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. Guided by the traditions of EDS and the Anglican community, EDS at Union has identified the following core values which will guide their work with students, the Church, and in the public square.
FAITH: EDS at Union’s Anglican studies program is grounded in the gospel call to partner with God in mending the earth.
SOCIAL JUSTICE: EDS at Union is committed in all of its interactions to bring faith and theological scholarship together in the service of social justice.
VISION: EDS at Union is committed to being a responsible visionary of its material and non–material resources so as to be accountable to its future and to building a just earth.
INCLUSIVENESS: EDS at Union’s circle of interactions will represent a culturally, ethnically, religiously and nongendered array of voices along with those who are suffering on the underside of injustice.
RESPECT: EDS at Union will value the sacred dignity of all persons in all of our interactions and conversations.
INTEGRITY: Demonstrate strong moral principles and maintain values even when it’s unpopular.
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.
Rev. Anna Olson taught a two-day intensive course challenging the conventional wisdom of church growth programs, advocating for throwing the doors of the church open on the assumption that God is already at work in the community.
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Rev. Kenneth O. Ofula joined the EDS at Union students for a lecture on Anglican missions in East Africa. This lecture is part of the course taught by Dr. Joshua Samuel that asks students to explore "the different understandings of missions in post-colonial contexts."
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The EDS at Union community came together in song with AME Pastor Henry Allen Belin in telling the story of Absalom Jones, the first black priest of the Episcopal a Church, and Richard Allen, founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
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This Spring Semester, EDS at Union is piloting a “Spanish Learning Lab” to give students who are beginner Spanish speakers an opportunity to gain language skills. This weekly course is facilitated by Rev. Yamily Bass-Choate and is centered around in-person conversation practice combined with an online Spanish tutorial program.
Learn MoreThe 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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Application Deadline: Friday, June 18 Apply Today EDS at Union is piloting an online, two-year program that brings together a cohort of lifelong learners for conferences, book discussions, spiritual retreats, weekend courses, and lunchtime workshops around important themes of social justice. Intended for busy Episcopal laity and clergy who would like to gain a stronger
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Having problems viewing this email? View online. Dear Friends, This season of Lent has been for me both a personal and professional journey of prayerful self-reflection. For, it is for me a time of taking stock on what it means to be created in the image of God. As I often say, that we are
Read More As Deans of the Episcopal Seminaries responsible for the formation of the leadership of The Episcopal Church, we stand with those persons who have been harmed by the recent events perpetrated by some of the undergraduate students at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. We support all those at the University of South,
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Funds will allow for continued investment in and growth of instructional opportunities and public courses, along with the creation of a board committee for racial justice education The Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary (EDS at Union) received a $100,000 gift from an anonymous donor with the explicit request that the funds be used
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On Thursday, February 18, Union and EDS at Union partnered with Choose Healthy Life to host a webinar aimed at empowering students and clergy to become informed messengers who educate and inspire their communities to fight COVID-19 through social distancing, testing, and vaccinations. Resourses: Debra Fraser-Howze Presentation Dr. Tom Frieden’s Presentation Speakers: The Rev. Fred
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Check your local listings and watch the PBS documentary “THE BLACK CHURCH: THIS IS OUR STORY, THIS IS OUR SONG” on February 16 and 17, 2021 at 9:00 p.m. ET. This moving four-hour, two-part series from executive producer, host and writer Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor at Harvard University and director
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Grant will expand capstone moral leadership course and create digital materials and resources to prepare students to address social justice issues Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary (EDS at Union) has officially announced that it was awarded a grant of $100,000 by Trinity Church Wall Street to expand its capstone moral leadership course and
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What is your name and what were you doing before you came to EDS/Union? Hello! My name is Eva Bogino. In May, I earned my BA in American Studies and Religious Studies magna cum laude from The University of the South. While at Sewanee, I was an active member of the University Choir and a
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Each semester, Episcopal Divinity School at Union selects a theme and book to guide a semester-long discussion on justice issues critical for faith communities to address. This spring 2021, EDS at Union is joining with the Center for Earth Ethics and the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice to focus on the structural
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Having problems viewing this email? View online. Dear Friends, My prayer is that this most blessed Advent season has brought to each of you the hope and joy of the God that is always coming toward us. Indeed, during this extraordinary year of pandemics and politics we at EDS at Union have tried to hear
Read More Having problems viewing this email? View online. Dear Friends, I pray that you are safe and well during this challenging election season. This fall, we have focused on the importance of the vote and the ongoing struggle to assure the right to vote for all. Why such a focus for a seminary? In many respects,
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With this weekend’s passing of Congressman John Lewis, we lost a true American hero whose life’s work centered on the struggle for racial equality and equal access to the vote. We are proud that his legacy and the Voting Rights Act will be a central focus of EDS at Union’s academic and public programming this
Read More Where Faith and Scholarship Meet to Reimagine the Work of Justice Having problems viewing this email? View online. Dear Friends, These past few months have revealed that our nation and the world need faithful, moral leadership now more than ever. During this extraordinary season, the global community continues to experience the death and suffering of
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This story was originally published in the Union Collective Spring 2020 Issue A group of EDS at Union students, staff, and one board member arrived at Casa Vides, a house of hospitality for migrants and refugees operated by Annunciation House, in El Paso, Texas, on January 10. For six days, they participated in a “Border
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By Kelly Brown Douglas George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey. In response to President John Kennedy’s assassination Martin Luther King, Jr. said “While the question of who killed President Kennedy?” is important, the question of “What killed him?” is more important.” Inasmuch as what is killing black people in this country—be it the racialized realities
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