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As most of you
know, Centered Life is an initiative of Luther Seminary in St. Paul,
MN. As a result, especially when helping congregations connect Sunday
to Monday, we are often asked, “What’s the seminary doing about all of
this?” Or, more directly, “Do you practice what you preach?”
In response to
these questions, we are terribly excited to announce a new, five-year
project designed to help us better align our institutional ideals
(e.g., vocation) with our institutional culture. Through the
generosity of the Lilly Endowment we will partner with four other
schools (Catholic Theological Union, Duke Divinity School, Fuller
Theological Seminary, Princeton Theological Seminary) to lift up
Christians’ Callings in the World. Here’s an excerpt from the
approved proposal:
“The purpose of this grant is thus to
strengthen the ability of theological schools to prepare graduates
who, in turn, prepare all of God’s People for mission in the world.
The mandate of theological education is to prepare our students to
exercise their God-given vocations. Theological educators have a
tendency to over-emphasize the vocations that focus on church life,
and to under-emphasize the callings that God’s People take into the
world. One important reason for this grant is to provide models for
theological schools that recognize that the emphasis on clergy and
clerical education represents a theological fallacy: it proceeds as if
God works primarily through church professionals. God does not. But
ministers still have an extremely important role; they have the
responsibility to equip the People of God to do the work of mission.
This grant is designed to innovate new ways to educate students who
will prepare God’s People to participate in the Mission of God."
- from "Christians' Callings in the World", a proposal to the Lilly
Endowment, Inc.
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