CTS Student to Intern at Illinois Campaign for Better Health Care

Katherine Schofield
M.Div. '10

The Beatitudes Society has awarded third-year M.Div. student Katherine Schofield a summer fellowship to work at Illinois Campaign for Better Health Care in Chicago. Katherine will be part of a group of 26 Summer Fellows serving as interns at social change organizations in Washington D.C., the San Francisco Bay Area, Atlanta, and Chicago.

As she wrote in her application essay, Katherine sought this opportunity in order to “learn more about how faith communities and non-profit organizations can work together to bring positive transformation to their local areas and stimulate action on a national level.” Her work at Illinois Campaign for Better Health Care, where she will be part of the Faith Communities Team, will provide ample experience in connecting faith and public life.

Katherine’s specific duties have not yet been set, but she anticipates that her primary role will be informing religious leaders about the new healthcare legislation and how it affects their constituents. She also hopes to be able to reach out to seminaries in the Chicago area.

Though she is excited about the opportunity, Katherine Schofield recognizes that there will be challenges. “Sometimes faith communities,” she acknowledges, “are nervous about discussing issues of policy, and there will likely be resistance to what I’m offering. But I am looking forward to standing in the face of that opposition.”

Her education at Chicago Theological Seminary has been crucial to her preparation for this role. “In class,” she says, “we continually try to bring faith and public policy together and to see how faith can effect social transformation. I firmly believe that by engaging issues of social concern we are presented with a moment of personal and social transformation, wherein we can learn more about ourselves, grow spiritually, and make real and tangible change in the world.”