This project is dedicated to my late beloved son, Jonathan Donald Matthews, who was an unwitting victim of our Slow Death Society. His premature death at age 47 inspired me to develop this program for myself and others. Like Jonathan, I also developed metabolic syndrome before him due to obesity. This illness results in with many physical and psychological illnesses and limitations. Thanks to an educational program which I will outline in the text, it led to my significant weight loss, improved mood, normal blood pressure, lower diabetic indicators, and other health gains. I wish I knew then what I know now so that he could have lived a longer and healthier life. I miss him, and I often feel his presence until we will meet again with the Ancestors.
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Dr. Don, as he is called, ( Donald H. Matthews) received his Ph.D. from The Divinity School at The University of Chicago (Religion and the Human Sciences: The Sociology and Psychology of Religion). He is an ordained Methodist minister (Pacific School of Religion, MDIV), Chaplain; ACPE, and Speech and Language Pathologist (Northwestern University B.S., M.A.) His first book, "Honoring the Ancestors: An African Cultural Interpretation of Black Religion and Literature," was published by Oxford University Press. He has written numerous books, articles, and papers, and has taught at several universities and seminaries, including Central Michigan University (Religion and Philosophy Dept.), Temple University (Religious Studies Dept), Chicago Theological Seminary, (Tenured in Religion and Society),The University of California at Santa Cruz, (Visiting Professor American Studies}, Colgate-Rochester-Crozier Divinity School, Rochester, NY (History and Black Church Studies), and St. Louis University (Tenure in the Department of Sociology). He was The Director of the Black Studies Program at The University of Missouri Kansas City and Coordinator of The Master of Divinity Program at Naropa University. He currently resides in Tacoma, Washington where he has served as an Adjunct Professor at The University of Puget Sound, Tacoma and Pierce County CC.