WARC’s International Seminary Set For Midwest

March 12, 2010—About 70 students from North America and elsewhere around the world will be taking seminary classes this summer as part of the “Global Institute of Theology,” a program that is being held in conjunction with the meeting of the Uniting General Council in Grand Rapids, MI, in June.

Sponsored by the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), the program meets for two weeks at McCormick Seminary in Chicago and then comes to Calvin Theological Seminary. It offers students a chance to take the for-credit course "Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace; in the Churches … in Civil Society … in Creation."

This is the theme of the Uniting General Council meeting at which WARC and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC) will merge into the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Students will also have a chance to take two of four other courses for credit.

Courses will be taught by scholars and professors from the host seminaries as well as from places around the world.

"This opportunity is particularly valuable because of the international flavor of it," says Lyle Bierma, the CTS representative who has helped to coordinate the institute. Bierma is the Jean and Kenneth Baker Professor of Systematic Theology. "It will also give students a flavor of the history and culture of where they are studying."

Even more important, Reformed seminarians from around the world will be able to compare notes. “Since the students will all be of the Reformed tradition, they will have the chance to see and discuss how the broader church lives …It is a great opportunity for us at Calvin Seminary to participate in something like this,” says Bierma.

Being part of the institute makes sense for CTS, he says, because the Christian Reformed Church in North America is one of the denominations hosting the meeting that will take place June 18-28 on the campus of Calvin College.

As part of the institute, students will have the chance to go on a bus tour of religious sites in West Michigan. Led by Dick Harms, the Calvin College archivist, the tour will feature churches and other religious sites and institutions that help make up the faith life of people who live in and around Grand Rapids.

According to WARC, "The purpose of the Global Institute of Theology is to give theological students and faculty from all over the world the opportunity to learn, teach and do theology in an inter-contextual and ecumenical way." The students will also, says WARC, "fully participate and critically reflect on the life of the Uniting General Council, through Bible studies, worship, and attendance at plenary and study sessions, and other events."

Students will spend two weeks at McCormick Seminary in Chicago before coming to CTS at the time that the United Council will be starting its work. "This will be an intentional academic and ecumenical experience," says Bierma.

As for the merger itself, Bierma says that it is an important development. Financially, the two organizations should be able to operate more economically as one entity. But the key thing, he says, is that the new organization will be able to "offer a more unified, powerful Reformed witness to the world."

The World Communion of Reformed Churches will represent some 75 million Christians in more than 200 churches around the world. For more information on the Uniting General Council and events connected to it, visit: reformedchurches.org.

—Chris Meehan, CRC Communications

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