Faculty consult with parish rectors

The academy met parish ministry in a day long consultation on the campus of Seminary of the Southwest on August 24, 2011. At the seminary's invitation, Episcopal rectors from corporate and program sized churches in Houston, San Antonio, and Austin met for round table discussion with Dean and President Douglas Travis and Seminary of the Southwest faculty as part of the faculty's evaluation of its master of divinity program.

The Rev. Kathleen Russell, associate professor of contextual theology for ministry, facilitated the meeting. "The faculty oversees the seminary's curriculum, and we want to involve you who are in the daily practice of ministry in testing our direction and challenging our assumptions," she said in her welcome and introduction.  "Last spring, during our review of the MDiv curriculum in which we mapped out what we do, we realized that being, knowing and doing were woven throughout the curriculum. We want to explore those three aspects of formation with you."

Professors Scott Bader-Saye, Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, and Kathleen Russell framed each of the three foundational categories that supports the curriculum, and then small groups of rectors and faculty members met to explore the rector's convictions about what is most important for parish leadership and how best for the seminary to prepare men and women for the ministry of church leadership.

On being, the rectors stressed the requirement for authenticity, integrity and a passionate commitment to Jesus as well as patience and humility matched with a "relentless pursuit of the souls that God has given to us for care."

Life-long learning, knowing a healthy parish when you see it, and knowing some material "cold so that we don't start at ground zero each time we're called to plan a funeral, for example" were offered on knowing. One rector challenged the faculty to "Give your students a new vision of the Church. You have reasons to be so excited about your jobs now."

The Rev. Kathryn Ryan, alumna, trustee and rector of Church of the Ascension, Dallas, summarized the doing part. "Knowing management and priestly duties isn't enough. You [the rector] have to schedule sacred service with the congregation. That includes the liturgy as well as helping parishioners discover their spiritual gifts and training them to use their gifts. Concrete expressions of the life in Christ-it's our job to do them."

Wrapping up the discovery and conversations, Academic Dean Cynthia Briggs Kittredge said, "Today I've heard what we all have in common rather than the gap between the academy and the parish. We, the faculty, are grateful for your insights and support."