Bethany College
LINDSBORG - Bethany College has announced Janelle Adams and Megan Case as Assistant Professors of Religion.
Janelle Adams
Janelle recently earned her Ph.D. in Religion from Emory University, where she focused on social ethics and practical theology. Her research explores how faith-based communities respond to pressing social issues, with recent work examining belonging and refugee resettlement. Her scholarship has been published in Practical Theology, the Journal of Pastoral Theology, Center for Migration Studies Essays, and more.
Her dissertation, “Lessons in Shared Sufficiency: How Refugees and Community Partners Practice Belonging at a Faith-Based Community Hub,” employs qualitative methods to investigate practices of belonging in the context of refugee resettlement.
Before coming to Bethany, Adams taught at Spelman College and Candler School of Theology and served as a researcher with the Forum for Theological Exploration’s Discernment Labs initiative. She holds a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Rhodes College. Prior to her academic career, Adams worked in refugee resettlement and spiritual care education.
Adams’ appointment comes at a time when Bethany College is deepening its engagement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Since taking office in May, President Dr. Laura Crawley has been actively reconnecting the college with ELCA partners across the region and nationally. Her recent activities include:
Speaking with the Swedish Friendship Group at Bethany Lutheran Church.
Speaking about Bethany College at the Central States Synod Assembly back in June, at the request of Bishop Candea.
Participating in the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities (NECU).
Presidents Summer Seminar and the Vocation of Lutheran Higher Education Conference in July at Augsburg University.
Planning visits with Pastor Melissa to ELCA congregations across Kansas this fall and spring.
Attending the upcoming ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix at the end of July.
These efforts underscore Bethany's ongoing commitment to its Lutheran identity and mission, particularly in welcoming faculty whose scholarship and vocation align with values of faith, service, and social responsibility.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Adams to Bethany College,” said Rev. Melissa Woeppel, Campus Pastor. “As an ethicist, she will enhance vocational reflection and explore questions of meaning and purpose both in and out of the classroom.”
When Adams is not teaching or writing, she enjoys reading mystery novels and dabbling in stand-up and improvisational comedy.
Bethany College is excited to welcome Janelle Adams to the faculty and looks forward to the meaningful contributions her research and community-centered approach will bring to the religion program.
For more information about Bethany College's religion program, visit www.bethanylb.edu/religion-philosophy.
Megan Case
Case earned her doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin in 2016 in Ancient Mediterranean Religions with a graduate portfolio in Women's and Gender Studies. She had previously received degrees from Gettysburg College (2006, B.A. in Anthropology and Religion), Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (2011, M.Div.), and the University of Texas at Austin (2013, M.A. in Religious Studies).
Since graduation, she has taught at several institutions, including Elon University, Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Drury University, and Luther College. Her main area of research is the Hebrew Bible, especially questions involving gender and sexuality in the Deuteronomistic History.
Case has published articles in Vetus Testamentum, Biblical Interpretation, and the Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, as well as in various edited volumes. She is currently the editor of the Poetical and Wisdom Books for the upcoming King James Version Study Bible from Oxford University Press. Her first book, “The Productive and Disordered Bodies of Judges 19–21: Pre-Monarchic Israel as a Somatic Society,” is in its final stages with Sheffield Phoenix Press.
Case’s appointment comes at a time when Bethany College is deepening its engagement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Since taking office in May, President Dr. Laura Crawley has been actively reconnecting the college with ELCA partners across the region and nationally. Her recent activities include:
Speaking with the Swedish Friendship Group at Bethany Lutheran Church
Speaking about Bethany College at the Central States Synod Assembly back in June, at the request of Bishop Candea
Participating in the Network of ELCA Colleges and Universities (NECU) Presidents Summer Seminar and the Vocation of Lutheran Higher Education Conference in July at Augsburg University
Planning visits with Pastor Melissa to ELCA congregations across Kansas this fall and spring.
Attending the upcoming ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Phoenix at the end of July.
These efforts underscore Bethany's ongoing commitment to its Lutheran identity and mission, particularly in welcoming faculty whose scholarship and vocation align with values of faith, service, and social responsibility.
“Dr. Case brings a wealth of teaching experience to Bethany College, along with a depth of biblical study,” said Rev. Melissa Woeppel, Campus Pastor. “Her engagement in the classroom will serve our students well and we are excited to welcome her!”
In her free time, Case enjoys tabletop games, reading, playing the flute and piano, and being annoyed by her nephews.
Bethany College is excited to welcome Megan Case to the faculty and looks forward to the contributions she will bring to the religion program.
For more information about Bethany College's religion program, visit www.bethanylb.edu/religion-philosophy.