Eden Theological Seminary - in a new ecumenical partnership with Methodist Theological School in Ohio and Trinity Lutheran Seminary - recently announced the formation of the new Metropolitan Ohio Theological Institute.  Students in the Cleveland area (which lacks a mainline seminary) can now earn 12 credit hours toward a Master of Divinty degree (M.Div.) which are transferable to any of the sponsoring seminaries.  Classes start this fall.  For those who cannot move way to seminary and live in Cleveland - or for those who just want to dip their toe into theological studies - this is a great opportunity.   

There were a lot of reasons why it was important for me to leave Portland to attend seminary.  The most obvious reason is that Oregon lacks a mainline seminary.  Even if one had been available it would have been distracting for me to attempt graduate school here.  Events like the 2004 Portland mayor's race would have drawn me in. 

But Oregonians now seeking a theological education are fortunate to have a couple of opportunities that didn't exist a few years back. 

You can earn half the credits for the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree at the Northwest House of Theological Studies (NHTS).  This program is very similar to the new Metropolitan Ohio Theological Institute (just more established and extensive).  The program is located in Salem on the campus of Willamette University.  NHTS is sponsored by Methodist Theological School in Ohio and is also partnered with American Baptist Seminary of the West (Berkeley), Church Divinity School of the Pacific (Berkeley), Luther Seminary (St. Paul, MN), Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (Berkeley), and Pacific School of Religion (a United Church of Christ-related school in Berkeley).  Credits earned at NHTS can be transferred to any of these Association of Theological Schools-accredited seminaries.

Marylhurst University outside of Portland also offers a M.Div. degree.  The Marylhurst program is fairly new - it didn't exist when I started seminary - and is not yet ATS accredited (which means, for example, many churches and doctoral programs won't accept the degree).  However, the school does from what I understand have plans to become ATS accredited and has a partnership with San Francisco Theological Seminary (which is ATS accredited).  San Francisco Theological Seminary will apparently accept transfer students from Marylhurst's M.Div. program and offers a well-respected Doctor of Ministry program on the Marylhurst campus.   

It is exciting to hear of these new and expanding opportunities for theological education. I’m particularly taken with the ecumenical nature of many of them.