The recent decision of the trustees of Saint Paul School of Theology to vacate its present Kansas City, Mo., campus and move into the facilities of Church of the Resurrection constitutes a reality check. Could this be the tremor before the earthquake of other institutional closures, moves or “downsizings” driven by the UMC loss of membership, attendance, offerings, and philanthropy? This news came as personal sadness to me because in the early 1980s I was vice president of institutional advancement at Saint Paul and lived on campus!
A mite of history is helpful. The formation of “National Methodist Theological Seminary” in Kansas City by the General Conference of 1956 was an exercise in the “audacity of hope.” Indeed, two new seminaries were established: one in Missouri, the other in Ohio, the same state where the EUB church already had United Theological Seminary in Dayton!
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