Can Liturgy Be Empirically Tested?
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?
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The Reverend Doctor Ruth E. Shaver completed 10 years as the Pastor and Teacher of The United Church of Schellsburg United Church of Christ in Schellsburg, Pennsylvania in August 2016. Prior to her tenure there, she was first Director of Christian Education and Youth Ministry and then ordained to the Christian Ministry as Minister of Christian Education and Family Life at Second Congregational Church United Church of Christ in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Rev. Dr. Shaver is completing seven years on faculty as the Instructor in Biblical Studies at the Penn West Academy for Ministry, and is a facilitator and Advisory Board member for the PATHWAYS licensed ministry program of the Southeast Conference. She is a member of the Steering Committee for the Regional Theological Education Consortium of the United Church of Christ. At the graduate school level, Rev. Dr. Shaver served as the Teaching Assistant for Roots of Wisdom I: Exploring Philosophical Thinking at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Fall 2016. She earned her Doctor of Ministry degree in 2016 from Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with a dissertation project titled, “I Wonder: Scientific Exploration and Experimentation as a Practice of Christian Faith.” She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Soviet and East European Studies from the College of Liberal Arts (now College of Arts and Sciences) and a Master of Divinity degree from the School of Theology at Boston University. During her break from settled ministry, she worked as a substitute teacher in public school systems completed a book manuscript based on her dissertation. She hopes to have both the book and the curriculum from her dissertation available soon for use in local churches. She is in the search and call process for intentional interim/designated term pastor roles in the United Church of Christ. She resides in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
Superheroes and Everyday Cyborgs
What is the interplay between the things that make us human and the things that make us superhuman?
Science and Religion: Playing in the Sandbox
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?
For Both Religion and Science, It’s Good To Not Know
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.
Playing With God in Creation
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.
Eating the Fruit of Wisdom and Knowledge
What would the earth, and the spirit of humanity, look like if the Fall had never happened?
How Do We Use Storytelling to Make Sense of Climate Change?
How might we help others see themselves as vulnerable climate change, but also empowered to do something about it?
Climate Change as a Story
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
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.
Science, Religion and Emerging Adults
Is science driving emerging adults from religion? Our Sinai and Synapses Fellows discuss.
