In these difficult times, we can feel alone, but we are not! Throughout the ages,
women and men have heard God’s voice of Love and have proclaimed it boldly. So
together, we will look at three women who spoke of Christ’s Love in desperate times.

First, Mechthild of Magdeburg (1212-82). She was a mystic who knew God’s
sustaining love beyond the corruption around her. Next, Julian of Norwich (1342-
1416). Julian heard God’s powerful love in answer to the fear and heartache of the
Bubonic plague in England. And then, Teresa of Avila (1515-82), who faced the
Inquisition and yet faithfully stood for God’s unending love for each and every soul, beyond religious rules. What might we hear anew from these three in our own faith journeys and in answer to our own challenging day?

Stephanie Ford grew up in various parts of the U.S., as well as enjoyed the benefit of an ecumenical childhood (including sojourns in United Methodist, Baptist, and charismatic congregations). She went on to pursue a seminary degree at a Baptist seminary, followed by a Ph.D. in Christian Spirituality from a Catholic university.

For ten years, Stephanie taught Christian spirituality at a Quaker seminary,
the Earlham School of Religion in Indiana, before returning to her home state of North Carolina. From 2011-2023, she served as the Minister of Christian Formation at Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill. She has also led many workshops and retreats, and has taught extensively with the Upper Room Academy. In 2024, she married Kirk Hall, and they arranged for her mother, Anne, to live with them. Stephanie now serves as her mom’s major caregiver.

Stephanie’s passions include the study of women mystics in the Christian tradition, the integration of the body and spirit, and interfaith learnings in spirituality. She is also a dedicated mom to her 22-year-old daughter, avid reader, and thrift-store shopper.

The Book of Psalms has served as a source of inspiration and guidance to countless numbers of Jews throughout the ages. Our forebears turned to these sources in times of joy and thanksgiving and in times of sadness and lament. What might these ancient poetic texts have to say to us today? How have past generations of Jews, Christians, and others engaged these sources. In this course, we will examine several the original psalms (each focusing on a different theme) and the writings, music, poetry, and visual artistry of interpreters—Jewish and non-Jewish alike—of these biblical sources.

Rabbi Or Rose is the founding Director of the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership of Hebrew College and a senior consultant to Interfaith America. He previously served as the Associate Dean for Informal Education at the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College and as co-founder and director of CIRCLE, a center for interreligious education co-sponsored by Andover Newton Theological School and Hebrew College.

Rabbi Rose is publisher of The Journal of Interreligious Studies and the co-editor of the award-winning anthologies, My Neighbor’s Faith: Stories of Interreligious Encounter, Growth, and Transformation (Orbis, 2012) and With the Best of Intentions: Interreligious Missteps & Mistakes (Orbis, 2023). Rabbi Rose is currently completing a contemporary multifaith commentary on the Book of Psalms (Paraclete Press, 2025) and a biography of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (d. 1972) for teen readers (ages 12-15, Monkfish, 2025). His writings have also appeared in Beliefnet; The Huffington Post; Forward; MyJewishLearning; Patheos; Religion News Service; Tikkun; and The Washington Post.