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EASTERN CLUSTER
OF LUTHERAN SEMINARIES RECEIVES
(Gettysburg, PA) The Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries (cluster) has been awarded a $3 million grant by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment Inc. for a national initiative called "Making Connections" to strengthen the network of congregations, institutions, and agencies that encourage those who will become the next generation of church leaders. The grant will help the cooperative cluster of three Lutheran seminaries -- the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (Gettysburg), The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (Philadelphia), and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (Southern) -- develop programs and partnerships designed to increase the number of persons preparing for a vocation in the church. The seminary cluster project, entitled "Connect: Calling Leaders for a Changing World" is designed to help the church address a growing rate of pastoral vacancies in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "Vacant pulpits are a sign of our lack of intense faithfulness to God's mission," said Dr. Fred Reisz, president of Southern. "The church needs excellent pastors because we leaders are about God's mission, and we have the lives of people in our hands," he added. "These are serious responsibilities." The Rev. Michael Cooper-White, president of Gettysburg and executive director of the cluster, believes "Making Connections" is the right initiative at the right time, saying "during the three decades of my ordained ministry, I have never seen such an expansive partnership develop so quickly as in preparing for this "Making Connections" initiative. When our three seminaries went calling upon colleges, congregations, camps and other partners, doors were flung wide open." He added "all outposts of the Church’s ministry recognize the urgency of preparing strong leaders, and we’re all committed together to nurturing vocations among those whom God is surely calling."
Announced last year, the competitive initiative was open to all schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. The cluster represents three of 20 schools to receive awards in this initiative. The theological school programs include highly collaborative components to nourish a new "ecology of ministry" that is developing among those responsible for the quality and care of congregations – pastoral leaders, parishioners, theological schools, colleges and universities, parents, denominational officials, and other agencies that serve churches. According to the Endowment, encouraging signs are appearing across the churches in the area of vocations. The number of young people under the age of 30 entering seminary is rising sharply; many theological schools, including these three Lutheran seminaries, are reporting that their new classes are the largest they have had in 20 or 30 years. "Many institutions that are responsible for the calling, training and sustaining of pastoral leaders report that they no longer feel so disconnected from one another or immobilized," said Craig Dykstra, Endowment vice president for religion. "These institutions are realizing that they can turn the situation around." Together the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries enroll more than 900 students in theological degree programs, a figure that represents an increase of 19 percent in the last three years. Seminary cluster leadership believes that a timely vocational emphasis within the right networks of the church may spur additional growth. Currently, one fourth of congregations of the 5 million member ELCA navigate their ministries without a permanently called pastor, and its eight seminaries are graduating only one third of the candidates requested by synod bishops. In response to this critical situation, the Eastern Cluster will work together with an expansive network of colleges, camps, campus ministries, synods, congregations, and pastors to plan a comprehensive program of vocational discernment and seminary recruitment directed at college-aged students. "Connect: Calling Leaders for a Changing World" will be guided by a full-time project director to coordinate the partnerships and the congregational and institutional connections nurturing Christian vocation. A position description for this director, to be chosen in early 2005, is published on the cluster’s website: www.easterncluster.org. "We of the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries, together with all our supporting partners, express profound gratitude to Lilly’s board and staff for their generous investment in our vision," said Cooper-White summarizing the appreciation of the three Lutheran seminaries: "We are confident the "Making Connections" initiative will nurture vocations among thousands of young persons over the next half decade and beyond." "What a wonderful affirmation of what we intend to do as a cluster" said the Rev. Dr. Philip Krey, president of the Philadelphia seminary, "in collaboration with the whole theological education network in the east: namely, raise up a whole new generation of pastors who will proclaim and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now we will hear more exclamations like the one I heard recently from a young female seminarian, ‘Everyone-I mean everyone- has been encouraging me to go into the ministry. Well, here I am! Will the Church be ready for me?’" Eastern cluster of Lutheran Seminaries selects Donald G. Johnson to help Seminaries "Re-Connect" |
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