{"id":7855,"date":"2017-07-05T18:08:39","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T18:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.brethren.org\/news\/?p=7855"},"modified":"2018-10-15T18:11:58","modified_gmt":"2018-10-15T18:11:58","slug":"bethany-and-brethren-academy-luncheon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/2017\/bethany-and-brethren-academy-luncheon\/","title":{"rendered":"Bethany and Brethren Academy luncheon senses \u2018Spirit Moving\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Church of the Brethren Newsline
\nJuly\u00a05,\u00a02017<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
Bethany President Jeff Carter, addressing the audience at an afternoon concert given by Ken Medema and sponsored by the seminary. The concert was part of a Friday afternoon “Jubilee” time for refreshment and relaxation. Photo by Glenn Riegel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by Frank Ramirez<\/p>\n

Faculty, staff, and graduates of Bethany Theological Seminary and the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership were joined by others at an Annual Conference luncheon. The theme of \u201cSpirit Moving\u201d was expressed succinctly when seminary president Jeff Carter noted that, thanks to what he called \u201cour Anabaptist\/Pietist vision, he said, \u201cThe world needs us.\u201d Because of this, Carter said of the seminary\u2019s reach: \u201cIt is broad. It is deep. It is moving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Bethany\u2019s small size, it is continuing in an era when other seminaries are closing. While the seminary remains vital, Carter said, \u201cWe are a mustard seed among tall cedars. Rather than cower, we\u2019re stepping out in faith. We are making the very best decisions as we listen to the Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acknowledging that there is an enrollment shortage, Carter pointed to the Pills and Pathways program that allows students to gain a theological education without incurring further debt. In another new program, the seminary also is preparing to break ground on a technological center in Nigeria, which is expected to be up and running by January 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re managing. We\u2019re on an adventure. We\u2019re stepping forward in faith,\u201d Carter told the luncheon.<\/p>\n

The group also heard a reflection from Erin Matteson, who graduated from Bethany Seminary with a master of divinity degree in 1993 and recently concluded nearly 25 years in ministry. She traced the influences in and outside of the Church of the Brethren that led to her transition out of pastoral ministry and into spiritual direction.<\/p>\n

Matteson has transitioned into a full-time ministry in what she calls the \u201cart and practice\u201d of spiritual direction. \u201cDiscernment is a cloth of many colors,\u201d she said, describing the various threads of experience with reference to diverse authors ranging from Frederick Buechner to Parker J. Palmer and E.E. Cummings, and Brethren writers and thinkers including Warren Groff, Glenn Mitchell, and Nancy Faus Mullen.<\/p>\n

For more onsite coverage of Annual Conference go to\u00a0www.brethren.org\/ac\/2017\/coverage<\/a>\u00a0.<\/em><\/p>\n

The news coverage of Annual Conference 2017 is made possible through the work of the volunteer news team: Frank Ramirez, Conference Journal editor; photographers Glenn Riegel, Regina Holmes, Keith Hollenberg, Donna Parcell, Laura Brown, Allie Dulabaum; writers Frances Townsend, Karen Garrett; with web staff Jan Fischer Bachman and Russ Otto, and Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services. Wendy McFadden, publisher. Contact\u00a0cobnews@brethren.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to\u00a0www.brethren.org\/Newsline<\/a>\u00a0to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faculty, staff, and graduates of Bethany Theological Seminary and the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership were joined by others at an Annual Conference luncheon. The theme of \u201cSpirit Moving\u201d was expressed succinctly when seminary president Jeff Carter noted that, thanks to what he called \u201cour Anabaptist\/Pietist vision, he said, \u201cThe world needs us.\u201d Because of this, Carter said of the seminary\u2019s reach: \u201cIt is broad. It is deep. It is moving.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1258,1268,1269,1267],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-7855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-annual-conference","tag-bethany-seminary","tag-brethren-academy","tag-ministry-office"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7855"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7858,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7855\/revisions\/7858"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7855"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brethren.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=7855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}