Doctor Frank Pisciotta, GMU board member and graduate of the GMU Doctor of Theology degree program, passed from this earth on February 6, 2024, in Crystal Springs, Florida. 

Frank had been a core team member of GMU's interfaith training team in Kenya over the past decade. Frank was a graduate of the Maryknoll School of Theology in Ossining, New York, and a founding member of the first Maryknoll Affiliates interfaith chapter in Kenya.

He participated in the development of the GMU strategic plan in 2022-23 and contributed to the development of GMU's engagement with FCM over several years.

Frank also helped prepare for the 2023 Parliament of Religions meeting by sponsoring a communal meal for the GMU team attending the Parliament which included our interfaith guests.

Frank supported the ministry of Esther Nditi both in Kenya and in the US as the first GMU candidate for the Doctor of Ministry in Prison Chaplaincy

. 

Frank is survived by his brother, Louis Pisciotta, of Yonkers, New York. 

GMU is planning a celebration of Frank's life on Monday, April 1, 2024, at 9 AM Pacific time, 12 noon EST, and 8 PM in Kenya. It will be held on Zoom.

Those living in the Metro New York area can find out about attending the in-person memorial services in March here.

To honor the memory of Dr. Pisciotta, President Gerald Grudzen and Marita Grudzen are donating $500 to the Harmony Institute in Kenya for an organic farming project cosponsored by GMU and Harmony Institute. Esther Nditi is an advisor for this project, which will involve graduates of the GMU interfaith training education program in the Mombasa region of Kenya, of which Frank was a core member.

Donations are being made to GMU to honor Frank's legacy. A "Dr. Frank Pisciotta Endowment" is being set up to provide scholarships for African students.

Zotero

When I first began to teach Information Literacy and Research Methods to university students 30 or so years ago, the creation of a bibliography was a daunting ordeal. I made my students learn the various citation styles, then format the references they’d found on their topic—books, journal articles, websites—into the correct style: APA. MLA, Turabian, Chicago, and others. Every citation had to be perfect: the order of its elements exactly right (author, title, publisher, year of publication, etc.) with absolutely accurate punctuation. Grading the students’ attempts was a grueling process. They hated those assignments. I hated them too. 

Much changed over the intervening decades, as technology emerged into the academic world. Now there are many tools that format your citations for you: you just enter the information into the little boxes, and presto! A perfect bibliographic citation emerges in whichever style you’ve chosen. If you find an article in one of the databases, or a book in WorldCat, that source will generate a citation for you, in whichever style you want. 

In recent years, an even better resource has entered our scholarly lives. It’s called Zotero. Zotero is a reference manager. It can store, manage, and cite bibliographic references, such as books and articles. Zotero serves as a powerful tool for collecting and organizing research information and sources.

Every item you find and want to include in your research results contains different metadata, depending on what type it is. Items can be everything from books, articles, and reports to web pages, artwork, films, letters, manuscripts, sound recordings, bills, cases, or statutes, among many others.

Zotero uses Citation Style Language (CSL) to properly format citations in any of the many different bibliographic styles, such as Chicago, MLA, APA, Turabian, and more. It’s even possible to generate footnotes automatically and insert them in the text, as well as to create an entire bibliography from the items you’ve selected to cite. 

And—best of all—Zotero is absolutely free! Just go to https://www.zotero.org. and download it. I’ve also asked that this resource be included in the Library section of the GMU website. 

I found Zotero’s learning curve to be a bit steep. I recommend that you read all the documentation carefully before you download; I also suggest watching any of the several available instructional videos on YouTube, prepared by librarians. Once you’ve mastered it, you’ll find that Zotero is definitely worth the effort!

Enjoy! And let me know how it goes.

~Judy Clarence, M.L.I.S., GMU Librarian

Creation Spirituality

Spring into Spirituality! To help everyone afford this unique experience, Dr. Margie Schneider is offering her two 8-week courses, Creation Spirituality TH580 and Eco-Art & Creation Spirituality TH581 to be taken in succession in March at the substantially reduced price of $150 each. That's less than $20 per session! Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to "Embrace Creation!"

Free Presentation on Psychosynthesis in April

Deacon Ricard Weinhagen will give a free presentation on the writing of Roberto Assagioli on the psychology of Psychosynthesis.

Richard Weinhagen

Deacon Reformed Church

Minister Federation of Christian Ministries

Chaplaincy Vermont State Guard

Education:

BS Human Behavior and Learning

incorporating 1 year study and training in Psychosynthesis with Jean Guenther, Vermont Center for Psychosynthesis

Psychosynthesis Books by founder, Roberto Assagioli

Psychosynthesis: A Collection of Basic Writings

(also available as Psychosynthesis A Manual of Principles and Techniques)

The Act of Will

Transpersonal Development: The Dimension Beyond Psychosynthesis

Stay tuned for the specific date and time of the presentation.

Doctorate in Senior Care and Hospice Chaplaincy in Collaboration with Pacific Institute

GMU will oversee a Doctor of Ministry in Senior Care and Hospice Chaplaincy. Prospective students should have the interest and background necessary to work with senior populations. Students will take one unit of clinical pastoral education (CPE) with the Pacific Institute for Essential Conversations led by John Jeffrey.  The Doctorate has two possible tracks. One track is geared toward those working with seniors in some form of senior programs such as housing, community centers, or senior health advocacy programs. The other track is for those in end-of-life care such as hospice or medical professionals in geriatric fields.

Students would take four GMU courses including "Chaplaincy 1:The Basics"; "Spirituality and Aging"; and "Ethics and Pastoral Ministry." For the final course, students can choose from a mentored research project or a supervised internship.

Community Chaplaincy

Negotiations are underway for collaboration with All Faiths Seminary on a Community Chaplaincy Program. The curriculum and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) structure are being developed. The program is scheduled to be launched in January 2025.

Religion and Science

A new cohort in the GMU's Religion and Science Program will begin in the spring of 2024. Discover the compatibility of scholarship and faith. The Alliance for Shared Values in New Jersey (a Hizmet affiliate) has agreed to fund three scholarships for students in developing countries in the next Science and Religion cohort.

New Collaboration with People's Catholic Seminary

GMU seeks to meet the needs and aspirations of those who wish to start Intentional Eucharistic Communities, and together with PCS is offering:

Creating Inclusive Eucharistic Communities in an Emerging Synodal Church 5 sessions  $475 + 25 App Fee

Women in the Bible and Christian Tradition 5 sessions  $475 + 25 App Fee

Credit for these courses can be applied towards a GMU degree or GMU certificate.

This program receives nothing but positive testimonials from our graduates  Just one of the many reasons for our satisfied students is its flexibility. It’s not focused on one denomination or ethnic group… You can adapt it to your client’s unique background, whether they are Jewish, Catholic or non-religious.  

New PCS Retreat/Independent Course: Celebrating the Sacred Feminine in your Life with Dr. Bridget Mary Meehan

Celebrating the Sacred Feminine in your life invites you to explore the beautiful mosaic of names and images that depict God's All-Embracing, inclusive love for us. Each section provides imagery of the sacred feminine in Scripture, the Christian mystics and in contemporary life. Open yourself to your belovedness as an image of the Divine Feminine in prayer and action and explore new paths to spiritual healing, nourishment and transformation in our world.

Celebrating the Sacred Feminine in your life is available as a private retreat, an independent study, or as a course for sharing in a cohort model.

Cohorts meet in a Zoom video conference to share insights on their meditations.

For those taking this course as an independent study or retreat, Bridget Mary will be available upon request to share with you in phone or Zoom conversations. 

If you use social media platforms, please "LIKE" and "FOLLOW" GMU on

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• X (formally known as Twitter)
• YouTube

Thanks to the outstanding generosity of GMU's alumni and benefactors, partial scholarships are now available in all areas of study for all GMU students.

The Women's Ordination Conference is in its seventh year of offering the Lucile Murray Durkin Scholarship, a $2,200 scholarship for women and non-binary people discerning priestly ordination—primarily in the Catholic tradition and secondarily in other denominations—and pursuing theology studies. The application process is open, and applications are due by April 29, 2023.

Please support your university!

GMU cannot succeed without YOU!

Honor Frank's memory and legacy by contributing to the Dr. Frank Pisciotta Endowment Fund for African Students.