Donor Profiles

Eastern Lutheran seminaries receive $462,000
from Teagle Foundation to fund teaching initiatives

PHILADELPHIA (March 2002)--A cooperating cluster of three Lutheran seminaries in the eastern United States has received a $462,000 three-installment grant from the Teagle Foundation to fund several cooperative teaching initiatives including a Director of Distance Education and a Dean of a Doctor of Ministry Program.

The grant is the second awarded within the past year to support cooperation of the three seminaries -- The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, both located in Pennsylvania, and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C. The schools are among eight affiliated with the 5.2 million-member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). A year ago the Henry Luce Foundation awarded the schools $360,000 over three years to, among other things, choose an approach for unifying data into one catalog and also develop a unified system for acquisitions.

The latest grant will pay a significant part of salaries over three years for a Dean of a Doctor of Ministry Program, the Director of a Diaconal Ministry Program for the preparation of specialized lay leaders, a Director of a Lutheran Theological Center in Atlanta, GA, a Director of Distance Education, a joint Faculty appointment in Bible and Homiletics (Preaching), and a Director for Continuing Education.

"Today's Church has a growing need for clergy and theologically trained leaders, and yet seminaries are confronted by the same shortage of resources many organizations have to deal with today," said Dr. Philip D. W. Krey, President of Philadelphia Seminary and also the Executive Director of the Cluster. "Collaborations enable us to make the best use of God's resources. They are a responsible way for us to serve today's seminarians, not only as they seek their first professional degrees to become rostered leaders in the church, but also down the road as they engage us in a process of lifelong learning so critical in these changing, challenging times." Distance learning is a relatively new teaching strategy for the seminaries, Krey said, but the process enables students to complete part of their education on their own time at home. "That is a great convenience for them, and it is an exciting horizon for us," Krey said. He added that such a technological approach will never replace the intensely personal nature of face-to-face learning and formation critical to developing future church professional leaders. But in some instances it makes it possible for faculty members to teach students some of their education efficiently in localized settings, sometimes several states, or more, away. "In this way," Krey said, " we can remain more lean in terms of facilities, faculty and staff while preparing a maximum number of candidates for ministry and graduate study."

"We already enjoy a high degree of partnership and collegiality among the seminaries of the Eastern Cluster," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Cooper-White, President of Gettysburg Seminary. "This grant will enable us to take some exciting new steps in sharing a faculty member as well as administrative staff leaders. To us, 'cluster' means collaboration, cooperation and combining our resources, all to better serve our students and the Church's need for mission leaders in the 21^st century."

"The clustering of our seminaries enables us to share our strengths and be effective companions in God's mission," said the Rev. Dr. Frederick Reisz, President of Southern Seminary. "The Teagle Foundation grant frees us to share and support faculty and staff as each seminary community incarnates the vision of cooperative clustering." Dr. Reisz is the immediate past President of the Cluster.

The three seminaries have primary missions to prepare professional leaders for the Church. Their programs offer a mix of academic and field work and internship preparation. Their scholars ready themselves to be pastors, Directors of Christian Education, Diaconal Ministers (a specialized form of service ministry), musicians or counselors or outreach coordinators of various kinds.

Founded in 1826, the Gettysburg Seminary is a member of the Washington (D.C.) Theological Consortium. The Seminary features a Lutheran Center for Theology and Public Life in Washington, D.C., a Town and Country Church Institute, the Institute for Luther Studies, and the Stewardship of Life Institute. It serves as the ELCA Center for Diaconal Ministry and offers an extensive program of theological education for laity.

Southern Seminary, founded in 1830, emphasizes formation for ministry in the parish setting and cooperates in a consortium with the University of South Carolina and two other colleges to offer the Master of Arts in Religious Studies preparatory for doctoral level study. The Philadelphia Seminary was founded in 1864 and features a 20-year-old Urban Theological Institute, with a focus on continuing education for African American leaders. The Seminary sponsors the Academy of Preachers, emphasizing continuing support in sermon preparation and also has Latino and urban concentrations. It is a member of the Philadelphia Consortium on the Study of Religion.