Greetings from the Advancement Office!
September is an exciting time each year – but this year especially we were eager to welcome students back to campus. Over the past year, your support prepared us for this moment. Dedicated friends like you have inspired NBTS students to succeed in the classroom, congregations, and communities they serve.
It is my hope that the update below encourages and informs you of the many ways we are staying connected and continuing to fulfill our mission.
Blessings,
Cathy Proctor
Vice President of Advancement
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Rev. Micah L. McCreary, Ph.D. elected General Synod Professor
On Friday evening, October 15, the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America (RCA), meeting in Tucson, Arizona, elected Rev. Micah L. McCreary, Ph.D. to the office of General Synod Professor. He is the first African-American and only the second person of color elected to the office; Dr. Jaeseung Cha, Associate Professor of Foundational and Constructive Theology at New Brunswick Theological Seminary (NBTS), is the other.
Micah McCreary has been president of NBTS since 2017. He was ordained in the National Baptist Convention and had his ordination recognized by the American Baptist Convention. Upon arriving in New Brunswick, he studied RCA theology, history, polity, and liturgy and was received into the membership of the RCA Classis of New Brunswick. Since then, he has been active in his Classis and on the RCA Pastoral Formation Oversight Board, and was recently appointed to the RCA Commission on Theology.
The office of professor of theology was proposed by John Calvin in his Ecclesiastical Ordinances, a foundational document for the Reformed tradition. It stood alongside the offices of deacon, elder, and minister. Professors are meant to prepare people for ministry and to serve as teachers for the whole church. The General Synod Professors of the RCA—one of only a few Reformed bodies to retain the office—continue that work into the present day. This is a select group: currently, there are five such professors in the RCA, and historically there have been only around one hundred. John Henry Livingston, who started NBTS, was the first.
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Faculty Retreat
Rev. Beth LaNeel Tanner, Ph.D., Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs and the Norman and Mary Kansfield Chair of Old Testament, gathered faculty in anticipation of the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic year. After a year of COVID-related challenges and few opportunities to experience in-person fellowship, the faculty retreat aimed to engage and unify the faculty to be recommitted to the mission and purpose of their upcoming work with peers and students.
Dean Tanner stated, “During the pandemic, our times together were focused on work, classes, and student needs. We missed the times of standing in the workroom and talking about children and pets, weekend plans, and vacations. We also discussed our academic lives, the classes we developed, and the papers and books we are writing. It was great to come together to fellowship and worship”
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New Brunswick Theological Seminary Reunites for Convocation!
NBTS Alum Urges Community to Think Critically, Act Justly and Lead Faithfully in Challenging Times
New Brunswick Theological Seminary rejoiced in the opportunity to bring together members of its extended community on Saturday, August 28 for Convocation. For the first time in over a year, the governing board, administrators, faculty, staff, students, and alum all had the opportunity to gather on campus. Due to inclement weather and Covid precautions, the Convocation service was streamed from Mast Chapel to Hageman Hall and the Student Commons, and many joined virtually from around the world. Read More here...
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Click the image above to view the Convocation Service |
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Podcast and Art Installation Bring SHELTER Project to the Public and the Classroom
How can we hear from and help people in our community who face housing insecurity? A new podcast asks us to listen in and consider what how religious and academic institutions might get involved to address the growing problem of houselessness and the social problems that leave so many without shelter.
The SHELTER podcast is an intervention that grew out of an emergency aid and public humanities collaboration between New Brunswick Theological Seminary, Rutgers University, coLAB Arts New Brunswick, and the Reformed Church of Highland Park-Affordable Housing Corporation, made possible by the generous funding of the Henry Luce Foundation.
The podcast was designed for general listeners and students, as an introduction to housing insecurities in a time of pandemic and the role academic and religious institutions can play in partnering with the community to find solutions. The first episode is available at ShelterNJ.org or wherever you get your podcasts. It is produced by award-winning radio journalist Scott Gurian and narrated by Gurian and Diana Molina. It was developed and edited by SHELTER project co-directors Nathan Jérémie-Brink (NBTS), Daniel Swern (coLAB Arts), Kristin O’Brassill-Kulfan (Rutgers, History Department), and Colin Jager (Rutgers, English Department and Center for Cultural Analysis). It features community producers who include both NBTS and Rutgers students, as well as community members who have experienced housing insecurity.
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Admissions
Beginning Fall 2021, New Brunswick Theological Seminary is offering all programs online! You can choose to do your Masters or Doctorate programs online or with a hybrid, in-person option.
The Admissions team continues to host online Zoom information sessions with the help of current students, alumni, faculty, and staff who offer perspectives on current programs and various learning options. If you are considering a seminary degree or know someone who is, please reach out to learn more about the justice-oriented programs at NBTS.
Contact our Admissions department via email or call us at 848-237-1707 to schedule a virtual or in-person meeting!
Spread the word —please invite anyone you think might be interested.
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Student Spotlight
Lee Ann Newland, M.A. in Pastoral Care and Counseling, NBTS
Last fall, in a virtual-only learning environment, Lee Ann Newland started the Certificate program for Church Leadership. One of her courses – Introduction to Pastoral Care – resonated strongly with her on many levels. It helped propel her from the certificate program into the Master of Arts program in Pastoral Care and Counseling.
Lee Ann’s coursework this fall includes both virtual and hybrid classes. Much of the work is independent, so when she can join others in person, she finds it energizing and very rewarding. Joining other students in the classroom and having face-to-face discussions with professors is so impactful for Lee Ann, especially as a second-career student with no recent academic experience.
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Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Effective November 2018, New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a Candidate for Accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. (267-284-5000) www.msche.org. This is a regional accreditation recognized in NY and NJ and is in addition to our ATS accreditation.
Candidate for Accreditation is a status of affiliation with a regional accrediting commission which indicates that an institution has achieved initial recognition and is progressing toward, but is not assured of, accreditation. It has provided evidence of sound planning, appears to have the resources to implement the plans, and appears to have the potential for reaching its goals within a reasonable time.
Keep us in your prayers. A Committee will come for a visit the week of October 25 -29.
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Gardner A. Sage Library
Beginning Friday, August 27th the Gardner A. Sage Library was delighted to welcome eligible NBTS students, staff, and faculty back into Sage Library. Masks and social distancing are required throughout the building and half of the computer workstations have been relocated to facilitate social distancing.
Every effort has been made to ensure services continue to be available to support the success of our students in their courses. Library services have expanded significantly since the pandemic first closed the doors to the library, but we continue to look for ways to provide more services and resources to our community.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the Gardner A. Sage Library moved rapidly to make services available remotely to ensure that students had access to library resources and staff even though the building remained closed. An additional resource, the Digital Theological Library, was acquired that gave students and faculty access to over 600,000 eBooks, 60,000,000 full text articles, and 21,000 journals from over 150 databases.
Moreover, course reserve materials became accessible remotely by acquiring available titles digitally and creating an easy-to-use booklist where students can simply click a link to find their books for their classes. Recordings and live online orientations to the library remain available.
The library staff have been humbled by the patience, understanding, and ingenuity of our community while the Sage Library building remained closed. We are grateful to our library and seminary staff for their hard work in preparing for the reopening.
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NBTS - Now Offering
Free Counseling Services for Students
New Brunswick Theological Seminary is committed to the success and well-being of our student, and that included counseling and coaching support. Beginning this Fall all students, and staff have free, unlimited access to therapists, plus on-demand crisis counseling, and life coaching. Through Virtual Care Behavioral Health Assistance Program students can speak with a professional counselor via phone or video. This is a free program for short-term problem resolution, referral, and crisis intervention services.
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Alumni Association Updates!
The NBTS Alumni Association was officially established in January 2021! There are ten alumni working together as officers and committee chairs. This group of leaders ranges from the class of 1968 – 2018. You can see who they are and how they serve by going to the Alumni Association page https://nbts.edu/alumni/alumni-association/
The Association has been active online this year. Here are a few highlights from the year:
- Four regional chapters were established along the east coast and in Michigan.
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Three Alumni Awards were presented in conjunction with the class of 2021 commencement during the Honors Class Reunion. Each year classes are honored for their 60th, 50th, 40th, 30th, 25th, 20th, 15th, 10th, and 5th year anniversary. The awardees are Al Poppen (1957), John Hubers (1982) Martisha Dwyer (2013). See the details here.
- The Cares Committee is working diligently to connect with those alumni who experience the pain of loss due to death or illness.
The biggest challenge to connection with alumni is a lack of accurate contact information. Kindly update your contact information by completing the form if your address, email, or phone number has changed.
Keep a look out for events coming your way safely in-person and virtually.
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Nov 30th
The History of WTS and Its Role in Theological Education
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New Brunswick Theological Seminary is committed to training Christian leaders who are called to serve the local church, community and the world. Your contributions and generous gifts enable us to provide academic programs at the highest level of excellence. We covet your prayers, generous gifts, and partnerships in this mission.
If you have any questions about making a donation, please contact:
Cathy Proctor, VP of Advancement and Recruitment
cproctor@nbts.edu
848-237-1706
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New Brunswick Theological Seminary
35 Seminary Place, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
732.247.5241
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