Eastern Cluster Board celebrates
$3 million Lilly grant for "Connections" initiative

PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 9, 2005) – The Board of the Eastern Cluster of Lutheran Seminaries acknowledged "with deep gratitude" a $3 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. for a collaborative "Making Connections" initiative to encourage deep vocational discernment among college age young people. The initiative will involve historic networking among Lutheran seminaries and colleges and campus ministry programs, the Lutheran Volunteer Corps and the Lutheran Student Movement.

The Cluster Board, comprised of representatives from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, met via teleconference.

The Board also ratified enthusiastically the selection of Don Johnson to serve a five-year term call as project director for the Making Connections initiative. Johnson of Freedom, NH, is an Associate in Ministry for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and for 35 years has directed Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of New England and heads Calumet Camp in Ossippee, NH. He has directed Calumet through a financial campaign and dramatic growth.

"Don Johnson thinks in big terms," Philadelphia Seminary President Philip D. W. Krey said. "He has enormous experience in working with college-age youth. He will work collaboratively with the whole Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) leadership system, and in the Church he is a consummate administrator and planner. He will be just the booster for this ambitious program that we need."

The new Connections initiative entered into the Board discussion as critically important for the future of the church and its desire to have the best professional leadership in the decades ahead. President Michael Cooper-White of Gettysburg Seminary challenged the Board to see "the larger picture." Part of that picture is that while Eastern Cluster seminaries are enjoying a renaissance that includes increasing enrollments, the seminaries across the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as a whole are dealing with "escalating expenses, flat dollar income" plus some decline in enrollment overall. "It is not a cheery picture," he said. Careful investment strategies and rising tuition income have helped the seminaries, the Board heard in a discussion. The seminaries also need to be concerned about the "escalating burden of student indebtedness," Cooper-White said

The Board also discussed a concern for playing a role in providing leadership that helps Lutheran social ministry organizations continue to be strong and maintain their identity. Another concern is for seminaries to provide pastoral leadership prepared to flourish amid the challenges of conducting comprehensive ministry in the larger congregations of the church. Plans call for future conferences to deal with these issues.

The Cluster Board decided to continue its sponsorship of the "Two By Two" program, which involves pairs of seminarians in providing a discernment presence to outdoor ministry programs each year. Jillian Brown, a Ph.D. seminarian from Luther Seminary is the coordinator of the program. The Rev. Louise Johnson, associate director of admissions at Philadelphia Seminary, is the point person for the Cluster.

In other business, the Cluster representatives approved a $1.74 million budget. The largest portion of the annual Cluster budget ($1.1 million) consists of funding granted to the Cluster by the Division for Ministry of the ELCA for distribution to the three seminaries. Also included in the budget is $500,000 related to the Lilly-funded "Connect" project. They re-elected Dr. Addie Butler as chair; the Rev. Diane Amidon as secretary and the Rev. David Donges as treasurer.

The representatives also expressed deep appreciation for the service of Kay MacDowell on the Board and extended gratitude for the service of the Rev. Arthur Lewis, who is retiring as ELCA Director of the Lutheran Center in Atlanta, GA. Gratitude was also extended for the services of the Rev. Michael Cooper-White for bringing the Cluster to "new heights" during his service as executive director. The Cluster Board elected the Rev. Dr. Frederick Reisz, president of Southern Seminary, to succeed Cooper-White as executive director over the next two years.

Cluster Coordinator Patricia Casto gave a report on behalf of the seminary’s cooperative Library initiative, called "One Library Under Three Roofs." Casto noted that the collaborative efforts of the libraries saved $20,000 in meeting standing orders over the past fiscal year She reported that considerable savings occur as the result of careful cooperative planning for collections development, cataloging, referencing and electronic resources.

The next Board meeting is set for September 19-20, 2005 at Gettysburg Seminary.