4 Reasons Seminary Shouldn’t Be Hard, It Should Be Harder

From Frederick Schmidt-

I found myself in a conversation with students about the challenges of being a seminarian. There is no doubt that there are innumerable challenges.

For most seminarians Masters work does not cover ground to which they’ve been introduced as undergraduates. Few have majored in religion and, in any event, a religious studies major, which focuses on comparative methods, is nothing like the world of theology. Theology is different in both its approach and subject matter.

There are a number of new disciplines to which seminarians are introduced that receive no mention at all in a religious studies major: pastoral counseling, church history, and homiletics, to name a few.

Read more at

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/whatgodwantsforyourlife/2017/12/4-reasons-seminary-shouldnt-hard-harder/#THSuYxf7RdqCOVDS.99

Boston University creates new denominational program for Episcopalians

From The Cafe-

Perhaps sensing a gap in the wake of Episcopal Divinity School’s departure for New York City to join with Union Theological Seminary, Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) has announced the formation of a new Episcopal denominational learning community.

In collaboration with the Episcopal Dioceses of Massachusetts, the intent of the learning community is to form a community of students, faculty, and staff dedicated to nurturing and preparing Episcopal students for future leadership and service in and through the church. The Anglican Episcopal Community of Learning (AECL) is a specialized program that aims to provide the best possible education in an ecumenical community that values the unique gifts, histories, and ministerial legacies of the denominations represented.

https://www.episcopalcafe.com/boston-university-creates-new-denominational-program-for-episcopalians/

Tradition and Innovation: Seminaries that Change the World, Class of 2017-18

From Huffington-

I loved going to Seminary. It defined me. It challenged me. It shaped me. It broke me down and built me up. Because of it, I am who I am today.

Seminary made me into my best self and from that place I gained the courage to engage in the world with energy, creativity, experience and confidence.

In seminary, I learned about the multi-cultural context of the Bible’s literature. I learned about the courage and stamina of the Hebrew prophets. I learned about the history of our faith. And I learned that ministry didn’t have to look any certain way.

In seminary, I was challenged not to accept easy answers, but to ask tougher questions and then to lead with insight, grace and resolve.

During my field education experience (the “internship” portion of a theological education), I given a training ground, lent a pulpit and a congregation.

More here-

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tradition-and-innovation-seminaries-that-change-the_us_59f9ba38e4b0412aab840c69

The Sea Change

From The Living Church-

But I was wrong. Repeatedly, I was advised that I was “too academic” and would need to play down my experience as a theological educator. And while some of my problems were of my own making, I’ve now spoken with enough scholar-priests on both sides of the Atlantic to know that my experience is a common one. Whatever benefits a solid theological formation provides, they increasingly do not excite search committees. Like the recipients of Sidonius’s letter, search committees are interested in qualities different from the old virtues.

I was reminded in all this of a conversation I once had with a bishop. We were discussing of which kind of learning ministerial formation should consist. I was advocating more engagement with Scripture and doctrine before introducing students to ministerial skills, especially the great obsession of the church today: reflective practice.

“I disagree,” he replied. “What I don’t want from my parish clergy is for them to be little theologians.” He then encouraged me to stress more the practice of ministry in my teaching.

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/covenant/2017/09/18/the-sea-change/

Episcopal Church of the Central Gulf Coast announces opening of seminary in DeFuniak Springs

From Florida-

This past week Bishop Russell Kendrick, of the Episcopal Church of the Central Gulf Coast announced the church would be opening an educational facility on Circle Drive in DeFuniak Springs next month in the church rectory adjacent to St. Agatha’s Episcopal Church.

Making the announcement, Kendrick work has been underway for the last two years to establish a local school for the education, formation, and transformation of those called to ordination either as a deacon or as a priest.

Kendrick says what began two years ago as an idea is now set to become a reality this September, with seven students already signed up.  “We have a team of instructors and a dean, and a curriculum,” said Kendrick in his formal announcement.

Describing the School for Ministry as a residential model for formation,  Kendrick said students will learn and live together for one weekend each month for over ten months for a period of three years.


More here-

http://fosterfollynews.com/2017/08/15/episcopal-church-of-the-central-gulf-coast-announces-opening-of-seminary-in-defuniak-springs/

Frank Yamada: In the face of challenges, there is hope for theological education

From Faith and Leadership-

Frank Yamada’s faith journey has been unconventional.
And, he said, it has provided great training for his new role as executive director of The Association of Theological Schools (link is external).

“I have always been someone who was eager to learn about the different ways that Christian faith was practiced in community,” he said. “My faith journey has prepared me well for ATS’ ecumenical work to promote excellence in theological education.”

Raised in a Buddhist family, Yamada became a Christian at the age of 19. This set him on a path that has included a charismatic, evangelical megachurch, a nondenominational church plant, a Korean immigrant church, an Assemblies of God college, Presbyterian and Episcopal seminaries, and ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).


More here-

https://www.faithandleadership.com/frank-yamada-face-challenges-there-hope-theological-education?utm_source=FL_newsletter&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=FL_topstory

Anglican Church education program to fight immorality

From Uganda-

Former Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, has challenged theological teachers to make sure that what they teach impacts on the morals of the community in order to have a loving world.

Jensen is in the country with a number of Anglican bishops and professors to review how the teaching of theology in the different institutions can be improved to ensure that there is an impact to lives of people.

The review meeting being attended by Bishops and professors from across the globe is taking place at Uganda Christian University Mukono (UCU) and is set to end on Sunday.

More here-


http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1447117/anglican-church-education-program-fight-immorality

Bexley Seabury Seeks Partner

From The Living Church-

Wanted: partner in Chicago for Episcopal seminary with local roots and high hopes for a future in the Windy City. Must be ecumenically minded and open to long-distance relationships.

That’s the courting call of Bexley Seabury Western Theological Federation as the two-campus school moves to consolidate in Chicago in 2016. Having operated on campuses in Chicago and Columbus since a merger in 2013, Bexley Seabury is now making Chicago its hub for serving students, including those who might be in town for only a few days.

“We’re in discussions with partners that will help us continue to live into our commitment to collaborate ecumenically,” said the Rev. Roger Ferlo, Bexley Seabury president, via email, “and to offer a program that is innovative, flexible, and prioritizes accessibility to theological education for people for whom the three-year residential model may not be possible.”

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/bexley-seabury-seeks-partner

Education that Crosses Divides

From The Living Church-

The future of theological education in the Episcopal Church should be marked by robust evangelism, serious engagement with orthodoxy, and a courageous tenderness, according to panelists at a gathering of seminary leaders convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Very Rev. Ian Markham, Virginia Theological Seminary’s dean and president, hosted the forum Oct. 12 as part of the celebration of Immanuel Chapel’s consecration. Deans, faculty, and students from eight of the Episcopal Church’s ten seminaries attended the meeting, as well as representatives from two seminaries affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America.

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/education-crosses-divides

The Evolving Future of Theological Education

From Patheos-

I have been on The Episcopal Church’s Board of Examining Chaplains now for twelve years. I’ve finished my last batch of ordination examinations and as of General Convention next summer, I will have completed my responsibilities.

The examination has evolved over the last twelve years, as has the mechanism for evaluating it. I’ve been an observer and participant in the process.  I’ve heard the debates around the character and value of the examination. I’ve participated in the attendant debates around the shape and efficacy of seminary education.  I’ve also been a part of the “conversations about the conversation” about what the church needs by way of priests and deacons that has never taken place.

I wish that I was leaving the Board this year with a sense that we were somewhere on an upward trajectory, that we were building toward something as a church, that a vision for theological education was taking shape, that there was a fresh resolve to take seriously the task of clergy formation.  Reading one to two hundred essay examinations a year, gives you a sense of how important that could be and how subtle and challenging that process is.
Read more:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/whatgodwantsforyourlife/2015/02/the-evolving-future-of-theological-education/#ixzz3QyUvlvn3

Bishop to check out unique theology school

From Topeka-

When Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori visits Topeka this weekend, it will be for more than a mere courtesy call at a Midwest diocese.

Schori is keenly interested in the work of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, an institution based in Topeka that is designed to provide theological education in a local setting for people wishing to serve in the Episcopal Dioceses of Kansas, West Missouri, Nebraska and Western Kansas.

“That’s the main reason for my visit,” said Schori, 59. “I will be meeting with people who have supported the Kemper School for Ministry, and I’ll be visiting with donors.”

Schori also will meet with area bishops on Saturday.

The Kemper School opened this past summer and is supported financially by the four dioceses.

More here-

http://cjonline.com/life/religion/2013-10-04/phil-anderson-bishop-check-out-unique-theology-school

New theological school launched by 4 Midwestern dioceses

From ACNS-

Diocese of Kansas by Melodie Woerman- Class is now in session for the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, the newly created school that provides theological education to students from the dioceses of Kansas, West Missouri, Nebraska and Western Kansas. The school’s first group of students, 35 people from all four dioceses, met for the first time Aug. 10-11 in Topeka.

To celebrate the school’s creation, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will be in Topeka on Oct. 5. She will speak at a public forum on the emerging shape of the church and the changing face of ministry. She then will officiate at a service to mark the school’s opening and dedicate school facilities, and she will greet people at a public reception.

The school is named for Bishop Jackson Kemper, the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church, who was the organizing bishop when each of the four dioceses was founded in the 19th century. He also was committed to the value of local theological education for the growth and health of the Episcopal Church.

More here-

http://www.anglicannews.org/news/2013/10/new-theological-school-launched-by-4-midwestern-dioceses.aspx

GTS announces financial plan, explores possible sale of property

From Episcopal Life Online-

General Theological Seminary's Board of Trustees has agreed on a series of steps that they say will assure that the Manhattan-based school will continue "for the next several years."

The trustees said in a news release that they agreed May 18 to create a $10 million operating reserve fund that could be built in part by selling as many as four residential apartments in the seminary building known as "Chelsea." The fund will also be built by what the release called "special philanthropic efforts, which have already resulted in $1.5 million in firm commitments."

The apartments, which according to the release have an estimated value of $8 - 10 million, have been rented to outside tenants for the last six years and have never been used for seminary purposes. The trustees approved the steps needed to turn the property into condominiums for possible sale.

The trustees also called for an effort to renegotiate part of the seminary's debt "to reduce interest payments and permit more manageable cash flow," according to the release.

The trustees committed themselves "to pursue all productive avenues for conversations with other seminaries and institutions of the Episcopal Church to consider creative collaborations and common programs," the release said, adding that "such conversations have already begun." No details of those conversations have been released.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_122348_ENG_HTM.htm

Inspectors question the mood at Oxford theological colleges

From the Church Times in England-

FALLOUT continues from the changes of “four testing years” at Wycliffe Hall, the theological college in Oxford (News, 18 May 2007) where there are “some deeply wounded spirits”, says an inspection report prepared for the House of Bishops.

The five-yearly reports on theological colleges used to be confidential. The Wycliffe report was published on the Church of England website this week, along with one on St Stephen’s House, Oxford. The colleges were graded in 13 areas with “Confidence”, “Confidence with qualifications”, or “No confidence”.

The Revd Dr Robin Ward, Principal of St Stephen’s House, said on Wednesday: “We were of course surprised that the reports came to be published in full, with unexpected assessment criteria, which we didn’t know until after the inspection process had finished.”
Both colleges are declared “fit for purpose”.

WYCLIFFE HALL gets a grading of “Confidence” in eight of the outcomes, and “Confidence with qualifications” in four. But the inspectors expressed “No confidence” in Practical and Pastoral Theology. Students lack tutorial direction in choosing placements, and are not sufficiently challenged “to move beyond their comfort zones”.

The four inspectors were led by Canon Ian Bunting, a former Bishop’s Research Officer for the diocese of Southwell. The others were Professor Elaine Graham from the University of Manchester; the Ven. Dr William Jacob, Archdeacon of Charing Cross; and Canon Stephen Taylor, Provost of Sunderland Minster.

They call for a more rigorous approach to the integration of theology and practice, and make five substantive recommendations.

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=72158