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PDF versionSad news: WTU closing
by Heidi Schlumpf on Jun. 28, 2011
"This was a difficult decision for us, not least because of the excellence of the education and formation our students are receiving,” said Very Rev. James Greenfield, OSFS, and Chair of the Board of Trustees. “We remain proud of all we’ve accomplished as a community, and of the many successes and contributions our students, faculty, staff and alumni are making to the Church.”
Washington Theological Union, a seminary that has educated men and women for ministry in the church for 40 years, is closing because "it does not have the financial resources to be able to continue offering its academic services to the Church and the community beyond the 2012 - 2013 academic year," according to a press release dated June 27.
The Board of Trustees attributed the decision to "financial challenges with the recent economic downturn, decline in the number of religious vocations and a national decrease in private funding for religious initiatives," the press release said.
The board decided to close enrollment to new students after September, but continue classes to allow current students to complete their degrees before the end of the 2012-13 academic year.
As a seminary graduate myself and a writer for InTrust, a journal for boards of theological schools, I know well the financial challenges facing institutions of theological education today. This is sad news not only for the students, faculty, staff and alumni of WTU, a widely respected school, but for all Catholics.
Who will train the next generation of religious leaders?
Please also see from them
Please also see from them
Spirit and Life A journal of contemporary Franciscanism
Clare of Assisi: Model for Franciscan Women volume 1 1991.
Edited by Sr. Ann Carville, O.S.F
Franciscan Evangelization: Striving to Preach the Gospel: Washington Theological Union, Symposium Papers, 2007
Franciscans and the Scriptures: Living in the Word of God: Washington Theological Union Symposium Papers, 2005
I'm sure this place was
I'm sure this place was liberal, so I am glad that it is closing! The wind of the Spirit seems to be blowing through the Church now after the great crisis caused by the flawed & ambiguous council termed VII.
as ever, my dear Paultre, you
as ever, my dear Paultre, you never let lack of information and research delay your typing. Please review the publications from this Union, which appear eminently mainstream, before blowing your wind.
Which flawed and ambiguous council came in seventh?
When people start judging and
When people start judging
and pointing our categories
using certain words like "liberal",
I ask them what they really mean with
those words. Many times I get alarmed
when they give their responses.
Why would anyone in a tough
Why would anyone in a tough economy go into debt to get a higher degree in a subject that's based on an invisible figure?
Fortunately we have the separation of church and state in the US; in Europe, their taxes pay for "Divinity" School (where you graduate as a divinity?) and you have no choice over paying for them. Here at least people don't have to pay for something useless like theology unless they believe it.
No. You graduate as a Master
No. You graduate as a Master of Divinity.
All to learn that
God is Love.
Love one another.
Love thy enemy.
there, with those three lines, you now master divinity.
Or read the Reverend Sister Karen Armstrong´s Twelve Steps to Compassionate Living.
As a graduate of WTU in 1999,
As a graduate of WTU in 1999, it is not about simply
reading these:
God is love
Love one another
Love thy enemy
but learning how to translate them
in our lives. The whole ministry
is about this. If there is no
peace in the world, it is because
we have not succeeded in this
ministry. We need to study hard!
WTU was helping to achieve this.
A doctor's program had just been
introduced at WTU, this is still
to show how committed the University
is! I deeply suddened that financial
constraints are leading to the closure of WTU.
Dear Nixon, If I did not know
Dear Nixon,
If I did not know what was going on at
WTU, I would write a comment similar
to yours but since I am a graduate
of WTU I have a different take on
the closure of WTU. I am deeply
saddened by the closure.
Who will train the next
Who will train the next generation of religious leaders?
Not the same people who haven't trained them for the past decades. Good riddance.
How sad to see such a fine
How sad to see such a fine school closing its doors. The generations of leaders WTU trained has raised the bar in so many areas of Church life, from catechetics, to pastoral theology, and onto church life. The American Church is the richer for WTU’s presence these past thirty years, and the poorer for its passing. To its fine faculty, loyal alumni and alumnae, and dedicated students we send our deepest gratitude and respect for everything you have done these past forty-three years. May God continue to bless you.
On behalf of the administration, faculty, and students,
Fr. Michael Patella, OSB
Associate Dean for Academics
Saint John’s School of Theology•Seminary
Collegeville, Minnesota
I am deeply saddened to hear
I am deeply saddened to hear that my Alma Mater is closing. I earned an MA in Systematic Theology from WTU in 2009. The experience immeasurably deepened my understanding of Catholic theology, faith and traditions. The professors were kind, challenging and deeply committed to spreading the Word of God through rigorous scholarship. They taught me to think clearly and act courageously in all ways regarding my Christian faith. My tuition, less than the average cost of a new car, was a bargain compared to what I received--which will, unlike the car, last a lifetime.
I suggest that those who would celebrate the closing of a school of theology, especially one of the caliber of WTU, first talk to those whose lives have been touched by that school before pronouncing their condemnations. Hatred of anyone has no place in the body of Christ.
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