In the January edition of Bloy House’s email newsletter, leaders describe the future relationship with the Claremont School of Theology, which plans to move to Oregon:
A recent lawsuit between Claremont School of Theology and the Claremont Colleges has been decided, and that decision now clears the way for CST to begin negotiating a merger with Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. President Jeffry Kuan reports that now that CST is free to sell its properties to an institution of higher education at its fair market value, the next steps in the merger with Willamette will begin. Classes will continue to be held on the Claremont campus through at least the 2019-20 academic year so that current students are able to complete their programs here in Southern California. The first class of students studying on the Oregon campus will likely begin their studies this fall.
Many have asked if this move will mean the end of the relationship between Bloy House and CST. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our relationship with this outstanding center of religious thought continues to be strong and mutual. Students attending Bloy House have for some years been a part of the low-residency cohort at CST. This means attending online and intensive hybrid classes rather than semester-long weekday in person classes. Low-residency programs are providing many theological institutions with a new medium for being able to offer higher education. These programs meld well with the Bloy House model of weekend learning. Beginning in Fall of 2020 we anticipate that our MDiv students will be attending several week-long intensives (usually a week in January and a week in the summer) to take their CST courses as a part of their MDiv work. They will continue to do 2/3 of their course work (the full Bloy House curriculum) and their field education here in Southern California on our new campus through our alternating weekend calendar.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
