Greetings.
Over
the past year, Hartford Seminary has been immersed in a strategic
planning process to discern the future course for the Seminary. We
have crafted a new mission statement and values and goals for
ourselves.
This
process has affirmed again how special a place Hartford Seminary is
and how much we have to offer our students. At Hartford Seminary we
work with each student to enable her or him to grow — intellectually
and spiritually. At Hartford Seminary, we model innovative theological
and religious education that is contextual, dialogical, and interfaith
and is focused on cultivating the leadership potential of our diverse
student body.
Here
at Hartford Seminary we believe that hospitality to, and interest in,
the beliefs and worldview of the other are central to the Christian
faith. We have discovered that encounter and relationship with the
other may in surprising ways change the self, deepening one’s
understanding of one’s own faith. We do not expect or even seek
always to agree with the other; our purpose is, rather, inquiry and
dialogue.
It
is a part of our mission at Hartford Seminary as well as our great
privilege to be able to play this important public role. Given the
troubled times we live in today, the participation
and leadership of Hartford Seminary in widening and increasingly
urgent conversations is an institutional responsibility.
Today
Hartford Seminary is focusing on expanding its interfaith work, social
and religious research and educational programs
to prepare leaders, students, scholars and religious institutions to
thrive in our multi-faith and pluralistic world. Our commitment to
education that integrates the many dimensions of human experience
makes the Seminary a place for those seeking a combination of academic
excellence and practical experience.
Recently
we adjusted our Master of Arts degree to reflect our
new direction, by including a core course on dialogue in a world of
difference and expanding our core areas of study to five: Sacred
Scripture, Theology and Ethics, Liturgy, Worship and Spirituality,
Religion and Society, and History. Students also will take one course
in a faith tradition other than their own.
Our
goal is to provide an education that enables graduates both to
understand themselves and their faith traditions better and to be able
to contribute more fully to a culture of dialogue and creative
leadership in our civic and faith communities.
Check
us out. Hartford Seminary could be the place for you.
Heidi
Hadsell
President
