[Magdalen] GTS

[Don Boyd]

Lynn (or anybody who knows), can you tell me more aboout what the GTS Board 
thought needed to be changed and cleaned up?

Don in Austin
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lynn Ronkainen" <ichthys89 at comcast.net>
To: <Cantor03 at aol.com>; <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 11:21 AM
Subject: Re: [Magdalen] GTS


> Difficult situation as this Dean came on board charged with creating 
> change and cleaning up. At GTS and EDS RADICAL things have been done to 
> trim costs, sell property/buildings, all of which create huge friction 
> around the history and treasured memories  of a place. Mix that unease 
> with hard decisions, some good, perhaps some not so good and the recipe is 
> almost always going to be hard to swallow.  When the person making the 
> hard decisions is unable to hold things together because their default is 
> to bear down and insulate themselves, that is their problem in my opinion, 
> regardless of how everyone else reacts because a bold leader does not have 
> to have an iron fist...and it is always sad when a church leader has an 
> iron fist, miter, or biretta...
>
> One of my concerns involves the radical change of worship on campus.  Last 
> year when I visited I was a bit shocked that there was no longer a daily 
> office.  On past visits I always prayed the office (MP & EP) with the 
> community (along with others not affiliated with the seminary, in the 
> area, in fact for many years there was a large sign out on 9th Ave 
> welcoming people off the street to pray with the community, with times 
> listed). Every seminary community that I visit regularly has daily worship 
> (not just 'our' seminaries) which is also very tied into the 
> curriculum.... and to be sure it is not always 'traditional' by any means. 
> It is in many places a vehicle for experimentation. It is not molded after 
> one person's idea of what worship should look like. It is a place of 
> teaching as well as seminarians carry the idea of variety to their new 
> assignments after they are priested. The move to so radically change and 
> reduce time spend in worshipping together speaks to me of a sea change 
> that is misplaced in a seminary setting.
>
> As a 'convert' to TEC in my late 20s, I have seen so many of the pushes 
> and pulls our whole church has experienced over the last 40 years as a big 
> result of s-t-r-e-t-c-h-I-n-g our big tent to accommodate not only the 
> 'unchurched' inside but also 'refugees' from other denominations who felt 
> called to become Episcopalians but just couldn't seem to  leave some of 
> their 'cradle' theologies behind and some have brought us extreme 
> fundamentalism of one sort or the other to a parish or parishes and even 
> sometimes whole dioceses.
>
> Many of the faculty at EDS voted 'no support' of their Dean at the end of 
> spring term. I have not followed that closely and did not visit there this 
> past year.  It seems as though the faculty at GTS was also triangulating 
> because of the unique set-up at General where the national church, PB, etc 
> are somewhat involved, which makes their actions look a bit like an end 
> run... not a good place be either.
>
> just sayin'... AND prayin'
> Lynn
>
> website: www.ichthysdesigns.com
>
> When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I have not 
> a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You gave 
> me." attributed to Erma Bombeck
>
> Thomas Merton writes, "People may spend their whole lives climbing the 
> ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder 
> is leaning against the wrong wall."
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Cantor03--- via Magdalen" <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2014 10:45 AM
> To: <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
> Subject: Re: [Magdalen] GTS
>
>>
>>
>> In a message dated 9/30/2014 10:58:34 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
>> jguthrie at pipeline.com writes:
>>
>> And the  "strike" seems to have a certain element of "We're going to hold
>> our
>> breath until you stop being so mean!">>>>
>>
>> I think the only thing clear in this mess is that there can be no
>> real winners:
>>
>> (1) In this scenario, the Dean and the faculty dissidents come to
>>     some sort of middle ground and remain in  place.  I don't see how
>>     there can ever be trust on either side, and the  wounds would be
>>     very slow, if not impossible to heal.
>>
>> (2) The Dean resigns leaving the faculty intact.  Pity the new Dean
>>      who must step over the war injured and  attempt to be leader.
>>
>> (3)  The Dean resigns and the dissident faculty resignations are  also
>>       accepted, leaving a residual  carry-over faculty of three.  A
>>       qualified and dedicated replacement  faculty would be difficult
>>       to put in place to say the  least.
>>
>> Are there other options?  I can't think of any.
>>
>>
>> David Strang - who thanks the Lord that I didn't end up at Nashotah
>>                        Seminary, which was close to happening.
>>
>>