Celebrating the Class of 2023

Bethany Theological Seminary will confer 14 master’s degrees and 12 graduate certificates during its 2023 Academic Commencement Ceremony on May 13, 2023. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. in Nicarry Chapel. Jana Carter, a Bethany alumna, will deliver the commencement address. The event will also include remarks by Dr. Eric Bishop, chairman of the Board of Trustees, and organ music performed by Carolyn Ripp.

Following is a list of this year’s honored graduates.

Master of Divinity

Philip James Collins (Dearborn Heights, Michigan)

Carla Lynne Gillespie (Tipp City, Ohio)

Gabriel Nelson (Freeland, Michigan)

Clifford Sterling Nunn (Richmond, Indiana)

Staci Ann Peterson (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Hope Elizabeth Woodard Staton (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Timothy Lloyd Troyer (Huntington, Indiana)

Richard Curtis Wehrle (Midland, Virginia)

Master of Arts

Nicholas Paul Gutierrez (Akron, Ohio)

Thesis: “Walking into Eternity: A Poetic and Theological Account of Christian Pilgrimage”

Travis Eugene Hartman (Leesburg, Indiana)

Thesis: “Examining Open Theism in Exodus”

Master of Arts: Theopoetics and Writing

Mary Beth Gray (Westlake, Ohio)

Portfolio: “Theopoetics and Motherhood: Considerations and Examples”

Nicholas Paul Gutierrez (Akron, Ohio)

Portfolio: “The Theopoetic Potential of Haiku”

Ingrid Rogers (Menlo Park, California)

Portfolio: “In God’s Garden”

Master of Arts in Spiritual and Social Transformation

Desiree Marie Weaver-Spidel (Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania)

Certificate of Achievement in Theological Studies

Ezra Parah (Jos, Nigeria)

Certificate in Biblical Peacemaking

Wazani Ijarafu Adamu (Jos, Nigeria)

Daniel Dauda (Jos, Nigeria)

Sewuese Isaiah (Jos, Nigeria)

Isaiah Torkuma Jam (Jos, Nigeria)

Lucky Simon (Jos, Nigeria)

Certificate in Intercontextual Biblical Interpretation

Hope Elizabeth Woodard Staton (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Richard Curtis Wehrle (Midland, Virginia)

Certificate in Just Peace and Conflict Transformation

Mary Beth Gray (Westlake, Ohio)

Certificate in Theopoetics and Theological Imagination

Mychael De’Angelo Dia-Bethune (Charlotte, North Carolina)

Margo Janey McKenzie (Middletown, Delaware)

Alina Rose Sayre Skujins (Greenville, South Carolina)

For additional information, visit our Commencement page.