University provides site for satellite seminary in Oklahoma

By Holly McCray*

OKLAHOMA CITY (UMNS) - A United Methodist university has agreed to provide space to a seminary for a satellite campus for United Methodists in the region.

Oklahoma City University and church-related Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo., have agreed in principle to establish the Saint Paul Theological Seminary at Oklahoma City University, making it the only United Methodist seminary in the state.

The agreement between the university and seminary was announced May 29 during the 2006 Oklahoma Annual (regional) Conference, and the satellite campus is expected to begin accepting theological students in fall 2007. The action has been approved by Saint Paul officials and faculty.

Conference delegates responded with applause and cheers when Oklahoma Bishop Robert E. Hayes Jr. announced the news in his episcopal address. They also warmly greeted Oklahoma City University President Tom McDaniel when he addressed the conference about the plan.

"I'm just elated this has come about. I know the importance of what a United Methodist education can do for people in the church," Hayes said. "You soak in everything from the United Methodist presence in that setting. I want our people to be prepared, to pass that on to those in the pews."

He acknowledged Saint Paul School of Theology as "a school steeped in issues of social justice, in working with people on the margins of society." The seminary teaches its students how to address churches involved in those areas, he said. "It's a perfect match for Oklahoma."

McDaniel said the seminary has "more and more non-traditional students," which he defines as "people who are going back to the university after being out in the community doing something else - older students, more established" in their lives.

"For those who want to go to a United Methodist seminary, this will be more convenient. This will broaden the base of opportunity," he noted. He sees the satellite seminary at Oklahoma City University as being "squarely" within the university's mission as a place of higher education in the state.

Hayes and McDaniel believe the seminary also will appeal to people beyond those entering formal ministry. They envision pairing seminary study with other disciplines at the university, such as the schools of law, business and music. The new seminary will be the eighth college at the university.

"There is a need for people who don't want to go into ministry but want to further their education in theological ways," Hayes said. "This will provide other opportunities: church administration, sacred music, church law."

Scholarships will be a focus of fund-raising for the school. McDaniel said corporate support will be crucial.

Serving Native Americans
"Probably the most rewarding aspect of this for me is the relationship the seminary will have to the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference," Hayes said.

The officials are leading the way to secure funding to pay all seminary costs for United Methodist Native Americans in Oklahoma, Kansas and portions of Texas wanting to enter into ministry. They hope to expand that to cover undergraduate degree costs too. The bishop said about 10 ordained elders serve in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference, which has 90 churches.

"We are excited about Saint Paul School of Theology's new satellite campus at Oklahoma City University. Its proximity will serve OIMC very well," said the Rev. David Wilson, superintendent of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. "In this new venture, any Native American United Methodist in our annual conference can attend seminary for free."
The cost of seminary has been prohibitive for many young native people, Wilson said. The location of the satellite campus will assist in recruiting young native people into ordained ministry "because of the fact that it will be of no cost to native people," he said.

Open to all
McDaniel reported 33 other higher education institutions operate in Oklahoma. "There is competition and, in the long run, it makes us all better," he said. "What we want to offer is a choice," he said.

Saint Paul Theological Seminary would be accessible to all, Hayes said. "It is just simply us trying to look out after the needs of United Methodist students who want to learn in a United Methodist environment."

The bishop was a pastor in the Texas Conference when Perkins School of Theology, based at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, expanded into the Houston area. The initial goal was 20 students; 80 were enrolled by the second year.

"You would be saturating this jurisdiction if you had more than two full seminaries," Hayes explained. "We already have two: Saint Paul and Perkins. We decided a satellite campus with Saint Paul is better for our needs."

*McCray is editor of Contact, the newspaper of the Oklahoma Annual Conference.