About

Wanda J. Stahl is a retired Clinical Assistant Professor of Contextual Theology and Practice at Boston University School of Theology, where she served from 2011 to 2022. She is an ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church and has a professional background focused on Christian formation and the building of congregational life. Prior to her tenure at BU, she served as Director of Christian Formation for the New England Annual Conference of the UMC for 12 years and has extensive experience in Christian education, spiritual formation, and leadership development. Her current areas of interest include envisioning and implementing strategies for vital ministry, leadership, and formation in the 21st century. Her recent research concentrates on faith communities that meet outdoors in nature, exploring how these experiences influence participants' spiritual practices and their commitment to environmental justice. Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in teaching courses related to spiritual formation, urban ministry, and the integration of theology and practice, and has contributed to various workshops, seminars, and leadership training programs. Her professional affiliations include memberships in several religious education and Methodist organizations, and she has received awards such as the Innovation Incubator Award Grant for fostering ecological conversion through 'Wild Churches'.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Environmental ethics
• Political Science
• Philosophy
• Theology
• Pedagogy
• Public relations
• Social psychology
• Law
• History
• Psychology

Selected publications

• Seminary of the wild research data

  OpenBU (Boston University) · 2024-08-01

  dataset1st authorCorresponding

  Practices and strategies for sustaining resilient spiritual leadership are critical in this time of climate crisis. Learnings from participants in the Seminary of the Wild eco-ministry certification program offer guidance for engaging in practices of education and formation that can help people of faith meet the challenges of these times and meaningfully contribute to the flourishing of their communities and the planet.

  Publisher

• Meaningful Vocation in a Climate-Changed World: Learnings from Seminary of the Wild

  Religious Education · 2024

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Environmental ethics
  PublisherDOI

• Welcome to Dear Earth: Resourcing Spirit for the Anthropocene Era

  Religious Education · 2024

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Environmental ethics
  • History

  The devastating impacts of climate change on daily life are becoming more and more apparent. These challenging times call for religious educators in all contexts to help faith communities bring the lens of climate justice to all aspects of faith formation. In this article, the Religious Education Association (REA) 2024 program chairs share experiences that have shaped their own commitment to climate justice and offer insight into the foci of the upcoming Dear Earth conference.

  PublisherDOI

• Healing Our Divide with the Non-Human World: Theological Foundations and Pedagogical Practices within the Wild Church Network

  Religious Education · 2021 · 2 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Sociology
  • Environmental ethics

  A growing number of new faith communities in North America are emerging as part of the Wild Church Network. These outdoor church expressions seek to re-acquaint, re-cover, and re-member their faith communities as loving participants of the larger community of Creation. This paper explores theological foundations and spiritual practices grounding the ecclesiologies of these communities. This study is based on data gathered from site visits, surveys, and interviews with Wild Church leaders and participants. Implications for faith formation in this time of climate crisis will be explored.

  PublisherDOI

• Congregations as the Center of Knowing: Shifting from the Individual to the Communal in Knowledge Formation.

  Religious Education · 1997-01-01 · 4 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Traditional epistemological constructions have focused upon the individual as the center of knowledge formation. These constructions have helped perpetuate the individualistic culture of the United States, a culture that in many ways has adversely affected educational practices and faith formation in white, middle class, Protestant churches. Several recent epistemologies, most offered by feminist scholars, challenge these individualistic theories. They assert that the community, rather than the individual, is to be more accurately understood as the center of knowledge. This paper will outline these theories and explore their relevance to understanding the role of the congregational community in religious education

  Publisher

Frequent coauthors

• Dori Baker

  1 shared

Awards & honors

• Innovation Incubator Award Grant, BTS Center (2018-19)
• Dempster Graduate Fellowship, General Board of Higher Educat…