by Duane Sweep
Associate for Communications
A few months ago, the Middle Governing Body Commission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – sometimes called the Mid-Council Commission – voted to eliminate synods.
I realize the final report of the commission has yet to be written, but here’s a thought about synods, relationships, Presbyterians and higher education. It’s well known that Presbyterians have established a goodly number of colleges and universities across this country. In general, it’s easy to state that Presbyterians support intellectual curiosity, excellence in education and academic freedom.
And, in most cases, the relationship between Presbyterian colleges and universities, and the PC(USA) is maintained and nourished through the synods. By my count, there are more than 60 Presbyterian-related colleges and universities that make up the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities, and seven are within the bounds of Lakes and Prairies.
Last fall the synod and Macalester College of St. Paul, Minn., renewed the covenant the binds the synod and the college. As a side note, the covenant states that Macalester and the synod “support education that leads to growth in scholarship, faithfulness in character and preparation to serve the common good.”
From my perspective there’s something important about these covenants. They speak to a calling to encourage discovery, and they speak to the need for an educational experience that provides a framework for ethical behavior.
A few years ago, Douglas Oldenburg, president emeritus of Columbia Theological Seminary and moderator of the 210th General Assembly of the PC(USA), when speaking to the presidents of Presbyterian colleges and universities, said, “All would agree … that our church-related colleges should strive for academic excellence, helping each student to fulfill their potential in keeping with our Reformed tradition of valuing the ‘life of the mind in the service of God and humanity.’”
Now, just as important as any time in the history of the world, the service to God and humanity is needed.
Oldenburg went on, “Our Presbyterian colleges should be nurturing students to become ‘principle-centered’ leaders. … Our church-related colleges need to be concerned with both competence and conscience, the development of the heart as well as the mind, moral integrity as well as mental acumen.”
A couple weeks ago, Phil Brown, executive in Lakes and Prairies, and I visited Jamestown (N.D.) College. We spent a day with President Robert Badal and other leaders at that college. We saw and heard in person what Oldenburg called on Presbyterian colleges and universities to provide – an education that features competence and conscience.
At Jamestown the connection between competence and conscience is called “Journey to Success.” It’s more than words. It’s laid out as a four-step process, beginning with a “look inward,” where students move through a period of self-discovery, identifying individual strengths. That’s followed by a “look outward,” a time when student receive ethics instruction and participate in service projects. Next comes a “look beyond,” when students are encouraged to explore the world beyond the campus through travel and the institution’s foreign partnerships. The final component of the journey, a “look forward,” is a practical component that prepares students for vocations or graduate school.
Administrators and academic leaders at Jamestown College also spoke of their “Character in Leadership” program, a program open to about 30 student leaders per year, that emphasizes character development and servant leadership.
We were told of a student who summed up the program in one sentence: “It’s about who you are, but it’s not about you.”
That’s what an old professor of mine would have called a “moment of clarity” – that time when things come together.
But in the long run, there needs to be some benefit to Jamestown College and Macalester College for being in covenant with the synod. Phil and I talked about that, too. Jamestown has a great nursing program and its student nurses need internships. Phil serves on the board of Presbyterian Homes and Services of Richfield, Minn., an organization that needs nurses. There might be something there. The covenant between the synod and Macalester calls for an annual event “that engages religious and social issues in contemporary society.” A number of subjects, each with a potential impact that reaches beyond the bounds of the synod, are being discussed.
There are unique components to each covenant the synod shares with Presbyterian institutions.
