NEWS FEATURE: Ecumenical institute seen as `new way’ to be Christian

c. 1997 Religion News Service SEATTLE _ As popes, prelates and church commissions pursue the delicate diplomacy of Christian unity, here in the Northwest, 10 Protestant denominations and one Catholic school have simply rolled up their sleeves and made it happen _ with a path-breaking program in which Protestants and Catholics train together for the […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

SEATTLE _ As popes, prelates and church commissions pursue the delicate diplomacy of Christian unity, here in the Northwest, 10 Protestant denominations and one Catholic school have simply rolled up their sleeves and made it happen _ with a path-breaking program in which Protestants and Catholics train together for the ministry.

Seattle University’s new Institute for Ecumenical Theological Studies was officially launched July 11. Though Catholics and Protestants study together at a number of theological consortiums at universities, its organizers say this is the first degree-granting Protestant institute to be established at a Catholic university and collectively administered by the participating denominations.


An air of celebration pervaded this urban campus during a week’s worth of inaugural programs and activities. But there was also a sense of mystery about an ecumenical experiment in which a Jesuit University has joined forces with Episcopalians, Lutherans (ELCA) Unitarians, American Baptists, United Methodists, Presbyterians (PCUSA), the United Church of Christ, Church of the Brethren, Disciples of Christ and the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

At the heart of the mystery is what the Rev. Stephen Sundborg, president of the Seattle University, described as”an ecumenism of spirituality,”in which students steeped in their respective religious traditions would enrich each other, reaching out to serve the greater church and the world. “Ecumenism is not only a specific work, it is a new way of being a Christian. It is an unfolding vision, an unfolding life that depends on the blessing and the grace of God,”Sundborg said.”The trick of life is to align ourselves with what God is doing,”he added.”Spirituality is our lived relationship with mystery and I believe each person has his or her own unique sense of it. And the grace of God is much larger than our individual differences.” Bill Malcomson, a retired American Baptist minister and seminary administrator who is one of the guiding lights of the new institute, explained the mystery in more practical terms.”For two denominations to agree on anything is one thing,”said Malcomson, who is the ecumenical institute’s interim director.”But for 10 denominations to come together in a program like this is nothing short of amazing.” Amazing, too, in Malcomson’s view, is the task of meeting the needs of the 60 students enrolled in the new institute, where the average age is 45 and women outnumber men three to one.

They range from Baptist Cathy Frannson, recently retired from 28 years as a public school guidance counselor to Bill Stalder, a computer data specialist who said he had an epiphany one day that he was called to do more than crunch numbers. Frannson, now engaged in an internship working with women newly released from prison has come to the ecumenical institute to learn ways to incorporate her faith in counseling work. Stalder, a member of the Disciples of Christ, is pursuing course work that will lead to ordination.”Most of these are people who already have two or three careers under their belts, folks who have made major life changes to come here. That also means they are very demanding students; challenging us all the time,”Malcomson said.”This is an institution in which we have peers teaching peers; colleagues challenging colleagues. That’s God telling us this will be the nature of ministry in the future.” The idea for an ecumenical theological institute was born of necessity in the notoriously unchurched Pacific Northwest. Though extension programs exist for evangelical Christians, for mainline and middle-of-the-road denominations the closest seminaries are in Northern California. A serious effort was made more than a decade ago to establish an ecumenical Protestant seminary in Seattle but it was impeded by denominational differences, problems with academic accreditation and a shortage of money.

The impasse was breached by Seattle University’s School of Theology and Ministry offer to add an ecumenical institute to its Institute for Catholic Theological Studies. The university has long been a magnet for Protestants, who already comprise about 25 percent of Seattle University’s student body.

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The university agreed to share existing faculty and pay all indirect expenses for the ecumenical institute. The Protestant denominations would raise the money to hire a director and adjunct faculty and help design a program which would meet the needs of a variety of students.

It was agreed that no denominational headquarters would be asked to contribute money to the effort, so as not to compete for funds needed by denominational seminaries. To date, the ecumenical institute has raised $225,000 from foundations and private donors.

The Institute for Catholic Theological Studies trains members of the laity for work that once was done by priests and nuns, whose numbers are rapidly declining _ hospital chaplains, prison ministers, or spiritual directors. It also provides training for social service ministries such as soup kitchens or homeless shelters.


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Students at the ecumenical institute can avail themselves of core courses in theology, Christian anthropology, Hebrew and Christian scripture, prayer and spirituality, along with others more closely tied to their denominational interests and issues. Depending on the requirements of each denomination, the a master of divinity degree could qualify a student for ordination.

In addition to a rigorous academic program in scripture, theology and ministry, spirituality is an important component. Courses in prayer, spiritual direction and personal spiritual growth are required. “This is not a non-denominational school that grants a generic degree; each student must graduate with an identity rooted in their own faith tradition,”said Loretta Jancowski, a former nun who is dean of the School of Theology and Ministry.”It seems that the time is right for this kind of program. People are ready for it; in fact, they’re begging for it.” But it has not been easy.

In the year of academic experimentation that preceded the formal launch of the ecumenical institute, Protestant students complained that the school’s course in Christian ethics was too heavily weighted with Catholic doctrine, especially on such issues as the sanctity of marriage, sexual orientation, personal and social morality. Consequently, a United Methodist faculty member was hired to teach ethics from a Protestant point of view _ not that there is a single Protestant point of view.

Differences of opinion _ theological, ethical or moral _ are inevitable and welcome, according to Caroline Allendoerfer, an Episcopalian laywoman who serves on the ecumenical institute’s board of directors.”Just because someone takes a class doesn’t mean they’re indoctrinated,”she said.

Bill Stalder, who balances a full-time job with his ministerial studies agreed, noting that the differences are often more illuminating than divisive.”It is as difficult for Protestants and Unitarians to talk about their respective faiths as it is for them to talk with Catholics, said Stalder.”Our senses of Christology _ of who Christ is and what he means _ are wildly different. So are our experiences of God moving through our lives. But as we share our beliefs and bring them to the pulpit as preachers, the accumulated experience of diversity will enrich the church in the Northwest.” Crucial to the whole ecumenical endeavor, Jancowski said, is the understanding that the task at hand is graduate education, not indoctrination _ and that the goal is to discover a new way to be Christian.”You have lots of discussion, lots of dialogue. You try to get them to see all sides. You keep encouraging deep respect,”she said.”And the day will come, 10 to 15 years from now, when the Baptist pastor, the United Methodist minister and the Catholic priest or lay minister come together to solve a community problem, they won’t be strangers. They will have gone to school together. And together, they will change the face of the church.”

DEA END CONNELL

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