At AAR/SBL in Baltimore last November, a new para-organization, the Association of Asian North American Theological Educators (AANATE) honored three religious educators and practical theologians for their pioneering roles as Asian North Americans in Theological Education.The honorees, Bishop Roy Sano, Dr. Fumitaka Masuoka and Dr. Wenh-in Ng, shared their experiences and perspectives on the topic, “Creating Space for Asian/North Americans in Theological Education: A Journey Into the Future,” at the AANATE session on Friday, November 22.
The Rev. Dr. Greer Anne Wenh-in Ng, past president of APRRE, is Associate Professor Emerita of Christian Education at Emmanual College in Toronto and highlighted on the website: Christian Educators of the Twentieth Century.
About Durante, Dr. Mary Ellen
Mary Ellen Durante, Ph.D. is a graduate of the Fordham University Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education. Her dissertation: “Teaching Children How to Pray: An Essential Dimension of Religious Education in a Postmodern Age,” provides a template for her catechetical ministry with religious educators, parents, and children.
Born in Rochester, New York, Mary Ellen chose a career in music performance that included her husband and children. In 1999 she relocated in Florida to attend the Florida School of Massage and has been a massage therapist since that time. In 2009 Mary Ellen began her studies at Fordham University with a concentration in family, church and community.
With an extensive background in curriculum development, music, and the arts Mary Ellen excels in integrating faith with creative educational programs that focus on performance, artistic production and assisting children and young people to realize their own creativity and potential. The underlining theme of her work is to show how quality religious educational programs and activities can provoke thoughtfulness, reflection, and spiritual awareness in serving others.
