Contributors
Ryan Parker is the creator, editor, and main contributor to poptheology.com. He completed his PhD in Religion and the Arts at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, with a focus on film and religion, particularly the history of religious cinema and contemporary independent religious films. His dissertation is “Ministers of Movies: Sherwood Baptist Church and the Church Film Movement.” He holds a BA in English from Mississippi College and an MDiv from Wake Forest University Divinity School. You can contact him at jamesryanparker@gmail.com, twitter.com/jryanparker, and www.facebook.com/jryanparker.
Richard Lindsay is native of Kentucky and an MDiv graduate of Yale Divinity School, Richard Lindsay is a doctoral candidate in art and religion at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. His interests include the intersections of popular culture, sexuality, and religion. His dissertation will focus on queer expression and camp aesthetics in biblical film.
Wendy Arce is currently a fifth-year PhD student at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. She is specializing in Ethics and Social Theory with a focus on immigration issues among the Latino/a community. She holds a BA in International Relations from USC and a MA in Religion from Claremont School of Theology.
Alan Ackridge is the youth minister at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Hickory, North Carolina. He received a BA from Auburn University in 1989, an MTS from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1998, and a degree in Anglican Studies from Wake Forest University Divinity School in 2003. He is the Boy Scout District Executive, Youth and Family Minister, And Associate Rector of Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church in Hickory, North Carolina and a co-founder of the Epiphany Institute. Most importantly, he is a child to God, a husband to Kathleen, and a father to Harrison and Evie.
Mary M. Dalton is Associate Professor of Communication at Wake Forest University. She reviews film and television for NPR affiliate WFDD-FM and for the Winston-Salem Journal. Her publications include The Hollywood Curriculum: Teachers in the Movies and the volume (co-edited with Laura R. Linder) The Sitcom Reader: America Viewed and Skewed. She is also a documentary filmmaker.
Daniel Skidmore is currently attending the MA program at DSPT majoring in art and religion. Daniel plans to write his thesis on the scapegoat mechanism in film. Previously, Daniel attended Hampshire College where he wrote his thesis, “Jesus, Job and Michael Corleone: A Comparative Study on Reason and Faith.” Daniel has had a lifelong passion for films and the stories that shape us individually and collectively.
Alexander Carpenter has a B.A. in English Literature and Religion from Andrews University and an MA in Art and Religion with an emphasis on film from the Graduate Theological Union. Alexander is currently a member of the Visual Arts Faculty at Pacific Union College and the Editor of the Spectrum Blog. His interests are new media, religion, politics, the environment, and golf.
Jessica Margrave Schirm is a momma, wife and ordained, Baptist minister. Jessica holds a BA in Religion from The University of the Cumberlands and an MDiv from Wake Forest University Divinity School. Jessica currently resides in Central Kentucky and is a Hospice Chaplain providing end of life spiritual care for patients, families and caregivers. Jessica is also the Children’s Minister for an open, affirming and welcoming, progressive Baptist congregation. Jessica and her spouse have an amazingly adorable three-year-old son and a houseful of stray animals. Jessica is unashamedly obsessed with the Barenaked Ladies, Stephen King and cake.