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Things I Don't Know
You'd think that someone elected Moderator of the P.C. (USA) would have a pretty good idea of what's going on around the denomination.
You'd be wrong.
Now, I'm not saying I didn't know anything before being elected Moderator. I'd been to several GAs, I'd been involved with polity issues (although I would never describe myself as a polity wonk), and I am pretty familiar with presbytery work.
But I'm learning, one visit at a time, that the P.C. (USA) is indeed a big tent (this phrase used intentionally as a not-so-subtle reminder to register for the Big Tent event).
A couple of weeks ago I spent some time at the Charlotte campus of Union-Presbyterian Seminary. Truthfully, I never even realized it existed. And I certainly didn't realize that it offers a weekend program of seminary education for those who cannot attend a residential seminary but who feel called to pursue theological education.
The initative that led to the Charlotte campus came from Presbyterians in North and South Carolina, who realized that over 130,000 Presbyterians live within a 100-mile radius of Charlotte, that a larger percentage of seminary students are second-career students who can't attend a residential seminary, that local access to theological education is highly influential in a candidate's decision to attend seminary, and that more African-American Presbyterians live in Charlotte than any other place in the country.
Five presbyteries -- Charlotte, Salem, Western Carolina, Coastal Carolina, and Providence -- invited Union-PSCE (as it was known then) to offer a half-speed, non-residential program in Charlotte.
Classes began in Charlotte in 2002, and full accreditation was achieved in 2005. The Charlotte program boasts 56 graduates who are serving in 42 churches in the US and in Korea, including 7 African-American, 2 Hispanic, and 2 Asian graduates.
The next challenge for the Charlotte program, which is currently housed in office space provided by Queens University in Charlotte, will be to establish its own free-standing location. A capital campaign is now ongoing to find, and establish, this new location.
If the church is to survive deep into the 21st century, we must explore all ways of being church and doing ministry. I was uplifted to find this spot in North Carolina that is already using new ways of training and nurturing future teaching elders (aka Ministers of Word and Sacrament).
Stay tuned for further reports on things I don't know.
- Posted at 2:27 p.m.
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