching is evident from two examples, namely his Mission Week sermons in the Stellenbosch student church, published as Die liefde van Christus dring ons (1976c), and his weekly meditations in Die Burger, an influential Afrikaans newspaper, published over a period of many years (see collection in Jonker 1987).
There is a deep evangelical thrust to Jonker's conviction concerning the public nature of proclamation. In his recently published, Die relevansie van die kerk (2008, original unpublished manuscript, 1983), Jonker deals with the typical question that informs much of the public-theology discourse today. In short: how can the church (and theology) remain 'relevant' in the light of the massive impact of both the First and Second Enlightenments wherein the 'turn to the subject' in Descartes and Kant was followed by a fundamental critique of religion itself in the work of philosophers like Feuerbach and Marx? (Jonker 2008:41).
After a significant discussion of various responses (and a critical choice for Karl Barth), Jonker comes to a sobering conclusion: the gospel is relevant as it is the good news from God. We need not make the gospel relevant. In fact, by attempting to make the gospel relevant, we as the church and theologians might exactly lose our relevance as we take on the assumptions of a secular and antireligious worldview which can only lead to a weakening, if not betrayal, of the gospel (Jonker 2008:147-153).
Preaching is public theology in action as the echoes of the gospel are heard in the church and its effects felt far beyond the church - because it is God's gospel.
The Reformed tradition - exactly because it takes the proclamation of the Word in every age seriously - developed confessions as ever-new witnesses to the gospel of Jesus Christ as required by the signs of the time.
A confession is 'a faithful and doxological repetition of Scripture'.14 Confessions derive their authority from Scripture because they are viewed as in consonance with Scripture. Simultaneously, they are, despite their gravity, always provisional, standing under the critique of Scripture and a better insight into the truth of the gospel.
Confessions play at least three important roles in the life of the church and beyond (Heyns & Jonker 1974:200-203, see also Jonker 1994:8-15): (1) confessions as public documents in and beyond the church serve as witness to the world about the great deeds of God. Confessions are doxological in nature and praise God amongst the nations, (2) confessions serve the church via catechesis, pastoral care, and they shape the embodiment of faith inside the church and the Christian life in publics beyond the church and (3) confessions act as a rule of faith to discern the truth from heresies and false gospels.
And although this last role seems like an 'inward-looking' function of confessions, it is perhaps its most 'outwardly' public face: the Barmen declaration (1934) does not mention National Socialism, nor does the Belhar confession (1986) mention apartheid by name. What does occur, however, is a fundamental exposure of the false theological bases on which both political ideologies were built. No wonder the authorities responded so quickly - they knew that seemingly intra-ecclesial doctrinal matters were of crucial public-political concern.
The difficult question then arises: do the confessions not curtail the freedom of the theologian who in her scientific endeavours should in principle be open to explore new possibilities and question all inherited truths? Does a confessional theology not in principle make impossible speaking in the public realm of science (understood in an encompassing sense)? (Heyns & Jonker 1974:205).
Jonker suggests that there are normally two opposing positions in this regard: the one position emphasises the scientific freedom of the theologian who should not be restricted in any way to seek for the truth. The other position insists on the binding of the theologian to the confessions and therefore accepts certain a priori limitations in scientific research.
Jonker proposes a third way: a confession provides an open presupposition which in any case is inevitable for all scientific enquiry as there is no such thing as value-free interpretation (see Heyns & Jonker 1974:208). Stating this presupposition does not limit the theologian any more than other scientists are limited by their respective presuppositions. However, the confession also provides a basis for the relationship between theologian and church so that the former is free to question (including the very presuppositions!) and the church is duly informed to judge what theology produces whilst both theologian and church always remain open to new insights from Scripture (Heyns & Jonker 1974:210). Semper reformanda.
Public witness
The most 'public' moment of Jonker's theological and church journey occurred at the Rustenburg church conference in 1990.15 Jonker was asked by the organisers to speak on the obstacles to a united public witness amongst the churches in South Africa. He cites as the greatest obstacle the sinful division of the church (Jonker 1991b:88) and continues to observe that the social divisions of the country are sadly reflected in these church divisions (ibid:89). These vastly opposing social locations made a united witness very difficult (ibid:90).
Speaking only months after the DRC General Synod of October 1990 finally rejected the theology of apartheid and recommitted itself to unity amongst churches of the DRC family, Jonker confidently stated that apartheid was now no longer accepted by the DRC. In this light, he (Jonker 1991b) therefore had the courage to confess:
I confess before you and before the Lord, not only my own sin and guilt, and my personal responsibility for the political, social, economical and structural wrongs that have been done to many of you, and the results of which you and our whole country are still suffering from, but vicariously I dare also to do that in the name of the DRC of which I am a member, and for the Afrikaans people as a whole. (p. 92)
Jonker then asked: is the task of the church reconciliation or resistance? (Jonker 1991b:93). He referred to 02 February 1990 (the release of political prisoners and unbanning of all political formations) and asked whether 'theological positions which were geared to match the struggle will be softened and even changed?' (ibid:95). He acknowledged that South Africa had come through abnormal times in which the churches played an overt and more direct political role. He, however, warned that there were limits to the political task of the church. This task was limited to the proclamation of 'God's general and abiding demands of justice, fairness and the protection of the weak and the poor' (ibid:95), but churches could not play the role of political parties. Christians were called to be radical disciples of Christ whilst knowing that 'political change alone can never make us free from inner bondage' (ibid:98).
Jonker later reflected on this public confession of sin (see Jonker 1991a). According to him the space for a confession was created by the DRC which finally moved away from understanding itself as a 'volkskerk', based on natural theology in the negative sense of the word, to a church of Christ, saved by grace alone (Jonker 1991a:99). A Biblical, theological or moral defence of apartheid was no longer possible (Jonker 1991a:97, 98). This non-defence of apartheid was further enabled by the impact of the ecumenical movement (ibid:97) as well as the acceptance by the DRMC of the Belhar confession. The voice of the former daughter church turned the DRC in its tracks (ibid:98).
Jonker had to confess publicly because of the special guilt of the DRC (Jonker 1991a:101) concerning separate churches and its theological support for the policies of apartheid. Yes, there are various levels of individual guilt and collective guilt. The church as a collective, however, could not wait with a confession of guilt until each member is ready - this will in all probability never happen. Therefore it was imperative for an individual to do this 'plaasbekledend' [vicariously] on behalf of the collective (ibid:102).
With sharp foresight, Jonker suggested further that, in this confession of guilt, the DRC might assist other churches who then or in the future would stand before the same temptation of aligning the church too closely with political ideals, thereby compromising the gospel of Jesus of Christ.
This public witness (confession) elicited huge media exposure and received both widespread criticism and support from Christians. Jonker himself was vilified by many white (and suspicious black) Christians. It was specifically painful that the church council of Biesiesvlei, the town of his birth, rejected this confession of guilt in a letter to him, calling on him not to be manipulated by politics but to remain true to the Word of God. His letter of explanation was, however, never read to the church council - a fact that saddened him deeply (Jonker 1998a:209-210).
Looking back, this confession was an important precursor to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (1995-2002)16 which played a determinant role in the healing of South Africa's past. It, however, played its role in line with Jonker's view of public theology as reconstructed here - the socio-psychological and political impact of his witness was to be channelled via the public of the church itself, in this case the public of the ecumenical church.
Jonker always understood his role as primarily theological in the realm of the church and hesitated to play a 'direct' political role for fear that the gospel might once again be compromised. This seemingly 'conservative' position was in fact transformative in a quiet but fundamental way. Without his public theology, the struggle for unity, reconciliation and justice would have been longer, and we still draw on his legacy as we face the unfinished task of church reunification in the DRC family, inclusive of the Belhar confession.
Beyond Jonker: What role for the church in South African public theologies today?
Looking back on the journey of Willie Jonker with the DRC and the churches in South Africa in general, the question may be asked: is the approach he followed still valid for public theology today? This question cannot be answered with a simple affirmation or negation. The following remarks attempt to re-position some of Jonker's impulses in our current context.
Understanding a different socio-political situation
Willie Jonker and the theologians of his time - both liberation and apartheid theologians - were by default ensured of the public significance and impact of their work beyond the boundaries of the church because they worked in South Africa prior to the impact of liberalisation and secularisation which swept over us like a whirlwind after 1994. There was a unity between the institutional church on the one hand and politics and public life on the other because apartheid was in fact a pseudo-religious system predicated upon a premodern conception of society.
What the institutional church did and decided, and what church leaders said, really mattered as there was a strong correlation between 'theology' and 'society'. To decide that the unity of the church is not merely an invisible spiritual matter but required outward and visible unification of the segregated Reformed family was a fundamental theological decision proposed by Jonker from the beginning of his theological and church life.17 However, in the minds of many Christians this was - correctly - interpreted as eroding the very basis of a society built on legally segregated communities. Like in the time of the early church, to say that 'Jesus is Lord' was indeed 'political' in a system where the reconciliatory power of Christ was in theory upheld but in practice denied.
One must further consider that the liberation struggle found fertile tactical space in the church due to the banning of political leaders in the period 1964-1990. This opened the door for a 'direct' political role by leaders such as Desmond Tutu, Allan Boesak, Beyers Naude, Frank Chikane, Johan Heyns and others who could 'step back' after 1994.
As so ably demonstrated by a number of theologians after 1994,18 it is quite a different matter to do public theology in the context of a liberal democracy with a stronger defined distance between state and Christian church, equality of all faiths, secular human rights guiding the constitution and public ethics and with legitimate political representatives operating in an open society. In short, the kind of developments in Western societies which initially informed the very debate about the public nature of theology have now arisen in this African context as well though with different emphases and trajectories.19
Willie Jonker - shaped by European theology and philosophy - understood and saw these developments coming to our shores. He was faithful to the context and dynamics of his time and knew that others after him would have to face a different kind of 'publics' constellation in which theology and the church would have to live out their calling. Whether 'the publics' and 'the institutes' can be reached through the public of the church in the same way as Jonker and his contemporaries presupposed is however doubtful.
It is the responsibility of our post-liberation generation to chart new pathways on the fundamental assumption20 that the Christian church as the bride of Christ to whom the ministry of reconciliation has been entrusted remains a crucial pathway for the gospel in the world.
Affirming the link between worship and the publics
The proclaiming and confessing local churches remain important to shape believers who act as 'light and salt' in their everyday lives in other spheres of society.21 Under conditions of a liberal democracy, faithful Christians rather than the formal institutional church are for many people -believers and non-believers - a more important and perhaps the only representative face of 'the church'. In this sense, the public nature of the liturgy22 - as set out by Jonker - must be reinforced and confirmed.
Strengthening the prophetic channels of democracy
The institutional church must be seen to be a united ecumenical church and retain its prophetic role but not exclusively via after-the-fact reactive media releases or the modus of synodical reports. The 'how' question is important: churches for the most part have to take up the role of 'silent prophets' who influence policy in the democratic process by taking hands with Christians in the spheres of the economy, politics, law and the public service. We are ill-prepared to work 'beyond' theology in cross-disciplinary boundaries, and when we do engage in questions of public concern, we struggle to retain (like Jonker) the profile of our theological perspective in dialogue with others. Institutional churches and ecumenical bodies like the South African Council of Churches have proven that we are not well suited to operate in a society where - unlike for Jonker and his contemporaries - institutional and social power have shifted away from the institutional church, and an impact on the publics outside of the church should therefore in part be sought via participation in democratic structures.
Recognising the social and public influence of 'Pentecostalism'
The public space of the institutional churches that fought for and against apartheid have all been seriously challenged by the phenomenal growth of not only African Independent Spirit Churches but also the attraction of a young generation to non-denominational, multi-racial, 'charismatic' churches. The latter group of churches seemingly speak much better in the language of our time and via new-media technologies than the historical churches.
These churches or local, informal faith communities no longer fit easy theological descriptions: some are strong on social justice, some are strong on the teaching office and some take Scripture seriously beyond fundamentalism so that the old criticisms of pietism, superficial experiential theology and a-historical readings of Scripture no longer apply equally to all.
In his last academic publication, Jonker (1998b) once again addressed the DRC. He asked the pertinent question to which of three possibilities the DRC will turn: Will it grasp back to its own past and endeavour to remain a 'voïkskerk'? Will it embrace Pentecostalism? Or will the DRC remain true to its Reformed roots? Jonker expressed the hope that the last option will be followed. In light of his fundamental critique of Pietism and 'Cartesian' theologies with an anthropocentric experiential religiosity, the question arises whether our theological evaluations of 'Pentecostal' communities need not show greater nuance in the light of current developments where a one-size-fits-all-view simply does not hold.23 Perhaps Reformed churches should remind themselves that the very same Jonker told us: 'Each sect is the unpaid bill of the church.'24
Who knows? Perhaps the face of the public church in 21st-century South Africa might not look 'Reformed' as traditionally understood at all?
Seeking justice for the weakest in society
There is no greater public task for the churches in this nation and on the African continent than to further their priestly role as disciples of Christ in service of justice. To repeat Jonker at this point: the church has to seek 'God's general and abiding demands of justice, fairness and the protection of the weak and the poor' (Jonker 1991b:95). Churches will have to play a more constructive public role - no longer from a relatively privileged social location but as a humble but indispensable member of civil society, representing faith communities in action. Churches could lend their networks, expertise and infrastructure to address the current government's failures in education, health and caring for the most vulnerable. We could reignite capabilities to soften the blow of non-delivery to the most vulnerable in our society.
Let us remind ourselves that public theology is not about public relations on behalf of the church or seeking cheap public attention for a well-spoken theologian, but it is about serving the most vulnerable whilst the left hand does not know what the right hand does.
The actual purpose of public theology - in whatever form - is well described by Jesus: 'In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven' (Mt 5:16).
In this article, the life-work of Willie Jonker was situated in the context of the church's struggle against apartheid. Although he himself never depicted his theology as 'public' theology, it is argued that Jonker's contribution can indeed be re-framed to inform current debates about the public nature of theology. His choice to pursue the specific tradition of Reformed theology - drawing on John Calvin and Karl Barth - already put him on the path to view all of reality under the rule of God.
It was then demonstrated that Jonker's public theology has an explicit ecclesiological focus. In other words, he firmly believed that the road to other publics in society leads via the public of the church. The specific manner in which the church serves other publics is explained by referring to the preaching, confessing and public witnessing of the church. It was concluded that Jonker made a crucial contribution from within the DRC and the wider ecumenical church to dismantle the theological support for apartheid.
In the last part of the article, it was argued that the situation of a constitutional democracy (inter alia) fundamentally changes the dynamics of public theology. Although one could affirm the valid insights from Jonker's work, the current context makes different demands on theology to play a significant role in shaping the public life in South Africa.
Competing interests
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationship(s) that may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
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Heyns, J.A. & Jonker, W.D., 1974, Op weg met die teologie, NG Kerkboekhandel, Pretoria. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1951, 'Die invloed van die leer aangaande God op die opvatting van die vergiffenis van sonde in die teologie van Schleiermacher, Ritschl en Brunner', BD-verhandeling, Departement Dogmatiek, Universiteit van Pretoria. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1952, ''n Waardering van Ulfilas se vertaling van die eerste hoofstuk van Markus se Evangelie, met verwysing na enkele ander plekke', MA-verhandeling, Departement Afrikaans en Nederlands, Universiteit van Pretoria. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1955a, Mistieke liggaam en kerk in die nuwe Rooms-Katolieke teologie, Kok, Kampen. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1962, Die sendingbepalinge van die Ned Geref Kerk van Transvaal, Potchefstroom. (Kerk en Wêreld, 4). [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1964, 'Die liberale kerkreg en die veelheid van kerke', Nederduits Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif 5, 3-9. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1967, 'Volkskerk of belydende gemeente?', Nederduits Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif 8, 20-26. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1970a, 'Heeft de preek een toekomst?', Geref Weekblad, 13 November tot 04 Desember. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1970b, 'Eksegese en dogmatiek', in W.D. Jonker, J.H. Roberts & A.H. van Zyl (reds.), Hermeneutica: 'n Huldigingsbundel opgedra aan prof E.P. Groenewald, bl. 157-179, NG Kerkboekhandel, Pretoria. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1973a, 'Dogmatiek en Heilige Skrif', in J.L. Bakker (red.), Septuagesimo Anno: 'n Huldigingsbundel opgedra aan prof. GC Berkouwer, bl. 86-111, Kok, Kampen. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1973b, 'Heilige Skrif en sosiale etiek by Calvyn', Bulletin van die Suid-Afrikaanse vereniging vir die bevordering van Christelike wetenskap 39, 31-37. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1973c, 'Die aktualiteit van die sosiale etiek', in P.A. Verhoef, D.W. de Villiers & J.L. de Villiers (reds.), Sol lustitiae: 'n Huldigingsbundel opgedra aan BB Keet, JCG Kotze, JJ Müller, WJ van der Merwe, TN Hanekom & FJM Potgieter, bl. 78-107, NG Kerk-Uitgewers, Kaapstad. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1976a, 'What is theology?', in P.C. Schrotenboer (ed.), Church and theology in the contemporary world, pp. 3-15, Grand Rapids, Michigan. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1976b, Die Woord as opdrag, NG Kerkboekhandel, Pretoria. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1976c, Die liefde van Christus dring ons, NG Kerkboekhandel, Pretoria. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1979, 'Die Ou Testament in die dogmatiek', in D.H. Odendaal, B.A. Müller & H.J.B. Combrink (reds.), Die Ou Testament vandag, bl. 75-85, NG Kerk-Uitgewers, Kaapstad. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1982, 'Prediking in die lydenstyd', in C.W. Burger, B.A. Müller & D.J. Smit (reds.), Riglyne vir lydensprediking, bl. 7-20, NG Kerk-Uitgewers, Kaapstad. (Woord teen die lig). [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1986, 'Afsonderlike kerke vir afsonderlike bevolkingsgroepe?', Scriptura 17, 1-14. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1987, Die hand wat my vashou, Lux Verbi, Kaapstad. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1988a, 'Some remarks on the interpretation of Karl Barth', Nederduits Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif 29, 29-40. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1988b, Uit vrye guns alleen: Oor uitverkiesing en verbond, NG Kerkboekhandel, Pretoria. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1991a, 'Die noodsaak van skuldbelydenis', in E. de Villiers & D. Kitching (reds.), Derdegelui vir môre: Die NG Kerk voor die uitdagings van 'n nuwe tyd, bl. 94-102, Tafelberg, Kaapstad. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1991b, 'Understanding the church situation and obstacles to Christian witness in South Africa', in L. Albert & F. Chikane (eds.), The road to Rustenburg: The church looking forward to a new South Africa, pp. 87-98, Struik Christian Books, Cape Town. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1994, Bevrydende waarheid, Hugenote Uitgewers, Wellington. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1998a, Selfs die kerk kan verander, Tafelberg, Kaapstad. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 1998b, 'Kragvelde binne die kerk', Aambeeld 26(1), 11-14. [ Links ]
Jonker, W.D., 2008, Die relevansie van die kerk: Teologiese reaksies op die betekenis van die kerk in die wêreld, Bybel-Media, Wellington. [ Links ]
Koopman, N.N., 2005, 'After ten years: Public theology in post-apartheid South Africa - lessons from a debate in the USA', Nederduits Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif 64, 149-164. [ Links ]
Koopman, N.N., 2008, 'Suid-Afrikaanse kerke en die openbare lewe: Enkele lesse uit die teologie van Willie Jonker', in W.D. Jonker (red.), Die relevansie van die kerk: Teologiese reaksies op die betekenis van die kerk in die wêreld, pp. 165-178, Bybel-Media, Wellington. [ Links ]
Koopman, N.N., 2009, 'Public theology as prophetic theology: More than utopianism and criticism', Journal of Theology for Southern Africa 134, 117-130. [ Links ]
Kusmierz, K., 2009, 'Theology in transition: Public theologies in post-apartheid South Africa', DTh dissertation, Department of Theology and History, University of Basel. [ Links ]
Maluleke, T.S., 2011, 'The elusive public of public theology', International Journal of Public Theology 5, 79-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156973211X543751 [ Links ]
Naudé, P.J., 1991, 'Uit vrye guns alleen: Grondlyne vir 'n pastorale dogmatiek', Nederduits Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif 32(1), 110-118. [ Links ]
Naudé, P.J., 2010, 'Op 'n mespunt. Die resepsie van Johannes Calvyn in die werk van Willie Jonker', Nederduits Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif 52 (3/4), 82-91. [ Links ]
Naudé, P.J., 2013, 'The reception of Karl Barth in South Africa 1960-1990 - Selected perspectives', in M-A. Plaatjies-Van Huffel & R. Vosloo (eds.), Reformed chuirches in South Africa and the struggle for justice: Remembering 1960-1990, pp. 186-199, Sun Press, Stellenbosch. [ Links ]
Potgieter, F.J.M., 1961, 'Die wese van die kerk van Christus', Nederduits Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif (Desember), 271-277. [ Links ]
Smit, D.J., 1989, 'Om saam met al die heiliges Christus te ken', in P.F. Theron & J. Kinghorn (reds.), Koninkryk, kerk, en kosmos: Huldigingsbundel ter ere van prof. W.D. Jonker, pp. 11-32, Pro-Christo Publikasies, Bloemfontein. [ Links ]
Smit, D.J., 2007a, 'No ulterior motive - and public theology?', in E.M. Conradie (ed.), Essays in public theology, pp. 139-156, Sun Press, Stellenbosch. [ Links ]
Smit, D.J., 2007b, 'Revisioning during reconstruction? Contemporary challenges for the churches in South Africa', in E.M. Conradie (ed.), Essays in public theology, pp. 41-56, Sun Press, Stellenbosch. [ Links ]
Smit, D.J., 2008a, 'Wat beteken "publiek"? Vrae met die oog op publieke teologie', in N.N. Koopman (ed.), Opstelle oor geloof en openbare lewe: Versamelde opstelle 2, pp. 3-34, Sun Press, Stellenbosch. [ Links ]
Smit, D.J., 2008b, 'Oor die kerk as 'n unieke samelewingsverband', in N.N. Koopman (ed.), Opstelle oor geloof en openbare lewe: Versamelde opstelle 2, pp. 69-82, Sun Press, Stellenbosch. [ Links ]
Truth and reconciliation commission of South Africa, 1998, Truth and reconciliation commission of South Africa report, Juta, Cape Town. [ Links ]
Van Niekerk, A.A., 2011, 'Willie Jonker se teologiese etiek' (Sesde W.D. Jonker gedenklesing, Kaapstad, 30 Oktober 2011), Nederduits Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif 52(3), 585-599. [ Links ]
Piet Naudé
17 Jenvey Road, Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth 6001, South Africa
Email: email@example.com
Received: 26 July 2013
Accepted: 28 Oct. 2013
Published: 19 Mar. 2014
1.Mistieke liggaam en kerk in die nuwe Rooms Katolieke Teologie is an ecclesiological exposition and critical appraisal of the church as corpus Christi mysticum developed after World War I by French Catholic theologians like Congar, Journet and De Lubac. This thesis prepared Jonker well for the many ecclesiological battles in ensuing years in the context of South Africa where, for example, an insistence on the visible unity of the church was portrayed as a Roman Catholic (!) tendency that stands in contrast to the Reformed tradition (see Potgieter 1961).
2.For an overview of these debates, see Responsible South African public theology in a global era (2011), a special issue of the International Journal of Public theology. This journal addresses the need for theology to interact with public issues of contemporary society in dialogue with different disciplines such as politics, economics, cultural and religious studies. For an earlier article on the genre of public theology in South Africa in the same journal, read De Gruchy's (2007) 'Public theology as Christian witness: Exploring the genre'.
3.This essay must be read in conjunction with Koopman's clear exposition of the Trinitarian motives in Jonker's public ecclesiology (Koopman 2008:165-168).
4.See Smit (2008a) for an excellent analysis of the philosophical (Habermas, Luhmann, Arendt) and theological (Marty, Tracy, Bellah, Welker) roots of public theology. He distinguishes between normative and descriptive notions of public theology where the first refers to an ideal for theological reflection (ethical engagement with issues of public concern) and the latter an (empirical) recognition of the public role of the Christian faith in history and in our current societies (Smit 2008a:28-29).
5.For technical discussions on the definition of public theology, see the two influential essays by Breitenberg (2003, 2010). For critique on the very notion of a 'public theology' in South Africa, read Maluleke (2011).
6.See Jonker's contribution in the Heyns and Jonker (1974:232-260) co-publication Op weg met die teologie.
7.For a recent instructive discussion of Jonker's ethics, read Van Niekerk's (2011) exposition delivered as the Willie Jonker memorial lecture in 2011.
8.See the article by Smit (1989), 'Om saam met al die heiliges Christus te ken', for an exposition of the catholicity of Jonker's thought.
9.For the reception of Calvin in the work of Jonker, read Naudé (2010).
10.Read Jonker (1988a) for his critical though overtly positive interpretation of Barth. For a broader perspective of Jonker's interpretation of Barth, read Naudé (2013).
11.For a discussion of this pastoral intent with specific respect to the doctrine of election, read Naudé (1991) in his comments on Jonker's (1988b) book, Uit vrye guns alleen.
12.For more academic reflections on the link between Scripture (exegesis) and dogmatics, read Jonker (1970b, 1973a, 1979), and for actual sermon outlines for the time of passion, read Jonker (1982).
13.For the actuality of preaching addressing contemporary challenges - very much in current 'public theology' language - read Jonker (1976b:109-126).
14.'... 'n gelowige en lofprysende repetitio Sacrae Scripturae, 'n naspreke van die spreke van die Skrif' (Heyns & Jonker 1974:200).
15.See the publication: The Road to Rustenburg (Jonker 1991b).
16.The official report, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report (1998), detailing the facts, findings and recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has been published in five volumes in 1998. See especially volume four, pp. 59-92, which deals with the faith communities.
17.See Jonker (1955a, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1986).
18.See the work of Smit (2007a, 2007b, 2008a), De Gruchy (2007), Koopman (2009) and De Villiers (2011).
19.For example, South Africa is not 'secular' in the same sense as European countries like France, Belgium and The Netherlands. Also, our constitution does not require a strict separation of church and state like in the United States of America, nor do we have an official state church or churches like in the United Kingdom and Germany. We are a typical society in transition with its own dynamics of modernisation and secularisation whilst at the same time harbouring fast growth in African Independent and Pentecostal type churches or communities. For reflections on public theologies in South Africa as transitional society, read Koopman (2005) and the doctoral thesis by Kusmierz (2009).
20.This assumption can obviously be challenged. It rests upon a specific understanding that God, in his wisdom, has chosen to bless the earth through Israel in the Old Testament (Gn 12) and the church as proclaimed in the New Testament (see the various references in the Pauline letters) whilst also acknowledging that, if the church does not proclaim, the stones will call out.
21.See Smit (2008b) on six different meanings of 'church', including the reference to Christians in everyday life.
22.For a discussion on the link between worship and public theology, read part four of Smit (2007:423-469).
23.See the interesting article by Botha (2007:295-325). He judges the rise of the Pentecostal-charismatic movement since 1906 as of equal fundamental importance to the 16th-century Reformation. He further cites the reasons why this movement has grown to more than 600 million people by referring inter alia to its theological flexibility, its attraction to marginalised people, its high indigenisation capacities coupled with a strong missionary zeal, healing, the use of media in worship as well as empowerment of ordinary believers in the loose leadership structures of these churches.
24.This is the author's recollection. Because Jonker had such an ecumenical orientation, he could - despite fundamental critique - remind us that those who break away in what the church calls 'sectarian groups' always mirror a weakness in the church itself.


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Ancestry has free access to some of their Ireland immigration records right now!
Lord Morpeth's Roll
The Morpeth Roll is a unique testimonial document signed by over 275,000 people across Ireland in 1841, on the departure of George Howard, Lord Morpeth, from the office of Chief Secretary for Ireland. The Morpeth Roll is scheduled to go on public display until next year. However, Christopher Ridgway, curator of Castle Howard, the UK stately home where the Roll was discovered, will display the real thing at a conference entitled The Gathering: Local History, Heritage and Diaspora, on 24 November. As well as explaining what it is, he will be talking about its potential value as a pre-famine census substitute for Irish genealogy research. [x]
When George Howard (Lord Morpeth) left office after 6 years as Chief Secretary for Ireland, he received a unique thank-you card: a 412-meter roll of parchment containing the signatures of more than 150,000 Irishmen (and a few women). Morpeth had been seen as a friend to Ireland, enough so that even nationalists like Young Irelander Thomas Davis signed the roll, extending to Lord Morpeth the "warmest Good wishes of our Country."
Lot's of great information! I haven't done a lot of work with my own Irish heritage. Might be a good time to do so!
So far – I just have ONE absolutely legit Irish relative that I have a source for. My Great-Great Grandmother Elizabeth (who was the mother of my Great Grandfather Henry E. MANN) was born in Ireland circa 1839. She, along with her husband Henry (circa 1822 in England) and her children Henry E. (1863, NY) and William (1868) are listed in the 1880 NY Census.
Elizabeth wasn't listed in the 1900 census, so I assume she passed away before then. All I have to go on right now is that 1880 census. I haven't researched any further yet!


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Rachel + Adam's Wedding, 30 Jun 12 | Esperanza Mansion Wedding Photography
I couldn't wait for this wedding to come around- it has been 6 months since I shot a wedding as primary photographer and I was ready! Rachel and Adam were referred to me via a bridesmaid at Anna and Rob's wedding (also at Norton Chapel)- Rachel's sister- and as soon as we sat down we knew we were a good fit for each other. I got some great apple growing tips from Adam, so I made out pretty well in this deal ;) Rachel and Adam got ready at Esperanza Mansion, where they had their first look (my first clients with one!). The ceremony at Norton Chapel in Keuka College was followed by a great party back at the Esperanza mansion let by DJ Joe Quatela.
I am also excited to include a couple of photos taken on film... see if you can spot them as you enjoy the photos.


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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick doesn't regret posing in the buff for ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue." His attitude: If you got it, flaunt it.
|Colin Kaepernick is the latest, but not the first, NFL player to pose for ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue." See who else has appeared in magazines.
That doesn't mean he's looking forward to hearing grief from his teammates.
"I mean, the photo shoot was great," Kaepernick told NFL Network's Nicole Zaloumis, with a laugh, at Wednesday's ESPYs in Los Angeles. "But as far as the locker room, I don't even want to go back in there right now. I don't know what they have planned for me, but I know it's not going to anything be good."
Teammate Donte Whitner said last week that Kaepernick should expect to "receive some flak" in the locker room for the photos. We're thinking those photos will pop up in random places for a while, but Kaepernick shouldn't worry too much.
His photos aren't nearly as embarrassing as Tom Brady's goat pictures.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.


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