Deputy Director (CITI) appointed by House of Bishops
Dr Katie M. Heffelfinger
BA, MDiv, ThM, PhD
Katie Heffelfinger studied theology at Asbury Theological Seminary and Princeton Theological Seminary. She holds a PhD in Hebrew Bible from Emory University. She joined the staff of CITI in 2009. Katie’s research interests focus on the interpretation of biblical Hebrew poetry.
Her book from E.J. Brill, I Am Large, I Contain Multitudes: Lyric Cohesion and Conflict in Second Isaiah, explores the tension between divine compassion and wrath in Isaiah 40–55 employing models drawn from the study of modern lyric poetry.
Katie’s ongoing research interests include the potential for biblical poetry and particularly metaphor to enliven theological imagination, and the role of memory in the development of exilic period theology.
Memberships and Affiliations:
Society of Biblical Literature, Irish Biblical Association, Society of John Wesley Fellows, Institute for Biblical Research, Society for Old Testament Study
Research Interests:
Biblical poetry, Isaiah 40–66, Prophetic Literature, Memory.
Dissertations Supervised:
(2012) Tempora mutantu, et nos mutamur in illis – “the times change and we” change with them.
(2012) Worship Reform in Ezekiel’s Temple Vision
(2012) Listening to God’s People: a response to perceived disconnect in Pastoral Care
(2013) ‘It is no secret that the Old Testament is a lost treasure in the church today’ How and why should the Old Testament be used?
(2014) Embracing a vision of gender inspired by the Kingdom of God
(2014) Do clergy acknowledge their own feelings of grief, how does this affect their ministry and does the Church in all its manifestations support them in their grief journey? How trust in God, secular theory, self–awareness, support and openness in relationships, can be woven together by clergy into a coping strategy
(2014) Embracing Hospitality: The Church’s Responsibility to all of God’s people
(2015) Biblical Theology: A Biblical Hermeneutic for Pastoral Ministry
(2015) Perseverance and falling away: a biblical, theological and practical response to the reality of deconversion
(2015) How might a culturally relevant interpretation of the Kingdom message impact mission?
(2015) Discipleship in the Church of Ireland: A Theological and Practical Examination of Discipleship and its Importance to Christian Development
(2016) The Parables of Jesus in Contemporary Culture
(2016) Imagining Judgment: Preaching on Difficult Texts in Luke
(2017) Infertility to IVF: Theological, Pastoral and Ethical insights for Couples and Clergy
(2017) Reframing Interdisciplinary Dialogue Between Science and Theology: Overcoming Misunderstandings Through Novel Applications of Shared Concepts
(2017) How should the Church of Ireland go forward with including people with special needs in worship?
(2017) Who is my neighbour? Religious Belief and Sectarianism (Ireland)