Category Archives: Home & Family

December 20, 2024 · 12:43 pm

Almost a Doctor!

Yesterday, I submitted my completed Doctor of Ministry dissertation (142 pages) to the Dean of the Berkeley School of Theology Thanks to my husband, John Plocher, for a final late-night review and edit!

Since 2021, I have been a BST Doctor of Ministry student (as well as a jail chaplain, TechWomen mentor, and Founder of Mentoring Standard). The DMin degree is based on a project that comes out of the student’s regular work. My project was to rewrite The Transforming Literature of the Bible (TLB) class I present weekly in Santa Clara County jail. My successful oral dissertation defense was on 5 December 2024 with my DMin Academic Committee, the Rev. Dr. LeAnn Snow Flesher (BST Vice President of Academics & Dean of the Faculty, Professor of Biblical Interpretation), the Rev. Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins (BST Professor of Public Theology, and Mayor, Collegeville, Pennsylvania), and the Rev. Liz Milner (Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy Executive Director & Facility Chaplain, Correctional Center for Women). The dissertation I just sent in includes the three minor revisions requested by the committee during my oral defense. Next, the Rev. Dr. Sangyil Sam Park (BST Professor of Preaching & Director of Doctor of Ministry Program) will coordinate the process of final review and preparation for submission to the Graduate Theological Union Library.

Here is the Conclusion – Next Steps section of my Doctor of Ministry dissertation:

“The Transforming Literature of the Bible project is going strong after over forty years in use, and I am honored to guide the transformation of the Rev. Canon William Barnwell’s work into the twenty-first century. My vision is to continue tailoring the program materials to meet the diverse needs of inmate populations, publish the TLB materials for general use in jail and prisons, and train additional mentors in their use.

Work yet to be done includes seeking permission to publish TLB literary selections that are still under copyright, continuing to work toward the TLB class materials getting published and distributed as a spiritual education program, and scaling its use within and beyond Santa Clara County.

Possible future work includes creating a TLB version for much lower-level readers, and another for women prisoners. I have detailed some of the requirements and challenges of these two potential program extensions in the Scope of the Project section. Jail policies require two chaplain / mentors per class, so additional volunteers will be needed to extend the program.

It has been inspiring to update the TLB to support the most marginalized among the jail inmates and I am thankful to God, my family and community, the jail inmates and my work colleagues, and the Berkeley School of Theology for its support during this process.”

BST graduation will be in May 2025.

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Filed under Chaplain, Church, Home & Family, Mentoring & Other Business, Mentoring Standard, News & Reviews

Tagged as Berkeley, Berkeley School of Theology, Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy - CIC, Jail, John, teaching

November 1, 2024 · 5:22 pm

I am Sorry for Your Loss

For the last month, my son Paul and I have been working through the complex and extensive paperwork associated with his father’s estate. Whether dealing with banks and investment firms, telephone and internet companies, government agencies, or anyone else, a key phrase is “I am sorry for your loss.” Sometimes this condolence is said with sincerity and compassion immediately after we inform them of a death in our family, but often any expression of sympathy seems to be an afterthought, arriving as long as half an hour into the discussion. I get the impression that public-facing managers are professionally trained to express condolences but some seem unclear on the concept.

I have been surprised at which companies were the most compassionate in their approach. My favorite response was from the Xfinity telecommunications company. The local Xfinity manager was remarkably supportive and kind. She said she too had recently experienced a death in her family, was sorry for what we were going through, and she was super-helpful in getting the account closed quickly. In contrast, the manager at the decedent’s primary bank was uninformed of bank procedures, tried to delay at every opportunity, and only said “I am sorry for your loss” at the end of an extensive and frustrating conversation. This was despite Paul being clearly listed as the “POD” (payable at death) account beneficiary. When we arrived back at the bank four days later for the first available appointment when he could help us, this bank manager’s boss came by and was much more supportive.

We have found that each organization seems to have different terms for dealing with death. Names for the death department so far include, “Estate Department,” “Estate Care Department,” “Life Events,” “Probate,” and “Wealth Transfer.” Such a strange reflection of how our culture reluctantly engages with a life event we will all experience in time.

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October 5, 2024 · 10:55 am

Coaching TechWomen Team Lebanon

This year, I have the honor to work with sister mentor Caitlin Doyle as Impact Coaches for TechWomen Team Lebanon. TechWomen is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. I helped design this mentoring program in 2010-2011, and it is very dear to me. This is my second time mentoring a cohort from Lebanon, a country I enjoyed visiting in 2013 hosted by my beloved TechWomen mentees, Adla Chatila, Sukaina Al-Nasrawi and Maysoun Ibrahim.

Caitlin and I are working with the six Lebanese STEM professionals to develop a technical project that will help find housing and resources for people recently displaced by the conflict in Lebanon. The team is developing this project to use their experience and skills to help their homeland during this difficult time. The team also has a group of professional and cultural TechWomen mentors supporting them. Some of our team is housed in San Francisco and some in the South Bay, so we have been meeting every few days on Zoom, plus a working dinner at my house. This weekend we are finishing up our pitch presentation for Monday’s TechWomen pitch day. We are very proud of them – wish us luck!

More about TechWomen from the Institute of International Education, “TechWomen empowers, connects and supports the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East by providing them the access and opportunity needed to advance their careers, pursue their dreams, and inspire women and girls in their communities. Through mentorship and exchange, TechWomen strengthens participants’ professional capacity, increases mutual understanding between key networks of professionals, and expands girls’ interest in STEM careers by exposing them to female role models.”

8 October 2024: Here is a link to the inspiring 3 minute pitch that Team Lebanon gave yesterday about their “Hadak Lebnen” project to create a platform to support over a million recently displaced people in Lebanon.

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Final Clean Up

There have been many articles and videos recently about Swedish Death Cleaning, a process intended to remove clutter and save difficulties for your relations after your death. It was clear after my ex-husband Ben Goodman passed away about two weeks ago here in San Jose, California, that he was not a believer in this. I divorced Ben about thirty years ago but once you have children with someone, you will always be related. My son Paul and I have been taking care of Ben’s stuff since the early morning call came that he had died.

So far, Paul and I have notified the family, worked with the hospital and Neptune Society to manage Ben’s remains, set up his internment and memorial, cleaned out and closed out his apartment and one of his storage units, as well as notifying banks, medical, and governmental organizations to freeze his accounts. Going through Ben’s stuff has included finding bags of prescription medicines and sharps to be properly disposed of, food, clothes, and household items to be donated, as well as returning his hospital bed and wheelchair to Medicare. I have done two runs already to the CVS medication disposal site (where the boxes are now full), plus dropping off towels and blankets at San Jose animal shelter, and several trips to the Good Will donation site. Yesterday, the junk service picked up two full truckloads of well-used furniture, antique cables, monitors, phones, worn bedding, broken and dirty kitchen supplies, and other stuff we could not think of any other way to eliminate. Of course, Paul has separated out family keepsakes, photos, and financial records (since some actions have to wait for the Death Certificate to be prepared). We probably have another week of work ahead of us sorting out the paperwork now that it has (mostly) been disentangled from the junk.

We still need to sell Ben’s guns (fortunately all trigger locked), dispose of bottles of motor oil, and donate his old glasses to the Lions Club. We are grateful to have been supported by my husband John and several Task Rabbit freelance laborers who have helped us bag and move stuff. All of these required duties are entirely aside from dealing with our complex feelings about Ben’s death. Your prayers are welcome during this stressful time.

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September 25, 2023 · 3:46 pm

Kitchen Remodeled

Our kitchen remodel today reached the “done enough” stage. I like our updated kitchen and want to start using it. I am glad to see the newly-uncovered oak floors go well with the fresh paint and granite counter and backspash. Lots of little stuff still to do (fixing many paint errors-and-omissions, installing under-cabinet lights, replacing shelves, replacing a sliced window screen, replacing the cabinet muntins…). All the little blue bits of tape in the pictures are where the paint is messed up. However, at this point, we would rather finish that work ourselves. We ran all of the plumbing and appliances last night and found two leaks, but those were fixed today. Some of the work was very well done, especially the cabinet upgrades, and the stone work. I love how the granite pattern behind the stove looks like sand dunes, and how the book matched granite patterns flow into each other. I also like having shelves under the windows. Still, I am happy to have the contractors out of the house. I am also happy to be able to use my new super-fancy laundry folding counter. I figure I spend so much time standing there, I should enjoy how it looks. Our house is almost 100 years old and I expect this kitchen to serve it well into its next century.

Singing in Jail

Part of my Doctor of Ministry dissertation project at the Berkeley School of Theology is to find better ways to engage jail inmates in our studies together. I have been leading theology and Bible study classes in Santa Clara County jail since 2015, working with the Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy (CIC). The version of the class I developed with Canon William Barnwell in 2018 is called Transforming Literature of the Bible (TLB). My DMin project is the first major revision of TLB since 2018.

For the weekly opening worship in our class, My Co-Mentor (and husband) John Plocher and I have been using the worship bulletins from our home parish, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. However, that music has proven challenging. Many inmates love and long for music and as a CIC Chaplain, I am privileged to bring in my smart phone and a speaker. But, while the lyrics and music are in St. Andrew’s worship bulletin, few inmates read music and finding recorded music that matches has been a challenge.

Last Wednesday, John had an idea so we tried something new. I wrote the repetitive lyrics for a traditional hymn on the white board and played the music so the inmates could sing along. They loved it and asked to sing all five verses through a second time before class ended! Most of the students are Christian but the seminar also includes a man who identifies as a Messianic Jew. About two thirds of the inmates in this class are Latino and speak Spanish (most also speak English). All are welcome.

Here is the start of the lyrics we sang, from Hymnary:

As I went down to the river to pray,
studyin’ about that good old way,
and who shall wear the starry crown,
good Lord, show me the way.

Oh, sisters, let’s go down,
let’s go down, come on down.
Oh, sisters, let’s go down,
down to the river to pray. [Refrain]

In class, we listened to the lovely recording by Alison Krauss, from the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” album. Our daughter Jessica Dickinson Goodman not only has a lovely big voice but also a Minor in Vocal Music from Carnegie Mellon University. On Thursday, she and I talked about the challenge of bringing singable music into jail. Last night, Jessica brought over a selection of her song books so now I have more resources.

I am week-by-week revising the assigned TLB chapters, include new material and illustrations, and providing a Spanish translation. I plan to use Hymnary and the books Jessica provided to also create a supplementary TLB section of lyrics that are aligned with the themes of each chapter. So far, the inmates have been very engaged with the new materials. I just had two more students who had completed a prior TLB seminar ask if they can rejoin. So far, so good!

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September 12, 2023 · 2:52 pm

Welcoming TechWomen Team Palestine

Shagufta Ahmed, Nancy Hendrickson, Katy Dickinson - TechWomen Team Palestine Impact Coaches, 11 Sep 2023 — Shagufta Ahmed, Nancy Hendrickson, Katy Dickinson – TechWomen Team Palestine Impact Coaches

Yesterday, my sister TechWomen Impact Coaches for 2023 Team Palestine and I had a lovely conversation starting to plan for the arrival of our new mentees. Looking forward to learning from Shagufta Ahmed and Nancy Hendrickson! The 104 TechWomen mentees from 21 countries arrive in San Francisco soon and we are very excited to meet them.

I am thinking of my dear friends and colleagues among the Palestine TechWomen Fellows of cohorts-past, and asking them to support the incoming team. I am also thinking of my journeys in Palestine and hoping that I will learn as much during the next six weeks. My first trip to Palestine was in 1979 after I was graduated from U.C. Berkeley, my second was in 2006 to create a Sun Microsystems mentoring program between technical groups in St. Petersburg (Russia) and Hertzliya (Israel), and the third was an (unofficial) delegation of five TechWomen mentors to Gaza City in 2016, as guests of Mercy Corps and Gaza Sky Geeks. I very much look forward to traveling there again.

I was honored to be the 2010-2011 Process Architect for the U.S. State Department – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ TechWomen mentoring program and am very proud to continue my service as a citizen diplomat. In 2022, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expanded TechWomen (based in the San Francisco Bay Area 2010-2022) to include a cohort in Chicago. My daughter, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, is a mentor for 2023’s Team Nigeria, based in Chicago. Jessica was one of the mentors who went with me to Palestine in 2016 and she has been an Impact Coach for Team Palestine in prior TechWomen years.

About TechWomen: “TechWomen empowers, connects and supports the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East by providing them the access and opportunity needed to advance their careers, pursue their dreams, and inspire women and girls in their communities. Through mentorship and exchange, TechWomen strengthens participants’ professional capacity, increases mutual understanding between key networks of professionals, and expands girls’ interest in STEM careers by exposing them to female role models.” There are 1,153 TechWomen Emerging Leaders and Fellows in 22 Countries. More than 150 companies have hosted TechWomen Emerging Leaders.