 Assembly confirms seminary appointment The Layman Online Thursday, June 20, 2002
Butin spoke briefly to commissioners after they voted without dissent June 19 to approve his appointment. "I was lured away from the Episcopal Church by an effective Presbyterian Youth Ministry," he said. "I was coaxed into reading Calvin's Institutes as an 18- or 19-year-old." He said he always has "stood with one foot in theological education and the other in the church." He listed his goals: A broader identity as one seminary on two campuses (San Francisco has a satellite campus at Claremont Theological Seminary); continuing "to build on the best of what it means to be deeply traditional and authentically progressive;" to cultivate a "distinctly Reformed and ecumenical" academic program; and to provide an atmosphere "where students across the spectrum feel accepted and welcome." He also spoke of "an emerging strategic plan that focuses on theological education for wholeness … not only the head, but also the heart and hand." A pastor-theologian-scholar, Butin holds a Ph.D. in theology and church history from Duke University. He served several congregations across the United States while simultaneously furthering his theological studies. In 1993, Butin accepted a call as pastor of Shepherd of the Valley Presbyterian Church, and he has led the congregation through the transition from its founding generation. It has emerged as a multi-ethnic congregation with Anglo, Hispanic and Native American membership. Butin co-founded the Ecumenical Institute for Ministry in New Mexico, a statewide lay theological educational institute that operates as a joint program of the New Mexico Conference of Churches and St. Norbert College in DePere, Wisc. |
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