Dr. Angela Parker Appointed Assistant Professor of New Testament and Greek in McAfee School of Theology

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Dr. Angela Parker

MACON – Dr. Angela Parker was recently appointed to the faculty of the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology, where she will serve as assistant professor of New Testament and Greek, effective Aug. 1.

“Dr. Parker brings to our School of Theology a love and devotion to the church and an intellectual commitment to the New Testament which will serve our community well,” said Dr. Greg DeLoach, interim dean of McAfee. “Her enthusiastic personality and compelling teaching style will enhance our mission: to prepare ministers who inspire the church and the world to imagine, discover and create God’s future.”

Dr. Parker comes to Mercer from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, where she has served as assistant professor of biblical studies since 2015. She previously taught courses at Seattle University, Northwest University, Trinity Lutheran College and Catholic Theological Union.

Her teaching and research interests include New Testament texts and contexts, The Gospel of Mark, Pauline epistles and theology, womanist biblical interpretation, theology and ethics, contemporary hermeneutical strategies, and postcolonial theory.

Dr. Parker currently has a book project, titled Bodies, Violence, and Emotions: A Womanist Reading of σῶμα and πτῶμα in the Gospel of Mark, under contract with Wipf and Stock Publishers. Additionally, she has published her work in numerous academic journals and presented at conferences and meetings across the U.S. as well as in Seoul, South Korea.

She holds membership in the Society of Biblical Literature, American Academy of Religion, Society for the Study of Race, Ethnicity and Religion, and Society for the Study of Black Religion.

Dr. Parker earned her Bachelor of Arts in religion and philosophy from Shaw University, Master of Theological Studies from Duke University Divinity School and Doctor of Philosophy in Bible, Culture and Hermeneutics from Chicago Theological Seminary.

The same week she begins at Mercer, Dr. Parker will participate in Courageous Conversations, the Jude 3 Project’s annual gathering that pairs black voices trained in conservative and progressive spaces to discuss topics that are relevant for the church and culture. This year’s event will take place Aug. 1-2 at Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church in Atlanta.

About the School of Theology

The Mercer University School of Theology, named for James and Carolyn McAfee, who provided the founding gift for the School, forms Christian leaders whose practice and scholarship, empowered by their passion for God and neighbor, change lives and transform communities. The School accomplishes this mission by: 1) integrating spirituality with service through: practicing spiritual disciplines that nurture us for Christian service; embracing ethnic, gender and theological diversity to enhance our spiritual growth and moral formation; creating opportunities to learn in community, experience transformation and risk action; 2) integrating theological inquiry with prophetic vision through interpreting the story of the Christian faith through sacred scriptures and traditions; connecting faith to global contexts in ways that engage personal, communal and political realities; critiquing the structures of our society from an informed prophetic voice; 3) integrating worship with witness through celebrating God’s presence in worship as the source of the Church’s call to community and global transformation; reading cultural contexts to create holistic strategies for ministry; proclaiming the love of God in Jesus Christ through dialogue and in partnership with others. For more information, visit theology.mercer.edu.