The Very Rev. Kurt H. Dunkle writes at General Theological Seminary’s weblog:
General follows two parallel paths. The first path has been ongoing for the past five years. It continues now.
Despite the snapshot of conflict, the portrait of General’s fundamental goal of “educating and forming future leaders for a changing church in a changing world” remains unaltered. Our work to create financial, missional, and cultural sustainability in order to maintain relevance to the 21st century church is now more important than ever.
The seminary-wide visioning process, begun five years ago and presented at the last General Convention in Indianapolis, is as fresh as ever. The new Way of Wisdom and Wisdom Year are in direct response to that five-year-old vision for General. This academic year we are in the midst of our Wisdom Year pilot program with two seniors as pastoral residents at Grace Church, Broadway, Manhattan and Christ Church, Short Hills, New Jersey. These pioneers of our innovative approach to theological education are integrating classroom learning with real-life experience while receiving hands-on mentoring and supervision.
One bishop recently reflected that the Wisdom Year residency is like an old-fashioned curacy. Amen! Missional vitality in the 21st century depends on our ability to continue serving a “changing church in a changing world,” and General must respond.
Image of the Close at General Theological Seminary by Beyond My Ken (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons
