Category: Dean’s Commentary

Is the Faculty of VTS getting smaller?

Dean’s Table was lively last week. And as always there were some important and thoughtful questions and issues raised. One of them was the size of the Faculty: surely, the perception goes the Faculty is getting smaller? If you ask Senior Vice President Ballou, then she will tell you that actually there is a slight […]

Read More

The Biorhythms of the Academic Year

I have had the joy of serving educational institutions for over thirty years. And I have learned to attend to the biorhythms of the academic year. Now I am using the word “biorhythms” as an analogy; it isn’t the same as the cycle of sleeping and waking, but I do think it captures a truth […]

Read More

Introduction to Ms. Crystal Diaz

Welcome to General Theological Seminary. You press the button and the front desk buzzes you in. This is an important ministry. You meet for the first time a person from GTS. The days needing coverage are long days. So today we celebrate the work and ministry of Ms. Crystal Diaz. Crystal Diaz (front desk coordinator) […]

Read More

Faith and Decisions

Yesterday I spent an hour and a half in spiritual direction. I take the time out to share in complete confidence my deepest thoughts, anxieties, hopes, and aspirations. Everything is placed in the context of the divine work that God is seeking to do in my life – “Finish, then, thy new creation” is my […]

Read More

Introduction to Ms. Kate Gungor

Learning the craft of ministry in a congregation is at the heart of a good MDiv. This is a vital and central part of the VTS MDiv. And it is lovely to watch congregations fall in love with their seminarian as they participate in the work of formation. What is true of the residential MDiv […]

Read More

Women’s Hygiene Drive

I was not unaware until recently of the term “period poverty”, defined as inadequate access to menstrual hygiene tools and educations, including but not limited to sanitary products, washing facilities, and waste management. Think of having to choose between feeding your children, going to school/work and buying necessary hygiene products. Resurrection and the Student Body […]

Read More

Visiting the Church of the Holy Spirit

This weekend the Rev. Dr. Barney Hawkins and I are visiting The Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, near Chicago. This is the parish that gave a generous donation to the Deanery, such that the courtyard is now the The Church of the Holy Spirit Courtyard. We have various events planned, including a […]

Read More

Introduction to Ms. Amy Reutten

The finances of GTS are complicated. It takes some skill to manage the various accounts and create appropriate systems for those accounts. Today, I am delighted to introduce to you Ms. Amy Reutten. Amy came to GTS in the Fall of last year from the Registry. Amy is responsible for all of the financial transactions […]

Read More

Introduction to Kadine Madden

We continue to introduce the team at The General Theological Seminary. This time it is my privilege to introduce Ms. Kadine Madden. Kadine has been with GTS for almost 5 years. She is in charge of day to day operations as it relates to housing needs and events here on the Close. If you are […]

Read More

TryTank Podcast

One of the great things about having an in-house action research lab like TryTank is that they are usually exploring new areas of ministry. Whether that means they are experimenting with ways to use new technology (such as ChatGPT) or simply a new approach to ministry (creating in-culture English language services for later generation Latinos […]

Read More