In Spring 2017, Episcopal Divinity School affiliated with Union Theological Seminary, creating EDS at Union. This new partnership allows EDS to continue providing Episcopal theological education within an accredited, degree-granting seminary while carrying forth their long history and mission of dismantling racism and working for social justice.
Union students who enroll in the EDS at Union Anglican Studies program at Union will earn a Master of Divinity degree from Union and also fulfill requirements for ordination in the Episcopal Church. The Anglican Studies program will include a clear pathway for those called to the ordained ministry and for those called to various lay ministries. Both paths will train students to be effective preachers, liturgical leaders, and administrators. In all instances, students will be prepared to embrace ministries that reflect what it means to be sanctuary and witness in contemporary society.
Led by Dean Kelly Brown Douglas, EDS at Union aims to transform theological education by providing innovative public programming and classroom instruction that reimagines faith in the public square and trains faith leaders for progressive activism.
Dean Kelly Brown Douglas urged attendees at the Alliance of Baptists' Just Sex Conference to go beyond commonly held interpretations of the Bible to a close and studied engagement with the scriptures. Dean Douglas noted "It’s always amazing to me how people espouse what God says in the Bible about quote-unquote homosexuality and it’s like: ‘Really? Where do you find that? That’s not there.’”
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On November 7th, EDS at Union welcomed the Rev. Steven Paulikas and Chris Lee for a workshop on “Writing Op-Eds as Public Witness.” This workshop offered Anglican Studies students practical tips on honing a pitch and getting published in local and national newspapers. The Rev. Paulikas is rector of All Saints in Park Slope, Brooklyn and has published op-eds in the New York Times and, most recently, The Nation. Chris Lee is an Episcopal seminarian from the Diocese of Long Island and previously worked for the op-ed desk of the New York Times.
Dean Kelly Brown Douglas was quoted extensively in the following October 24 Religion News Service article on Cory Booker, a candidate for the religious left: "I think faith communities, particularly the religious left, need to become even more aware of the significant, for lack of a better word, lobbying power that they have..."
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Bishop Jeff Lee of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago was at EDS at Union throughout the last week of October teaching liturgy as well as planning and leading worship with Anglican Studies students. He and the Anglican Studies students planned a paperless prayer service for the seminary-wide Vigil of All Saints.
The EDS at Union NOW podcast features faith leaders, educators, and community organizers discussing the complicated social and moral challenges of the day, as well as the ever-changing world of theological education.
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The affiliation of the Episcopal Divinity School with Union Theological Seminary began in earnest in August, when the first ten students arrived for the Anglican Studies program. But it was the inaugural Convocation and installation of the Very Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, Ph.D. as Dean last week, that cemented this new chapter for EDS at
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Watch the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Convocation, a two-night event that celebrated the next chapter in the life of EDS On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, The Very Reverend Kelly Brown Douglas, Ph.D., delivered the Dean’s Address, Toward a Just Earth: Courageous Faith in Challenging Times. On Wednesday, October 31, 2018, the EDS at Union Inaugural Convocation featured The
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A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption is a New York Times Best Seller by Bryan Stevenson. EDS at Union selected Stevenson’s book as their community read for the Fall semester and the author
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On October 3, 2018, Episcopal Divinity School at Union joined with Everytown for Gun Safety, Bishops United Against Gun Violence, and the Episcopal Peace Fellowship for an Interfaith Vigil Against Gun Violence in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the largest mass shooting in the United States. A recording of the event is available here
Read MorePlease join Episcopal Divinity School at Union, in partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety, Bishops United Against Gun Violence, and the Episcopal Peace Fellowship for an Interfaith Vigil Against Gun Violence on October 3rd, the one-year anniversary of the largest mass shooting in the United States. The event will begin at 6:00 pm. The vigil and live stream will begin
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Please join us on Wednesday, September 12, at 6:30 PM, for the live stream of our conversation about the book Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption with The Very Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of EDS at Union, and Michelle Alexander, Visiting Professor of Social Justice at Union and author of The New
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We are excited to announce that on September 19, the Rev. Dr. Altagracia Perez-Bullard is leading an evening workshop for EDS at Union students on “Planning Bilingual Worship for English and Spanish-speaking Congregations.” The Rev. Dr. Altagracia Pérez-Bullard is Canon for Congregational Vitality in the Episcopal Diocese of New York and has served in the
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The 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church will take place from July 5 – July 13 in Austin, Texas. Throughout the convention, Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of EDS at Union will convene with Episcopal leaders from around the country on Facebook Live to discuss critical issues facing the church. Watch those conversations below, by
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As we begin a bright and promising 2018, I want to share with you what I’m most looking forward to as Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union. I am eager to welcome a new class of students in fall 2018, who will become a part of EDS’ longstanding legacy of social justice leadership. I
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From Dean Kelly Brown Douglas: The word of God shall not be betrayed! Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended the administration’s unconscionable policy of separating children from their parents at the U.S. border by exploiting the bible. Session’s statement calls to mind the many instances in U.S. history in which the bible has been misused to
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“A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted because they are no more.” – Jeremiah 31:15 One week after the devastating shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Executive Vice President of the NRA, Wayne LaPierre, addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference.
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The Episcopal Divinity School at Union board met on February 23rd and 24th and passed the following resolution in honor of the Very Rev. Dr. Harvey Guthrie: Upon the occasion of his death on December 17, 2017, the Board of Trustees of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary expresses their profound gratitude for the
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NEW YORK– Miguel Escobar, an Episcopal Church leader experienced in developing educational programs for lay and clergy, has been appointed director of Anglican Studies at Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary (EDS at Union). “I am delighted that Miguel has accepted my invitation to be part of what we are building at EDS at
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By Rev. Dr. Serene Jones & Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced last week that the Justice Department will no longer consider discrimination against transgender people a violation of the Civil Rights Act. In doing so, he is attempting to not only make bigotry against transgender persons an official U.S. policy,
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President Trump’s decision today to end the DACA program is cruel, unethical, and violates our most cherished values. As President of Union Theological Seminary and Dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union, we condemn this vicious hatred. God is love, and love commands we prevent our government from ripping children from their homes. We are
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