Seminary campuses grew quiet this week with the 2009-10 academic year now ended, but that quiet belies vigorous — and by turns upbeat and cautious — discussions about the future of theological education.
As the year was beginning, a re-configured Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, had just sold its property to nearby Northwestern University, using the $13 million to pay off its debt and balance its budget.
While it ended its master of divinity degree the year before, Seabury this year began a joint doctor of ministry degree in congregational development with the Church Divinity School of the Pacific 2,100 miles away in Berkeley, California. It is an example, the school has said, of what it calls its new mission: to “embod[y] generous Christianity, grounded in the Baptismal Covenant and the Episcopal tradition, as we educate lay and ordained women and men for ministry, build faith communities, and enrich people in their faith.”
In deciding to sell property, Seabury took a further step on a path that Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Episcopal Divinity School went down in March 2008 when it sold some of its buildings to Lesley University for $33.5 million and entered into a partnership that includes academic program enhancements and shared facilities for uses such as library, student dining and services, and campus maintenance.
Whenever I hear TEC people use the dreaded term “Baptismal Covenant” I KNOW it only means the so-called “justice and peace” section, and nothing more at all. As for the “Episcopal Tradition”, what the heck could that possibly mean, except for nothing at all?
It’s interesting that the article doesn’t mention Nashotah House.
they did mention Trinity though and in a positive manner, I found that surprising…
I found this to be a good article, informative and balanced. IMHO, whenever institutions start going to online learning, mergers, etc., that means they’re in bad shape. They make it sound good, but these options are not, to use the article’s phrase, the gold standard.
Like all newspaper articles, this one prompts further digging for more information. Especially: Why are more clergy being locally trained, and what will be the result? Are economics really driving this phenomenon or something else? Yes, times are tough, but times were tough in the 1930s and 1940s, also.
Another question, touched on in the article: Will locally trained clergy be as well educated and as well formed as graduates of an excellent seminary? Much will depend upon the diocesan bishop and the individual learner.
I just skimmed the article. But I don’t remember mention of another trend: doing an MDiv at divinity schools affiliated with a university.
And I wonder why Episcopalians and Lutherans don’t get together at a national level and talk about some options. Putting aside practical problems for the moment, they could look at how many seminaries they really need and where around the USA they would need them to accommodate anticipated clergy needs. And then look at practical ways to move toward that result. At present there seems to be no comprehensive strategic plan, just discrete, ad hoc responses to budget crises.
Also: Shouldn’t someone ask whether and to what extent any of these problems may be connected to radical changes in TEC since 2003, when it began to go its own way apart from the Anglican Communion?
I think TSM got featured the way it did because it has been so remarkably successful at raising funds from alumni, friends, and supporting churches, which is something it’s had to do because Trinity doesn’t have a big endowment, like some seminaries. The stark, grim reality is that tuition fees doesn’t even come close to covering the high expenses of running a small seminary. The really large seminaries (like Fuller, Gordon-Conwell, or the Southern Baptist and Missouri Synod ones) are thriving because they have enough students to generate a lot of income. TEC simply has far more seminaries than it can afford, at least without generous denominational support or mandating support from local parishes.
The most intriguing thing about this article, as far as I’m concerned, is the VTS program highlighted at the end. I think the idea of following up a traditional three year M.Div. with an additional three years of post-graduate on-the-job training (much as medical doctors do a residency) is a fantastic idea. I’m all for it. But of course, such follow-up requires even more money to fund that additional training. And money is precisely what’s in such desperately short supply.
Consolidation of scholls is inevitable. However, unfortunately, improvement in theological education is dubious. TSM and Nashotah need all the help they can get.
David Handy+
[blockquote]I think TSM got featured the way it did because it has been so remarkably successful at raising funds from alumni, friends, and supporting churches, which is something it’s had to do because Trinity doesn’t have a big endowment, like some seminaries.[/blockquote]
TSM is indeed remarkably successful in raising funds, given a lack of endowment. Because of a generous donation, this last year we were able to offer full tuition scholarships to incoming students.
Nonetheless, the article could give the impression that TSM is sitting comfortable, grinning over our balance sheet while others sweat. This is not the case. The last few years have been tight as TSM has also been hurt by the economy, not to mention the uncertainties of a denominational split. TSM is also offering more online learning, and the new focus on church planting is a matter of necessity. Our graduates can not expect to follow the usual path of serving a few years as an assistant at a large parish before setting up as a full-time rector. I am sure the same is true at Nashotah House.
[Beginning of ad pitch]
The readers of this story could do much toward preserving the good of orthodox theological education that also includes Anglican spiritual formation by writing an occasional check to TSM or Nashotah House, and by suggesting to those in your congregations who are considering ordination to think seriously about enrolling in a residential MDiv, rather than latching on a course or two in “Anglican Studies” while attending a non-Anglican seminary. Thank you.
We now return to our scheduled programming.
[End of ad pitch]
Speaking as someone who is [checks calendar] ten days away from receiving an M.Div. degree, this article is more than a little interesting; and I wonder if my experience may suggest one possible path forwards.
I’m receiving my degree from Seattle University, which is a Jesuit school. The graduate theology program here grew out of a program designed to educate Catholic lay leaders; it is now aggressively ecumenical, comprising students from the RCC (although that side of the program remains strictly for laypersons) and most of the mainlines. The school has worked with most of the denominations to develop denomination-specific courses and requirements (e.g., there’s a sequence on the Book of Common Prayer that Episcopal students are required to take.)
The Diocese of Olympia allows candidates for ordination to do most of their M.Div. work here, but requires them to spend a minimum of one full-time year, or equivalent, at a “real” Episcopal seminary — usually CDSP. The ELCA has a similar requirement for their ordination-track students, and I think the Methodists do as well. (Since I’m not on ordination track, I got to skip that part.) The idea, of course, is to make sure that Episcopal students get the proper Episcopal-specific courses and make contacts with other future Episcopal clergy.
Having gone through the SU program, I can say that there’s a lot of value in going to an ecumenical seminary — having that wide diversity of views promotes some fascinating discussions. Furthermore, in addition to whatever contacts students make during their “Episcopal year” (or Lutheran year or Methodist year), they’re also making broad-based ecumenical contacts with people who are, for the most part, also going into ministry in the local area. I now know easily a few dozen people who are, or will be, pastoral leaders in Seattle across a slew of denominations.
Many denominations were worried initially that allowing their ordinands to come here would turn them into some sort of generic inter-denominational mush, but in fact the school has found that consistently in exit interviews students say that they find themselves much closer to their denominations than they were when they entered — and with a much better idea of what makes their particular denomination distinctive.
So I’m wondering if this may not be a way out for the Episcopal seminaries… that is, (a) work with and support local universities that have, or want to develop, ecumenical M.Div. programs, and (b) concentrate on ways of providing that “Anglican polish” year.