Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver is a transitional ministry specialist with standing in the United Church of Christ. She is currently the Interim Pastor and Teacher of The Congregational Church of Mansfield, UCC, in Mansfield, MA. She previously served congregations in Attleboro, MA; Schellsburg, PA; and North Conway, NH. As a pastor, her focus is on congregational empowerment by creating a culture of experimentation and learning. Her other interests lie in non-seminary ministerial preparation through PATHWAYS Theological Education, Inc., where she is the chair of the Academic Council, a course facilitator, a course writer, and secretary of the board of directors; and helping people discover that science and faith are not incompatible. Her doctoral dissertation from Lancaster Theological Seminary was an intergenerational, hands-on science curriculum for church use. She is also an alumna of the Sinai and Synapses Fellowship, 2017-2019 cohort. She co-hosted the webinar series “Science for the Road Ahead” for the United Church of Christ in the summer of 2020, which focused on the many areas of science that affect the ways that churches can operate during the pandemic. Rev. Dr. Shaver holds a BA in Soviet and Eastern European Studies from the College of Liberal arts and an M.Div. from the School of Theology, both at Boston University. She resides in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, where she enjoys cooking, reading, and binge watching science fiction television shows.
The rules that I believe God wrote to govern the universe are all about probabilities, which means that in theory, or perhaps, better, hypothetically, nothing is impossible, that everything has at least a scintilla of possibility.
What happens in our bodies and in our brains when we join together in a communal liturgy, where people sing or dance or celebrate together?
What is the interplay between the things that make us human and the things that make us superhuman?
How does play help us understand the rules of the game for both science and religion? How can they help us better understand and create more joy in the work that we do?
We’re not even aware of how often it is that we use the scientific process to make decisions in our lives – even in our faith lives.
The creativity that named us partners with God to protect creation has been essential in our efforts to reclaim and restore what our previous arrogance wrought.
What would the earth, and the spirit of humanity, look like if the Fall had never happened?
How might we help others see themselves as vulnerable climate change, but also empowered to do something about it?
Big Stories, like the ones forged by religion, could be a powerful motivator for climate action. How might we use this way of thinking to spur action while staying scientific?
The quest for perfect vision—or any other repair or improvement in our physical bodies—often obscures bigger-picture things, like the moral and ethical implications of such research.
