Chicago Theological Seminary announces Rev. Dr. Heesung Hwang as Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Education and Public Ministry

Chicago Theological Seminary is pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Dr. Heesung Hwang as Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Education and Public Ministry. Dr. Hwang recently completed a two-year term as a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow at CTS. She will begin her new two-year appointment at CTS on July 1, 2021 and continue teaching both online and face-to-face courses.

“What a pleasure that Dr. Hwang will continue to be a part of CTS,” said Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Academic Dean. “Dr. Hwang has an extensive background in Christian education, feminist studies, and multicultural worship. For the past two years she has been a tremendous asset to our students and Seminary community alike.”

Hwang completed her doctoral studies and graduated from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary (G-ETS). Hwang was also awarded the Dr. Richard Ford Prize for Christian Education for her outstanding academic achievements during G-ETS Honors Chapel. Before joining the doctoral program at G-ETS, Hwang spent a significant amount of her religious educational career engaging in Korean American congregations as a children’s pastor and an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church in McLean and Centreville, Virginia, and Naperville, Illinois.

“Christian religious education empowers students to learn how to expand their understanding of theology and ministry and transform the church and society. As a religious educator, I believe a teacher is responsible for creating an open and safe space to explore and interpret social challenges and students’ various concerns,” said Hwang. “I am honored and thrilled to continue to teach at Chicago Theological Seminary, where faculty and students critically interpret and take theological actions for various social justice issues in the local and global communities. I am eager to meet with students, challenge them, and raise leaders who transform their paths and many more lives in their churches and communities.”

Hwang has published articles on Asian American studies, Christian education, and leadership development, including “Crossing the Border: Religious Education of Coexistence with the Case of North Korean Refugees in the U.S.” in Religious Education, “challenges in the Modern Society and the Future Ministry” in the Leadership and Discipleship, and the co-authored article, “Last Night I Dreamed of Peace”: Letters to Women Who Hold Up the Moon” in Asian and Asian American Women in Theology and Religion: Embodying Knowledge. Dr. Hwang’s research interests include: Christian Religious education, developmental theories, identity formation, LGBTQ+ studies, congregational studies, critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and postcolonial feminist theology.

Hwang holds a master of divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary, a master of theology in Christian Education, and a bachelor in theology from Methodist Theological University in Seoul, South Korea.