- valerie.rempel@fresno.edu
- 559-453-2319
- Office: SEM 106
Education
- Ph.D., Vanderbilt University, 2003
- M.A., Vanderbilt University, 1999
- M.A., Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, 1992
- B.A., Tabor College, 1978
My primary mission in teaching is to encourage students to deepen their love for the church and its complexities, and to gain both knowledge and appreciation for the Christian tradition. I want students to think about what they believe and why they believe it and to see how those beliefs have been shaped by their theological tradition, their culture and their own experience. As an Anabaptist, I am also committed to the belief that theological reflection is a community task. I want to encourage students to engage in theological conversation with each other as preparation for ministry in the church and world.
Publications & Presentations
- "Book review: California Mennonites" California Mennonite Historical Society (2015)
- "Black dress and blue jeans: choices and truth-telling in memoir writing" California Mennonite Historical Society (2012)
- "Church and school: compañeros in biblical and church history" Direction (2012)
- "Geography matters: understanding the lay of the land" Conrad Grebel Review (2012)
- "Holding to the center: the life of John E. Toews" Direction (2009)
- “North American Theology,” in Global Dictionary of Theology, edited by William A. Dyrness and Veli-Matti Karkkainen, published by IVP Academic, 2008
- Contributions to: The Westminster Handbook to Women in American Religious History, edited by Susan Hill Lindley and Eleanor J. Stebner, published by Westminster John Knox Press, 2008
- “When Leaders Fail” in Christian Leader, November 2008; also published as: “When Leaders Disappoint Their Followers,” in MB Herald, November 2008
- “Response to Hope Nisly’s 'The Church and Women: Power, Language, and Institutions,’” in Pacific Journal, 2007
- “Conference Call,” in Christian Leader, February 2007
- “Senior Ministry: Aging Our Vision Gracefully,” in The Christian Leader, August 2005
- “What Do We Do With the Past?” in Mennonite Brethren Herald, April 2005
- "Where We’ve Been," in The Christian Leader, Sept. 2004
- “Paulina Foote: Under God’s Hand,” in Profiles of Mennonite Faith, Fall 2002
- Review of Power, Authority, and the Anabaptist Tradition, edited by Benjamin W. Redekop and Calvin W. Redekop, in Direction, Fall 2002
- “Congregational Life,” in For Everything a Season: Mennonite Brethren In North America, 1874-2002, an Informal History, edited by Paul Toews and Kevin Enns-Rempel, published by Kindred Productions, 2002
Valerie Rempel, Ph.D.
Dean of the Seminary, Associate Professor, J.B. Toews Chair of History and Theology, Interim Vice President of the Seminary
- valerie.rempel@fresno.edu
- 559-453-2319
- Office: SEM 106