As part of my Islamic Studies certificate, in the Spring 2025 term I took a Graduate Theological Union (GTU) class called, “Martyrdom and Afterlife in the Qur’ān,” for which I gave a Presentation about notable American civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer. Our inspiring GTU professor was Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala. Part of my presentation explored what it meant for Hamer to be a martyr since martyrdom was a focus of our class discussions. I was happy to see a print of Fannie Lou Hamer decorating the offices of the Sentencing Project when I went to visit last week in Washington DC. Here is my Presentation.
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As part of my Islamic Studies certificate, I took a Graduate Theological Union (GTU) class in the Spring 2025 term called, “Martyrdom and Afterlife in the Qur’ān,” for which my final paper was, “Heaven in the Qur’ān and Christian Testament.” Our inspiring professor was Dr. Mahjabeen Dhala who presented us with a challenging reading list and led our class of Muslims, Christians, and Baháʼís in a series of discussions about death, the afterlife, martyrdom, and the end of days. I have studied with Dr. Dhala before and this class confirmed that she is one of the best teachers at the GTU.
I took the opportunity of the twenty-eight page final paper to explore a subject that I have been thinking about. Here is my introductory paragraph,
“In both Christianity and Islam, heaven exists and has always existed but there are different beliefs on how the living can engage with it. This paper provides an overview of some of these Abrahamic religions’s relationships with heaven, highlighting two key dissimilarities. The scope is intentionally constrained in addressing this vast and complex topic. I am not attempting to be comprehensive or to present all variants of belief. I will not discuss the specifics of physical resurrection, interim or last judgements, the Christian Jesus versus the Muslim Jesus (ʿĪsā ibn Maryam), or a variety of other tempting and fascinating topics. My comparisons will include the physicality of heaven, how some artists have envisioned how heaven looks, engaging with heaven during life, orthodox beliefs about heaven, when heaven opens, and mystical or heavenly cities. Writing this paper has become a journey of discovery as much as a research project. I keep finding new materials and points of view on eschatology and the end times. The Oxford Handbook of Systematic Theology offers this traditional definition, “eschatology comprised the ‘four last things’ that Christian faith expects to be the destiny of humans at the end of time: resurrection, last judgement, heaven, and hell.” Comparative eschatology is a big subject but considering the more limited question of what Islam and Christianity have to say about heaven seems possible in the space of a relatively short paper.”
*This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author’s life plus 100 years or fewer.
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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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When I started working in 2010 as a Process Architect with the US State Department – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and the Institute of International Education (IIE) to design the TechWomen mentoring program, I gained hundreds of beautiful daughters. I knew the program would include brilliant and productive leaders in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) but not that it would eventually include thousands of inspiring women in dozens of countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. I have grown to know and love hundreds of them as daughters and colleagues in making the world a better place for us all.
Ten days ago our community experienced a deeply troubling surprise. Numerous factors, including Executive Orders, program suspensions, and changes in the payments and processes of the U.S. Department of State impacted IIE’s operations. In response, they took difficult and necessary steps, including reductions in workforce. For TechWomen, this meant that most of the team went on furlough. Since that sad and scary news came out, hundreds of us mentors and Fellows have been working daily to inform elected officials, news services, and powerful people who may help us get TechWomen reinstated in time for 100+ emerging leaders to arrive in October 2025. Over 6,000 STEM women applied to join TechWomen in 2025. Last week, I was on one of the selection committees that met with the last active TechWomen staff member to get ratings recorded in the hope that the new cohort can join us in the Silicon Valley and Chicago.
TechWomen and citizen diplomacy make our world safer. If we want America to be safe, productive, and effective in STEM and related businesses, we need programs like this. Together with mentors and Fellows, I am working to get funding restored for TechWomen and other programs, including those supported by the Alliance for International Exchange and the Fulbright Association. Exchange programs such as TechWomen are a relatively low-cost way for American businesses to benefit from new ideas, innovation, entrepreuneurship, and worldwide partners. I meet monthly with three different country teams I have coached through TechWomen; it is a vital and deeply rewarding part of my life. TechWomen mentors, Fellows, and community allies who want to join our efforts to reinstate TechWomen program funding, please contact me.
27 March 2025: Today, our community was relieved at the good news that TechWomen funding has been restored and furloughed staff will be reinstated. More on Jessica Dickinson Goodman’s article: https://hackernoon.com/techwomen-is-back-online In these unsettled political times, we will continue to be vigilant to support our beloved program to empower global STEM leadership and innovation.
TechWomen Team Lebanon 2024TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022TechWomen Team Kenya 2022TechWomen in Abuja, Nigeria 20242015 Poster: TechWomen Emerging Leaders from Africa and the Middle East, by Jessica Dickinson Goodman, Susan Roger, and Katy Dickinson
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To prepare for the panel, I asked my fellow chaplains in the Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy staff meeting today how they gave hope in a complex world to the county jail inmates while offering pastoral care, during worship, or scripture study. Here is some of what the chaplains said:
Encourage writing and reflection
Give feedback to let them know they are heard
Listen to their requests and offer choices when possible (what music to play during worship? what color paper?)
Encourage immediately if possible to identify growth and progress
Support them in speaking about gratitude and what is good in the present moment
Encourage trust in the divine message today to build future hope
When opportune, give messages of God’s love: each of us is noticed and important to God
Encourage art and creative expression
Help inmates to manage realistic expectations of the justice process
Even when things go badly, say God is with them and the chaplains will be there to listen
Be in the role of offering service rather than advice on how to fix things
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For most of my life, I have served as a lector in church. That is, I am one of those who regularly reads the holy scriptures assigned for the day during our weekly worship services. On 9 February 2025 at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, I read the Old Testament passage, Isaiah 6:1-8, which includes a memorable description of angels (“each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew”) and concludes with, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!” I love this passage because it is both a fascinating vision and a statement of vocation.
Variants of the phrase “Here am I; send me!” is in many places in the Bible, including, Genesis 22 (3 times), Genesis 27, Genesis 31, Genesis 37, Genesis 46, 1 Samuel 3 (5 times), 1 Samuel 12, 1 Samuel 14, 1 Samuel 22, 2 Samuel 15, Psalm 40, Isaiah 58, Isaiah 65 (twice), Jeremiah 26, Luke 1, Acts 9, 2 Corinthians 12, Tobit 2, Tobit 6, 1 Maccabees 6, and 2 Esdras 14. It is also the refrain of one of my favorite hymns, “Here I Am, Lord,” by Dan Schutte and St. Louis Jesuits (1981),
I, the Lord of sea and sky, I have heard my people cry. All who dwell in dark and sin My hand will save. I, who made the stars of night, I will make their darkness bright. Who will bear my light to them? Whom shall I send?
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.
I think of Isaiah 6:1-8 whenever I am lucky enough to visit the magnificent Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Under the dome are four large paintings of six winged angels soaring over the immense and ancient worship space. When I was there last in 2024, I bought a scarf featuring an abstract painting of the dome and angels.
Last night in Elmwood jail, John Plocher and I were discussing the concept of vocation with our weekly class – and of course we discussed Isaiah 6:1-8. Some of the inmates felt a vocation for art or music or sports but many of them are still considering what God is calling them to do in their lives. John and I have just finished a four month term using the “Transforming Literature of the Bible” course on the Christian Testament. Next week is movie night and the guys voted to watch “War Horse.” In two weeks, we will start the next Hebrew Bible term and I will be asking them to notice every time someone says, “Here am I; send me!”
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