Making the Rounds:   Wesley and the Dominican House of Studies

Wesley Theological Seminary

I met recently with President David McAllister-Wilson and learned about Wesley’s many programs and adaptive culture. It strikes me as a flotilla of ships navigating changing waters in theological education and ministry. Wesley weathered the recession well, and has moved to offer a “beyond residency” model of theological education, with block and some night courses, a January term, and increased hybrid learning with online components. It opened a new center for urban and public square education at Mt. Vernon Square in the heart of D.C., and has a large and innovative DMin program with various tracks. The student body is an ecumenical microcosm, drawing from over two dozen denominations, and the faculty is large, scholarly, and experienced in a variety of fields beyond the standard “core”: including sociology, religion and the arts, and ecumenics. Wesley also offers a strong continuing education programs and resources through the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Located right next to American University, Wesley is less than a 10 minute bus ride from Tenleytown Metro, and has parking (but sign in!).

Dominican House of Studies

Because the WTC offices are located at the Dominican House of Studies, I have met a variety of faculty members and staff, including Fr. Corbett in moral theology, Fr. Ryan in O. T., and the new librarian, Fr. Ruiz. I also had a wonderful visit with Dean Fr. O'Donnel to learn more about the school and its mission. The Dominican House strikes me as a sacred hermitage, with spiritual formation and theological learning go hand in hand. It is the oldest of the WTC’s Catholic institutions (1834), and it moved to D. C. during the formative years of Catholic University. The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception at DHOS offers a strong program in philosophy and theology, including traditional strengths in patristics, moral theology, Scripture, canon law, sacramental theology, and more, with a specialization in Thomistic studies. The faculty edit and are regular contributors to The Thomist journal, and they author numerous other publications. In their flowing white robes, they are also the best dressed of all the WTC faculty! The Dominican House has a splendid new academic center and library, with a gracious and welcoming staff. It offers various theological and ecclesiastical degrees. It is a 5 minute walk from the Brookland-CUA Metro stop, on the Red line.

Making the Rounds:  Leland and VTS
I am busy meeting institutional heads and representatives of each of the WTC schools.  This week, I want to share some highlights of these visits, and begin to capture a sense of the unique mission and gifts of each of these schools.  I offer them to students and faculty of the WTC, as an invitation for you to learn from these centers of learning, ministry, and scholarship.

John Leland Center: Last week, I had an energetic meeting with President Mark Olson. Leland strikes me as a gourmet food-court for seminarians, pastors, church-workers and lay people to pursue quality theological education.  It is one of the newest and most creative of the consortium schools by offering non-traditional course schedules, Masters and diploma programs--specializing in evening courses (with 2 hour blocks, so one can get in 2 classes per evening), and satellite programs in Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads, Roanoke, and elsewhere. Leland serves a variety of Baptist and other evangelical students, and its new Master in Christian Leadership is especially focused on those preparing for ministries beyond the senior pastor. Leland has a solid core library, a wonderfully helpful staff, and a newly remodeled center (by Sept 1) in Clarendon, right across from the Clarendon Orange line. The faculty blends scholarship and ministerial experience in their teaching, and they are very international. The educators here are adaptive and entrepreneurial in response to the changing leadership needs of congregations, transformations of higher education, and our fast-paced society.

Virginia Theological Seminary:  I also met last week with Tim Sedgwick, academic Dean at VTS, which is an interesting counterpoint to Leland. It strikes me as a residential cathedral of theological learning.   VTS is the oldest of the consortium schools (1823) and it remains focused on theological formation and education, largely for Episcopalians and students from the global Anglican Communion. Its library is large and carefully developed to cover a range of Christian (and some interfaith) traditions. VTS offers a number of block courses in 3 hour periods, and some non-traditional course schedules in evenings, summers, and its January term.  VTS continues a long tradition of case study teaching in the DMin.   The faculty is dedicated to strong scholarship, classroom teaching, and wider church service--including a number of ecumenical and bilateral dialogues. VTS has also been a leader in bringing Muslim-Christian studies to theological education, through grant work, guest professors, and opportunities for Dr. Richard Jones, now at the WTC, to continue teaching in that area.   It also has unique opportunities for lay education, through regular lectures and the  Evening School.VTS is only a 10 minute DASH ride from the King Street Yellow Line, just beyond National Airport.

Meeting people in the Consortium network is a lesson in how "relational ecumenism" works, and it is a true joy. As I meet institution heads and board members,  I am often asked "what is your vision of the Consortium?"   I usually share something like this:

There are two views of the Consortium's mission:   one as a service organization to enhance ecumenical teaching and learning of the theological schools; the other as an advocate for a wider vision of ecumenism for the churches and the public. Organizationally, the heads and deans of theological schools are guardians of the first vision, and the consortium board is the guardian of the second.   MY VISION is to find where the two understandings overlap, and to enhance the "sweet spots" between them.   I am convinced that the public vision can inspire and help shape theological teaching and learning, and the needs of seminarians, faculty, and religious leaders can keep the former grounded and focused.

If this view is on target (and I welcome comments...), it makes the WTC a unique setting within which ecumenism for today can be reshaped and redefined.  

I recently finished teaching a course in "Theological Reflection of Ministry/Leadership" for the graduate certificate program in Imam Education by Hartford Seminary and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (Fairfax). The course focused on case studies and theological reflection around the leadership among Imams and other community leaders in various Muslim communities in the Virginia- D.C.-Baltimore region. Not only was I exposed to gifted leaders in the Muslim community, but I was moved by how much we have to learn from each other in the practices of religious leadership. I also learned that they took me more seriously as a Christian pastor and scholar, than some neutral outside educator.

Yesterday, I learned more about the Muslim-Christian Studies program of the Consortium from Dr. Richard Jones, who holds the Al-Alwani Chair and directs that program. Rich just finished a summer intensive at the Graduate School for Islamic and Social Sciences, which had strong participation. Great news that the first Certificate holder comes from the John Leland Center (David Tompkinson), and other students have finished the Certificate from Wesley and the GSISS. These students complete a rigorous set of courses in Bible and/or Qu'ran, introduction to Christianity and/or Islam, required seminars in interreligious dialogue and practical issues of collaboration, and more. They are preparing to enter a world and a society where religious caricatures and bigotry are now a cottage industry, and the need for educated religious leaders in interfaith dialogue and research is paramount.

I applaud these students, and the various faculty--from Wesley, Howard, Catholic U, VTS, Lutheran in Gettysburg, and the Dominican House --who contribute courses toward this work. I invite all member schools to consider more opportunities for Dr. Jones and invited Islamic scholars to teach (usually with Muslim students in the course) on their campuses!

First week on the job, I am learning the ropes of the Consortium office, and spending final days facilitating the DMin case study process at Virginia Theological Seminary.   I am struck by how resourceful theological students and pastors are at resourcing their own ministry, and how cross-denominational their searches are--for models of ministry, theological frameworks, and ways to link social thought to Christian practice.  This kind of ecumenical learning, on the ground, is one of the hopes for strengthening theological education and the ecumenical movement.  

Many thanks to Fr. Crossin, Clyde Taylor, and Marguerite Connolly and others at the Consortium for their hours of orienting me to the vital mission of this organization, and its many schools and associates!