Date: July 29, 2022
Media Contact: Curtis Prather
Tel:(703) 461-1782
Email: cprather@vts.edu
[Alexandria, Va.] Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) is proud to announce the publication of Building Dialogue, written by the Rev. Jean A. Cotting ’20 and the Rev. Robert S. Heaney, Ph.D., D.Phil., Professor of Theology and Mission at VTS, and edited by the Rev. John Yueh Han Yieh, Ph.D., the Molly Laird Downs Professor in New Testament at VTS.
“It is a core Christian commitment to work for peace,” said the Very Rev. Ian S. Markhm, Ph.D., dean and president of VTS. “In this extraordinary and rich volume, Drs Heaney and Yieh have collaborated to edit a volume rich in perspective, practical in expression, and global in rich. Virginia Theological Seminary is grateful that we have scholars in our midst doing this important work.”
A resource for working through conflict with dialogue toward the goal of peace, Building Dialogue is intended as an aide to intercontextual analysis of conflict and practices of peace. This book emerges from intercultural relationships and discernment, and is based on a three-year effort by a community of scholars and practitioners from across the Anglican Communion who reflected on the nature of conflict in relation to Christian visions of peace.
Heaney has experience in research, teaching, ministry, and consultation on three continents. Widely published, his works include Reconciling Practices: Listening, Praying, and Witnessing in the Midst of Division; Post-Colonial Theology: Finding God and Each Other Amidst the Hate; The Promise of Anglicanism with William L. Sachs; and God’s Church for God’s World (Senior Editor). He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
John Yueh Han Yieh, PhD is the Molly Laird Downs Professor in New Testament at the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. He joined the faculty at VTS in 1995. His research focuses on the Gospel of Matthew and the Johannine Literature from the vantage of sociological and history-of-effects approaches. His published works include Conversations with Scripture: The Gospel of Matthew; A History of Biblical Interpretation in China; and One Teacher: Jesus’ Teaching Role in Matthew’s Gospel. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
The Rev. Jean Cotting ’20 serves at Christ Episcopal Church in Xenia, Ohio and is a doctoral student at the University of Dayton. She served as research assistant at the Center for Anglican Communion Studies, Virginia Theological Seminary. She lives in Piqua, Ohio.
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Founded in 1823, Virginia Theological Seminary educates approximately 25% of those being ordained who received residential theological education. The Rt. Rev. Phillips Brooks, Ms. Verna J. Dozier, The Most Rev. John E. Hines, and The Rt. Rev. John T. Walker are just some of the brilliant leaders who have been formed on The Holy Hill. Visited by five U.S. Presidents, the VTS campus is rooted through the award-winning Immanuel Chapel, designed by Robert A.M. Stern and Associates, and the historic Bicentennial Hall. Both buildings are centered by a grove that was designed by Andrew Jackson Downing, who created the National Mall in Washington, D.C. VTS is home to the Center for Anglican Communion Studies, The TryTank Experimental Lab, as well as several major grant initiatives, including “Baptized to Life,” “Thriving in Ministry,” “Mutual Ministry,” and “Deep Calls to Deep.” Please visit us online to learn more: www.vts.edu.