wfn.org | Newsline: Seminary charts course for new direction with strategic plan

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service,

>News Director Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford,

>800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

>BETHANY SEMINARY CHARTS COURSE FOR A NEW

>DIRECTION WITH STRATEGIC PLAN

(May 6, 2010) Elgin, IL -- At its March 2010 meeting, the Bethany

Theological Seminary Board of Trustees approved a strategic plan to

guide the work of the seminary through 2015. Bethany Seminary is

the graduate school and academy for theological education for the

Church of the Brethren, located in Richmond, Ind.

Passage of the plan marked completion of another step in Bethany's

ongoing process of developing, implementing, and assessing the

>seminary's strategic direction.

Reframing Bethany's mission and ministry to address the challenges

of providing quality theological education in the 21st century was

high on Ruthann Knechel Johansen's priority list when she assumed

the presidency in 2007. The recommendation of one of the seminary's

accrediting bodies to evaluate enrollment and develop a comprehensive

assessment plan, and the approaching end of the strategic initiatives of

the time, underscored the need to address the issue.

Johansen also considered external factors influencing the perception

of theological education. "In the last several decades, great changes

have occurred in all Christian communions: in the local congregations

and districts of the Church of the Brethren, and in the United States and

global cultures, leading to the observation that we are living in a post-

Christian time," she observes. "Reconsideration of Bethany's mission

and vision invites clarification and possible enlargement of them in the

>face of significant challenges."

Johansen approached the process by inviting people from many

constituency groups into dialogue. This included several joint meetings

of the board, faculty, and staff, including an envisioning discussion

informed by storytelling and personal sharing, and a weekend retreat

funded by a grant from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning

in Theology and Religion led by Faith Kirkham Hawkins.

Through these conversations it became clear that Bethany's future

direction would be served best by holding fast to and creatively

incorporating the Church of the Brethren core testimonies that contribute

to God's transforming work in the church and the world.

In Oct. 2008 the board received and approved a strategic direction paper

based on the discussions and drafted by Johansen. The paper presents

challenges facing the seminary, goals to address the challenges, and

strategies for achieving the goals. The board also approved the creation

of a Strategic Planning Committee to prioritize the strategies and set a

timeline and benchmarks for meeting the goals.

A year later the board approved a new mission and vision statement,

which can be viewed at www.bethanyseminary.edu/about/mission. The

new mission statement reads, "Bethany Theological Seminary equips

spiritual and intellectual leaders with an Incarnational education for

ministering, proclaiming, and living out God's 'shalom' and Christ's

>peace in the church and the world."

Johansen describes the mission statement this way: "An Incarnational

education is based on the life and work of Jesus Christ, emphasizing

both the historical context of his life, death, and resurrection and the

timeless call to embody his example of caring for God's creation, loving

neighbor and enemy, and serving the weak and the poor through the

indwelling of the Holy Spirit. As we practice this distinctive manner of

living, we experience God's 'shalom' and Christ's peace, reconciled with

God and reaching out in reconciliation to others amidst our diversity."

With the mission and vision statements as a guide, the Strategic Planning

Committee reviewed the 22 recommendations from the strategic direction

paper and categorized them into seven priorities with accompanying

subsets of goals and tasks. The goals focus on educational ethos and

environment; curriculum focus, integration, and expansion of the

educational program; and funding for new initiatives. Each task has a

time frame for completion, measurable marks for accomplishment, and

>personnel assignments.

Implementation of an ongoing assessment plan will complete the circle

of work related to the strategic direction process. Karen Garrett of Eaton,

Ohio, has been hired as coordinator of assessment. She holds a master's

degree from Bethany and a master's degree in education with

specialization in curriculum and assessment. At a future meeting, the

board will approve a comprehensive assessment plan in anticipation of a

focus visit by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central

>Association of Colleges and Schools in 2011.

When describing how Bethany's new strategic direction will shape the

work of the seminary, Johansen says, "Preparing students for religious

vocations today involves more than giving them biblical and theological

knowledge and skills for carrying out ministerial vocations. Bethany must

provide the contexts and resources for understanding present realities in

relation to the past and the future, such as 'fore-grounding' work that

prepares leaders for pluralistic contexts, developing curriculum in conflic t

analysis, offering courses that bring Matthew 25 and Matthew 28 together

in conversation, and interpreting the seminary's importance as a valuable

educational resource for analysis and interpretation of and witness to

>urgent questions facing church and society.

"Incarnational education transforms the teaching and learning experience

because it invites us to embrace Christ's way of love and to continue the

work of Jesus--in service, in simplicity, and in the pursuit of peace and

>justice for human beings and the earth."

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to

continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its

faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and

Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches.

It celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 125,000

members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and

sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Indi a.

(Marcia Shetler, director of public relations for Bethany Theological

>Seminary, provided this report.)

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

>Director of News Services

>Church of the Brethren

>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120

>800-323-8039 ext. 260

>cobnews@brethren.org