In 2011, I was first accredited as an Education for Ministry mentor with the University of the South – School of Theology. I am celebrating my 15th year as an EfM Mentor! This week, I update my accreditation in an inspiring online class with eight other mentors. About EfM,
“Education for Ministry (EfM) lives at the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is a unique four-year, small-group formation program based on study and practice in theological reflection. Since its founding in 1975, this international program has helped more than 120,000 participants discover and nurture their call to Christian service where they live, work, and play. EfM helps the faithful discover the Christian tradition, bringing it into conversation with their experiences of the world. EfM seminar groups develop theologically informed, reflective, and articulate seekers of God.”
In addition to renewing my accreditation, I am also getting ready for the first session of the weekly EfM seminar I manage. My Co-Mentor of the Rev. Joel Martinez, who was graduated as an EfM student, then went to the Virginia Theological Seminary to become a priest at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (Saratoga, California). We have seven student registered and hope for two more before class starts at the end of this month. I also lead two weekly in-jail seminars based on EfM with my husband John Plocher as Co-Mentor. That program was the subject of my 2025 Graduate Theological Union doctoral dissertation, “Transforming Literature of the Bible in Jail.”
If there was a single object that represents EfM to me, it is my recently-retired canvas bag. I took this EfM bag into jail so often to bring books, scriptures, journals, pencils and other stuff to inmates, that it wore out. It sat beside me for years in jail dorms, interview rooms, book closets, and in a variety of carts. Good job, old friend.
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Pluralism supports diverse views in philosophy, religion, or society, allowing beliefs and power centers to share influence and views about reality. I have been teaching the Bible, ethics, church history, and theology in jail since 2015 in a context of Abrahamic religions (faiths that believe in one God and revere the heritage of the patriarch and prophet Abraham). In my understanding, there are many ways to follow God and God loves us all. In class, it is sometimes appropriate to present pluralistic examples from scriptures other than those of my own Christian faith. I just developed the attached handout to distribute to my class tonight. Here are the scriptures I present in the handout,
Qur’an
The [Muslim] believers, the Jews, the Christians, and the Sabians – all those who believe in God and the Last Day and do good – will have their rewards with the Lord. No fear for them, nor will they grieve. (Quran 2:62)
We have assigned a law and a path to each of you. If God had so willed, He would have made you one community, but He wanted to test you through that which He has given you, so race to do good: you will all return to God and He will make clear to you the matters you differed about. (Quran 5:48)
People, We created you all from a single man and a single woman, and made you into races and tribes so that you should get to know one another. (Quran 49:13)
(Arabic Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur’an, 2016)
Tanakh – Hebrew Bible
And God said,“Here is the sign I am giving you of the covenant between Me and you, and every living being with you, down to the last generation: I have placed My bow in the cloud – it will be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth…When the bow is in the cloud, and I see it, I will remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living beings, all that live upon the earth.”
(Genesis 9:12-16, Hebrew translation: The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Ed: W. Gunther Plaut, 2006)
O ETERNAL One, Your faithfulness reaches to heaven; Your steadfastness to the sky; Your beneficence is like the high mountains; Your justice like the great deep; human and animal You deliver, O ETERNAL One. How precious is Your faithful care, O God! Humankind shelters in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the rich fare of Your house; You let them drink at Your refreshing stream. With You is the fountain of life; by Your light do we see light.
But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:44-45)
“I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10:14-16)
Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every people anyone who fears him and practices righteousness[acts justly] is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34)
Welcome those who are weak in faith but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions…Who are you to pass judgment on slaves of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand…For we do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord: so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. (Romans 14:1-8)
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:9)
(Greek translation: Holy Bible / New Revised Standard Version / Updated Edition, 2021)
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Jessica Dickinson Goodman MSFS Georgetown graduation with family, May 2026
I have not been keeping up on events on KatysBlog so this post will cover some ground. John and Paul and I recently returned from a week in Virginia for Jessica‘s first graduation from Georgetown University, with a Master of Science – Foreign Service (MSFS graduate degree). She finishes her second Master’s in December. Jessica is also newly a Mom our granddaughter Joanne who is thriving with her big brother 3-year-old Alex and Dad, Matthew. We are all very proud of Jessica (and having fun with our beloved grandbabies)!
Jessica, John, Katy, & Paul at Georgetown MSFS graduation
My father, Wade Dickinson, and his brother Wayne were business and innovation partners for fifty years, during which time they were granted more than fifty U.S. patents and taught entrepreneurship for 16 years at U.C. Berkeley Engineering. My father passed in 2011 and my Uncle Wayne passed late last year. Wayne’s memorial service was last weekend in San Rafael, California. It was a touching opportunity to tell stories and reconnect with my brother Mark and cousins Eric and Leslie Dickinson.
Mark, Katy, Leslie, Eric Dickinson, Wayne Dickinson Memorial Service, 23 May 2026Wayne Dickinson Memorial Service, 1935-2025
Clinton Global Initiative, Faith Leaders certificate, 5 May 2026Clinton Global Initiative, Faith Leaders cohort, 5 May 2026Islamic Studies Books, May 2026
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“There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blonds to black skin Africans. But we were all participating in the same rituals, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and non-white…I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color.” – Malcolm X, “Malcolm X’s Letter from Mecca (April 20, 1964),” ICIT Digital Library, accessed 10 May 2026.
His powerful experience of the unity and brotherhood of Ummah at the Hajj inspired Malcolm X to change his life, his work, and his philosophy. As a jail chaplain, I am called to support incarcerated people of all religions and spiritual paths, including those who don’t think they have any. In my observation, the two primary religions to which Santa Clara County jail prisoners convert are Christianity and Islam, probably because those are the religions most US prisoners follow (Pew Research Center, Religion in Prisons – A 50-State Survey of Prison Chaplains, 22 March 2012). I see having a compassionate and informed understanding of faiths other than my own as part of my job.
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As part of my Islamic Studies certificate, in the Spring 2025 term I took a Graduate Theological Union (GTU) class called, “Literary Analysis of Islamic and Jewish Texts.” I was fascinated by the ancient Islamic literature we studied, particularly Attar‘s biography of the famous Sufi woman Rabi’a (also called Rabia Basri and Rābiʼa al-ʼAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya, 716-801 CE) in his Memorial of the Friends of God; however, I saw such a strong connection between battlefield soldiers like the modern Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai and incarcerated people that I chose that as my topic. Here is my paper.
Battlefield soldiers and incarcerated people are both groups who may find suspicion and watchfulness of their surroundings help them to survive in a fast-changing and dangerous world. In the paper I included three feedback quotes from men in reentry or who are still incarcerated about my Transforming Literature of the Bible class and its use of poetry. I gave a copy of the paper to the Elmwood Jail class this week and am curious to hear what they think. Here are the quotes,
“Poetry has helped me to express myself in a unique way. When I try to do poetry by sitting down and thinking about it, I think it is not as authentic as a spontaneous one. For example if I’m laying in bed and I’m thinking about something I jump out of bed and just start writing. Those are the best poems I have written.”
“I read lots of poetry in the class. Every poetry that I read had positive stories that taught me to be a better person even when I was in jail. It taught me to be strong in my faith and that everything is possible when you have faith to follow. No matter what we go through, everything is going to be OK.”
“The Brilliant poetry that is introduced to us in relation to the topics of study, are everything from heart felt amazement, shockingly heroic, Educationally sound, & a way to give multiple perspectives & ways of understanding. Artist & Poets…Bring understanding and awe, I’ve called home at times in excitement.”
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3 June 2025 Update – ProQuest just made my doctoral dissertation available! ProQuest # 31845163, full search: “Dickinson, Katy. Berkeley School of Theology ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, 2025. 31845163” – Available online (and soon in paper!) through the GTU Library.
Part of earning a Berkeley School of Theology (BST) doctorate is writing a dissertation or thesis. Mine is titled Transforming Literature of the Bible in Jail. It is 143 pages long, based on a 300 page project (a rewrite of the “Transforming Literature of the Bible,” TLB, class materials I have used as a jail Chaplain since 2018). TLB was originally developed in 1980-2008 by the Rev. Canon William Barnwell. Over twenty pages of my dissertation is the References & Bibliography section, that may be the most helpful part for future scholars.
Once a dissertation is written, it must be reviewed and defended, prepared and approved for publication, and submitted to ProQuest, the company that makes dissertations available to libraries worldwide. This complex writing, approval, and quality management process takes time. At the moment, my dissertation has been approved by BST and submitted to ProQuest. In a month or so, it will be available for public reading, both on the web and in a printed and bound book shelved in the Graduate Theological Union Library.
Here is my dissertation abstract,
Abstract
The Transforming Literature of the Bible scripture study and theological reflection program (TLB) provides faith-based study materials tailored to county jail inmate interests and challenges in a welcoming setting with the intention of reducing some of their disadvantages and supporting them in their goal to stay out of jail in the future. This project revised the 2018 TLB with a focus on supporting three groups of particularly disadvantaged inmates. The groups are those who are primarily-Spanish language speakers (mostly Latinx inmates who make up the majority in Santa Clara County, California), those who have reading difficulties, and those with mental health challenges. The high-level results of this project are, the TLB page count was cut in half, an image was added to each session (or chapter) with a process for theological reflection using that image as a focus, and a Spanish language translation of the TLB was developed and presented weekly. Mental health topics are presented in several TLB sessions in a way intended to encourage discussion without embarrassment. In response to a series of surveys of inmates and seminar observers in 2023–2024, 99% rated TLB as Excellent and overall satisfaction and 98% of inmates said that they would recommend the class. 92% of inmates said that it was important that TLB be presented in both English and Spanish and 98% said that the machine translations of TLB were of high quality and readability. This dissertation presents information on the TLB project and its methodology, background on incarceration, and an analysis of the theological and biblical context for the TLB and this project, with detailed research results.
BST and ProQuest send me emails giving publication status updates (basically saying, “please be patient – there is a process”).
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I was graduated with my Doctor of Ministry degree from the Graduate Theological Union‘s Berkeley School of Theology on 17 May 2025 – Hooray! I was surprised and honored at the graduation to be awarded BST’s Keith A. Russell Award for Prophetic Leadership in Community Ministry. My husband John, brothers Mark and Peter my Sister-in-Law Julie, daughter Jessica, Son-in-Law Matthew, grandson Alex, Son Paul, and friends Laura and Barbara were able to join the celebrations. It was a delight to have a cheering team. We graduates enjoyed taking pictures with our advisors and each other (especially the BST Student Council for which I have been the Vice Moderator for the last two years). I am continuing to take classes with GTU’s Center for Islamic Studies.
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