Ann Fontaine of Episcopal Café has posted a notice received via email that seven of eight dismissed faculty members will return to their work at General Theological Seminary. The bulk of the note by the Very Rev. Kurt H. Dunkle, dean and president, quotes a statement distributed by the seminary:
The Board of Trustees, Dean, and Faculty of General Theological Seminary jointly announced that they have today reached an agreement regarding the immediate issues which have led to heated debates within and without the walls of the nation’s oldest Episcopal seminary. The resolution involves an ongoing process of reconciliation, a reinstatement of all of the returning faculty members on a provisional basis, and a re-affirmation of the responsibilities of the Board of Trustees and the Dean.
Spokespersons for all involved stated that they supported the resolution and looked forward to implementing together the mission of GTS to educate and form leaders for the changing church in a changing world, as it has successfully done for almost 200 years.
Dunkle’s note adds that the chapel schedule — one of the earliest points of contention between the dean and the faculty — “will continue for the time being” and “I will work with all concerned in the coming weeks to hear your views and suggestions on how each liturgy should develop over time.”
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
