Ecumenical Programs records, circa 1950 -- 1999

Union Theological Seminary in New York City (UTS) actively pursued an interest in ecumenical programs and world Christianity. In 1976 Robert McAfee Brown was brought back to the UTS faculty as Professor of Ecumenics and World Christianity, and in this capacity he researched and created "a program designed to help students learn more about the world through programs within the Seminary walls and through exploration of opportunities for exchange study with seminaries around the world." In 1977, with the support of President Shriver, plans were made to develop the first exchange study programs conducted by UTS. The yearly brochure for Ecumenical Programs (also referred to as the Ecumenics and World Christianity Program) describes the philosophy that guided the program through the 1980's: "Theology which is responsible to local situations must also be well informed by what is happening to humanity on a global scale....Such theology is able to see local challenges in an ecumenical perspective and the world church through the perceptivity gained in its local commitment.... The Ecumenical programs are an active expression of the conviction expressed as globalization of theological education. The programs are to invite all members of the Union community — students, staff, faculty, and spouses — to grapple with the question: How can the church live responsibly in today's world?" Over the years, the Ecumenical Program developed ongoing work in three main areas: Oikoumene, international students, and cross-cultural study. Oikoumene focused on presenting various activities for the Seminary community with topics relating to religious, sociological, political, world, national, or local themes. Ecumenical Programs was also in charge of coordinating support programs for all the international students. This was accomplished through hiring a student to serve as advisor to the international students. As its third major responsibility, the Program coordinated both short and long term exchange programs for students and faculty. The best known and continuous of these were the January travel seminars to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The booklet titled "From Roots to Reality" presents a brief history of the travel seminars from 1979 to 1988. The Program also created guidelines for study and assisted in funding students or faculty who were interested in traveling to other areas of the world. One of the special areas that Ecumenical Programs was instrumental in coordinating was the "Union-Asia-Union Exchange" project funded by the Luce Foundation. Some students and faculty were assisted in traveling to different countries in Asia, and the exchange also allowed for some Asian faculty to come to Union. Another special project was the Pilot Project on Globalization of Theological Education, coordinated through the Plowshares Institute. Union was chosen to be one of twelve participating seminaries for this five-year project. The plan was to cluster three or four dissimilar theological schools and form teams of people to go on three-week travel seminars together, then to return and to try to use the experience to help evaluate education at their schools. The immersion seminars went to India, Brazil, southern Africa, and local areas of New York City. Ecumenical Programs have always been under the direction of the Professor of Ecumenics and World Christianity. From 1980 until spring 1996, this position was held by Kosuke Koyama. The internal organization of the program varied over the years, but often had an advisory committee, full-time staff support, and part-time student staff. This collection currently ends around February 1993, although Ecumenical programs and Globalization projects still continue as a part of the Seminary's mission.