New seminary president relishes 'opportunity to serve'
A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*
The Rev. Wendy J. Deichmann Edwards prepares to process at the December 2007 commencement at United Theological Seminary near Dayton, Ohio. A UMNS photo by JoAnn Wagner.
When the Rev. Wendy J. Deichmann Edwards was ordained, she saw herself as a leader on the local level, not as an influence in the larger United Methodist Church.
Now, as the new president of United Theological Seminary in suburban Dayton, Ohio, she views her leadership role as "such a great opportunity to serve."
Unanimously elected in February by United's board of trustees, Edwards is the first woman president of a freestanding United Methodist seminary in the United States.
The 50-year-old clergywoman from the denomination's Western New York Conference will be inaugurated as the seminary's eighth president on Oct. 7 during a 7 p.m. service at Christ United Methodist Church in Kettering, Ohio.
In an age when mainline churches are shrinking, United Theological Seminary is focusing on church renewal in a Holy Spirit-led way, Edwards told United Methodist News Service.
Theological education, she pointed out, is all about fostering leadership that goes out and makes a difference for Jesus Christ. "We have the capacity to serve in ways that will turn the world upside down," she declared.
Previously the academic dean and vice president for academic affairs, Edwards was acting president for several months at United before her election.
Interest in teaching
"I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was little," said the Connecticut native, who moved to upstate New York at age 16. She attended the State University of New York at Geneseo and graduated in 1981 with a degree in education, but not before she felt the call to ministry.
The following fall, she enrolled in Colgate Rochester Divinity School, where she received a Master of Divinity degree in 1984, the same year she was ordained a deacon. "I did not know at that time that education would factor in as largely as it has in my living out that call to ministry," Edwards said.
But she loved learning and was asked by two different professors to be a teaching assistant in church history classes. "They both encouraged me to go to graduate school and use my gift for teaching in theological education," she said.
Her 1991 doctorate in theological and religious studies from Drew University focused on American church history. During that period, she was ordained an elder in 1989 and started serving in several pastoral positions at local churches in New York and New Jersey.
She moved to Ohio for family reasons and, after her son's birth, began inquiring about teaching opportunities there. The Rev. Leonard Sweet, a mentor, was at United and she began commuting from Akron to Dayton to teach there. Edwards also had teaching stints at Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary and Colgate Rochester and was the director of United's extension seminary in Buffalo, N.Y. When that extension closed, she moved back to Ohio in 2005 to become academic dean at United.
United Theological Seminary moved from Dayton to its suburban Trotswood campus that year. Edwards now lives due west of the new seminary in a big brick farmhouse with her 15-year-old son, Lansing, and an assortment of animals-40 chickens, four sheep, four cats and a dog.
Outdated facilities
The move was needed because the outdated and maintenance-plagued United facilities had become "a stumbling block" to fulfilling the school's mission, according to Edwards. When the seminary purchased the current campus, a former Jewish community center, "it had so many opportunities around the direction the school wanted to take," she explained.
That direction retains the traditional mission of preparing pastors for the church but with an emphasis on updated technology, long-distance learning and new techniques for church renewal that allows both the seminary and pastors "to be responsive to the new needs of the church and the world in which we serve."
United has about 250 students, a substantial increase after enrollment dropped because of the move. Younger students are enrolling as well as second-career students. "The most rapidly increasing part of our student body is the 20s and early 30s group," Edwards said.
During the past year, the seminary has completed a curriculum revision, instituted "ramped-up" applied theology certificate programs for laity and clergy and formed partnerships with a variety of local churches, seminaries and denominational agencies. At the same time, the school has retained its commitments to the urban and African-American communities in the Dayton area.
The past life of the campus-with its indoor and outdoor pools, gymnasium, tennis courts and large grounds-also allows the school to address wellness issues as part of its theological education. The school considers such issues a major concern for the denomination.
In partnership with Drew and Garrett seminaries, United is piloting a "fit to lead" wellness program to raise consciousness and provide resources to help seminary students lead healthier lives. "The clergy of The United Methodist Church are among the least healthy and (are) high-stressed," Edwards said. "The majority of these health problems are directly related to unhealthy lifestyles."
Women leading seminaries
Of the 13 United Methodist-related seminaries, eight are freestanding and five are university-based. The presidents of the freestanding seminaries are selected by a board of trustees, while the heads of university-based seminaries-called deans-are hired by the university's president and provost.
In 2000, Maxine Clarke Beach became the first woman to head a university-based seminary when she was hired at Drew University in Madison, N.J. In January 2007, Jan Love became the first woman to serve as dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. On Jan. 1, the Rev. Mary Elizabeth Moore will become the first deacon to be dean at Boston University School of Theology.
Love pointed out that just as the number of female bishops has increased in the denomination, the number of female academic leaders has grown. "One of the important generational changes is that we're now getting to harvest leadership from women who got their Ph.D.s 20 and 30 years ago, who are now at a point in their careers where they're available for CEO leadership," she said.
Still, Love believes that schools of theology are "behind the curve" as more women in secular higher education have been promoted. The Association of Theological Schools, a professional organization, remains "overwhelmingly male," she said.
Edwards noted that both United and Boston schools of theology have a long history of supporting women in mission, although she wonders why it took so long for women to reach the top.
Still, she is gratified that the seminary sought her out to be president when she did not initially apply. "It made me proud of the institution I worked for and proud of the church," she said.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.
The Rev. Wendy J. Deichmann Edwards prepares to process at the December 2007 commencement at United Theological Seminary near Dayton, Ohio. A UMNS photo by JoAnn Wagner.When the Rev. Wendy J. Deichmann Edwards was ordained, she saw herself as a leader on the local level, not as an influence in the larger United Methodist Church.
Now, as the new president of United Theological Seminary in suburban Dayton, Ohio, she views her leadership role as "such a great opportunity to serve."
Unanimously elected in February by United's board of trustees, Edwards is the first woman president of a freestanding United Methodist seminary in the United States.
The 50-year-old clergywoman from the denomination's Western New York Conference will be inaugurated as the seminary's eighth president on Oct. 7 during a 7 p.m. service at Christ United Methodist Church in Kettering, Ohio.
In an age when mainline churches are shrinking, United Theological Seminary is focusing on church renewal in a Holy Spirit-led way, Edwards told United Methodist News Service.
Theological education, she pointed out, is all about fostering leadership that goes out and makes a difference for Jesus Christ. "We have the capacity to serve in ways that will turn the world upside down," she declared.
Previously the academic dean and vice president for academic affairs, Edwards was acting president for several months at United before her election.
Interest in teaching
"I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was little," said the Connecticut native, who moved to upstate New York at age 16. She attended the State University of New York at Geneseo and graduated in 1981 with a degree in education, but not before she felt the call to ministry.
The following fall, she enrolled in Colgate Rochester Divinity School, where she received a Master of Divinity degree in 1984, the same year she was ordained a deacon. "I did not know at that time that education would factor in as largely as it has in my living out that call to ministry," Edwards said.
But she loved learning and was asked by two different professors to be a teaching assistant in church history classes. "They both encouraged me to go to graduate school and use my gift for teaching in theological education," she said.
Her 1991 doctorate in theological and religious studies from Drew University focused on American church history. During that period, she was ordained an elder in 1989 and started serving in several pastoral positions at local churches in New York and New Jersey.
She moved to Ohio for family reasons and, after her son's birth, began inquiring about teaching opportunities there. The Rev. Leonard Sweet, a mentor, was at United and she began commuting from Akron to Dayton to teach there. Edwards also had teaching stints at Ashland (Ohio) Theological Seminary and Colgate Rochester and was the director of United's extension seminary in Buffalo, N.Y. When that extension closed, she moved back to Ohio in 2005 to become academic dean at United.
United Theological Seminary moved from Dayton to its suburban Trotswood campus that year. Edwards now lives due west of the new seminary in a big brick farmhouse with her 15-year-old son, Lansing, and an assortment of animals-40 chickens, four sheep, four cats and a dog.
Outdated facilities
The move was needed because the outdated and maintenance-plagued United facilities had become "a stumbling block" to fulfilling the school's mission, according to Edwards. When the seminary purchased the current campus, a former Jewish community center, "it had so many opportunities around the direction the school wanted to take," she explained.
That direction retains the traditional mission of preparing pastors for the church but with an emphasis on updated technology, long-distance learning and new techniques for church renewal that allows both the seminary and pastors "to be responsive to the new needs of the church and the world in which we serve."
United has about 250 students, a substantial increase after enrollment dropped because of the move. Younger students are enrolling as well as second-career students. "The most rapidly increasing part of our student body is the 20s and early 30s group," Edwards said.
During the past year, the seminary has completed a curriculum revision, instituted "ramped-up" applied theology certificate programs for laity and clergy and formed partnerships with a variety of local churches, seminaries and denominational agencies. At the same time, the school has retained its commitments to the urban and African-American communities in the Dayton area.
The past life of the campus-with its indoor and outdoor pools, gymnasium, tennis courts and large grounds-also allows the school to address wellness issues as part of its theological education. The school considers such issues a major concern for the denomination.
In partnership with Drew and Garrett seminaries, United is piloting a "fit to lead" wellness program to raise consciousness and provide resources to help seminary students lead healthier lives. "The clergy of The United Methodist Church are among the least healthy and (are) high-stressed," Edwards said. "The majority of these health problems are directly related to unhealthy lifestyles."
Women leading seminaries
Of the 13 United Methodist-related seminaries, eight are freestanding and five are university-based. The presidents of the freestanding seminaries are selected by a board of trustees, while the heads of university-based seminaries-called deans-are hired by the university's president and provost.
In 2000, Maxine Clarke Beach became the first woman to head a university-based seminary when she was hired at Drew University in Madison, N.J. In January 2007, Jan Love became the first woman to serve as dean of Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. On Jan. 1, the Rev. Mary Elizabeth Moore will become the first deacon to be dean at Boston University School of Theology.
Love pointed out that just as the number of female bishops has increased in the denomination, the number of female academic leaders has grown. "One of the important generational changes is that we're now getting to harvest leadership from women who got their Ph.D.s 20 and 30 years ago, who are now at a point in their careers where they're available for CEO leadership," she said.
Still, Love believes that schools of theology are "behind the curve" as more women in secular higher education have been promoted. The Association of Theological Schools, a professional organization, remains "overwhelmingly male," she said.
Edwards noted that both United and Boston schools of theology have a long history of supporting women in mission, although she wonders why it took so long for women to reach the top.
Still, she is gratified that the seminary sought her out to be president when she did not initially apply. "It made me proud of the institution I worked for and proud of the church," she said.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.
posted by TN Conference UMC @ 4:55 AM
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