Programs & Curriculum |
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Degree Programs
Seminary of the Southwest’s commitment to serving the Episcopal Church as a whole, while understanding deeply the needs of the communities we serve, has led to several concentrations or degree programs to address these identified challenges.
Master of Divinity
The Master of Divinity degree is designed as a three-year program of preparation for ministry. It is the normative degree to prepare persons for ordained ministry, and it can also be used by those working towards general pastoral and religious leadership responsibilities in congregations and other settings. Postulancy—or for non-Episcopalians, the analogous formal ecclesiastical endorsement—is not a prerequisite for admission to the Master of Divinity program.
Master of Divinity with Latino/Hispanic Studies Concentration
The Hispanic Church Studies concentration for Southwest’s Master of Divinity degree is a curricular specialization offered by Southwest to prepare and equip students who have discerned a particular calling to or are exploring ministry with Hispanic/Latino
communities. Created to address the abundant need in the Episcopal Church to create honest and organic relationships with Hispanic and Latino communities, this degree prepares students to not just deliver liturgy in a different language, but to understand the nuances of culture and the specific challenges these communities face and which may
benefit from the outreach of a local parish.
Through the study of Hispanic/Latino theology, culture and Christianity students develop skills to:
• To evaluate a diversity of models of ministry in Hispanic/Latino settings, including ministry with Spanish-dominant, immigrant communities and ministry with English-dominant, acculturated communities;
• To apply skills for pastoral ministry in Hispanic/Latino and multicultural contexts;
• To interpret theological and social issues from the perspectives of various Hispanic/Latino and Latin American theologians.
Students in the concentration gain cultural competency while acquiring skills and sensibilities for the practice of ministry in Hispanic communities. The seminary’s offerings in Spanish language acquisition will assist students who desire to minister in Spanish-speaking settings but are not yet proficient in the language.
communities. Created to address the abundant need in the Episcopal Church to create honest and organic relationships with Hispanic and Latino communities, this degree prepares students to not just deliver liturgy in a different language, but to understand the nuances of culture and the specific challenges these communities face and which may
benefit from the outreach of a local parish.
Through the study of Hispanic/Latino theology, culture and Christianity students develop skills to:
• To evaluate a diversity of models of ministry in Hispanic/Latino settings, including ministry with Spanish-dominant, immigrant communities and ministry with English-dominant, acculturated communities;
• To apply skills for pastoral ministry in Hispanic/Latino and multicultural contexts;
• To interpret theological and social issues from the perspectives of various Hispanic/Latino and Latin American theologians.
Students in the concentration gain cultural competency while acquiring skills and sensibilities for the practice of ministry in Hispanic communities. The seminary’s offerings in Spanish language acquisition will assist students who desire to minister in Spanish-speaking settings but are not yet proficient in the language.
Master of Arts in Religion
The Master of Arts in Religion program is an academic degree designed to combine a foundational theological education with sufficient flexibility to allow students to pursue particular interests. It may be the highest degree a student plans to pursue, and so be used for personal enrichment or appropriate vocational training; one may also pursue the MAR as a transitional degree in preparation for further advanced studies.
Students who enroll in the MAR are seeking formation in the life of Christian theological scholarship. The program regularly attracts students from a wide variety of religious backgrounds, and these students work together throughout their time here as they develop research plans. Each student works with a common program advisor in the initial stages of her or his studies, and then is assigned to a field-specific faculty member in their second semester. All MAR students are invited, though not required, to participate in chapel worship and other community events on campus.
The curriculum at Seminary of the Southwest follows a path focused on three areas of formation: being, knowing, and doing. The seminary’s foundational attention to academic excellence (knowing) is complemented by attention to character (being) and skill (doing). Each program seeks to produce well-rounded, thoughtful graduates who have become not only competent in a field of study but wise and charitable in its practice.
Graduates of the Master of Arts in Religion program at Seminary of the Southwest will display integral formation in these three areas:
Students who enroll in the MAR are seeking formation in the life of Christian theological scholarship. The program regularly attracts students from a wide variety of religious backgrounds, and these students work together throughout their time here as they develop research plans. Each student works with a common program advisor in the initial stages of her or his studies, and then is assigned to a field-specific faculty member in their second semester. All MAR students are invited, though not required, to participate in chapel worship and other community events on campus.
The curriculum at Seminary of the Southwest follows a path focused on three areas of formation: being, knowing, and doing. The seminary’s foundational attention to academic excellence (knowing) is complemented by attention to character (being) and skill (doing). Each program seeks to produce well-rounded, thoughtful graduates who have become not only competent in a field of study but wise and charitable in its practice.
Graduates of the Master of Arts in Religion program at Seminary of the Southwest will display integral formation in these three areas:
- Being: Exhibit the scholarly disciplines that accompany and support a curious and charitable intellect;
- Knowing: Acquire foundational knowledge of the content and methods of biblical studies, church history, theology, and Christian ethics;
- Doing: Demonstrate skills for sharing theological knowledge and engaging in theological argument in both written and oral form.
Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
The Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (MHC) degree is designed for students seeking graduate-level instruction in professional counseling that prepares the student to pass the Texas State LPC qualifying exam and provides an opportunity to integrate professional counseling competencies with spiritual, religious and ethical values. All MHC courses address the knowledge, skills, and dispositions required for competent professional counseling practice in a diversity of settings. The four courses in spiritual integration provide additional Biblical, theological, historical, and ethical foundation for integrating spiritual, ethical, religious and multicultural competency with counseling theories and techniques.
Southwest’s MHC grew from the seminary’s long-standing commitment to lay formation, but grew acutely in the last decade as a mental health crisis began to consume the country, and because of certain healthcare realities, Texas was especially affected. Among the most vulnerable populations are well-represented in Texas, and include Veterans (for which Central Texas is a pooling area) and those in rural areas where access to mental health care can sometimes be non-existent.
This crisis of not having enough fully-licensed and clinically trained counselors, combined with the seminary’s rapidly growing program, led to the Episcopal Health Foundation partnering with the seminary in 2015 to create the Harrison Fellows
program, which places recent seminary master's in counseling graduates with a rural mental health agency serving 12 East Texas counties. They work with disadvantaged, rural families at no cost to the local clinics.
Southwest’s MHC grew from the seminary’s long-standing commitment to lay formation, but grew acutely in the last decade as a mental health crisis began to consume the country, and because of certain healthcare realities, Texas was especially affected. Among the most vulnerable populations are well-represented in Texas, and include Veterans (for which Central Texas is a pooling area) and those in rural areas where access to mental health care can sometimes be non-existent.
This crisis of not having enough fully-licensed and clinically trained counselors, combined with the seminary’s rapidly growing program, led to the Episcopal Health Foundation partnering with the seminary in 2015 to create the Harrison Fellows
program, which places recent seminary master's in counseling graduates with a rural mental health agency serving 12 East Texas counties. They work with disadvantaged, rural families at no cost to the local clinics.
Master of Arts in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care
The Master of Arts in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care at the seminary’s Loise Henderson Wessendorff Center for Christian Ministry and Vocation is a 72-hour degree designed for people interested in pastoral care in a variety of contexts. The core curriculum (4 courses) provides a biblical, theological, historical, and ethical foundation for pastoral ministry. Other required coursework equips the student for general chaplaincy ministry in a variety of settings. Elective courses enable students to broaden and deepen their understanding of particular ministries in specified settings (e.g., hospice, VA hospitals, prisons, workplaces, disaster relief). The curriculum provides the requisite 72 credits specified by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC) for recognition as a Board Certified Chaplain (BCC). Students or prospective students seeking board certification by the APC should review carefully the information at the Association of Professional Chaplains to learn about additional requirements for certification.
Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation
The Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation (MSF) at the seminary’s Loise Henderson Wessendorff Center for Christian Ministry and Vocation is a 48-hour degree that engages the theology and practice of Christian spirituality and spiritual direction. The MSF is designed for students who wish to explore the spiritual tradition of the Christian path as well as for lay and ordained ministers seeking to develop skills in spiritual direction.
The core curriculum (4 courses) provides a biblical, theological, historical, and ethical foundation for pastoral ministry. Other required course work allows students to specialize in spiritual direction or spiritual formation. Students who desire to serve as spiritual formation leaders in parish, retreat and Christian education programs follow the spiritual formation track, allowing them to tailor a program that culminates in a project that will help them define their future ministry. Students who desire to serve as spiritual directors follow the spiritual direction track, allowing them to make use of their academic degree in a spiritual direction practice.
The core curriculum (4 courses) provides a biblical, theological, historical, and ethical foundation for pastoral ministry. Other required course work allows students to specialize in spiritual direction or spiritual formation. Students who desire to serve as spiritual formation leaders in parish, retreat and Christian education programs follow the spiritual formation track, allowing them to tailor a program that culminates in a project that will help them define their future ministry. Students who desire to serve as spiritual directors follow the spiritual direction track, allowing them to make use of their academic degree in a spiritual direction practice.
Courses Integrating Faith and Service
Encuentro: Mission in Latino Contexts All first-year Master of Divinity as well as a select group of Masters of Mental Health Counseling students spend three weeks in the January term observing, participating and considering the church in mission along the Texas/Mexico border and in various Spanish-speaking contexts throughout Texas. Experiential learning occurs with trips to the Texas/Mexico border and in Latino/a congregations throughout Texas. Students learn about the history, culture, and contemporary realities of Latinos/as to gain skills in intercultural dialogue and ministry that they can transpose to other cultural settings.
Theologies of Liberation Religion is a powerful force for social transformation. The underlying theme of the course is explored as we examine the origins of Latin American Liberation Theology in the 1960s and gradually widen our scope to include various forms of theologies of liberation, such as Black Liberation Theology, U.S. Latino/a Theology, Feminist Theology, Womanist Theology, Eco-Liberation Theology and theology from the LGBT perspective. This course strives to provide various examples in which religion and theology respond to human conflict, struggle, injustice, and provide a particular response for reconciliation and hope in situations of oppression and despair. The issues and persons studied in the course require an openness to dialogue and a willingness to explore non-traditional theological positions that advocate for social change.
Undoing Anti-Judaism The purpose of this class is to develop strategies by which the anti-Judaism endemic to Christian traditions can be recognized and undone. This course will begin with an examination of the development and workings of Christian anti-Judaism. Attention will then turn to how such anti-Judaism has entered into Christian life and practice, especially within the context of teaching, preaching, and worship. The course will conclude with practical exercises in constructing positive understandings of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity in teaching, preaching, and worship.
Political Preaching A course on the history, theology, and practical issues surrounding preaching on political issues. What has been the relationship between Christianity and the political system in the past and present? What are the commitments I have as a preacher to my own beliefs, community, my bishop, my denomination, the secular government? What do IRS regulations say I can or can’t say, and about what? Students will engage a combination of written material, lecture, discussion, and their own original
political sermons.
Theologies of Liberation Religion is a powerful force for social transformation. The underlying theme of the course is explored as we examine the origins of Latin American Liberation Theology in the 1960s and gradually widen our scope to include various forms of theologies of liberation, such as Black Liberation Theology, U.S. Latino/a Theology, Feminist Theology, Womanist Theology, Eco-Liberation Theology and theology from the LGBT perspective. This course strives to provide various examples in which religion and theology respond to human conflict, struggle, injustice, and provide a particular response for reconciliation and hope in situations of oppression and despair. The issues and persons studied in the course require an openness to dialogue and a willingness to explore non-traditional theological positions that advocate for social change.
Undoing Anti-Judaism The purpose of this class is to develop strategies by which the anti-Judaism endemic to Christian traditions can be recognized and undone. This course will begin with an examination of the development and workings of Christian anti-Judaism. Attention will then turn to how such anti-Judaism has entered into Christian life and practice, especially within the context of teaching, preaching, and worship. The course will conclude with practical exercises in constructing positive understandings of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity in teaching, preaching, and worship.
Political Preaching A course on the history, theology, and practical issues surrounding preaching on political issues. What has been the relationship between Christianity and the political system in the past and present? What are the commitments I have as a preacher to my own beliefs, community, my bishop, my denomination, the secular government? What do IRS regulations say I can or can’t say, and about what? Students will engage a combination of written material, lecture, discussion, and their own original
political sermons.
Field Education Connecting Faith and Justice:
Our students are placed in parishes across the diversity of Austin and the surrounding communities. They serve in predominately black and hispanic congregations as well as in diverse, multiethnic congregations. Students also serve in rural, underserved communities where they minister to ranching families. Students exploring a special call to military or federal chaplaincy are placed in congregations near our several local military installations where they serve among veterans, active duty military personnel and their families helping to make meaning in this time of near endless war. Counseling students are placed in free and reduced cost clinics both in our urban setting as well as in vastly underserved rural communities to both gain needed hours of supervised training while providing vital mental health services to patients who would not otherwise have access.
Student Engagement |
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Opportunities for Engagement
El Buen Samaritano
Students regularly volunteer at El Buen Samaritano, an agency of the diocese of Texas headed by our board chair, Bishop Dena Harrison. There students help to provide much needed ESL training, basic health services, youth and child development
programs, a food pantry and immigration advocacy for economically disadvantaged families in Central Texas.
programs, a food pantry and immigration advocacy for economically disadvantaged families in Central Texas.
New Life Institute
Counseling students regularly complete their needed practicum hours in partnership with the New Life Institute. New Life provides services on a sliding scale, making mental health counseling affordable for many in our city who would not otherwise be able to afford to see a counselor. Beyond New Life, the seminary has practicum relationships with many of the non-profits in Austin that can provide the opportunity.
Episcopal Relief and Development
Students are encouraged and supported to undertake proactive volunteerism and fundraising projects. Students students regularly organize to volunteer to provide pastoral support to the elderly or infirmed, participate in community efforts to decrease the carbon footprint of the seminary, and even organize an annual barbecue competition that has has independently raised several thousand dollars for Episcopal Relief and Development.
Episcopal Veterans Fellowship
Each year, Seminary of the Southwest works along with the Episcopal Veterans Fellowship to provide a workshop and training on moral injury suffered by veterans. Clergy, veteran leaders and seminarians engage in a dialog on providing healing and hope to our veterans who often suffer from spiritual wounds when they return from war
Black History Month
Each year, students are part of an inclusive group that plans and executes the efforts to celebrate Black History Month. For the entirely of February, the campus engages in events and displays meant to highlight disparities, celebrate achievements and further ground themselves to the reality of the world in which they live. They feature guest preachers, expansive art displays, gatherings surrounding current events and the inclusion of a keynote speaker.
Guest Lecture Series
Finally, the seminary uses it’s guest lecture opportunities to engage in deep reflection on the most pressing issues of the day. Southwest emphasizes its role as a thought-leader and convener in the Austin community, even including that outcome as
one of five broader points in the most recently completed 3-year strategic plan. Our central location, combined with our facilities and connectivity with the local theological and lay community, has led the creation of a robust lecture series that invites top
national and local leaders to speak to the community. These lectures are always free of charge to the entire Austin community and underwritten by the seminary. These series are presented annually, if not more frequently, and include:
one of five broader points in the most recently completed 3-year strategic plan. Our central location, combined with our facilities and connectivity with the local theological and lay community, has led the creation of a robust lecture series that invites top
national and local leaders to speak to the community. These lectures are always free of charge to the entire Austin community and underwritten by the seminary. These series are presented annually, if not more frequently, and include:
- The Harvey Lectures are a student led effort that occurs annually in the Spring, and features speakers on topics that are timely and relevant to our student body. Often, lecturers are invited that have experience or expertise in areas of social justice or pertinent trends in theological discussion. This year’s lecturer was the Rev. Kim Jackson, Associate Rector for Adult Formation and Christian Social Action Ministries at All Saints Church in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a public theologian and a fierce community activist. Kim works to end the death penalty, advocates for women and children’s issues, and is passionate about sharing the liberating Gospel of Christ.
- The Blandy Lecture and Alumni Convocation is an annual alumni/ae led event that features speakers on topics of broad interest to our alumni/ae and those working directly in the world. This past fall, the lecturer was Bryan Stevenson, the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy. Mr. Stevenson’s highly praised work on fighting poverty and challenging racial discrimination is particularly relevant during these trying times. His lecture was attended by more than 900 people.
- The Payne Lecture is a Trustee led effort to bring a highly respected and revered leader in the greater church into our community to expose our students and faculty to the broader challenges of the church. This past February, as part of our Black History Month efforts, Dr. Emmanuel Katongole, associate professor of world religions and world church at the University of Notre Dame and author and expert in the study of Africa and the theology of reconciliation and lament delivered the 2017 Payne Lecture and keynote address for Black History Month at Seminary of the Southwest.
- The Monday Connection is a speaker luncheon presented 3 times a year, that features prominent local business leaders to share their perspective as to how their Sunday worship connects to their regular work. University Presidents, Federal Judges and prominent Philanthropists are often featured.
Walking the Talk - Student Engagement
We believe that people make a place, so we asked schools to profile three current students who are engaging major social issues while in seminary.
Lauren Kay
Lauren Kay came to seminary after a year serving with Church of the Common Ground, a worshipping community of on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia, with people experiencing housing crisis. She continued her commitment to serving youth and adults with cognitive or emotional challenges through volunteering with Healing with Horses Ranch. She also continued her commitment to racial justice work in the church by choosing a CPE experience with West End Baptist Church, a predominantly African American congregation in Louisville, Kentucky. Rather than providing pastoral care to hospital patients, Lauren honed her pastoral care skills among the congregation and surrounding urban neighborhood, including youth programs and outreach to the underserved.
Lauren Kay came to seminary after a year serving with Church of the Common Ground, a worshipping community of on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia, with people experiencing housing crisis. She continued her commitment to serving youth and adults with cognitive or emotional challenges through volunteering with Healing with Horses Ranch. She also continued her commitment to racial justice work in the church by choosing a CPE experience with West End Baptist Church, a predominantly African American congregation in Louisville, Kentucky. Rather than providing pastoral care to hospital patients, Lauren honed her pastoral care skills among the congregation and surrounding urban neighborhood, including youth programs and outreach to the underserved.
Matt Stone
Matt Stone led a group of students to stand with the water protectors in Standing Rock this past fall. Together they organized the trip, collected needed supplies to support the work of those witnesses, and spent a week camping, praying, and supporting the protesters. They led several community forums, both on campus and in local churches,
upon their return to discuss their experiences and educate the Austin community about the sacred importance of water and the land around water sources to the Native
American people they met during their time at Standing Rock.
Matt Stone led a group of students to stand with the water protectors in Standing Rock this past fall. Together they organized the trip, collected needed supplies to support the work of those witnesses, and spent a week camping, praying, and supporting the protesters. They led several community forums, both on campus and in local churches,
upon their return to discuss their experiences and educate the Austin community about the sacred importance of water and the land around water sources to the Native
American people they met during their time at Standing Rock.
Jennifer Cumberbatch
Jennifer Cumberbatch is the Associate Pastor at Agapé Christian Ministries and a counseling student at the seminary. Inspired by her family, Pastor Jen exudes a passion
to serve the hurting, broken hearted, voiceless and underrepresented peoples of the world, and is motivated by her faith to creatively transform culture. In addition to
teaching and counseling, she is the overseer for the Compassion Ministries which include: Homeless, Bereavement-Homegoing, and Visitation ministries.
Jennifer Cumberbatch is the Associate Pastor at Agapé Christian Ministries and a counseling student at the seminary. Inspired by her family, Pastor Jen exudes a passion
to serve the hurting, broken hearted, voiceless and underrepresented peoples of the world, and is motivated by her faith to creatively transform culture. In addition to
teaching and counseling, she is the overseer for the Compassion Ministries which include: Homeless, Bereavement-Homegoing, and Visitation ministries.
Core Commitments |
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Environmental Q&A: How does Seminary of the Southwest practice and promote environmental stewardship and sustainability?
Located in Austin, a city committed to environmental stewardship, we are surrounded by inspiration and resources to care for the earth. We are committed to reducing our energy use, making several important efficiencies upgrades to lighting and HVAC
systems this year. We have a long standing recycling program on campus, and next year, we are launching a campaign to reduce food and packaging waste in our student food services by providing sustainable carryout containers and other upgrades.
Seminary housing includes composting and organic gardening opportunities. We are also exploring partnerships with community gardens and farms to grow food on our urban campus, putting underused corners of our property to work in feeding our neighbors.
systems this year. We have a long standing recycling program on campus, and next year, we are launching a campaign to reduce food and packaging waste in our student food services by providing sustainable carryout containers and other upgrades.
Seminary housing includes composting and organic gardening opportunities. We are also exploring partnerships with community gardens and farms to grow food on our urban campus, putting underused corners of our property to work in feeding our neighbors.
Q: What makes Seminary of the Southwest unique?
Locally Immersed
Our seminary takes seriously its location in the southwest, and understanding the needs of the populations that define this area of the country. As such, we are actively engaged in Hispanic and Latino ministry. Even students who do not enroll in our concentration develop cultural competency, basic Spanish language skills and an understanding of the history and theology of hispanic people in the United States. Southwest conducts a Eucharistic service in Spanish once a week, for the purposes of inclusion and education. This cross cultural lens prepares graduates to lead their faith communities in engaging with and advocating for hispanic and latino people.
Standing with Water Protectors
A group of our students, inspired by the teaching and community, initiated a trip to stand with the water protectors at Standing Rock in November 2016. The dean provided financial support for their trip, and the entire community surrounded them with prayer and other resources as they went. They witnessed violence but also the resilience and faith of those committed to that cause. Since then, they’ve come back to share their stories and inspire us all to greater solidarity with native peoples.
State of the Field Mental Health Counseling
Additionally, our seminary offers a state of the field Master in Mental Health Counseling degree. These students engage the best practices in mental health care while engaging the whole of a patient’s story, including spiritual and theological beliefs. The
practice, insight and strength of our counseling degree infuses the entire seminary. Students preparing for ministry develop lasting collegial relationships with future counselors and take seriously mental health professionals as resources and companions in the field of caring for God’s people.
practice, insight and strength of our counseling degree infuses the entire seminary. Students preparing for ministry develop lasting collegial relationships with future counselors and take seriously mental health professionals as resources and companions in the field of caring for God’s people.
Q: How is Seminary of the Southwest changing the world?
Cynthia KittredgePresident, Seminary of the Southwest
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More than sixty years ago, the Rt. Rev. John Hines, then the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, had a vision for the creation of a seminary for the whole church, a theological school that would “interpret Christian theology in terms of the modern world.”
He imagined that it would function “as a place of theological training in which God’s engagement with the world in Christ Jesus would be boldly interpreted for potential priests in a fantastically changing era.” From the post war years when enrollment in seminaries boomed, through the struggles over racism and Civil Rights, through to the turmoil of our own time, the “changing era” has changed more than once. But the confident and hopeful spirit that was present at its founding still animates the community of Seminary of the Southwest. Faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the conviction of its power to address, learn from, critique, and transform culture shape what and how we teach here. Today, Seminary of the Southwest is a lively, growing, richly textured community of learning and prayer. We seek to form mature, wise, and creative Christian leaders to participate in God’s reconciling mission in the world. We do this through sustained attention to the Christian tradition in the company of and under the guidance of faculty who are not only intelligent, but also wise. We share this enterprise with students who become colleagues and leaders with us in ministry. We undertake our education in the ancient traditions of the faith in the center of an alive, expanding, complex, and fascinating American city. Austin, Texas, is culturally, linguistically, musically, ecologically diverse – a place full of opportunities to observe and participate in the gospel speaking to culture, and culture challenging the church, both with risk and with hope. Christ Chapel is built with a window of clear glass facing out to the University of Texas and the State Capitol to the south of our campus. Seminary of the Southwest is a place set apart, but not enclosed. Seminary of the Southwest changes the world by participating in it. By honoring our roots as established by John Hines, but also spreading our limbs, developing leaders in the church and beyond. Dan Aleshire, executive director of the Association of Theological Schools and unofficial dean of theological education in America, suggested once to our faculty and administration that seminaries exist in order to answer a single question: “How are we going to allow the full voice of the Hebrew and Christian heritage to speak within the present moment?” Our faculty is constantly seeking to do just that--to bring the riches of the Christian tradition into conversation with the contemporary world most effectively and faithfully. In biblical studies students learn how to preach and teach scripture in a culture, imaginatively impoverished, and hungry for nourishment from the Word. They explore in systematic theology the narrative of identity, origins, and destiny more true than the competing stories of entertainment and advertising. They imagine and construct models for economy alternative to those that prevail. In a society of soundbites, virtual relationships, and multitasking, they practice the low-tech, real time human gathering we call liturgy. In these and other ways, students learn here to read and proclaim the gospel in ways that address and critique contemporary culture. At the same time, the gospel is not an essence that exists apart from these cultural moments, like a ghost that moves in and out of various bodies without any change to itself. Christ’s message of grace and forgiveness is universal, but only in the sense that it is a message roomy enough for all creation, not in the sense of an unchanging propositional truth claim. That means even as the church brings Christ’s challenge to the world, it must learn to hear and adapt to the world’s challenge to the church. Our faculty continues to study new scholarship from philosophy and the social sciences. We host conferences, partnering with the vast educational resources in central Texas to gather and share research on the various sub-disciplines of the study of religion. We assign students readings from Milton and Dostoevsky, we show the films of Alfonso Arau . We explore ways that Facebook, Twitter, blogging, and podcasting might expand our conversations about theology, preaching, and the vocation of the priest. In these ways and more, we are learning from and adapting to this particular cultural moment in which we seek to let the “full voice of Hebrew and Christian heritage” speak. This cultural moment is not, of course, only about social media and new scholarships. Ours is also a moment of political partisanship, child poverty, the fears and realities of terrorist strikes, warfare, and the hopes and ills of an increasingly globalized consumerism. The challenge to let the gospel speak in the midst of such times can seem an overwhelming task. Where to begin? One of our convictions at Southwest is that attention to the local can prepare us to face the challenges of the global. Our Junior MDiv students “encounter” the world across the Rio Grande in their first January. As Middlers, they spend time in social work agencies or engaged in particular ministries in communities around the globe. As they enter into field parishes and build relationships with clergy and parishioners, they begin to think creatively about the “big” questions of enculturation in appropriately “little” ways. This woman needs health insurance, that man’s addictions are hurting his family, these refugees from the drug war need help communicating the local school district. The difficult paths through these demands are some of the ways in which we learn together to preach the gospel even as we slow down to “read” the culture and listen to its many voices. In 2017, Seminary of the Southwest is changing the world by providing theological education as a vigorous and lively enterprise in which faculty and students interpret and proclaim God's engagement with the world in Christ Jesus. We hope that as a community founded on the trust that “fantastic change” does not preclude faithfulness to this gospel, we may continue to embody Bishop Hines’s vision as a community of Christian scholarship and vocation prepared to listen to, challenge, and receive the challenges of this changing world. |
Careers that Change the World |
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Q: Profile three alum who are integrating faith and service in their current ministry/career fields.
The Rt. Rev. Greg Rickel, MDiv 1996, Bishop of Olympia
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The Rt. Rev. Greg Rickel, Master of Divinity 1996, Bishop of Olympia, led his diocese in
a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s executive order banning refugees from several
majority-Muslim countries. He argued that this travel ban inhibited the sacred work of
welcoming and caring for refugees that his diocese had been engaged in for
generations. Rickel has said: "This executive order is a violation of the foundational
principles of our nation. As a member of the Jesus movement, I believe the United
States has a moral responsibility to receive and help resettle refugees from the more
than 65 million people who have been displaced by war, violence, famine and
persecution. To turn these vulnerable people away and limit the flow of refugees into
our country is the dishonor the one we serve."
a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s executive order banning refugees from several
majority-Muslim countries. He argued that this travel ban inhibited the sacred work of
welcoming and caring for refugees that his diocese had been engaged in for
generations. Rickel has said: "This executive order is a violation of the foundational
principles of our nation. As a member of the Jesus movement, I believe the United
States has a moral responsibility to receive and help resettle refugees from the more
than 65 million people who have been displaced by war, violence, famine and
persecution. To turn these vulnerable people away and limit the flow of refugees into
our country is the dishonor the one we serve."
The Rev. Susan McCann, MDiv 1996, Rector at Grace Episcopal Church in Liberty, MO
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The Rev. Susan McCann, Master of Divinity 1996, is the Rector at Grace Episcopal Church in Liberty, MO. She is an advocate for peace and justice as evidenced through her ministry to improve the lives of the least, the last, the lost, and the little. Susan had led the parish, for over 20 years, to hospitality and full incorporation of all people. Her passion for justice has led her to work with other community leaders to confront the payday loan industry, to support a livable minimum wage and health benefits for workers, to reform immigration laws, and to support rights for LGBTQ persons and same sex marriage rights. Susan was among the 23 faith leaders arrested in 2014 for
your peaceful protest in the Senate Gallery pressing for Medicaid expansion in the State
of Missouri. Susan McCann is an advocate for peace and justice as evidenced through her ministry to improve the lives of the least, the last, the lost, and the little.
your peaceful protest in the Senate Gallery pressing for Medicaid expansion in the State
of Missouri. Susan McCann is an advocate for peace and justice as evidenced through her ministry to improve the lives of the least, the last, the lost, and the little.
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