A Life-Sustaining Invitation

Letters
Written By Open Plaza

March 2020

Nowhere in our creative thinking, and after launching HTI Open Plaza in November of 2019, did we anticipate the pandemic space we are now living.  A space that requires us to socially distance to sustain our lives and the lives of others. A space in which most of our daily interactions must be done via text, phone call, Zoom, webinar, and a variety of social-media platforms.  Even when the COVID-19 pandemic reality is past us, this will continue to be the way to maintain and build relationships.  

Fortunately, Open Plaza is here!  We have introduced CO-VIDA 19, a series of blogs and podcasts that speaks to on-the-ground issues faced by Latinx communities during this pandemic season.  In quarantine 24/7? CO-VIDA 19 invites you out to welcome Open Plaza as your companion on a walk, as a soothing meditation in the middle of a restless night, as a resource to share at an online bible study or to assign for an online class, etc.  

As you engage Open Plaza, and invite others to do so, we also encourage you to submit or share ideas for future blogs and podcasts--please  see our submission guidelines.   

More than ever, we trust that Open Plaza is here to serve you and communities across the globe.  Social distancing can help to sustain our physical bodies, our hope is that, through Open Plaza, you receive a good word to sustain your soul and your relationships.  

Blessings,

Rev. Joanne Rodríguez
Executive Director
Hispanic Theological Initiative

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HTI - Letter to the Community (COVID-19), 17 March 2020

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Joanne Rodríguez

Rev. Dr. Joanne Rodríguez is Executive Director of the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI) and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church USA. Since 1999, Rev. Dr. Rodríguez has collaborated with students, faculty, deans, presidents, and directors of non-profit educational programs to ensure that HTI doctoral students graduate as influential leaders in theological and religious education and the broader educational landscape. She holds an honorary doctorate from the Iliff School of Theology, where she served as the Commencement Speaker for the class of 2024. She also earned ThM and MDiv degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and a BA from Pace University. The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) recognized her contributions with a 2024 Women in Leadership Trailblazer Award. Additionally, Rev. Dr. Rodríguez is a teaching elder at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Trenton, New Jersey.

 
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