A joint statement via Nashotah House
Since the Fall of 2011, Nashotah House Theological Seminary has provided a home for St. Michael’s Anglican Church (ACNA), by renting to the parish the then newly completed Adams Hall building of Dekoven Commons. During this time, St. Michael’s has contributed to the mission of Nashotah House not only through payment of rent and providing field education opportunities, but also in the form of financial gifts supporting both seminarians and seminary needs. The length of the church’s stay on the Nashotah House campus was never strictly defined and envisioned only that the new church plant would live among the seminary residents for a “season.”
Nashotah House, through the direction of its trustees, is expanding its programs to include activities like the Ambrose Institute, which seeks to train ordained and lay people to transform and revitalize their parishes. The regular Sunday morning presence of St. Michael’s makes the planned, expanded, use of Adams Hall by Nashotah House more difficult. The rector and vestry of St. Michael’s are completely understanding of this and has conveyed their willingness to look for a new location and be prepared to leave by the middle of February, 2015. In fact, for some months the vestry and members of St. Michael’s have been praying and reflecting on their mission and their role in the larger community and on how they can best serve that community and do the work to which God has called them. This time of seeking the Lord’s counsel has led them to an understanding that in order for St. Michael’s to continue to grow and to thrive, in a way that would be pleasing to God, they need to seek out a new location, so as to be more involved in the community that they seek to serve and to have more control over the facilities they require.
Accordingly, it is with mutual affection and blessing that we end this chapter in the lives of both communities, not only wishing each other the best but also dedicating ourselves to the future success of one another in spreading the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Rt. Rev. Edward Salmon, Jr.
Dean & President
Nashotah House Theological Seminary
The Very Rev. Thad Butcher
Rector, Saint Michael’s Anglican Church
Image: Adams Hall at Nashotah House
