Today those seminaries face problems—some
might call the situation a crisis—due to high costs, declining enrollment and changes in the type of education needed for pastors in the 21st century. In response, ELCA schools have begun a
massive effort to reorient almost everything about themselves to fit seminary education to the needs of today’s church. Two seminaries are merging. One is relocating, largely to save money. Others are uniting their work with ELCA colleges. Degree programs are being altered and curriculum revised. All are looking at ways to help the seminaries and students bear the high cost of graduate school education. Michael Cooper-White, president of the Lutheran
Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, said seminary education today takes “a new approach to formation and leadership development. [This] goes beyond checking off a list of courses. We are all looking for ways to better prepare people for the amazingly complex and challenging context of today’s ministry,” he said. These efforts are occurring amid declining
enrollment. Last year 1,627 students were involved in all seminary programs, said Jonathan Strandjord, ELCA program director for seminaries. That reduced number includes people not preparing for pastoral ministry or those already ordained studying for additional degrees. In 2008, ELCA seminaries graduated 271 students
with the Master of Divinity degree that usually leads to ordination. In 2016 there were 173 such graduates, down nearly 100 from eight years ago.
Those numbers parallel the decline in other
seminaries affiliated with the Association of Theological Schools, where total seminary enrollment is down as much as 40 percent in other denominations.
Merging and moving Several ELCA schools are already making major changes. Gettysburg Seminary, the oldest of the ELCA theological schools, is merging with the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia—a union con- templated as long as 50 years. This year the two schools will become United Lutheran Theological Seminary, with campuses in Philadelphia and Gettysburg. Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio,
is merging with nearby Capital University, an ELCA school, in a union that will be completed this year. Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in
Berkeley, Calif. , merged with the ELCA’s California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks. The seminary will sell its aging and expensive-to-maintain campus and is moving downtown near Berkeley City College and the University of California. Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in
Columbia, S.C., is now affiliated with Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, N.C. School officials see these moves as not only
cost-saving but also as ways to expand the seminary experience. “For some time, many seminaries had become monastic in nature,” said Wayne Powell, president
The “traditional” path to ordination
Candidate earns a bachelor’s degree and is certifi ed by the candidacy committee of his or her synod.
16 FEBRUARY 2017
Candidate attends seminary for two years.
Candidate spends one year on internship in a congregation.
Candidate attends another year of seminary.
Candidate graduates with a Master of Divinity degree.
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