Comments on: The real seminary upset http://boyinthebands.com/archives/the-real-seminary-upset/ Scott Wells on the practice of Christian faith Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:21:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Derek http://boyinthebands.com/archives/the-real-seminary-upset/#comment-39052 Derek Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:57:02 +0000 http://boyinthebands.com/archives/the-real-seminary-upset/#comment-39052 It seems to me that Starr King and Meadville depend too often upon proving their value by assertion. As in "We assert our school produces the best UU ministers. Thus we are indispensable." Their value should be self-evident to the seminarians that are seeking a school, and to the congregations and community ministries seeking ministers. That said, I think Starr King is the most vulnerable right now. If I were on SKSM's board, I might want to explore a different model for the institution's theological education. Give up being a stand-alone seminary, and become a divinity house that is part of the Pacific School of Religion. The Swedenborgian Church ( www.swedenborg.org ) has done this VERY effectively when they transformed their independent Swedenborg School of Religion into the Swedenborgian House of Studies at PSR www.shs.psr.edu/ . Their House of Studies has its own denominationally specialized faculty, its own specialized curriculum track within the PSR program, its own specialized theological library, and retains its own endowment and scholarship funds. To me this seems to be THE way for a small seminary in Berkeley to survive the growing economic challenges that squeeze all small theological schools. With regards to Meadville, I might look at some partnership with the Chicago Theological Seminary. Perhaps something similar to the covenant of partnership between the Quaker's Earlham School of Religion, and the Brethren's Bethany Theological Seminary. Each school retains its own faculty and independence, but shares resources in certain administrative and academic disciplines where duplication is eliminated, or where each school has an academic strength that can help the other school's weakness. For example, ESR has good faculty in Hebrew Bible but not New Testament. Bethany has good faculty in New Testament, but not Hebrew Bible. It seems to me that Starr King and Meadville depend too often upon proving their value by assertion. As in “We assert our school produces the best UU ministers. Thus we are indispensable.” Their value should be self-evident to the seminarians that are seeking a school, and to the congregations and community ministries seeking ministers.

That said, I think Starr King is the most vulnerable right now. If I were on SKSM’s board, I might want to explore a different model for the institution’s theological education. Give up being a stand-alone seminary, and become a divinity house that is part of the Pacific School of Religion.

The Swedenborgian Church ( http://www.swedenborg.org ) has done this VERY effectively when they transformed their independent Swedenborg School of Religion into the Swedenborgian House of Studies at PSR http://www.shs.psr.edu/ . Their House of Studies has its own denominationally specialized faculty, its own specialized curriculum track within the PSR program, its own specialized theological library, and retains its own endowment and scholarship funds. To me this seems to be THE way for a small seminary in Berkeley to survive the growing economic challenges that squeeze all small theological schools.

With regards to Meadville, I might look at some partnership with the Chicago Theological Seminary. Perhaps something similar to the covenant of partnership between the Quaker’s Earlham School of Religion, and the Brethren’s Bethany Theological Seminary. Each school retains its own faculty and independence, but shares resources in certain administrative and academic disciplines where duplication is eliminated, or where each school has an academic strength that can help the other school’s weakness. For example, ESR has good faculty in Hebrew Bible but not New Testament. Bethany has good faculty in New Testament, but not Hebrew Bible.

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