Virginia Theological Seminary| Lilly Endowment Inc. | The Episcopal Church
Virginia Theological Seminary
Virginia Theological Seminary, as outlined in their mission statement, “is a seminary of the Episcopal Church that has since 1823 served to further the universal mission of Christ’s church by providing graduate theological education and serving as a theological resource for the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, and the wider church. In preparing its students as servants of Jesus Christ, as lay and ordained leaders of the church, the Seminary has placed theological education in the context of residential community marked by common life and worship.
Seeking to equip the people of God for their vocation and ministry in the world, Virginia Theological Seminary has emphasized the preparation of persons for the ministries of preaching, teaching, pastoral care, and social justice. Born from the Anglican evangelical tradition, Virginia Theological Seminary has been formed by the diversity with Anglicanism, the larger ecumenical vision, and the increased understanding of the racial and cultural diversity of the needs and reality of the church in mission.
With primary attention to the needs of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, the mission of Virginia Theological Seminary continues to:
- form men and women for lay and ordained leadership within community
- provide continuing theological education for clergy and laity
- serve the Anglican Communion and the wider Church
- provide an ecumenical, international, and cross-cultural context for theological education
- be an outstanding theological resources for students, scholars, the church, and the larger public
- be a racially and ethnically diverse community in living out our mission
VTS provides the educational and theological grounding for the Baptised for Life project, and is the home of The Center for the Ministry of Teaching, the hub of the BFL initiative.
To learn more about VTS please visit their full website.
Lilly Endowment Inc.
“The ultimate aim of Lilly Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the religious lives of American Christians, primarily by helping to strengthen their congregations. To that end, our religion grantmaking in recent years has consisted largely of a series of major, interlocking initiatives aimed at enhancing and sustaining the quality of ministry in American congregations and parishes.” In addition to working to support the development of quality pastoral leadership, Lilly also funds “efforts that enhance the vitality of local congregations and that enable ordinary church members to mine the deep wisdom of the Christian faith and to take up their vocations in the life of the world as people of faith.”
It is this very funding, born out of a commitment to help build up the vitality of the local church, that has made Baptized for Life possible.
Learn more about Lilly Endowment Inc. and its work in Community Development, Education, and Religion.
The Episcopal Church
The Episcopal Church, with 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 17 nations, is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Our common life is ordered by the Book of Common Prayer, which is the primary symbol of our unity, and informs both our private and communal worship. Our governance is The General Convention, which is a bicameral legislature that includes the House of Deputies, which has more than 800 members including laity, and the House of Bishops, which is comprised of nearly 300 active and retired bishops. As a church-body we are committed to following Jesus into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, with each other, and with the earth. We strive to love our neighbors as ourselves and respect the dignity of every person. Our liturgy retains ancient structure and traditions and is celebrated in many languages. We believe in amendment of life, the forgiveness of sin, and life everlasting. We believe that Baptism is the foundation of the Christian life, we uphold the Bible, follow the Liturgical Year, and celebrate the Eucharist, (Holy Communion) as our central act of worship, (which may be received by all baptized Christians, not only members of the Episcopal Church.)
Lay people exercise a vital role in the governance and ministry of our church and we ordain both men and women to all orders. We celebrate our unity in Christ while honoring our differences, always putting the work of love before uniformity of opinion. All are welcome to find a spiritual home in the Episcopal Church.
Baptized for Life is an Episcopal Discipleship Initiative.
To learn more about the Episcopal Church please visit their website.