A trinity of partners: Trinity School for Ministry blends several traditions

From Pittsburgh-

Once formed as a renewal movement within the Episcopal Church, it still has Episcopalian students, but its students and faculty increasingly represent the new Anglican Church in North America, also headquartered in Ambridge, which split from the Episcopal Church in 2009 over liberalizing trends in the latter, including the ordination of gay bishops.

Trinity also is home now to similar groups of conservative Lutherans and Presbyterians who also broke from their larger denominations over similar issues.

“It’s for missional reasons that we’re collaborating, not economic,” said Rev. Thompson referring to other seminaries that merge to cope with declining enrollment and funds. “We have our theological discussions and dust-ups, but we’re learning from each other and that’s been rewarding.”

Rev. Thompson, a former pastor who has been on the Trinity faculty since 1997 after nearly two decades in parish ministry, succeeded the Very Rev. Dr. Justyn Terry in May 2016 as interim president and was named permanently to the post in December.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2017/01/29/A-trinity-of-partners-Trinity-School-for-Ministry-Ambridge-blends-several-traditions/stories/201701290073

Bishop resigns from seminary board following Orlando baptism flap

The previous post not withstanding-

The Bishop of Central Florida has resigned from the Board of Trustees of the Trinity School for Ministry (TSM) in the wake of the controversy over the baptism of an infant presented by a same-sex couple at the Cathedral Church of St Luke in Orlando.

On 16 June 2015, the Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer met with the the Dean of TSM, the Very Rev. Justyn Terry at an Orlando airport hotel to discuss concerns raised by the board’s executive committee. At the close of the meeting Bishop Brewer, who was the sole serving Episcopal bishop on the seminary’s board, wrote to the board tendering his resignation.

Bishop Brewer, who served on the faculty of TSM twenty years ago and who continues to have close ties to the school, declined to respond to questions about his resignation. No member of the board contacted by Anglican Ink was willing to speak on the record about the incident. Dean Terry also declined to speak to the dispute, but the school’s spokesman, the Rev. Christopher Klukas, gave AI a statement on 23 June 2015. He wrote:

- See more at:

http://anglicanink.com/article/bishop-resigns-seminary-board-following-orlando-baptism-flap#sthash.N5tDM7mH.dpuf

Gay and celibate: Some Christians affirming their homosexuality but pledging to forgo sex

From Pittsburgh-

Wesley Hill is convinced that taking a road less traveled doesn’t have to be a lonely journey.

Mr. Hill, a professor at Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, and a small corps of other writers around the country have churned out a small library of books and blog posts, united in a single premise.

They believe gay Christians can and should affirm their sexual orientation — but should also commit to celibacy.

The stance runs counter to the growing American majority that supports legalized same-sex marriage among Americans, including religious progressives, as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a landmark case on whether to legalize it nationwide.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/nation/2015/05/10/Gay-and-celibate-Some-Christians-affirming-their-homosexuality-but-pledging-to-forgo-sex/stories/201505100014

Gay, evangelical and seeking acceptance in church

From The AP (via Kansas)

Evangelicals are being challenged to change their views of gays and lesbians, and the pressure isn't coming from the gay rights movement or watershed court rulings: Once silent for fear of being shunned, more gay and lesbian evangelicals are speaking out about how they've struggled to reconcile their beliefs and sexual orientation.

Students and alumni from Christian colleges have been forming gay and lesbian support groups - a development that even younger alumni say they couldn't have imagined in their own school years. Gay evangelicals have published memoirs that prod traditional Christians to re-examine how they think about gays and lesbians. Among the most recent is Jeff Chu's "Does Jesus Really Love Me? A Gay Christian's Pilgrimage in Search of God in America." Paul Southwick, a gay evangelical attorney in Oregon, has started an "It Gets Better" style video project, "On God's Campus: Voices from the Queer Underground," with testimonials from gays and lesbians at the Christian schools.

The goals of these activists and writers vary. Some argue monogamous same-sex marriages are consistent with traditional Bible views and hope to remain in conservative churches. Others agree with traditional teaching on marriage and have committed to staying celibate for life, but are speaking out because they feel demonized within their communities.

Whatever their aims, they are already having an impact.

"There are a growing number of us who grew up hearing a certain origin story about our same-sex attraction that didn't resonate with us," said Wesley Hill, 32, who teaches at a conservative Anglican seminary, Trinity School for Ministry in Pennsylvania, and wrote the book "Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality." "We are wanting to have conversations that older generations of evangelicals haven't had or haven't wanted to have."
Read more here:

http://www.kansas.com/2013/06/30/2869754/gay-evangelical-and-seeking-acceptance.html#storylink=cpy

Christians' views vary on gay marriage

From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-

Sam Rohrer leads a statewide network of 2,000 conservative Protestant pastors opposed to same-sex civil marriages. But if the U.S. Supreme Court broadens access to such marriage this week, the Pennsylvania Pastors Network won't advise anyone to shun gay or lesbian couples who move in next door.

"They should respond in love and treat them as they would any other person. That would be Christ's example," said the former state representative from Berks County, adding that it doesn't mean "endorsing the condition."

Most opposition to same-sex civil marriage comes from theologically conservative Christians, while more liberal denominations support it. Many theological conservatives support a status other than marriage to provide benefits to same-sex couples, though leaders on both sides say the opportunity for such compromise has passed.

The leaders and pastors interviewed for this story hold a wide range of views, but all said they would welcome a same-sex couple as neighbors.

Archbishop Robert Duncan of the Anglican Church in North America and the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh led a split with the Episcopal Church, triggered partly by acceptance of a partnered gay bishop. He argues that same-sex marriage isn't a matter of equal rights but of preserving heterosexual marriage as the foundation of human society. He could reluctantly accept civil unions.


Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/christians-views-vary-on-gay-marriage-692745/#ixzz2X2JRJaoF

Episcopal Diocese's relationship with an Ambridge seminary

From Pittsburgh-

One question facing the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is its relationship with Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, which remains chartered as an Episcopal seminary although it dropped "Episcopal" from its name several years ago.

Founded as an evangelical alternative to liberal Episcopal seminaries, its graduates filled local pulpits and some Episcopalians blame it for hostilities that led to the diocesan split. Archbishop Robert Duncan of the Anglican Church in North America, the former Episcopal bishop of Pittsburgh and leader of the rival Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, is a vice-chairman of its board.

But Trinity graduates continue to have prominent roles in the Episcopal diocese, the Rev. Scott Quinn among them. On Tuesday he was among three candidates questioned about the seminary.

Rev. Quinn spoke well of the education he had received there, but said that after his decision to remain in the Episcopal Church, "I feel I am not welcomed" on campus. He called the idea of a diocesan ban on Trinity graduates "ridiculous."

"That's just like saying any other discriminatory thing," he said. "But if the people there want to be part of the Episcopal Church, they have to understand it is a diverse group."

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/region/episcopal-dioceses-relationship-with-an-ambridge-seminary-627985/

Fire in Trinity's Kitchen

From Trinity Seminary-

On Thursday, October 20, 2011, Trinity School for Ministry experienced a fire in the Commons Hall kitchen. This kitchen has been in the process of renovation and expansion since the beginning of the summer.

As workers were installing the fire suppression hood above the stove, sparks generated by a welding torch caught the paper backing of the ceiling insulation on fire and spread through the entire ceiling area. Thankfully, the fire was contained between the dry wall ceiling of that room and the roof. It did not spread beyond that area though some of the wood rafters were scorched as well.

The building inspector was on site shortly after the fire had been put out and confirmed that there was not any damage that would compromise the structure. A massive cleanup of the entire Commons Hall building is already underway. The new appliances do not appear to have been damaged but some of the new construction will need to be replaced.

Bob Chesky, Trinity's Director of Facilities, commented that "although it is frustrating that we were just days away from completing the project, it is very fortunate that no one was hurt." Please continue to pray for the conclusion of this project.

Trinity Wishes to thank the many firefighters for their quick response.

http://www.tsm.edu/news_stories/fire_in_trinitys_kitchen

Election Jitters

From Christianity Today-

The voter registration process has been difficult. "You'll find that a big portion of the diaspora never registered, because they didn't have their proper documents," said Jimmy Mulla, president of D.C.-based Southern Sudanese Voice for Freedom.

"Southern Sudan has been denied for years," said William Deng, a native of the region and now a seminary student at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Pennsylvania. "Before the war, it was two million people and one clinic. A lot of children are born there in their houses; there is no record."
A birth certificate is required to register to vote. Deng, one of the "Lost Boys" relocated to the U.S. as child refugees, is among those denied.

Church leaders such as Archbishop Daniel Deng (no relation) of the Episcopal Church of Sudan have struggled for a role in the election process, appealing to the international community to safeguard the cpa in the face of violations.

"The position of the church is to make peace," said Deng. "Sometimes we can't make it, because we don't have power." The elections could transform the role of the church by allowing Christians—long punished for their faith—to finally have a voice in historically Islamic-controlled Sudan.

In the meantime, the Christian diaspora is slowly returning to Southern Sudan and rebuilding burned-out churches, even as the region passed Darfur in deaths last year. "People come back home," said Deng. "They start [by having church] under the tree; maybe next to the tree is where they will build [the new church]."

More here-

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/aprilweb-only/24-21.0.html

Generous Gift Given to Trinity

Trinity School for Ministry is delighted to announce that an anonymous donor has made a gift of $500,000 to the School. Of these monies, $100,000 will go to the Trinity Annual Fund, and $400,000 will go directly into the student scholarship fund, available for immediate disbursement. As a result, we can now offer full-tuition scholarships to new full-time residential students who demonstrate financial need.

The Very Rev. Dr. Justyn Terry, Trinity's Dean and President, remarked, "We are so thankful to this long-time member of the Board for this generous gift to the School. It is especially encouraging, in this current financial climate, to be affirmed in such a tangible way in our commitment to train and support gospel-centered ministers for the church."

Trinity School for Ministry is an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition that is com-mitted to forming Christian leaders for mission. Begun in 1976, and located 30 minutes from Pittsburgh, Trinity has trained over 900 students from throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion.

http://www.tsm.edu/News_and_Events/Generous_Gift.html

The "E" is gone

I received the following email today. Those of you who are trying to contact the seminary after December 1 should take note. I wonder if the TESM sweatshirts are on markdown?

On November 26 from 7:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., Trinity will be changing the web address from www.tesm.edu to www.tsm.edu and the email address from tesm.edu to @tsm.edu. During this time period, the network will be down for a couple of hours as the changes occur. With the change, you will still be able to receive email at your current email address, so no email should be lost.

If individuals from outside of Trinity try to contact you at @tesm.edu you will still receive this email. If people try to go to www.tesm.edu they will still go to our current web site. However, to make things uniform, starting on December 1, when giving out the web site address please use www.tsm.edu and when giving out your email address please use your new email address, with the @tsm.edu ending. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.