The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church

Seminary Life

Seven-thirty a.m., Chelsea Square, New York City. A few early shoppers make their way to the French bakery that opens at seven. Workers from the wholesale fish market are arriving for coffee at the corner delicatessen, a family-owned business that has served for many years as a meeting place for students from the seminary next door. On the steps of a nearby brownstone several residents get their first look at the New York Times and check the sky for the chance of rain.

For 179 years this quiet district of low, residential buildings has been home to The General Theological Seminary. Even students from rural parts of the country are struck by the feeling of being in a true neighborhood. First-time visitors are always amazed by the Seminary’s expansive lawns and towering trees.

Chelsea is a neighborhood of low residential buildings—not the towering office structures of midtown. A quiet part of the city now experiencing tremendous revitalization, for 177 years it has also been home to the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church. Even students from rural parts of the country are struck by the feeling of being in a true neighborhood.

Within the Seminary block, a groundskeeper is readying his tools to begin work in the Seminary’s central garden or “Close.” He greets a commuter student who has arrived in time for chapel. The landmarked buildings and beautiful grounds are a source of pride for General. First-time visitors are always amazed by the secluded tranquility of Chelsea Square—its expansive lawns and towering trees are hard to find outside Central Park. Also at this early hour, children with their parents make their way across the Close to the day care center, located at the Seminary, or to the nearby elementary school.

As eight o’clock approaches, a seminarian enters the Chapel’s tower room to sound the bell high in the chapel tower that calls the community to Morning Prayer. Both geographically and spiritually, the Chapel of the Good Shepherd is at the center of life on Chelsea Square. Resident students, faculty, and staff are joined by the Seminary’s part-time and commuter students in participating in the daily offices and the eucharist. No single element is considered more important to Christian formation than the Seminary’s worship life. Formation and education for ministry are supported by General’s caring and vibrant community.

Enhanced by a resident faculty and student body most of whose members live together in this one block, community is furthered by small classes and common meals. Commuter, part-time, and summer students share in many of these aspects of the community’s life together. Students, staff, and faculty are able to enjoy frequent exchanges while working in the library or even while doing laundry. This experience of community is central to General’s heritage and ongoing life.

Many traditions help foster life in community. An example is the chapel service at the beginning of the fall semester when members of the incoming class sign their names in the Matriculation Book alongside those of every student since 1822. It is a moment when the sense of community is powerfully felt and placed in historical perspective.

But community is expressed, too, in the many social events at General—the Christmas children’s party with the reading of A Visit from St. Nicholas, the last-minute decision of a group of students and faculty to take in a movie, or cook a special meal together. The process of formation and education is present in all aspects of life at General.

This educational experience is given depth by a faculty noted for academic excellence and a library that is one of the great theological collections of North America. General’s professors have the highest level of training and experience in their respective fields. The faculty’s many published works, together with their activities outside the Seminary, make a lasting contribution to scholarship and the greater life of the Anglican Communion. One of the most expansive collections of Anglican materials in the United States, St. Mark's Library has become an international resource for students and scholars.

General’s location in New York City defines its identity and enables the seminary to expand the educational opportunities offered to its students. Cross-registration at companion institutions such as Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Union Theological Seminary, and Fordham University represent an important benefit. So does the presence of the Episcopal Church Center and the diversity of experience to be found in the City’s churches where the Seminary’s students worship and carry out field placements.

Although General’s students historically have come from throughout the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Seminary has seen an increasingly Lutheran and interdenominational presence. The same diversity is true of the visiting scholars and lecturers who come to General from around the church and the world. General is a place where one encounters diversity—theological, cultural, and in everyday living. It is entirely possible that in a quick trip to one of the Seminary’s neighborhood supermarkets, one might encounter six different languages! It is to serve such a richly diverse world in Christ's name that General Seminary forms leaders for the church.

4/19/06