July 2021

Dear Alumni of Bangor Theological Seminary:

I am reaching out to you with greetings from The BTS Center, the missional successor to Bangor Theological Seminary. Hello and welcome to this Special Virtual General Synod 33. It is our honor to serve as a sponsor for this gathering. Whether in times of worship, in workshops and special events, or in sessions for conducting the business of this denomination, we pray that the Spirit will draw us together across time and space — that in this time together we might be Rooted in Love. 

One thing I know is that the schools we attend form us and shape us in powerful ways — they take up residence in our hearts. This may be especially true for seminary, since a seminary experience often stretches us — emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually — in ways that lead to significant personal and vocational transformation.

Maybe this rings true for you as you think about your days at Bangor Theological Seminary.

In July 2019, I stepped into this role as Executive Director of The BTS Center. Over these two years, and particularly over the past sixteen months as we have built momentum with programming and moved all of our work to online spaces during the pandemic, we have been reflecting deeply on what it means to honor the legacy of this great institution. As we orient ourselves to the future that God places before us, we celebrate our place in a long arc that extends all the way back to 1814, with gratitude for our roots and appreciation for all who have stewarded and shaped this institution over more than two centuries.

Although no longer a degree-awarding institution, today The BTS Center seeks to catalyze spiritual imagination, with enduring wisdom, for transformative faith leadership by offering theologically grounded programs of continuing education and spiritual formation, including workshops and retreats, learning cohorts, public conversations, and projects of applied research. Inspired by the vision of human hearts renewed, justice established, and creation restored, today many of The BTS Center’s program opportunities aim to equip faith leaders — clergy and laity alike — with the knowledge, skills, mindsets, and practices that are needed for effective and faithful ministry in a moment marked by the dual urgencies of a changing religious landscape and a global climate crisis.

As we continue this important work, we would really value the opportunity to stay in touch with you, the alumni of Bangor Theological Seminary. We take great pride in those whose lives and ministries have been formed and shaped by their experiences at BTS. We rejoice each time we meet alumni taking part in our programs, and we celebrate as alums introduce themselves proudly by year of graduation. Especially as our programs have been online, it has been encouraging to note how geography no longer presents a barrier to participation: connection is easy, regardless of where people live and serve.

We hope you will find it meaningful to stay connected with the work of The BTS Center and with fellow alumni. In addition to our regular, public programs, we are exploring possibilities for alumni-specific offerings in the coming years — including an online gathering in September, concurrent with this year’s Convocation (watch for dates and details coming soon!) — and we want to help you connect with these to the extent that you would find that meaningful.

If you haven’t already done so recently, we hope you will take five minutes to share your up-to-date information and to offer your responses to a few short questions at this link. We look forward to hearing from you.

Additionally, we hope you will take part in the special event that we are offering during Synod: “Rooted & Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis” — an opportunity to meet the editors and contributing authors of a collection of essays and spiritual practices by that title — on Tuesday, July 13, 5:00-6:30 pm (Eastern). Learn more here.

And finally, if you are not currently receiving our e-newsletter, we hope you will subscribe at this link.

May our still-speaking God unite us in love throughout these days together.

Blessings,

Rev. Allen Ewing-Merrill
Executive Director, The BTS Center
allen@thebtscenter.org