Episcopal Church to Participate in Interdenominational Theological Center
Diocesan Press Service. May 28, 1971 [93-16]
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Episcopal Church, through its Board for Theological Education, will establish an Episcopal unit within the Interdenominational Theological Center (I. T. C.) in Atlanta, Ga., according to the Rt. Rev. Frederick J. Warnecke, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem.
Bishop Warnecke, who is chairman of the Episcopal Church's Board for Theological Education, said that "the Interdenominational Theological Center represents an important needed resource for theological education in the Episcopal Church."
The I. T. C. is an ecumenical, urban, university-affiliated and black-oriented theological center. The Center was established in 1958 with the uniting of several seminaries, which maintain their own identity while sharing common facilities and faculty. It is fully accredited, with a faculty of 33 and a total enrollment of 201.
According to Bishop Warnecke, the Episcopal presence in the I. T. C. will not mean the establishment of another theological seminary, nor will it mean the duplication of or competition with the efforts of existing seminaries. Rather, it will complement the present theological curriculum offered by the Church's established seminaries and schools.
"Participation in Atlanta," Bishop Warnecke said, "saves the Church from the need to duplicate its facilities related to Black theology within our seminaries. Both Black and White candidates will be benefitted by having part or all of their theological education in this setting. It is also an exciting ecumenical interchange from which we will receive much from other traditions even as we share our own heritage. "
The Episcopal unit, according to the proposal, will be known as the Absalom Jones Episcopal Institute, named for the black priest who established St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, in 1787, the first Black Episcopal congregation.
The Episcopal unit will be housed in already existing space of the I. T. C. and a minimum of staff will be required to represent the Episcopal presence.
The decision of the Board for Theological Education to establish an Episcopal presence in the I. T. C. has received the unanimous endorsement of the Conference of Deans of the Episcopal Church. The Very Rev. Harvey H. Guthrie, Jr., Dean of Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Mass., and chairman of the Conference, said:
" I think that theological education in the Episcopal Church at every level and in every way has to take Black consciousness seriously. An Episcopal presence in the I.T.C. makes a great deal of sense as an important educational alternative for both Black and White students. I concur very heartily with the action taken unanimously by the deans on March 30 to endorse the Board for Theological Education's proposal for a presence in the Interdenominational Theological Center."
The Board's action also has the support of the Directors of the Union of Black Episcopalians (formerly the Union of Black Clergy and Laity). The Very Rev. Frederick B. Williams of Inkster, Mich., and president of the Union, said:
"It is my opinion that this action on the part of the Board represents a creative step in the area of theological education and its relationship to the urban and racial crisis facing our country. The Church has a prime responsibility as the reconciler in our society and this action by the Episcopal Church in utilizing the special competencies of the Black community will be a symbol of the kind of mission in which we must all involve ourselves."
The Rt. Rev. Randolph R. Claiborne, Jr., Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, within the bounds of whose Diocese the I. T. C. is located, said of the action of the Board for Theological Education:
" The Interdenominational Theological Center has long been interested in increased participation on the part of The Episcopal Church. A priest of the Diocese of Atlanta has for a number of years served on the faculty and the Episcopal Diocesan Chaplain to The Atlanta University Center have both long been representing The Episcopal Church in the life of I. T. C."
" However, it now can be possible, " he continued, "for the entire Episcopal Church to be officially a part of this great ecumenical theological endeavor and I do hope that this will prove to be a most profitable experience for both I. T. C. and the Episcopal seminary students who will have the opportunity of attending I. T. C."
The Board of Trustees of the I. T. C. voted unanimously to receive the Episcopal unit. Dr. Oswald P. Bronson, president of I.T.C., said that the Board's approval "was based upon the solid faith that this new entity will greatly enhance I. T. C.'s thrust toward making the church's ministry a more effective agent in Black communities."
" I. T. C. 's future is brighter, " he added, "theological education more exciting and challenging, and the ministry of Black churches reinforced with the Absalom Jones Episcopal Institute and the Protestant Episcopal Church on board."
The six member bodies in the I. T. C. include the United Methodist Church, the American and Progressive Baptist Churches cooperating through Morehouse College, the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., and the Church of God in Christ. The I.T.C. also maintains an affiliation with Atlanta University, Emory University Center and its Candler School of Theology, and Columbia Theological Seminary.
Bishop Warnecke said that the target date for the Episcopal Church's full participation in the I. T. C. is the fall of 1972.