2024 Year in Review
It was the first full calendar year of Dr. Stephen Fowl’s tenure as president and dean, the year we welcomed a full-time dean of student formation and recruitment, the year the community said goodbye to the familiar rhythms of residential seminary and began fully hybrid operations, and the year we returned to General Convention to share the good news of our new “4 + 2”-year fully funded hybrid MDiv plus curacy program.
Did you miss a news item or two from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 2024? Fear not! Our inaugural Year in Review will catch you up.
JANUARY
Diocesan Outreach Begins to Collect Feedback on Revised Curriculum
“You’re about to hear that we’ve chosen to narrow our focus to CDSP’s signature strengths and invest much more heavily in our students and the local church,” said Dean Fowl in a preview video shared with leaders of 50+ dioceses in the early days of 2024. Faculty responded to written feedback and focus groups as they prepared the final version of the curriculum for board approval.
FEBRUARY
Roundtable Conversation Series Spotlights Early Benefits of CDSP Curacy Program
New MDiv graduates of CDSP are now eligible for fully funded two-year curacies in their dioceses. We spoke with the Rev. Mees Tielens (MDiv ’23), PhD; the Rev. Angela Furlong ’23; and the Rev. Katherine Frederick ’23 about their experiences in the pilot phase of this initiative.
MARCH
CDSP Easter Message
Jesus lives! thy terrors now can no longer, death, appall us / Jesus Lives! by this we know thou, o grave, canst not enthrall us / Alleluia!
– Christian Gellert tr. Frances Cox
APRIL
Faculty & Staff Visit Deepens Collaborative Connection with Trinity Colleagues
A team of CDSP faculty and staff visited with colleagues at Trinity Church the week of April 8. Highlights included CDSP leadership of Trinity’s monthly All Staff meeting; conversations and fellowship with the Board of Trustees; advance planning for the January CDSP gathered session in New York; drop-in office hours where Trinity staff came by to learn more and grab CDSP swag; and Dean Fowl preaching at Trinity’s noon Holy Eucharist.
MAY
Final Liturgy, Crossings Feature Honor Last Year of Residential Program
It was a bittersweet time, but richly acknowledged and explored. As spring semester wound down, the CDSP community took time to recognize the residential program, its final two classes of students, and the various campus spaces that have hosted and nurtured formative moments for so many future leaders.
Read Community Eucharist wrap-up »
Commencement Honorees Include Becca Stevens, Mark Richardson, Betsey Monnot ’02, Student Award Winners
We have no idea what our call will look like over the course of our lives. There is no room left in the church for careerism, for what used to be a traditional path in ministry from curacy to progressively larger and larger congregations and possibly to the episcopate … We are called to step out of the boat onto the water and follow Jesus … We are called to do things we have never done before and we always believed were impossible. We are called to take risks as we lead the Church into the future that God dreams of.
–The Rt. Rev. Betsey Monnot ’02, Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipient
JUNE
Dean Fowl Formally Installed
On the second Tuesday of June Intensive, the community paused to welcome visitors and celebrate the installation of Dr. Stephen Fowl as president and dean. “Today’s commemoration is an invitation … to carry on the conviction that Christianity has a special vocation to call people into transformed, reconciled relationships for the sake of the wholeness of the human family,” said the Rev. Nat Johnson ’19, a former student of Fowl’s who is now priest-in-charge of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Seattle, WA, and who offered the homily.
JUNE
Alums, Friends Gather at General Convention
Later in June, CDSP students, faculty, and staff traveled to Louisville to spread the word about all the new developments and exciting opportunities happening at at the seminary. We were grateful for the feedback we received in our many conversations and inspired by the excitement and support so many of you expressed. As in past years, dozens of friends and alums of the seminary played prominent roles in legislative committees, diocesan delegations, and other GC81 programs and exhibit hall booths. Dean Fowl also attended a productive and collegial meeting between bishops and seminary leaders. See you in Phoenix in 2027!
JULY
CALL Announces 40 Percent Price Reduction
“We’re really excited to make CALL courses even more accessible to people seeking to deepen their faith, grow their knowledge, or add to their ministry toolkits,” said Dr. Jennifer Snow, director of extended learning and associate professor of practical theology. “Thousands of past participants have enriched their formation through participation in this program, and we hope this opportunity will further grow CALL’s contribution to the life of the Episcopal Church.”
AUGUST
Jackson Begins Associate Dean Role
The Rev. Deborah Jackson, DMin, oversees the community-based spiritual development of CDSP’s student body, continues to develop and support the seminary’s groundbreaking post-graduation curacy program, and works with dioceses throughout the Episcopal Church to identify strong candidates for the school’s fully funded hybrid MDiv program. Dean Jackson joined us from Sewanee, where she had served since 2013.
SEPTEMBER
Tweaks to Fall Course Schedule Support Transition to 2025 Curriculum Launch
“We have an opportunity to meet students where they are as we live into our revitalized mission,” said the Rev. Mark Hearn, PhD, dean of academic affairs. “We are preparing to implement a curriculum that will be a lot more breathable, more humane for a community of learners juggling full-time work and family roles in the dioceses that have called them to service.”
OCTOBER
Faculty & Staff Wrap Remote Work Trial
Starting in July 2025, CDSP employees will be able to live anywhere in the United States, traveling to the four yearly gathered sessions with students as well as to separate gatherings for staff. A team is studying current thinking in hybrid work, making proposals about tool choices and culture-setting, and preparing training materials. These efforts supported a recent trial run during which all Bay Area staff were asked to join their remote colleagues in working from home October 21 through November 1.
NOVEMBER
Searches Begin for First Faculty Hired in New Educational Model
In 2025, the seminary will welcome new colleagues in Old Testament and Systematic & Moral Theology. “CDSP is particularly interested in appointing faculty who can teach across a variety of subject areas; who teach their discipline in the light of the needs of church leaders in the twenty-first century; and who are committed to forming pastoral leaders,” said the position descriptions. Interviews with candidates for these positions are ongoing.
DECEMBER
Priority window closes for Class of 2029 cohort
Our admissions team is hard at work vetting applications for students seeking early decisions in this cycle. Do you know someone who might be interested in applying to CDSP for the June 2025 incoming class? Be sure to let them know that this year’s final application deadline is February 3.
The students, faculty, and staff of Church Divinity School of the Pacific wish you a warm, hope-filled celebration of the Incarnation and every blessings in the year ahead.
May God, who sent angels to proclaim the glad news of the Savior’s birth, fill you with joy, and make you heralds of the Gospel.
