2 October 2014 A.D. NYC: General Seminary—8 of 10 Profs Resign Who Serve 86 Seminarians in Cash-Strapped Episcopal School
2 October 2014 A.D. NYC: General Seminary—8 of 10 Profs Resign Who Serve 86 Seminarians in Cash-Strapped Episcopal School
Dobnik, Verena. “Episcopalians battle behind walls
of NYC seminary.” Yahoo Newsw. 2 Oct 2014. https://news.yahoo.com/episcopalians-battle-behind-walls-nyc-seminary-055502890.html. Accessed 2
Oct 2014
Episcopalians battle behind walls of NYC seminary
By VERENA
DOBNIK
NEW YORK
(AP) — The lid has been lifted on a fierce internal battle at the nation's
oldest Episcopal seminary, which has lost most of its faculty over what they
say is their dean's intimidating, disrespectful leadership.
Eight of 10
professors who trained future priests at the General Theological Seminary in
Manhattan say they were fired this week after going on strike as a protest
against the Rev. Kurt Dunkle.
Compounding
the messy drama, seminary board members say the teachers had resigned.
In a letter
to the seminary's 86 students, the rebellious faculty members cited a
"number of very serious incidents and patterns of behavior which have over
time caused faculty, students, and staff to feel intimidated, profoundly
disrespected, excluded, devalued, and helpless."
For example,
the faculty said in a separate letter to the seminary's board of trustees,
Dunkle once told a female faculty member during a meeting that he "loved
vaginas."
The faculty
members say he also referred to ethnic Asians as "slanty-eyed," spoke
of how "black people can do such interesting things with their hair"
and suggested that the General Theological Seminary should not be a "gay
seminary" but instead should emphasize "normal people."
Dunkle left
his Florida ministry to become dean last October. Under him, the faculty wrote
to students last Friday, "the working environment has become
unsustainable."
Seminarians gather outside the chapel on the grounds of The
General Theological Seminary, after morn …
The
professors said they would stop teaching and participating in common worship
until they could meet with the board. But on Tuesday, the board announced that
the eight had resigned.
Andrew
Irving, who teaches church history, says that's not true.
"We
wish to underline that we have not resigned," Irving wrote in a statement
cited by the Episcopal Cafe, an independent website.
Seminary
spokesman Chad Rancourt said the seminary has hired an outside attorney to
investigate the various allegations, and there would be no comment on specific
charges until that process was completed. But he noted that before they would
return to work, the eight teachers demanded that the board grant them greater
control over the seminary, including the curriculum and scheduling.
On
Wednesday, the head of the U.S. Episcopal Church, Presiding Bishop Katharine
Jefferts Schori, joined about 50 seminarians and the embattled dean at their
morning prayers in the school's chapel.
"We are
standing in the middle of chaos," seminarian Nancy Hennessey told the
gathering of somber-faced faithful as she stood under the altar in blue jeans,
running shoes and a purple sweater. "But we need to stand here, vulnerable
and open and calm."
A portion of the 200-year-old General Theological Seminary
sits back from 21st Street partially obsc …
The
200-year-old red brick seminary buildings ring a lush green private garden — a
peaceful oasis in the urban hubbub. But the idyllic surface belies the internal
turbulence.
The
institution recently underwent a massive restructuring, including selling off
part of some properties to eliminate $40 million in debt.
The seminary
is now left with only two active, full-time professors as it struggles to
balance its current budget, having covered the debt.
The Rev.
Ellen Tillotson, a Connecticut priest who is a board member, summed up the
debacle on her Facebook page, saying, "Like many of you, I am
heartsick."
In the
chapel Wednesday, seminarian Charles Bauer read a daily scripture from the
Gospel of Luke that by chance reflected the painful reality: "No one tears
a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have
torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old."
Wearing her
bishop's collar and a simple gray suit, Schori sat quietly among students in a
pew and did not speak.
After the
prayers, the nation's highest ranking Episcopal prelate for about 2 million
followers listened to a throng of seminarians who shared their concerns with
her under the arching stained-glass windows. Some offered one another smiles
and intense hugs of support.
Standing
apart, Dunkle instructed an Associated Press reporter seeking comment to turn
to his spokesman, who escorted the reporter to the iron-barred exit gate,
saying this was private property.
While
faculty and students were judicious in their use of language, various media
unleashed a torrent of no-holds-barred comments on the prickly situation.
"What
The Hell Is Happening At General Theological Seminary?" read a Huffington
Post headline. Another on the website called it "The Madness of Rev. Kurt
Dunkle and the Trustees of General Theological Seminary."
But all
sides agree on one thing: "We sincerely hope that it will be possible to
achieve reconciliation," said the Rev. Jason Poling, an advanced studies
seminarian from Maryland. "We're deeply saddened, and angry, and
frustrated."Late Wednesday, the board's executive committee said they emailed the eight faculty members and offered to meet with them Oct. 16.
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