‘I Absolutely Have No Excuse to Give Up'

From Sojourners-

The Very Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, Ph.D. is Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary and Canon Theologian at Washington National Cathedral .“The Legacy of the White Lion,” an article by Douglas on reparations and the church, appears in the July issue of Sojourners magazine. Douglas spoke with editorial assistant, Hannah Conklin, about her vocational journey, the task of faith communities today, and the inspiration she finds in her family tree. 

The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

Hannah Conklin, Sojourners: As a priest, educator, and theologian, you find yourself at the unique vocational intersection of ministry and scholarship. How did your journey begin? 

Kelly Brown Douglas: When I was about 7 years old, I remember riding with my parents through the inner city of my hometown of Dayton, Ohio. It was a cold, rainy evening. I looked out the window and noticed a little girl and boy crossing the street. They were about my age, and Black like me. I presumed them to be sister and brother. They were a bit disheveled and not properly dressed for the bad weather. And, from my young-girl perspective, they looked poor and hungry. Tears filled my eyes as I imagined for them a life of struggle. In the midst of those tears, I made a silent vow that one day I would come back and rescue those two children from the blight of Dayton’s inner city.

More here-

https://sojo.net/articles/i-absolutely-have-no-excuse-give

Filling an Educational Void

From The Living Church-

When Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) left Cambridge, Massachusetts, last year for New York City, the move gave rise to a new void and a question: where will Boston-area candidates for ordination go for formation and coursework?

One answer is now coming from Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH), which is expanding its newly launched Anglican Episcopal Community of Learning. It is part of a multipronged effort at BU to fill more niches as economic pressures take a toll on the region’s theological resources.

Boston’s collection of major theological schools is shrinking from nine to seven with the departure of EDS and Andover Newton Theological School (ANTS), a clergy training hub for the American Baptist Church and United Church of Christ. EDS has joined forces with Union Theological Seminary in New York. ANTS is moving to Yale Divinity School this year.

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/2018/01/30/filling-an-educational-void/

Harvey Guthrie Jr., leader during historic period for Episcopalians, dies

From Christian Century-

Harvey Guthrie Jr., former Episcopal sem­inary dean, died on Decem­ber 17 in Oxnard, California, where he had been recovering from hip surgery.

During Guthrie’s tenure as dean, Epis­copal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massa­chusetts, became the first Episcopal seminary to allow ordained Anglican women to celebrate the Eucharist in its chapel and the first Episcopal seminary to admit openly gay and lesbian students to degree programs.

Guthrie participated in a historic period in the life of the Episcopal Church as a deputy to its general conventions from 1973 to 1982, as a leader in the movement for the ordination of women, as a participant in the deliberations leading to the 1979 revision of the Book of Common Prayer, and as an advocate for the recognition of gay and lesbian unions and the ordination of openly gay and lesbian people.

More here-

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/people/harvey-guthrie-jr-leader-during-historic-period-episcopalians-dies

A Letter from Dean Kelly Brown Douglas

From EDS-

It is with excitement that I join you as dean as we begin this new season of our life together as EDS at Union. I am humbled by the opportunity to serve this historic institution that has given so much to seminary education, the church and the world. The EDS legacy is strong, and we are all thankful for those whose sacrifices of labor and love have made it possible for us to carry forth this educational mission of ministry.

Today, visionary and transformative theological education is more important than ever before. The nation, the world and indeed the church, need leaders who embody the kind of priestly humility, prophetic vision and principled witness that can address the complicated social and moral challenges of our day. EDS at Union will be a place that nurtures this kind of leadership, and I commit to you that our seminary will be the institution that is really taking on the work of social justice and dismantling racism at the core of the Jesus Movement that our Presiding Bishop Michael Curry urges us to embrace.

More here-

http://eds.edu/news/letter-dean-kelly-brown-douglas

EDS sets the record straight

From Episcopal Cafe-

In an earlier post we reported that there was some confusion emanating from the Cambridge city council concerning the campus property being sold by Episcopal Divinity School.  Local media had reported that the sale had “hit a snag” because some of the campus is owned or co-owned by Lesley University.  EDS Board Chair Gary Hall has since offered a statement to clarify the situation for concerned Episcopalians and local residents.

Statement from Board Chair Gary Hall on EDS Property

 A pair of stories regarding the property that Episcopal Divinity School owns in Cambridge have caused some confusion, particularly a story on the Curbed Boston website suggesting that the sale of the property had hit a “serious snag.” That isn’t the case. Indeed, the brokers with whom EDS is working have not yet circulated any offering materials regarding the Cambridge property that EDS will be offering to sell. Here is how the confusion occurred:

More here-

https://www.episcopalcafe.com/eds-sets-the-record-straight/

Episcopal Divinity School’s Harvard Square sale hits a serious snag

From Boston-

The news that the Episcopal Divinity School was shopping its 8-acre campus at 99 Brattle Street in Cambridge’s Harvard Square dropped like a thunderclap in late May.

Given its location alone, never mind the size, it appeared the parcel had the potential to be one of the Boston region’s most important sales in living memory.

Yet, there’s a potential snag to any smooth sale: Lesley University co-owns several of the campus’ buildings through a nearly decade-old condo agreement with the divinity school.

It was already known that Lesley and Episcopal had a property agreement. It turns out that that deal is much more intimate than previously thought—and, per Cambridge Day’s Marc Levy, it doesn’t look like Lesley is as keen to sell as Episcopal.

More here-

https://boston.curbed.com/2017/6/20/15836502/episcopal-divinity-school-harvard-square-lesley

Episcopal Divinity School’s 8-acre campus for sale in Harvard Square

From Boston-

The Episcopal Divinity School is selling its 8-acre campus at 99 Brattle Street in Cambridge’s Harvard Square area as it prepares to decamp for Manhattan’s Union Theological Seminary in late 2018.

Because of its location, the property, which includes more than a dozen buildings totaling 155,374 square feet, will instantly become one of the biggest and most well-positioned commercial listings in the entire Boston region when the school officially puts it on the block sometime after June.

Episcopal Divinity has not disclosed an asking price yet. However, Cambridge Day’s Marc Levy notes that a July 2016 analysis prepared for school trustees said a sale could add $25.5 million to Episcopal Divinity’s assets by the start of the next decade.

More here-

https://boston.curbed.com/2017/5/25/15690400/episcopal-divinity-school-cambridge-harvard-square

Episcopal Divinity School trustees vote to pursue affiliation with Union Theological Seminary in New York

From ENS-

The Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Divinity School Feb. 24 voted to pursue an affiliation with Union Theological Seminary that would create an EDS entity to provide Episcopal theological education and other programs at Union’s campus in New York.

The Board of Trustees of Union Theological Seminary has voted enthusiastically to support Union’s leadership in bringing negotiations with EDS to a successful conclusion.

“We are excited to begin negotiations toward an agreement that will allow EDS to achieve the three goals we set for ourselves when we began the process of assuring the seminary’s future,” said the Rev. Dr. Gary Hall, ’76, chair of the EDS board. “EDS will continue to provide theological education within an accredited and degree-granting program, we will carry out our historic mission to place gospel-centered justice at the center of that education, and we will provide financial strength and stability for EDS’s future.”

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2017/02/24/episcopal-divinity-school-trustees-vote-to-pursue-affiliation-with-union-theological-seminary-in-new-york/

Influential Episcopal Seminary No Longer Offering Degrees Amid Report of $7.9 Million Loss in Net Assets

From Christian Post-

An influential seminary affiliated with The Episcopal Church has announced that it will no longer issue degrees starting next year, and is reporting a net loss of $7.9 million in assets since last year.

The Episcopal Divinity School of Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced in July that they will stop granting degrees at the end of the 2016-2017 academic year.

Last week, the divinity school sent out an update to supporters and members of its campus community wherein they noted that the net assets of the seminary had declined rapidly over the past couple of years.

"At our meeting, we also accepted the 2016 audit report which contained the sobering news that EDS's net assets decreased by $7.9 million (11 percent) in the last fiscal year. This follows a decrease of nearly $6.5 million (8.5 percent) in 2015," noted the announcement.
More here-

http://www.christianpost.com/news/influential-episcopal-seminary-no-longer-offering-degrees-report-7-9-million-loss-net-assets-171544/

EDS Chairs on Transition

From The Living Church-

In a letter dated Sept. 13, the Rev. Gary Hall and Canon Bonnie Anderson write to community members of Episcopal Divinity School:

We’re writing today, as we did last month and as we’ll continue to do this academic year, to update you on our progress toward developing a sustainable plan to conserve the seminary’s resources for future mission.

First, we want to be sure that you saw the good news, released just before the Labor Day long weekend, that the Rev. Dr. William C. Nelsen has joined EDS as interim president. We hope you will be as pleased as we are that such an experienced leader and pastor has joined EDS at this pivotal time. As you may remember, former Interim President Francis Fornaro submitted his resignation at the board meeting in July and made it effective in mid-November, as per the terms of his contract. He asked us, however, to be relieved of his responsibilities as soon as possible, and in order to honor that request, we quickly began the search that brought Interim President Nelsen to us on September 2. We kept Interim President Fornaro apprised of the progress of our search process and notified him well in advance of Interim President Nelsen's start date. We are grateful to Interim President Fornaro for his seventeen months of service to EDS; he will, of course, be paid his full salary and benefits through his contractual resignation date of November 19, and will be teaching a course on campus this fall.

More here-

http://livingchurch.org/eds-chairs-transition