Crossings Conversations

Before joining the Episcopal Church, Alyssa Sali ‘26 spent ten years in Jalisco, Mexico, supporting short-term missionaries and raising two children. In her recent chat on Crossings Conversations, she shares about growing up in evangelical traditions, attending Wheaton College, and eventually finding a church that checked the boxes on “a big, long list” of justice and hospitality commitments.

When Aissa Hillebrand ‘27 and Reese Fuller ‘27 sat down with Crossings in fall of 2023, they were fresh off their first CDSP gathered session. They recently reconvened for a chat about how the year went and what it’s like being a seminarian today. 

“If it looked like anything, it'd look like my desk right now,” Fuller said. 

“Good point … a mess, yet I know where everything is,” Hillebrand added.

In this episode of Crossings Conversations, we spoke with the Rt. Rev. Kym Lucas, bishop of the Episcopal Church in Colorado. The interview was part of our reporting for the upcoming Crossings cover feature "Early Returns: CDSP-funded curates already adding new life in new roles."

Bishop Lucas spoke to us about the value of hybrid graduates getting a chance to focus on developing their priestcraft, the importance of stable leadership at curacy sites, and her excitement for curates having the chance to gather and debrief with peers navigating the challenges of early ordained ministry.

In the latest episode of Crossings Conversations, we spoke with the Rt. Rev. J. Scott Barker, bishop of the Diocese of Nebraska and recently announced nominee to the slate for 28th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. The interview was part of our reporting for the upcoming Crossings cover feature "Early Returns: CDSP-funded curates already adding new life in new roles."

Bishop Barker spoke to us about the clergy shortage in the Episcopal Church, formation models and spiritual priorities for early-career priests, and his excitement about the CDSP curacy program and its potential impact for students from his diocese.

CDSP is in the process of rolling out an exciting new curacy program. We spoke with three participants in the pilot stages of the program about the difference it's making for their new congregations, the value of serving with experienced mentors, and more.

The Rev. Mees Tielens (MDiv ‘23), PhD, is curate at St. Anna’s Episcopal Church in Antioch, CA; the Rev. Angela Furlong ‘23 is assisting priest and associate for youth and families at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Frederick, MD; and the Rev. Katherine Frederick ‘23 is curate at Grace Episcopal Church in Fairfield, CA. 

Photos by Larry Canner (left) and Tom Minczeski (center, right).

The Rev. Jessica Frederick '23 is a CDSP alum from the Diocese of Western New York and serves as minister for children, youth, and families at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Jamestown. Her interview with Crossings Conversations is the third and final in a series with students who worked full-time in ministry positions while completing the Hybrid Program. She spoke to us about bringing a community organizing mentality to parish ministry, what it means to grow with a congregation, and the gift of reimagining ministry in a setting where leaders and members alike are flourishing.

The Rev. Katherine Frederick '23 is a CDSP alum from the Diocese of Northern California and serves as hospice chaplain at Providence Hospice of Napa Valley. Her interview with Crossings Conversations is the second in a series with students who worked full-time in ministry positions while completing the Hybrid Program. She spoke to us about meeting people where they are, theologically; serving patients' families, and sometimes her home church community, during the pandemic and 2020 wildfire season; and how her chaplain job benefitted her studies and contextual education experience.

The Rev. Nora Boerner '22 is a CDSP alum from the Diocese of Iowa and serves as associate rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City. Her interview with Crossings Conversations is the first in a series with students who worked full-time in ministry positions while completing the Hybrid Program. She spoke to us about showing up for her classmates, her distinctive internship experience with Beloved Community Initiative, and putting her seminary learning into action "every single day."

Dr. Stephen Fowl is the newly appointed president and dean of Church Divinity School of the Pacific. He spoke to us about his approach to scholarship and teaching, curriculum revision and community formation in CDSP's Hybrid Program, and what he learned as a faculty member and senior administrator in a large Jesuit university.

The Rev. Mees Tielens (MDiv '23), PhD, is a recent alum of CDSP's residential program from the Diocese of California. Tielens spoke to us about the significance of lay leadership, a broad vision of what it means to be bi-vocational in the Church, and what congregations have to offer in a time of increasing religious disaffiliation.