Wolfteich Named President of Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality
Claire Wolfteich, associate professor of practical theology and spirituality studies, has been named President of the Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality (SSCS) after serving last year in the position of Vice President/President-Elect.
Founded in 1991, The Society for the Study of Christian Spirituality describes itself as existing “to promote research and dialogue within the growing community of persons interested in the field of spirituality.” An ecumenical and interdisciplinary organization, SSCS “strives to be inclusive of the widest possible range of expressions of Christian spirituality.” It meets annually at the American Academy of Religion meeting.
Wolfteich will serve a one-year term from November 2015 through November 2016. She also served on the governing board of the SSCS from 2004 to 2007 and serves on the editorial board of the journal Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality—a journal published by Johns Hopkins University Press that “promotes research in the field of Christian spirituality while fostering creative dialogue with other non-Christian traditions.”
One of Wolfteich’s major tasks will be leading SSCS in its goal to develop more fully international networks of scholars in Christian spirituality. Last year as President-Elect, Wolfteich organized and served on a new SSCS International Relations Ad Hoc Committee. “My fellow members on the committee include scholars from South Africa, Hong Kong, Bangalore, Italy, Ireland, Switzerland, and Barbados,” she said. “Building this international work in spirituality studies is a major priority of my term as President.” She also aims to broaden the interdisciplinary partners that SSCS brings into its conversation on the study of spirituality.
Wolfteich also serves STH as the co-director of the Center for Practical Theology and director of the Center’s Spiritual Formation and Church Life project. Her most recent book publications include the edited volume Invitation to Practical Theology: Catholic Voices and Visions (Paulist Press, 2014); and Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2008), co-authored with Bryan P. Stone.