Miseon Choi
Miseon Choi is a Ph.D. candidate in Practical Theology with a concentration in Religious Education at Claremont School of Theology. She previously studied Christian Education at Hanshin University in South Korea and completed her Master of Divinity at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. She is interested in the practical life of faith and her dissertation uses a postcolonial perspective to recognize and compare social ideologies and structures to Jesus’ Table Theology.
Larry J. Morris
Rev. Larry J. Morris III is an apostle, digital marketer, and scholar based in Henderson, Nevada. He was ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 2019 and is planting Communion Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Henderson. Communion Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is the implementation of his Master of Theological Studies thesis, “Ministry Gifts in
Ephesians 4:11 as a Model for a New Church Plant in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).” The mission of Communion Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is to cultivate disciples of Christ, co-create community, and collectively work towards liberation. Larry is also a spiritual director who provides spiritual accompaniment to those dancing and wrestling with the Divine.
As a digital marketer, Larry is more of a generalist but enjoys leading individuals and organizations through processes that help give clarity on their brand identity and strategy, as well as ways to effectively engage their clients. He has a passion for startups and those making major transitions. As a scholar, Larry is currently a Ph.D. student in the African American Preaching and Sacred Rhetoric Program at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana. His academic interests are at the intersections of blackness, queerness, and sacred rhetoric. Larry currently serves as the Student Representative for Arizona/Nevada for the American Academy of Religion Western Region. He also serves on the boards for Interfaith Voices of Reproductive Justice and the Christian Board of Publication.
Vanessa Rodriguez
Vanessa Rodriguez was born in La Paz, Bolivia, and migrated to the United States with her family at the age of three and was raised in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. After a few years of practicing immigration law in the area of deportation defense within the Latino community, Vanessa was baptized and born again at Springfield Christian Church which propelled her studies at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. At Wesley, Vanessa interned as a hospital chaplain and there discovered her passion. After completing her internship, she enrolled in one unit of CPE, which allows her to continue serving as an on-call chaplain while maintaining her legal practice. Vanessa graduated with a Master of Divinity in May 2021 and will be attending Drew University in New Jersey in Fall 2021 to pursue a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics. As a mujerista theologian, Vanessa has a passion to empower and affirm the Latina and her community in and out of church so that God’s work of liberation and transformation can be witnessed. Vanessa is a candidate for ordination within the Disciples of Christ and continues to serve as a Sunday School teacher, church board member, and occasional preacher, as teaching at all levels is her call.
Laura Jean Torgerson
Laura Jean Torgerson is an ordained minister who has served the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as a congregational pastor, overseas mission coworker, camp counselor, theological educator, and mentor of seminary students. She is a Ph.D. candidate in Interdisciplinary Studies of Biblical Interpretation and Culture at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Her dissertation, “Crossing Contexts: Pentecostal Biblical Interpretation in Church and Seminary,” examines the experience of Nicaraguan Pentecostal students who have learned one set of ways to interpret the Bible in their congregations and confront new norms and expectations when they enter seminary. The dynamics of this particular context shed light on two much broader phenomena: the ways that congregations form their members as readers of the Bible and the conflicts that emerge when students enter seminary, especially courses in Biblical Studies. Her interest in learning more about Latin American Pentecostal biblical interpretation and her commitment to theological education was inspired by her service as a mission coworker in Nicaragua with Global Ministries, which included teaching in congregations and in an ecumenical seminary. She is a member of Mills Grove Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oakland, California, where she lives with her family.