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| Finally an honest statue at a seminary. This is Henry M. Muhlenberg, Halle Pietist. Why have Luther when no one reads, understands, or agrees with the Reformer. Jay Webber came from this tradition. |
Philadelphia and Gettysburg Seminaries Offer Tuition-Free Education
The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP) and the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (LTSG) today announced a dramatic increase in the amount of financial aid each school is giving students, including making full-tuition scholarships available to all new full-time, ELCA rostered leader candidates studying in residence. “In partnership with the ELCA, our supporting Synods, and many faithful congregations and individuals, we decided the time is right to make seminary education far more affordable for our students,” declared Presidents Michael Cooper-White (LTSG) and David Lose (LTSP). In addition to this generous offer for new students, the schools also expect to increase scholarships for all current full-time enrollees.
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| Claire Burkat is "the parent of a son" and also worked for the dying Episcopal Diocese at the same time she earned money from the ELCA synod. Now she is a bishop of Mark Jeske global ecumenical dimensions. |
Oh, Claire! (not CLC sic)
Bishop Claire Burkat, of the Southeastern Pennsylvania synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) said in some ways the seminary’s mission, which is “to educate and form public leaders who are committed to developing and nurturing individual believers and communities of faith for engagement in the world” has not changed in 150 years.
“We are still teaching, equipping and preparing Church leaders to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in worship, word and action,” Burkat said. “That being said, the 21st century landscape has dramatically changed the time-honored way seminaries of every denomination have prepared professional leaders for work and service in the church and the world.”
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| Confessional - they all are. Ecumenical to the max - ask Mark Jeske and his Thrivent paymasters. |
“Two ELCA Lutheran seminaries to close, reopen as one,” a report in the February 17, 2016 Christian Century, says:
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“The decision came this week from the governing boards of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. The plan will cut the number of seminaries affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America from eight to seven.
“David Lose, president of the Philadelphia seminary, said the move would create opportunities for redesigning everything from faculty and curriculum to calendars and relationships with donors.
“The board votes came quickly after a recommendation from a joint task force, which held its first and only meeting last month. Gettysburg was projecting yearly deficits above $200,000 and could not keep eliminating faculty positions by attrition, according to board chair James Lakso.
“‘We have too many people and too much physical capacity to be viable and sustainable in the long term,’ Lakso said.
“By combining into one institution distributed across two locations in Gettysburg and Philadelphia, the schools could solve the thorny problem of what to do with tenured faculty, whose salaries and benefits weigh heavily on each school’s budget.The logic: if a school ceases to exist, then it’s no longer obligated to retain faculty members, even if they had tenure. A new school has the flexibility to start over.”
“Since 2012, other Lutheran seminaries have found shelter inside universities. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary merged with Lenoir-Rhyne University in Columbia, South Carolina; and Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary became part of California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, California.”
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GJ - Fun fact. I was interviewed for the job of vicarage supervisor at the Philadelphia Seminary. It was an HEW interview. The candidate was already picked, but they interviewed nine others to make it look like a big search.
It was a fun trip. The area was very tony at the time. I ended up in a little restaurant and found out immediately it was one of those very expensive, exclusive places.
I learned from Neuhaus'Lutheran Forum Newsletter than five of the faculty were divorcing at the same time, including the academic dean. I later saw the academic dean at a Michigan Synod LCA meeting. I did not meet her at that so-called interview. She craned her neck as she caught my nametag.