We are excited to share new staff members.
September 2024 has been a time of transition for REA, with a new President as of September 1, a new Executive Secretary as of September 15, and the affirmation of a new JEDI officer, who will begin October 15. Please welcome all three as they introduce themselves and begin their work in these roles.
Jennifer Moe, Executive Secretary
Jennifer is Associate Director of the Young Adult Initiative at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, with a PhD in Christian Education and Congregational Studies from Garrett. She also serves as affiliate faculty at North Park University and North Park Seminary in Chicago, Illinois. Jennifer’s research interests include religion and spirituality in the lives of youth and young adults, women and girls in evangelical Christian culture, and “Exvangelicalism”/faith deconstruction in former evangelical Christians. Dr. Moe has been a member of REA for over a decade and is excited about the opportunity to serve as Executive Secretary and to encourage PhD students and young scholars to become involved in the organization. She is grateful for all of the ways that members of REA have encouraged her over the years and looks forward to supporting REA and its membership in this capacity.
Sheryl Metzgner, JEDI Officer
It is my pleasure to be assuming the position of REA JEDI Officer starting Oct 15, 2024. I am a Canadian, who was raised in Toronto, and studied science, psychology, psychotherapy, and theology in universities across our country prior to my formation as a public constructive Queer theologian at the University of Birmingham, England. Today, I conceive of “justice” as the Divine’s movement that is the essence of wholeness, integrity, and righteousness. “Diversity” is another, expressed in Creator’s multiplicity, and conceived of in trinitarian qualities and in ecumenism. A signifier of fairness and balance, “equity”, too, reflects Godself, and by embracing “inclusion”, persons emanate the Spirit’s embrace, welcome, and openness, creating possibilities for growth and regeneration. So, I look forward to our listening, working, learning, and challenging one another, to become divine image bearers in our guild’s research, teaching, publication, and advocacy. Do reach out, and introduce yourself!
Karen-Marie Yust, President
Karen-Marie is the Josiah P. and Anne Wilson Rowe Professor of Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary, where she also directs the Children’s Spirituality Research and Innovation Hub. She previously served on the editorial board of Religious Education and most recently was chair of the Committee on Academic Disciplines and Institutions. She has strong ties to the American Academy of Religion and the International Association for Children’s Spirituality and is interested in strengthening REA’s relationships with other organizations for mutual benefit. She appreciates that multiple formats (in-person, hybrid, online, regional, international) can be beneficial for supporting REA’s members in diverse contexts. She hopes to create spaces where all who call REA a professional ‘home’ feel included, seen, and heard as we figure out what our post-pandemic future looks like in 2025 and beyond.
