MLFlash.org - A Meadville Lombard blog discussing seminary news and direction

Record Admissions Shows Confidence in Meadville Lombard's Plans for Future

With their record-breaking numerical strength, incoming students at Meadville Lombard Theological School show high confidence in the school's new curriculum and the plan for Meadville Lombard to help found a new multifaith theological university

For the second year running, Meadville Lombard will likely start the fall semester with its largest-ever entering class. Currently, 33 students have signed letters of intent to become part of the Meadville Lombard community in Fall 2010. Total enrollment at the school stands at 123 students.

The new incoming students include one in the Master of Arts in Religion degree program, two in the Doctor of Ministry degree program, and 30 in the Master of Divinity degree program.

Those 30 MDiv students will learn from as close as the North Side of Chicago and as distant as Norway. With students from Canada as well as Norway, Meadville Lombard is serving an international group of students who desire to lead in liberal religious movements.

Many of these new students began their studies this summer during July intensive courses in arts in ministry, preaching, theology, and paganism, taught respectively by the Rev. Dr. John Tolley; the Rev. Dr. William Schulz, DMin '75, DD '87; Dr. Michael Hogue, and author/journalist Margot Adler

"These numbers speak to the vibrancy and interest in our new TouchPoint program as well as confidence in Meadville Lombard's plan to thrive as a component in the new theological university," said Tina Porter, senior director of student services and communications at Meadville Lombard.

Last year, ML forecasted an entering class of 26 students in Fall 2009. (The actual number turned out to be 24.)

ML's Lee Barker and Qiyamah Rahman at Ministers Conference of International Council of Unitarians and Universalists

At left, Rev. Dr. Lee Barker, DMin '78, DD '01, president of Meadville Lombard Theological School, explains ML's TouchPoint format to the Ministers Conference of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists.

A hat tip to UU Without Borders, a blog covering international issues in the UU world that is team written by Revs. Brian Kiely of Canada, Jill McAllister of the US, and Steve Dick of the UK. (The photo is from their blog.)

Rev. Kiely recounted Rev. Barker's presentation in the blog's post about the last day of the ICUU Ministry Conference held July 9-12 at the Rolduc Center in the Netherlands.

Other posts about the conference cover the First Day and the Second Day.

In 'Short Minneapolis Catechism,' Alseshire of Theological Schools Association Set Out Challenges for Educating Ministers

During the Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly in Minneapolis last month, Meadville Lombard Theological School was pleased to host the executive director of the Association of Theological Schools, Rev. Dr. Daniel O. Aleshire,

As part of the denomination's ongoing discussion about excellence in ministry, Rev. Aleshire presented a keynote address to a June 27th plenary of GA concerning the role of theological schools in forming professional religious leaders for the future of Unitarian Universalism and other denominations. His talk was humorously titled, "The Short Minneapolis Catechism on Congregational Life, Professional Ministry, and Theological Education."

You can read the full text of Rev. Aleshire's address, including an introduction by UUA President Rev. Peter Morales. It is a PDF download. The video of the plenary includes Rev. Aleshire's remarks starting with Rev. Morales' introduction at about 20:30 and extending to about 44:30.

Here are a few quotes:

As I began working on this talk, I asked myself what do Unitarian-Universalists need that they don’t have? You have a lot of very good things, but you don’t have a catechism. For those of you who may not know, a catechism is a summary of beliefs held by a denomination. Catechisms come in long and short varieties, and I will make this one a short version. They sometimes carry a city’s name, like The Baltimore Catechism, and I will follow that custom. They are often written in a question and answer format, which I have followed. The convention I will not follow, however, is that this catechism is not about doctrine. I present, for the fist time, The Short Minneapolis Catechism on Congregational Life, Professional Ministry, and Theological Education.

What qualifies ministers for their work?

Three qualities are essential, among many.

Ministers need to have an authentic religious vision. They may be religiously different from the congregation they serve, they need not be more religious than others in the congregation, and they can never be religious on behalf of the congregation. But in the end, ministers are qualified for ministry because they have an authentic religious center in their own lives. Second, ministers are qualified by relational skills and abilities that enable them to work with integrity with other people; care for them in moments of pain, stress, and life transition; encourage them in their religious lives; maintain boundaries as appropriate; and refrain from manipulative, self-serving, or abusive patterns of relationship. Third, ministers are qualified for ministry by leadership expressed through knowledge of the religious tradition, guidance of congregational work, and capacity to perform the unique tasks of ministry.

What needs to change about ministerial education?

More than can be enumerated.

Theological education has historically valued course-based learning of academic subjects. This is crucial. In a culture that is increasingly religiously ignorant, ministers need to know this material in order to preach, teach, and guide congregations and individuals. However, this kind of knowledge is insufficient for congregational leadership. Ministers also need to learn more from contextual settings. Congregational life is changing rapidly, and learning to lead effectively does not emerge from coursework in a classroom. It requires extensive engagement in ministry contexts. Ministerial education needs to give far more attention to human relations than it has tended to give. Theological schools require field education and internships, but given the increasing complexity of ministerial work, these patterns of education have not been long enough or intensive enough. To the extent that the minister is at fault in minister-congregation conflict, it is usually a function of relational or leadership issues of one sort or another—not ignorance of academic subject material. Traditional theological education has tended to understand this and assumed that a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) would address whatever issues need to be faced. CPE does a marvelous job of bringing issues to the surface, but human wholeness inevitably takes more than a semester’s work.

Theological education needs to give increased attention to multiple patterns of ministry. As more staff and part-time ministers serve in congregations, theological schools need to re-imagine how theological education is made available to persons who are already in ministry positions. On-line learning and patterns of learning that take seriously the educational power of the context in which students are learning are increasingly crucial. The work of congregations constitutes the beginning but not the end of the work of religious communities. Theological education needs to give attention to the contexts in which congregations do their work in the world, not just the work that gets done in the congregations. Theological schools have consistently been attentive to this work but they have not always educated students in the social analysis, community organizing, and non-profit agency administration that it requires.

While I was working on a talk for the UUA excellence in ministry conference two years ago, I read a review of Ted Sorenson’s book Counselor: A Life on the Edge of History. The reviewer writes that as Sorenson and Kennedy “were en route to Houston and working on the final draft of the church-and-state speech, Kennedy laughingly asked whether any of his Catholicism was rubbing off on Sorensen. ‘No,’ Sorensen replied, ‘but I think some of my Unitarianism is rubbing off on you.’ And undoubtedly it was—. . .”

Somewhere along the way, Sorensen had ministers who helped him discern and understand Unitarian principles. Somewhere along the way, those principles formed a religious vision that had the opportunity to shape the common good. Somewhere along the way, people spent time talking about congregations and ministry so Sorenson could be influenced by a religious movement. Sorenson, I am sure, will not be the last person formed by this movement. What will enhance your work, extend your vision, and cultivate another generation that will be formed by Unitarian-Universalist principles?

Have a good conversation.

More Media Coverage of New Theological University and ML's Role in its Establishment

UPDATED: On Saturday, July 17, added reference to Portland (Maine) Press Herald.

Media coverage continues concerning the recent announcement that Meadville Lombard Theological School and Andover Newton Theological School will participate in establishing a new theological university.

Check out these article summaries, with links to the full texts.

• Chicago Tribune, July 12. Chicago seminary hopes to join other faiths in training clergy: So far, Unitarian Universalist theological school in Hyde Park has one partner, a United Church of Christ seminary in the Boston area, by Religion Writer Manya A. Brachaer (her bio/her blog). Lead: "A Chicago seminary plans to pioneer a new way to train clergy in the context of many faiths other than their own. Meadville Lombard Theological School, a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Hyde Park, hopes to join Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Catholic and Protestant institutions to train clergy together, including offering some shared courses where there is common ground. Andover Newton Theological School, a United Church of Christ seminary in the Boston area, is the only partner so far. Leaders say the interreligious approach heralds the future of theological education and could save financially strapped seminaries nationwide." With photo of author Margot Adler leading her summer intensive course on paganism. Also on website of the Kansas City Star, the Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus, Georgia, and the Portland (Maine) Press Herald.
• Religion News Service, July 15. Seminaries move to add interfaith component (paid subscription service), by Ankita Rao. Examines plans for new theological university and a different approach to multifaith theological education by Claremont School of Theology near Los Angeles. Lead: "In a move that has already caused a stir with some conservative skeptics, Christian seminaries are implementing interfaith curricula designed to promote tolerance and resolve conflict. Two recent pilot projects aim to allow future Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy to cross paths more often before they reach their pulpits. Faculty say interfaith dialogue helps students find firm footing in their own beliefs. The new programs will foster independent training for ministers, rabbis and imams at separate institutions, while offering open courses that all students can take as electives or further study. If successful, officials say the programs could be expanded to include other religions in the future." Picked up on Huffington Post and elsewhere, including the Oklahoma City Oklahoman.
• Christian Century, July 27 (Cover date). Seminaries in a multifaith setting, by John Dart, the Century's news editor. Lead: "Officials at the Claremont School of Theology, which has a long-term project to create a multifaith university and seminary campus, breathed a sigh of relief in late June when United Methodist Church agencies released about $350,000 in funding and reinstated the school's standing in the church. 'I think the review came about in the first place because some people were worried that we were turning a United Methodist-related seminary into something very different,' said Jerry D. Camp bell, president of the California school. He said Methodist clergy will still be taught at Claremont and they will be better prepared for a diverse society when the campus is affiliated with schools educating Jewish and Muslim religious professionals. Also in June, Andover Newton Theological School outside Boston and Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago announced that they have agreed in principle to form an interreligious theological institution. The projected consortium, to be based in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, and launched in June 2011, will allow the two seminaries and any others signing on to retain their names and traditions under one corporate umbrella, according to Nick Carter, president of Andover Newton. Meadville is selling its four-building campus but will keep its academic operations largely in Chicago, engaging in long-distance learning programs. The 'theological university' concept, according to Meadville president Lee C. Barker, seeks to strengthen the faiths and identities of all seminarians, 'not water them down.'"
• Chicago Tribune Religion Blog Reactions. Reaction to Manya Brachaer's story on the new theological university publkished on her blog by Zeenat Rahman, director of strategic partnerships for Interfaith Youth Core; James Kirk Wall, author of To Be An Agnostic: An Agnostic Approach to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness; the Rev. Paul Ropbeson Ford, senior pastor of Avalon Park Community Church; and Emily Soloff, associate director for interreligious and intergroup relations for the American Jewish Committee.
• Los Angeles Times, June 27. The Meadville Lombard / Andover Newton partnership is mentioned in a story by Mitchell Landsberg headlined, United Methodist Church lifts sanctions against Claremont theology school: The longstanding relationship between the two had been threatened by the school's plans to train Muslim and Jewish clerics as well as Christian ones. Lead: "The United Methodist Church has lifted sanctions against the Claremont School of Theology, which risked breaking its longstanding ties with the church when it announced plans earlier this year to begin training Muslim imams and Jewish rabbis in addition to Christian pastors. In a terse statement Friday, the United Methodist University Senate announced that it had rescinded a public warning and restored funding to the school, which will remain affiliated with the church. The senate oversees all Methodist-affiliated seminaries.
• Asian News International (ANI), June 27. Based in India, this news service published a story on the OneIndia site under the headline, Hindus laud new inter-religious model of Andover Newton and Meadville Lombard seminaries. Lead: "NEVADA, U.S. —Hindus have welcomed reported plans of two leading seminaries, Andover Newton and Meadville Lombard, to form a new inter-religious theological institution for educating religious leaders for service in a pluralistic world. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that religion was the most powerful, complex and far-reaching force in our society, so we must take it seriously. And we all knew that religion comprised much more than our own particular tradition/experience. Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out that in our shared pursuit for the truth, we could learn from one another and thus could arrive nearer to the truth. As dialogue brought us reciprocal enrichment, we would be spiritually richer than before the contact."
• United Press International. Picked up Chicago Tribune story under headline, Seminary hopes to become interfaith.
• Notable Mentions: Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, and Muslim Voices.

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New FAQs Unveiled Concerning New Theological University

Meadville Lombard Theological School has released a new set of FAQs (frequently asked questions) concerning its role in the planned establishment of a new theological university by June 15, 2011.

Read the FAQs here (PDF download).

Boston Globe Reports on New Theological University

The Boston Globe today carries an article about the new theological university being established by Meadville Lombard Theological School and Andover Newton Theological School.

Media Interest in New Theological University

The media is showing interest in this week's announcement from Meadville Lombard Theological School and Andover Newton Theological School about their plans to form a new multi-faith theological university.

Associated Press Writer Jay Lindsay, who covers religion from AP's Boston bureau, wrote a news article that appears on several websites.

AP article on Chicago Tribune website 

AP article on Boston Globe website 

AP Article on WBZ-AM, the Boston all-news radio station

AP article on Boston Herald website (this is an abbreviated version) 

Original news release [PDF download].

Meadville Lombard and Andover Newton Announce: Seminaries to Create New Model for Theological Education; Multifaith Leadership Training is Central Focus

---

The following is a news release issued today, Monday, June 21, 2010.  Link to download PDF.

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For Immediate Release June 21, 2010

For more information:
Nick Carter
President
Andover Newton Theological School
ncarter@ants.edu
617-831-2410
Or
Lee Barker
President
Meadville Lombard Theological School
lbarker@meadville.edu
(773) 256-3000 x 224

Seminaries to create new model for theological education
Multifaith leadership training is central focus

NEWTON CENTRE, Mass. -- Two leading seminaries have agreed in principle to form a new interreligious university-style theological institution that seeks to become an innovative center for educating religious leaders for service in a pluralistic world.

The as-yet unnamed institution will be established during the next year by Andover Newton Theological School of Newton Centre, Mass., and Meadville Lombard Theological School of Chicago. Other seminaries will be sought as partners in a design that allows participating schools to keep their historic names and sustain distinct faith traditions while gaining significant financial and administrative advantage through a single corporate infrastructure.

In separate meetings late last week the Trustees of the two schools agreed in principle to undertake a program of actions to bring the new “theological university” into existence by June 15, 2011.

“Across the country seminaries are searching to capture the opportunities of this new era in the life of the church, respond to the growing complexities of a multi-faith society, and yet meet the ever-present challenges of financial sustainability. This vision has the potential to offer innovative answers to these questions, and do so not only in the curriculum but in the design of the corporation as well,” said the Rev. Dr. Nick Carter, president of Andover Newton and incoming president of the new institution.

The Rev. Dr. Lee C. Barker, president of Meadville Lombard, who will become a senior executive in the new entity, said, “This new interreligious ‘theological university’ is designed to serve seminarians of all religions, and seeks to strengthen their faiths and identities – not water them down. It is in valuing each other’s distinctions that we find the ground for the greatest learning. We hope other like-minded seminaries will join us because they share our mission to train leaders who are prepared to serve in a religiously diverse world and want to do so in a model that can offer a financially sound footing.”

The two founding schools, one Christian and the other Unitarian Universalist, will retain their historic names under the corporate umbrella of the new entity. Andover Newton, America’s oldest graduate seminary and the nation’s first graduate institution of any kind, traces its establishment to 1807. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the American Baptist Churches USA. Meadville Lombard, also among the nation’s oldest seminaries, was founded in 1844 and identifies with the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

The new institution will be based on the Andover Newton campus in Newton Centre, Mass., although the Meadville Lombard academic operations will remain largely based in Chicago, primarily engaged in “TouchPoint,” its innovative distance- learning program.

Meadville Lombard is in the process of selling its four-building campus in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. The sale will liquidate the school’s real estate assets and terminate needs for ongoing maintenance, freeing up assets for better use in the educational mission of the new school.

-- 30 --

Alumni News From All Over

June 17, 2010: This post has been revised for easier readability.

Alumni news and notes follow about Rev. Lone Jensen Broussard, MDiv '92; Rev. Erik David Carlson, MDiv '09; Rev. David E. Bumbaugh, BD '64; Rev. Amy Kulesza DeBeck, MDiv '06; Erin Gingrich, MDiv '10; Rev. Elizabeth Harding, MDiv '06; Rev. Eric Kaminetzky, MDiv '09; Michael Leuchtenberger, MDiv '10; Scott McNeill, MDiv '10; Rev. Dr. Daniel O'Connell, DMin '96; Rev. Lyn Oglesby, Ph.D., MDiv '05; Rev. Dr. Justin Osterman, DMin '99; Rev. James Robinson, ISP '78; Rev. Stephen Sinclair, MDiv '08; Rev. Dr. William G. Sinkford, DD '03; Rev. Dr. Brent A. Smith, DMin '84; Rev. Dr. Matt Tittle, MDiv '04; and Rev. John Weston, MDiv '88.