FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kim Schultz, Interim Director of Communications: [email protected]

CHICAGO- March 24, 2021 With spring and Covid vaccines in sight, Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS) is beginning to emerge from the year of solitude. With the reflection this year has brought, CTS announces new initiatives at the iconic Seminary located on Chicago’s South Side. We are establishing a new Office of Strategic Initiatives. This office will be engaged in the development of sustaining relationships and seeking vibrant new connections with organizations that share the mission and vision of CTS, creating a more nimble and responsive institution. Specifically, CTS intends to deepen and develop our relationships with the Black church, the LGBTQIA community, the Muslim community and the UCC, seeking vibrant connections with them as sources of donors, Board members and organizational partners. These efforts are central to building a new eco-system for the Seminary.

“Theological education is rapidly changing to recognize the new ways that religious devotion and vitality are living within our society. This reorganization will allow CTS to engage these new realities, while leaning into our history of always being on the cutting edge of delivering a progressive theological education. It will also give velocity to our efforts in shaping our programming in ways that recognize the religious diversity of our society, while discovering new ways to carry our rich tradition of religious social activism in the future. I am excited about the ways we will partner with new communities in building a future we can all celebrate,” said Stephen G. Ray, President of Chicago Theological Seminary.

We will continue to lean forward, as we always do, evolving with how religion manifests itself today. This reorganization creates an opportunity to find new collaborators who want to work with a school whose mission is one of expanding justice and mercy in the world and deepening the potential for the next generation of religious leadership. These efforts are central to building a new ecology for the Seminary. Always at the cutting edge of theological education, CTS remains committed to advancement work in terms of alumni engagement, annual and planned giving, capitalizing on foundation and grant opportunities, and growing our donor base.

Chairman of the Board, Brian Clarke adds, “Change of this nature is never easy on an organization and certainly not in a seminary setting.  Having said this and after much thoughtful and prayerful consideration, it’s the feeling of the Board and the entire CTS Community that this new structure positions us far more effectively to meet both the changes in seminary education as well as the supporting business model – thus allowing us to remain a free-standing seminary and deliver on the Seminary’s vision and commitments.”

 

ABOUT CHICAGO THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Based on Chicago’s South Side, Chicago Theological Seminary is committed to creating leaders for the next generation of religious leadership…whatever that may be. A leader in social justice, CTS is committed to LGBTQ and gender issues, interreligious engagement, and racial justice. CTS is an affiliated seminary of the United Church of Christ. Since its founding in 1855, CTS has pushed at the boundaries of the church in order to make faith more relevant and transform society towards greater justice and mercy. The student body now represents more than 40 different faith traditions, perspectives, and denominations.