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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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”).
Images (c) Copyright 2025 by Katy Dickinson. If you want to receive Katysblog posted by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! field (upper right on Katysblog home page).
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.
Images (c) Copyright 2025 by Katy Dickinson. If you want to receive Katysblog posted by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! field (upper right on Katysblog home page).
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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You may have noticed a gap in my Katysblog posts in 2024. I was spending my time writing my doctoral dissertation, traveling to Africa, and visiting with my fascinating grandbaby, Alex.
This week, I turned my 123 page dissertation over to my committee for review. Hooray! Since 2021, I have been a Doctor of Ministry student at the Berkeley School of Theology. BST’s 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. The current TLB text is about 300 pages long. The next step toward my degree is for my committee to read the dissertation and give comments. I then get to defend it. All of this should be done before 2025 (God willing and the creek don’t rise).
Here is my DMin dissertation 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 support 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 disadvantaged and often isolated inmates. The groups are those who are primarily-Spanish language speakers (mostly Latinx inmates who make up the majority of inmates 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. 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, an analysis of the theological and biblical context for the TLB and this project, and detailed research results.
Wish me luck!
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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!
Images Copyright (c) 2023 Katy Dickinson. If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right on Katysblog home).
“This is a shifting time of change in the potential for reparations to African Americans, especially where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. In the last few months, the governments of the State of California and the City and County of San Francisco have both been considering major financial reparations proposals on which legislation may be developed, with details being discussed almost daily in both the progressive and conservative news media. One group wrote on the California task force, ‘In addition to remedying the lingering effects of slavery, the report seeks to compensate black Californians for five categories of harms: housing discrimination, mass incarceration, unjust property seizures, and the devaluation of black businesses and health care.’ Other cities and states have made the national news discussing or acting on reparations, and a national bill supporting reparations has just been submitted in the U.S. Congress. In introducing this new legislation calling for $14 trillion in reparations, Representative Cori Bush said, ‘The United States has a moral and legal obligation to provide reparations for the enslavement of Africans and its lasting harm on the lives of millions of Black people.’
Despite the inherent lack of perspective in responding to very current events, in this paper I present four well known reparations cases and then propose next steps to achieve practical and sustainable reparations for African Americans. The course of action I propose will be based on some of the work that is already being done, as well as addressing gaps where more efforts are needed.”
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