Meet Two Members of the Class of 2021

Rev. Dr. Jessica Chapman Lape is a 2021 Ph.D. graduate and self-described “womanist pastoral theologian, chaplain, and doula rooted in faith, love, and reproductive justice.” She is ordained in the United Church of Christ and is a community-trained doula. Jessica earned her Master of Divinity from Wake Forest University School of Divinity in North Carolina in 2014, with a concentration in Faith and Health of the Public. She was a 2019 doctoral fellow of the Forum for Theological Exploration.

Throughout Jessica’s time studying spiritual care and counseling at CST, she worked as a clinical chaplain, serving with PIH Health as a CPE intern, VITAS Healthcare as a hospice chaplain, and Kaiser Permanente Orange County as a hospital and palliative care chaplain. She said:

“Working as a chaplain while simultaneously pursuing my academic interests in spiritual care and counseling sparked a desire to teach chaplaincy and spiritual care within a progressive seminary setting. In the Fall of 2021, I will be the newly-appointed assistant professor and director of interreligious chaplaincy at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. There, I look forward to working with new and established chaplains to develop culturally compassionate and contextualized spiritual care practices and programs.”

Jessica’s dissertation is titled “MissTreated: A Womanist Clinical Pastoral Theology on African American Women’s Mistreatment in U.S. Healthcare.” She explains that it “advocates for indigenous Black birthwork to be regarded as spiritual care in order to interrupt the ever-present story of mistreatment.” Jessica is “committed to advancing birthwork as a theoretically and theologically grounded profession of spiritual care.” She gave the keynote presentation, “Womanist(Health)Care: Reimagining Healthcare for African American Women in Covid-19,” last fall at the CST-sponsored Coloring Mental Health Collective Virtual Conference: Grief, Rage, and Political Action: Caring for the Black and Brown People from Womanist and Mujerista Perspectives during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

“CST provided me with a strong and renewed sense of confidence in my pastoral, scholarly, and professional identity,” Jessica said. “From student leadership positions to leading and attending chapel services, to my scholarship being celebrated and uplifted, each area of my vocational identity was nurtured, honored, and respected as I grew and found my voice. CST also provided me with the space, freedom, and community to explore how my passion for social justice intersects with my academic interests and call to ministry. I will forever be grateful to CST.”

Jess Navarette graduated from CST in May with a Master of Arts in Comparative and Disciplinary Studies. He identifies as a spiritual hybrid of sorts, practicing and finding inspiration within Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity, as well as elements of other traditions. When discerning a focus in graduate studies, Jess struggled with whether to further his music knowledge (Jess studied music in college and has been playing, singing, and teaching lessons since then), or pursue a religious studies degree. He explained:

“Even when I first started college, studying music, I went on what I thought was a ‘philosophy binge’ and ordered all kinds of books like the Rig Veda (Hindu Text), Tao Te Ching, Popul Vuh (Mayan Tradition), along with studying the Bible and even checking out the Quran from my University library.  Somewhere in the middle of my bachelor’s degree, the search took a serious Eastern turn towards Hinduism and Buddhism, and I started getting involved with Kirtan, Chanting, Sufi music, and other ways of blending music and religious sentiments. For me, the gradual combination of music with religious studies has been the fruition of a lifelong spiritual seeking and artistic engagement.”

At CST, Jess had the opportunity to incorporate both his love of music and religion in his thesis project, which consisted of an analysis of musical practices in religious studies, especially within “pluralistic or hybrid-religious approaches utilized by modern interreligious organizations and movements,” and plans for a 5-song audio recording of Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist selections to be created by Jess himself. This celebration of pluralism and hybrid-religious belonging also touched on the science of mantra and music as a contemplative practice, something Jess was able to study both theoretically and viscerally while at CST:

“Courses from Dr. Andy Dreitcer and Dr. Frank Rogers helped supply some of the science supporting religious practices such as meditation and prayer,” Jess explained. “One highlight for me was going to the Kinesiology lab operated by Dr. Alane Daugherty and actually monitoring myself with HRV (heart rate variability) technology while applying different meditation methods. An inspiring discovery while doing research for my thesis project was seeing that my multi-religious path has been tread by notable scholars and authorities in the field, and it was great to come across CST professors who were well-versed and experienced in many world traditions.”

Jess is an active member and musician of the Radha Kunj community in Pasadena which is a center of Jagadguru Kripaluji (JK) Yog – a spiritual and charitable nonprofit organization “established for the physical, mental, and spiritual well-being of all humankind” and disseminating “authentic knowledge of Yoga for the body, mind, and soul,” founded in 2009 by Swami Mukundananda, a senior disciple of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj. Jess plays the keyboard, guitar, shaker, and manjira in the kirtan ensemble, which leads chanting on Saturdays. He is grateful for all he has learned about Indian music at the center and the opportunity to regularly share in this beloved spiritual practice of his with others.