Congregational Partnerships
• The Chair of Religious Studies and Campus Minister will
transform our Congregational Partnerships program this fall through
forming a new connection with the Wooster Clergy Academy of Religion
and Lay Academy of Religion. These annual Academy Programs, originally
founded by Dr. Arthur Baird (professor of New Testament at the
College of Wooster), are in their fortieth and thirty-ninth years
respectively. Dr. Baird founded these Academies in order to increase
theological literacy among the area laity and as a venue for
renewing clergy reflection and providing theological resources
to clergy. Both Academies have boards composed of clergy and
laity from the Wooster area, including board members from Cleveland,
Canton, and Akron.
The audiences for the Academies also come
from throughout our region. Each year, an Academic Dean, a
member of The College of Wooster faculty (currently the Chair
of Religious
Studies) secures speakers and plans the program around a chosen
theme. Attendance at the Academies in recent
years
has averaged 80-90 per session for the Lay Academy and 40-50
for the Clergy Academy; an average of 40 congregations are
represented at the Academies each year. In the past, few students
have attended
(unless required to attend one session for a Religious Studies
class). We plan to energize students around the Academies of
Religion and include them in this rich theological conversation
that is already happening on our campus. The new objective
of the Congregational Partnerships program is to build a core
group
of students (beginning with our Pre-Seminary group) to become
active participants in the Academies. We will create opportunities
for them to assist in designing yearly themes, to design ancillary
student events for the Academies, and to organize roundtable
student discussions with each visiting theologian prior to
the evening lectures. We will also explore student representation
in the Academies of Religion boards. We anticipate new life
for
the Academies, as they become centers for cross-generational
and interfaith dialogue between theologians, clergy, and students
seeking to explore Christian ministry.
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