wfn.org | House of Theological Studies

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3531 notes).

Note 3528 by UMNS on April 2, 1997 at 16:12 Eastern (4183 characters).

Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                        174(10-21WJ-71B){3528}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470             April 2, 1997

Program of theological studies created 
for United Methodists in the Northwest
                                 
                 by United Methodist News Service

     The dream of United Methodists in the Pacific Northwest to
have a program of theological education accessible in the area
soon will become a reality.
     A United Methodist House of Theological Studies is being
created by the Oregon-Idaho and Pacific Northwest annual
conferences in cooperation with the United Methodist Board of
Higher Education and Ministry, Claremont School of Theology, and
the Methodist Theological School in Ohio (METHESCO). 
     Bishop Edward Paup of the denomination's Portland Area, said
the house grew out of a desire for United Methodists in the
Pacific Northwest "to solve our sense of isolation from mainstream
theological education. We are quite removed from our United
Methodist seminaries."
     The two conferences and the two schools of theology are
developing the administrative, financial and recruitment
procedures for the program.
     Yet to be formally named, the house will be located at First
United Methodist Church, Salem, Ore. It will use the nearby United
Methodist-related Willamette University library, chapel and
possibly student services, and will be administered by METHESCO
and function under its accreditation.
     "It is an ambitious plan," said Dee Ann Kahn, METHESCO's vice
president for finance and administration. "We hope to bring the
best of theological education to the area," she said.
     Paup said a longstanding concern of United Methodist
leadership in the Pacific Northwest has been that often candidates
for ordained ministry go away to seminary and don't return. The
plan is to offer foundational theological education to "those who
otherwise must move hearth and home thousands of miles."
     Bishop William Dew, former episcopal leader of the Portland
Area, was an early supporter of the concept of a house of
theological education. It was approved at the 1996 session of the
Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference and the Pacific-Northwest Annual
Conference was invited to join the dialogue. 
     The Rev. John E. Harnish, staff executive in the United
Methodist Division of Ordained Ministry, Nashville,  said the
house is a "creative attempt" to respond to the need for United
Methodist theological education and "demonstrates an exciting
model of the kind of cooperation that can go on in the United
Methodist connection." 
      Classes are expected to begin in the fall of 1998 and
students enrolled at the house will be able to take at least two
courses a semester. 
     Paup said students there may earn up to 49 percent of the
credits needed for a master of divinity degree. The degree would
need to be completed at an accredited seminary. Professors from
METHESCO and Claremont School of Theology will provide instruction
with the possible addition of some adjunct instructors and some
distance classes using satellite video downlinks.
     Class schedules will be determined by the needs of the
students. Possibilities include weekdays, weekday evenings or
weekends. It is projected that most students will be commuters.
      "By offering this much toward a theological degree, we hope
students will be tied to the annual conferences and that they will
return to the conferences," Paup said.
     Classes for diaconal ministers and the newly created order of
deacon are being considered. It is hoped that lay people also will
enroll in seminary-level courses of special interest or concern.
     Paup said the house also will address the needs of people who
are considering a vocational change and are responding to a call
to ministry. He said taking the basic theological courses may
allow students to determine what needs to be done in response to
their call.
                              #  #  #

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