wfn.org | Theological education expands in Eastern Europe

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

March 3, 2004 News media contact: Linda Green 7 (615)742-5470 7 Nashville,
Tenn. 7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org 7 ALL-YE-I{087}

NOTE: A photograph and map are available at http://umns.umc.org.

A UMNS Report
By Pamela Crosby*

The United Methodist Church has invested $2 million in funding theological
education in European countries in the past four years, establishing faculty
and developing education resources for two church-related seminaries.

Since the fall of communism in the early 1990s, United Methodists have placed
a priority on strengthening and developing congregations and church leaders
in former Soviet Bloc countries of Eastern and Central Europe.

The 2000 General Conference, the denomination's top assembly, approved a
resolution from the United Methodist Board of Higher Education to reinforce
theological schools and expand ministerial programs in the region. The
assembly approved a $3 million program for the 2000-04 period to support
theological education in the United Methodist conferences in the region. With
these resources, the Fund for Theological Education in Post-Communist Europe
was established.  

The United Methodist Church in post-communist Europe has continued to grow,
establish new churches, and reach youth and young adults with the gospel,
despite limited funding and in the face of conflict and war. The need for
trained pastoral clergy leadership is urgent, the General Conference
delegates stated in the approved resolution.

Nearly $2 million has been funded for United Methodist theological seminaries
and training institutions that are responsible for ordained and lay-preaching
ministries. The remaining funds will be distributed this year.

Funding for theological education has allowed the United Methodist Church to
provide faculty and develop resources for education for two seminaries - the
Russia United Methodist Theological Seminary and the Baltic Theological
Seminary - and training institutions in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Hungary. 

In early February, an eight-member task force representing the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry met with church leaders in
Tallinn, Estonia, to complete quadrennial assignments and receive updates
about the Fund for Theological Education in Post-Communist Europe. 

"It is amazing what has been done with a limited amount of money," said the
Rev. Mary Ann Moman, head of the board's Division of Ordained Ministry. "The
result is much greater than the cost."

One of the most provocative responses to this support is the "graduate-level
training for pastors from the Baltic states - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania -
and in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Yugoslavia and Serbia," explained the
Rev. Robert Kohler, a staff member in the Division of Ordained Ministry. He
said pastors received seminary service and diaconal training through centers
and institutions for children, youth and adults. The training enabled them to
return to their countries to serve not only as pastors but as leaders who
will develop social service institutions.

The task force also examined other needs, such as training lay leaders,
providing technical assistance and developing educational leaders, and it
explored the potential for cooperation across borders. 

Goals for the fund also include developing and translating literature in
various cultures and languages. 

"The development of literature in the native languages is essential for the
development of ministry," said Bishop Heinrich Bolleter of the church's
Central and Southern Europe Episcopal Area. "If we have the support of the
students, we will have a future."

Considering the future of the worldwide church, the task force will connect
its findings with the board's proposed Global Education Fund, which will be
considered by the 2004 General Conference. The assembly meets April 27-May 7
in Pittsburgh.

Continuing needs for education in post-communist Europe include:

7	Making basic Methodist curriculum available over the Internet in
multiple languages.
7	Preparing for the 2004 General Conference, including making a report
to central conference delegates in Bratislava.
7	Completing the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary, which serves
the Baltic states. Currently, 167 students are enrolled (60 in full-time
studies) in training for ordained ministry, religious education, chaplaincy
and deacon ministries;
7	Maintaining connections among theological institutions through such
means as Web casts and meetings of the Association of United Methodist
Theological Schools in Europe.
7	Financing the translation of distance-learning courses, Methodist and
theological literature, and language training for smaller countries.
7	Sponsoring the training program in Graz-Waiern, Austria, for the
Balkan United Methodist churches that are too small to operate independent
institutions.
 
More information is available by contacting Robert Kohler, (615) 340-7388 or
bkohler@gbhem.org.
# # #
*Crosby is a staff member of the United Methodist Board of Higher Education
and Ministry's Office of Interpretation in Nashville, Tenn.

 
 

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org