Starr King School for the Ministry is a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Berkeley, California and part of the Graduate Theological Union. The seminary was formed in 1904 to train leaders for the growing number of congregations in the western part of the country. An emphasis on the practical skills of religious leadership and individualized study characterized the school’s transformation-based educational philosophy from the beginning.
[edit] History
Starr King School opened in 1904 as the Pacific Unitarian School for the Ministry. With most Unitarian ministers being educated at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Meadville Theological School in Meadville, Pennsylvania, the new seminary would meet the need to train leaders serving the churches west of the Rocky Mountains. The school held its first classes at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, moving just a few years later to the City of Berkeley to be closer to other seminaries and the University of California, where students were able to take classes. The first president was Earl Morse Wilbur. In addition to his service to the school for 30 years, he is remembered for writing the first comprehensive histories of European Unitarianism.
In 1941, the school changed its name to honor Thomas Starr King, minister of the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco. During the Civil War, the popular lecturer and activist spoke zealously in favor of the Union and was credited by Abraham Lincoln with preventing California from becoming a separate republic. In addition, he organized the Pacific Branch of the United States Sanitary Commission, which cared for wounded soldiers and was the predecessor to the American Red Cross. King’s prominence also contributed greatly to the spread of Unitarianism on the West Coast.
In 1962, local seminaries officially formed the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), a diverse consortium of what now numbers nine theological seminaries, several research centers, affiliates and institutes. Starr King joined the GTU in 1964.
[edit] Degree programs
Today, Starr King School for the Ministry educates people for Unitarian Universalist ministry and for progressive religious leadership in society through three degree programs: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Religious Leadership for Social Change, and a Master of Arts in collaboration with the GTU.
Starr King is also a leader in online theological study. It is one of three GTU schools offering online classes and is among the 38% of all US and Canadian schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools approved for distance learning. Its distinctive educational approach remains rooted in the Unitarian Universalist values of countering oppressions, cultivating multi-religious life and learning, and creating just and sustainable communities.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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