CARLISLE, PA – At a historic meeting here, the Boards of three distinctive Lutheran seminaries formalized their intention to cooperate in new ways to teach the church’s future leaders.

The official formation of the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries combines the educational outreaches of two Pennsylvania seminaries -- The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia-- and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, Columbia, SC. The agreement was endorsed by all three seminary boards meeting separately here, then celebrated in a combined worship and meeting session.

What’s a cluster? In general terms, the cooperative Cluster agreement “assures that a network of conversation, teaching and reflection takes place among the three seminaries,” said the Rev. Jonathan Strandjord. He is the Director for Theological Education for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Division for Ministry, the Chicago-based department responsible for the oversight of seminary education for the 5.2-million-member Lutheran denomination in the United States. Strandjord said the agreement assures, among other things, that students and those entrusted with teaching them “are all at the same table, taking part in the same conversation. It strengthens the likelihood that we may attract the best candidates for leading congregations in the new century.” Dr. Joseph Wagner, Division for Ministry Director, said the agreement represented “a construction of ideas, plans, people and dreams” as differentiated from the kind of building construction taking place currently on some seminary campuses.

Through the Cluster arrangement, the seminaries will enjoy exchanges between faculty members that include combined scholarly research and publication and collaborative relationships for teaching. The three seminaries will enact cooperative operational procedures where feasible. The schools will co-sponsor lecture series and other special events on all three campuses.

The most dramatic examples of cooperation include Doctor of Ministry and Distance Learning programs. In the Doctor of Ministry program, professional leaders may pursue a graduate degree awarded by the Seminary at Philadelphia by taking some courses at one or both of the other schools. The approach is appealing to students who often get a chance to qualify for part of the degree by studying closer to home. Through newly constructed Distance Learning Centers soon to be operational, each Seminary can exchange teaching and learning experiences with ease, and they can combine the way they distribute information, special events and teaching to other outlets, such as synods (regional church entities) and congregations. The Cluster has also been assigned to carry out a Diaconal Ministry emphasis, housed at Gettysburg Seminary. The program educates, trains and consecrates lay professionals for a ministry of service. Diaconal ministers often specialize -- by serving the homeless, for example.

“Through this agreement we can make better use of each other’s gifts,” said the Rev. Lee Miller, Bishop of the denomination’s Upstate New York Synod and a member of the Philadelphia Board. “Each Seminary has distinctive talents and educational traditions to offer the others. I fully expect the value of clustering will be enhanced in the future as we discover ways to serve together that we haven't yet foreseen.”

“The Cluster offers a more efficient way to operate the seminaries and deliver better programs,” said Dr. Virgil Summer, who chairs the Southern Board.

“The Cluster agreement reduces competition for scarce resources,” said Dr. Edward Sites, a member of the Gettysburg Board. “Together we can do more effective fundraising. Traditionally, each seminary has had a locally owned perception,” he added. “Now we become more of a resource for the whole church.”

Sarah Roth of the Philadelphia Board said examples of cooperation include the admission directors of each seminary traveling and working together to promote the notion of education for talented prospective leaders. The Cluster Board will now formally organize May 25 and 26, 1999. Dr. H. Frederick Reisz, Jr., President of Southern Seminary, will serve as the Cluster's first Executive Director. Judith Dickhart will remain coordinator.

The Philadelphia Seminary was founded in 1864 and is located in Philadelphia’s Mt. Airy section, a historically diverse section of the city. Its 14-acre campus was the site of the Battle of Germantown during the American Revolution. The Seminary with some 450 students, this fall dedicated its new Wiedemann Center, which houses students and their families in 64 units. The building also contains a Distance Learning classroom and an Augsburg Fortress Bookstore. Its noted graduates include Dr. H. George Anderson, the denomination’s Presiding Bishop.

Founded in 1826 by noted ecumenist and abolitionist Samuel Simon Schmucker, Gettysburg Seminary is the oldest Lutheran seminary in the United States. It was part of the site of the first day of the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg. The Seminary was also the alma mater for the church’s first ordained woman (the Rev. Elizabeth Platz in 1971) and the first tenured woman professor, Dr. Bertha Paulssen. It has about 200 students.

Southern Seminary was founded in 1830 with the assistance of Gettysburg Seminary. The Seminary has about 200 students and is celebrating recent fund-raising successes totaling $20 million. The fundraising has led to the construction of a new Learning Center, now nearly complete, and emerging plans for new student housing, as well as a significantly expanded endowment. Its graduates include Dr. Edgar R. Trexler, Editor of the noted denominational magazine, THE LUTHERAN.