Joyce S. Shin - Swarthmore Presbyterian Church

Introducing
Joyce S. Shin
The Pastor Nominating Committee is pleased to present
the Rev. Joyce S. Shin as its candidate for
Pastor / Head of Staff of Swarthmore Presbyterian Church.
September, 2015
Swarthmore Presbyterian Church
727 Harvard Avenue • Swarthmore, PA 19081
610-543-4712 www.swarthmorepres.org
Striving to be the body of Christ — Here and now, ready to serve!
Who is Reverend Joyce Shin?
Early Years & Education: Music & Ministry
Joyce Shin grew up in Richmond, Kentucky, a small university town
where Joyce’s father Un Chol was a professor of Humanities and her
mother Hee Young sang in many civic and church choirs. It was there
that she, her parents, and her older sister joined First Presbyterian
Church, the church family that confirmed Joyce’s sense of call into
ministry.
Joyce earned her B.A. at Rhodes, a liberal arts college in Memphis,
Tennessee, where she majored in both Religious Studies and Classical
Languages. She then studied Ethics at Tubingen University (Germany) as
a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar. In 2000, Joyce completed her Masters of Divinity (M. Div.) at
The Divinity School of The University of Chicago, with a thesis on “The Role of Music in Theological
Education.” She has since pursued doctoral work in Theological Ethics, and is currently completing her
dissertation on “Faith in an Age of Cultural Pluralism: An Aesthetic Approach to Transformation.”
While at seminary, Joyce served as Pastoral Intern at Fourth Presbyterian Church and received chaplaincy
training at an Episcopalian retirement community in Chicago. A piano student since the age of 5, she also
served as organist for several worship communities on the University of Chicago campus. Though she
doesn’t play the piano as much these days, Joyce says that her piano training continues to reverberate in
how she views the world — always looking for patterns, relationships, and coherence. “Form and content,
I believe, should enhance one another in worship as in music and art,” Joyce says.
Marriage, Ministry, & Continuing Education
Joyce and Michael David met at the University of Chicago and married in 1999. In 2001 they moved to New
Haven, Connecticut, where Michael completed medical school at Yale University. Joyce worked as Campus
Minister to Presbyterian undergraduate students, as a teaching assistant at Yale Divinity School, and served
as pulpit supply to First Presbyterian Church of New Haven. They welcomed daughter Sophia in 2003.
In 2006, Joyce was called by Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois, to serve as Associate Pastor for
Congregational Life. Fourth Church is a large urban church with a membership over 5,000 and a staff of
over 145. The last few years of her nine-year ministry at Fourth Church have been marked by significant
transitions: a new church building, the retirement of a long-time and beloved pastor, and the welcoming of
a new pastor. Throughout these changes, Joyce has served in key roles, including Chief Transition Officer
(2011-2013) and Temporary Head of Staff (2014). “My new responsibilities exposed me to the breadth and
depth of all the ministries of the church, and I became a champion for them all,” Joyce says.
Joyce has steadfastly engaged in building interfaith relationships between Fourth Church and local Jewish,
Muslim, and Buddhist communities. She has served many years on the Ecumenical and Interreligious Work
Group of the Presbytery of Chicago, and is especially active in its Muslim-Presbyterian Dialogue. Joyce
co-authored the first-ever Muslim-Presbyterian Covenant, which was approved unanimously by both the
Presbytery of Chicago and the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. In part because of her
passion for interfaith work, Joyce was named Prophetic Woman of Faith at the 2014 General Assembly of
the PC (USA), and co-authored the PC (USA) Interfaith Stance Document approved there.
“Form and content, I believe, should enhance one another in worship as in music and art. ”
A Spirit of Inquiry
Joyce has served as an adjunct faculty member at McCormick Theological
Seminary in Chicago, teaching courses like “Worship and Ethics: The
Challenge of Cultural Pluralism,” “Christian Social Ethics in a Pluralistic
Culture,” and “Reflections on the Practice of Ministry.”
Joyce remains a curious and restless proponent of the quest for
knowledge as well as enlightenment. “I believe that the questions we ask
in life are precious,” she says. “If mined and honed, they reveal the core
of our concerns. I, too, have questions, and I know how important it is
to be in a community of fellow inquirers. As Pastor of Swarthmore
Presbyterian Church, I would seek to foster a community whose faith
and wisdom would deepen by the questions we articulate.”
From the PNC: Why Joyce?
Intellectually Strong, Theologically Relevant, Caring & Relational
The PNC was impressed with Joyce Shin from the start. Among the many Presbyterian leaders we
contacted for recommendations was John M. Buchanan, editor/publisher of Christian Century and recently
retired Pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. Dr. Buchanan said that he only had one
recommendation: Rev. Joyce Shin. It was John Buchanan that over 20 years ago commended Rev.
Wohlschlaeger to us, so we had reason to respect his input. And throughout our process of discernment —
listening to and reading sermons, conducting interviews by phone and Skype, in on-site visits at Fourth and
in Swarthmore, and follow-up on stellar references — Joyce exceeded all of our expectations, standing out
as someone truly special.
Held up to the guidepost of our Mission Study, Joyce’s experience, strengths, and potential to lead
Swarthmore Presbyterian Church aligned beautifully. As you come to know Joyce, we hope that you will
share the PNC’s view that the words from the Mission Study “intellectually strong, theologically relevant,
caring and relational, attractive to young families” seem perfectly to describe her.
At Fourth Church in Chicago, a 5,000 member congregation, Joyce has held many leadership roles. In her
nine-year tenure as Associate Pastor for Congregational Life, Joyce has led several major organizational and
transformational projects. She also serves on several relevant national boards, including The Covenant
Network of Presbyterians and the National Council of Churches. She is an advocate for diversity and a big
picture thinker; she has the mind of a scholar with the heart of a pastor.
In addition to the blessings of abundant pastoral and spiritual gifts, Joyce speaks French and German, is an
accomplished pianist and organist, and has a deep appreciation for music as an intrinsic part of worship.
We have found her to be warm and personable, inquisitive, collaborative, compassionate, and an active
listener. Joyce loves to read, and is passionate about learning.
The PNC believes that in Joyce we have found a person who will celebrate our past as she leads us into a
shared future. We could not be more delighted that she recognizes this calling!
“While God alone creates something out of nothing,
the church builds on the cultural legacy of those who came before us.
My sense of call to serve as the 10th Pastor of Swarthmore Presbyterian Church
would include a call to carry what is cherished from the past into the future. ”
What About Family?
Joyce’s Family
Joyce’s husband of 16 years, Michael David, is an
Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University
of Chicago Medical Center who specializes in
infectious diseases. Michael is one of six siblings
who grew up in Washington, D.C. — a time that
included frequent visits to grandparents in
Czechoslovakia. Michael earned his B.A. at
Amherst College and a Masters in Biostatistics at
the University of Chicago. He completed medical
school and residency at Yale University. A student
of Russian language, history and literature,
Michael lived and traveled in Russia for two years
and received a Ph.D. in Russian history at the
University of Chicago. He also enjoys
photography, reading, writing, languages and
hiking. Joyce and Michael love to travel.
Michael and Joyce’s daughter Sophia Un-hae Shin
David is twelve years old and is in the seventh
grade at The University of Chicago Laboratory
School. Sophia loves school, her friends, and her
Chihuahua, Gloria. She plays the piano and
especially enjoys reading, writing, sewing, and art. Sophia has spent many summers at an art camp where
creativity, joy, and beauty abound. Her mother looks forward to introducing Sophia to the deep sense of
community that she has sensed in Swarthmore.
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me. I will hold your people in my heart.
“I, the Lord of Sea and Sky,” by Daniel L. Schutte
Pastor Nominating Committee:
Catherine Camp
Dorothy Gelb
Karen Gibble
Grant Grissom
Winnie Host
John Hubbell
Abbie Rowley
Joe Stock
Michael Vincent