Greetings! We are delighted that you will be joining us for the upcoming Theology Day webinar.
Enclosed, you will find several documents that introduce you to Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary and describes ways you can engage with our mission. If you would like to support the school and our Theology Day program, please consider using the link below.
We hope you enjoy the webinar and look forward to connecting with you soon.
Grace Ellens Development Director
Webinar questions? Contact us at 320-363-3560 or theologyday@csbsju.edu
Benedictine Practices Mirroring Christ’s Truth
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Theology Day
Benedictine Practices Mirroring Christ’s Truth
True Happiness: Wisdom of the Heart
Fr. Dale Launderville, OSB
Sept. 13 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU (Synchronous)
Nov. 22 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU
March 6 -6:30 p.m. -Church of Saint Mary, Alexandria, MN
March 20 -6:30 p.m. -Pax Christi Catholic Community, Eden Prairie, MN
Spirituality, Beer, and the Monastic Tradition
Br. Denys Janiga, OSB
Sept. 20 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU (Synchronous)
Making Sense of the Bible: Context, Genre, Narrative
April 5 -9:00 a.m. -St. Paul’s Monastery & Benedictine Center, St. Paul, MN
April 25 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU
The Eucharist, Divinization, and the Regeneration of the World
Shawn Colberg, Ph.D.
Oct. 10 -6:30 p.m. -St. Joseph Catholic Community, New Hope, MN
Nov. 8 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU
Jan. 31 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU (Synchronous)
Ancient Christian Practices to Sustain Community
Barbara Sutton, D. Min.
Jan. 24 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU (Synchronous)
Jan. 30 -6:30 p.m. -Basilica of Saint Mary, Minneapolis, MN
March 28 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU
April 24 -9:00 a.m. -St. Joan of Arc, Minneapolis, MN
Heavenly Queen and Earthly Mother:
Typologies of the Virgin Mary in Art from West to East
Hansol Goo, Ph.D.
Dec. 13 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU (Synchronous)
March 14 -9:00 a.m. -Emmaus Hall, SJU
April 10 -6:30 p.m. -St. Frances Cabrini, Minneapolis
Registration is required: www.collegevilleMN.com/theologyday or call 320-363-3560. There is no cost for attending Theology Day. Start time indicates when the presentation begins; in-person check-in is 30 minutes prior. Watch our website for current dates and locations, including out-of-state locations.
Equipping Leaders
Serving the church
Welcoming all as Christ
The Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary, immersed in a Catholic, Benedictine community and committed to Vatican II’s ecclesial and liturgical renewal, is a leading educator of theologically wise leaders who call forth the spiritual gifts of faith communities into service and guide them into new evangelization action.
WELCOME
to one of the most respected graduate programs in theology in North America.
Graduate theology at Saint John’s is spiritual, vocational, and transformative –
committed to the sacredness of each person. It prepares students professionally and intellectually for the important work they will do in the world, but it also emphasizes who each is called to be – a disciple, an ordained or lay minister, a teacher or scholar. At Saint John's, teachers and students seek truth and pursue wisdom with hope and mindful compassion.
Scripture, spirituality, and liturgy have an integral role in shaping students at Saint John’s. In addition to having access to exceptional teachers and scholars, students are formed in a place that integrates academic studies with the Catholic Benedictine daily rhythms of prayer and work. Surrounded by lakes and woods, they are immersed in an inspiring, contemplative environment.
The Leaven of Hope
The impact of the Saint John’s Effect spreads across the world like life-giving rain to a parched world. From major global cities to rural mountain villages, our students and graduates are nudging humanity ever closer to the Kingdom of God. They bring food to the hungry, welcome to the stranger, comfort to the suffering, and hope to the hopeless, affirming the sacred value and dignity of all people everywhere.
Master of Theological Studies
Master of Theology
MA in Ministry
Master of Divinity - Priesthood
Master of Divinity - Lay
MA in Liturgical Music
Certificate Programs
Non-Degree/Other
Teacher, Writer, Editor, Doctor, Lawyer, Environmentalist, Non-Profit leader and more.
PhD Professor, Researcher, Writer, Liturgy Director, Catechist and more.
Administrator, Deacon, Social Justice, Healthcare and Bereavement Services and more.
Priest, PhD Professor, Researcher, Writer, Anthropologist, other religious affiliate and more.
Chaplain, Deacon, Director of Religious Education, Youth Minister and more.
Choir Director, Liturgist, Musician, Vocalist, Organist and more.
Spiritual Director, Religious Art and Architecture specialist, Evangelist and more.
Parents, Grandparents, non-profit affiliates, volunteers and more.
Living Out Benedictine Values
Graduate students at Saint John’s School of Theology
and Seminary (SOT/Sem) are immersed in Benedictine values,
a life perspective that has integrated mind, heart and spirit for over 1,500 years.
These timeless principles are embedded in the stones which form our footpath, the mortar that holds our bricks, and the waves that lap our shore.
Stewardship
Called to Serve:
Okey Is Lifting Nigerians Above Poverty
Okey, born and raised in Nigeria, was fortunate to attend school as a child. He recalls seeing children on the sides of the road selling trinkets and wondering why they were not in school. Later, he realized they were forced child laborers.
Thinking to himself, "if nobody is going to do something about this - I will!" Okey began his quest at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary by immersing himself in our experiential theology and teachings of Catholic social justice.
Formed by this experience, he founded the Basic Institute for Zonal African Advancement (BIZAA) organization, with its mission to stop forced child labor by rescuing current victims - providing education and life skills to end the cycle of poverty and forced labor.
Okey is rescuing children and saving lives in Nigeria.
Okey Anyanwu '09
Founder of BIZAA
Justice Common Good
Hospitality
Called to Worship: Samantha Revives Traditions for 21st Century
While living in Ecuador, Samantha realized her passion to help others feel fulfilled through worship. Saint John's made this possible for her with its excellent liturgical program. Samantha now coordinates liturgies that are alive with the spirit of the New Evangelization, introducing Christ through music and prayer, bringing hearts into deeper relationship with God. All this is happening while respectfully maintaining worship traditions. Samantha is building up disciples of all ages and backgrounds, bringing new life to the pews.
Awareness of God
Community Prayer
Samantha Delke '19 Liturgist
Called to Comfort: Amie's Dream is Realized but Unfinished
Respect for Persons Taking Counsel Listening
Amie Schumacher '15
Chaplain, St. Cloud Hospital
Amie is a recent grad who just received a nationally sought-after scholarship from the Bush Foundation to advance her education and training in treating childhood trauma through community organizations.
She found her calling after she was away from the church nearly 10 years, angry with God because of her childhood traumas . . . and addiction. Amie finally hit bottom, sought help and began her road to recovery. With sobriety, Amie began to hear the call to come back to God, as well as discerning her growing interested in hospital chaplaincy.
Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary's focus on community helped her to have the confidence to rely on others, and the School's academic programs gave her a greater awareness of God and the Church, and how to understand the Bible and Scripture at a much deeper level. Her coursework and the Saint John's community, in addition to her experience with the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE), formed her ministry to attend to those suffering from childhood trauma and address treatment methods.
Amie is now a prominent educator within the ACE network and is taking her ministry to communities, social service and faith-based organizations, and the criminal justice system.
Amie changes the lives of many feeling hopeless – bringing dignity and value to each person.
Called to Lead:
Fr. Efrain Makes Multicultural Complexities Simple
Fr. Efrain, born in Merida and raised in Mexico City, realized ethnic groups in the U.S. were losing interest and leaving area parishes.
Knowing the church should be growing, not shrinking, he found kindred spirits at Saint John's and programs already dedicated to this problem: how to form lay
Fr. Efrain Rosado, OSB '17 Priest, Coordinator of Multicultural Formation at Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary
and ordained ministers to address demographic changes.
The Benedictine tradition and values on display at Saint John's allow Fr. Efrain to pierce through the complications helping students and area parishes understand the multicultural complexities of our society as well as the intricacy of ministering in our diverse contemporary communities.
Fr. Efrain is strengthening faith communities by training parishes and ministers to bridge the cultural gaps between its members.
Awareness of God Common Good Hospitality
Called to Evangelize: Building the Kingdom of God
"Being a disciple means being constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others, and this can happen unexpectedly and in any place." - Pope Francis
Awareness of God
Respect for Persons
Truthful Living
According to the rule of thumb calculation, a $40,000 salary could support no more than $26,300 in student loans at four percent in a standard ten-year repayment.
Imagining a Revitalized Church: Born of the Fruits of Saint John's School of Theology and Seminary
† Imagine a church filled with people preferring nothing to the love of Christ, because they see Christ in us.
† Imagine a church in which people of every background are entrusted with the power to embrace their baptismal calls — because they see power in us.
† Imagine a church that encourages its wisdom to be shared in lecture halls and libraries, soup kitchens and street corners everywhere — because people see it in us.
† Imagine a church whose beautiful, sacred spaces bring rest to the weary and hope to the searching — because people see it in us.
† Imagine a church alive with young people eager to be formed in the faith — because they see it in us.
† Imagine a church that encourages creativity in the service of nourishing the vocations of all people — because they see it in us.
† And now imagine what a graduate school of theology based on the Benedictine tradition can do to fan the flames of that vision into reality.
Jessie Bazan ‘17
Campaign Priorities:
EQUIPPING
LEADERS FOR THE CHURCH: Ministry for the 21st Century Church INSPIRING INDIVIDUALS: Student and Professor Growth SERVING YOUTH AND COMMUNITY: Formation for a Thriving Church SAINT JOHN'S SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND SEMINARY
SENSE OF PLACE: Building and Spaces that Inspire Collaborative Ministry
TRANS FORM ING LIVES CHANGING THE WORLD
THE ROAD TO EMMAUS
Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary (SOT/Sem), located in Emmaus Hall, forms students and faculty into a faith community, energized to serve Christ and dedicated to influence both Church and society in Christ’s name. By studying in a place where liturgy and prayer are essential to their daily lives, students walk in a tradition that has significantly contributed to the life not only of the Catholic Church, but also to the life of nearly every Christian denomination in North America and beyond. And that journey continues.
The Benedictine character of Saint John’s keeps this community centered on Christ, while its accompanying imagination opens eyes, minds, and hearts to find new ways to widen the reach of Christ’s ministry. Together, faculty, students, and staff draw from the contemplative, Benedictine environment to form Christian disciples for a life in academia and ministry.
Such a community needs a building which reflects Saint John’s sense of place and which inspires collaborative ministry. The renovation of Emmaus Hall will more closely mirror our vision of the Church as the Pilgrim People of God, a faith community of disciples pursuing Wisdom and encountering Christ while bringing him to others.
Classrooms and Study Carrels
We read in the Gospel of Luke (24:1335) that Cleopas and his wife head toward Emmaus after the violent events in Jerusalem. As they travel, Christ joins them along the road, and when they have supper, he reveals himself in the Eucharist. That encounter inspires the couple to run back to Jerusalem to proclaim the good news to those still dwelling in discouragement and fear. Similarly, professors and students, with the objective of spreading the Gospel, take on the role of those two disciples, journeying with Christ on the road of theological inquiry.
The great joy of teaching and learning at Emmaus is having one’s eyes opened to recognize Christ’s presence among the gathered People of God, in Sacred Scripture, and within the theological tradition. Employing state of the art technology, the new classrooms and study carrels provide the classroom space for those on campus and online participation for those at a distance.
Gathering Spaces
Community forms when people gather for worship, fellowship, and inquiry, as seen in the two disciples meeting Christ on the road to Emmaus. In a like vein, the School of Theology and Seminary draws from the vibrant, monastic presence which inspires students, faculty, and staff of every age and from various backgrounds to foster creative thought and conversation; it is a dynamic unique to Saint John’s. Together we seek the ways the Holy Spirit is leading the faithful to deal with the world before us. For this holy venture, the School of Theology and Seminary requires spaces that excite the imagination and increase the encounter between theologians, budding scholars, and aspiring workers in the vineyard.
In addition to its academic and pastoral work, Saint John’s spreads the Gospel through its fine theological programming as seen in its Theology Days, conferences, talks, and seminars. As the scope of our outreach increases, there will be a greater demand for medium and large spaces to accommodate visitors seeking ongoing education, faith formation, workshops, parish retreats and the like.
Emmaus Hall Chapel
The journey of the two disciples in Luke’s Gospel begins in discouragement and ends in joy. The story itself describes the Christian life. It is fitting, therefore, that the remaking of the Emmaus Hall Chapel should be at the center of the renovation project, for in this building future students and faculty—as a faith community—will meet Christ in the “breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:35)
Built 70 years ago for seminarians, the Emmaus Hall Chapel has many remarkable elements, which can now facilitate focused attention on the role of beauty in the search for Christ. Open, bright, and inviting, this newly designed worship space encapsulates the Benedictine tradition, which draws much from what is old and takes some from what is new in order to forge a vison and path into the future. Whether studying for ordained or non-ordained ministry, both women and men will form a community in pursuit of Wisdom, a community which in its vocational call to bring Christ to the world is sustained by the liturgy.
Spaces can cultivate collaborative community and influence a student’s formation whether gathering for scholarship, fellowship, or worship.
“Emmaus chapel is the living center of our community - the Second Vatican Council said the liturgy is the “source and summit” of the church’s life. A beautifully renovated chapel will reinvigorate our worship life and be a strong statement of our deepest Catholic, Benedictine, and ecumenical values.”
- Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB, ‘93 Associate Professor
Questions? Contact Grace at gellens@csbsju.edu or 320-363-2551
Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary
Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary receives three more grants from Lilly Endowment Inc. from 2022-2023 as part of the Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow and Thriving Congregations Initiatives.
Why does Lilly Endowment Inc. keep partnering with the School of the Theology and Seminary (SOT/Sem)? Because the School of Theology and Seminary is a prime choice given its historic strengths and incredible resources to explore emerging challenges facing pastoral leaders and church communities, and based on that exploration, qualified to propose new pathways for training leaders, ministers, and educators for the church.
Current Initiatives
The Lilly Endowment gave a $1 million grant in early 2022 for what we call “Conversatio: Creating a Culture of Encounter” to recruit new residential students to serve, in teams, in a local parish and other ministry settings as they progress through their degree programs to ground their studies in the practice and challenge of concrete ministry while being mentored by current ministers and pastors.
The Lilly Endowment gave a $5 million grant in late 2022 - early 2023 to launch what we call “Sustained Encuentro: Accompanying One Another on the Way” and explore how we could partner with institutions and organizations to deliver theological education more accessibly and in ways that are attuned to the emerging challenges experienced by pastoral leaders across the country. “Sustained Encuentro” will impact the larger Church by training and supporting nextgeneration pastoral leaders and ministers across the United States, especially in rural areas of need.
• It forges new partnerships with rural Catholic dioceses and religious institutions, making degree and certificate programs more easily accessible for lay ecclesial ministers and diaconal candidates.
• It delivers top-tier theological education to those who lack the opportunity.
• It prepares people to serve others and do it with a sense of faith and inclusion of the most vulnerable and marginalized.
• The encounter and exchange between Saint John’s and MACC charts new territory in graduate theological education.
• It provides a new model for a mutually edifying institutional relationship that feeds the distinctive strengths of multiple schools to achieve common goals.
Partnering with the Mexican American Catholic College (MACC) extends our mission and enriches our understanding of the church today. In addition, this partnership will help move us forward in our capacity to communicate with and accompany culturally diverse faith communities in our region and nation.
The MACC is a national leader in the Latinx ministry with significant insights into issues such as the radical demographic, cultural, and ecclesial shifts facing today’s church.
The partnership with MACC aims to deliver an intentionally intercultural education experience that prepares future Christian leaders, including growing Latinx communities, for the work of ministry and ecclesial leadership by combining the SOT/ Sem’s distinguished strength in ecclesiology, liturgy, sacramental theology, and practical theology with MACC’s historical legacy in bilingual education for pastoral and Hispanic ministry.
Most Recent Initiative: Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative
In addition to the above mentioned grants, Lilly Endowment gave Saint John’s University a $1.25 million grant in late 2023 to establish what we call the “Obsculta Preaching Initiative.” The aim of the initiative is to foster and support preaching that inspires, encourages, and guides people to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully. The “Obsculta Preaching Initiative” will be directed from Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary.
• It develops a theology and method of preaching rooted in Benedictine spirituality and practices.
• The School of Theology and Seminary will convene and harvest insights from diverse and effective preachers from across the country and initiate a series of preaching companion groups centered in the Benedictine practice of shared lectio.
• It expands the school’s curricular commitments to preaching the Word of God communally and effectively for the needs of today’s Christians.
“Many in today’s church hunger for good preaching – the kind that forms, inspires, and sends the People of God to build up the Kingdom of God. We also know that contemplation and communal reflection can help preachers to illumine the meaning and relevance of the Good News for others,” reports Dr. Shawn Colberg, Dean of the School of Theology and Seminary.
About Lilly Endowment Inc.
Lilly Endowment Inc. is a private foundation created in 1937 by J.K. Lilly Sr. and his sons Eli and J.K. Jr. through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, it is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff and location. In keeping with the founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education and religion and maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana. A principal aim of the Endowment’s religion grantmaking is to deepen and enrich the lives of Christians in the United States, primarily by seeking out and supporting efforts that enhance the vitality of congregations and strengthen the pastoral and lay leadership of Christian communities.The Endowment also seeks to improve public understanding of diverse religious traditions by supporting fair and accurate portrayals of the role religion plays in the United States and across the globe.
Grace Ellens, Director of Development 320-363-2551 or gellens@csbsju.edu
Transforming Lives | Changing the World
Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary
“With the world-class scholars at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary, the monks continue to fulfill their mission. To ensure a strong faculty, Saint John’s stands with all great universities in its reliance on endowed professorships. These professorships at the School of Theology and Seminary will guarantee that the sacred gift of our theological tradition passes onto succeeding generations.”
In his book, Jesus Through the Centuries, Jaroslav Pelikan, Sterling Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University explains that for over 1,500 years the mission of Benedictine monasticism is “not to value anything more highly than the love of Christ.” He concludes that Saint John’s has carried out this mission as “the principal agent for the renewal and the reform of the liturgy, of liturgical art, and of sacred music, with consequences that are evident, since the Second Vatican Council, in every Roman Catholic parish in the world” (p. 121).
Saint John’s is “the principal agent for the renewal and the reform of liturgy, of liturgical art, and of sacred music, with consequences that are evident, since the Second Vatican Council, in every Roman Catholic parish in the world.”
- Jaroslav Pelikan
THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING WORLD-CLASS FACULTY
From its founding over 165 years ago, education on behalf of the Church has been a primary ministry of Saint John’s. Its dedication to scholarship at that moment has today placed Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary (SOT/Sem) at the forefront of the renewal both leading to and stemming from Vatican II. Primary among its scholars were Benedictines Virgil Michel and Godfrey Diekmann, who set the standard for the practical application of theological scholarship across all church denominations in the latter half of the twentieth century. They renewed Church Tradition with a vibrancy that has always been part of Saint John’s vision, and we are dedicated to continuing their legacy.
A peritus or expert at the Second Vatican Council, Father Godfrey Diekmann was a member of the pontifical commission tasked with writing the Church’s liturgical constitution, Sacrosanctum Concilium. His expertise and expansive vision marked the research he produced and molded the students and seminarians he instructed. He once said, “Christianity, by the power of the Spirit within her, has both the power, and the obligation, of repeated rejuvenation”. Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary intends to continue petitioning the Spirit’s power so that we can help the Church fulfill her obligation to bring about such rejuvenation. Professorships are essential to carrying out this great task.
Professorships
Through endowed professorships, the great universities of the world have established their superior standing by ensuring that the interest, energy, and dynamism, which have produced distinguished records of teaching, research, and publication of previous generations of scholars carries over to the next. For Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary to maintain a superb faculty, it needs the ability to honor and retain its most esteemed professors while recruiting into its ranks others with exceptional records of achievement. We seek to secure for the remainder of the twenty-first century and beyond both our mission and vision of service to the Church, a service marked by excellence in scholarship and ministry. The Virgil Michel Ecumenical Chair has upheld this record for over forty years. We now look to establish one or more professorships to support the Collegeville Core* and further our commitment to excellence.
Research opportunities and professorships are ways colleges and universities recruit and retain key faculty, improve teaching, and raise the stature and visibility of the institution in the academic marketplace. Please help us provide the expertise and vision generated by the Spirit’s power so the Church may foster the rejuvenation mandated by the Second Vatican Council. Help inspire lives through your financial support of education in the Catholic Benedictine tradition of Saint John’s.
*The Collegeville Core describes the distinct learning dynamic our Master Degree programs grounded in the study of Scripture, Doctrine, Liturgy, History of Christian History, Monastic Studies, Spirituality. The process of integrating mind and heart requires listening carefully to the voices of those teachers and witnesses who have shaped the mission and vision of the Church through the centuries. The education of the whole person forms and emboldens students to become leaders in their Christian community.
Giving Opportunities
$30,000
Faculty Research Fund
Empower faculty to share their research through classroom instruction, Theology Days, books, and professional development.
$50,000
Seed an Endowed Professorship Fund
Inspire others to join in support of professors and attract world renowned teachers to educate our students.
$100,000
Endowed Faculty Research Fund
Establish a named research fund with a minimum gift of $100,000 paid over five years or through a planned gift.
$750,000
Partial Endowed Professorship Fund
Name an endowed fund that will sustain covering a professor’s salary or sabbatical for one semester.
$1,500,000
Fully Endowed Professorship Fund
Secure highly skilled faculty who regularly publish scholarship that advances theological knowledge and spiritual understanding. Such faculty give public presentations at conferences and events. They mentor students with attention to holistic growth and compassionate service toward the needy. This endowed professorship will fund for a faculty member on an annual basis in perpetuity. It is a powerful means for recruiting and sustaining a world class faculty.
1,000+ Learners
Faculty engage students and members of the greater community in theological education annually.
Transforming Lives | Changing the World
Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary
Recent Theology Day Topics:
• The Journey of Loss and Grief
• What Mass Means: How Sacrifice and Real Presence Are Life-Changing
• Immigration: Moving from Political Rhetoric to the Moral Discourse of Pope Francis.
• Being Church in a Secular Age
• Love and Tenderness in Action: The Vision of Pope Francis
• Global Warming: A Prophetic View of Collective Responsibility
I Support Theology Day because ...
• “Thank you for presenting new facts and new ideas that I was not aware of.”
• “I now have a better understanding of the overall [immigration] reform needed and am encouraged [the ideas presented] remain true to the gospel teachings.”
• “You are very knowledgeable and have simulated my desire to learn more.”
A Lifetime of Learning
The Graduate School of Theology and Seminary cultivates in its graduates a yearning for the wisdom of the Christian tradition that they may assist others to encounter Christ in meaningful ways. Theology Days offer the experience of this work outside the classroom. Professors share their research and experiences with members of the larger community in a safe environment where everyone is welcome to come learn, discuss, and discern the truth of their own theological views on long debated and hot topics.
To love Wisdom and Truth is to strive for communion with God. This daily pursuit is made clearer and brighter by the dialogue attained through Theology Days as we carry out our mission to provide soul-nurturing experiences integrated with Benedictine values inspiring a contemplative environment for personal growth.
These events are just a taste of how our alumni aid communities in pursuing truth and wisdom to live their daily lives and are made free through our annual fund.
The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
James
3:17
Theology Day
Pursuing Truth and Wisdom Together
The need for Annual Fund
We believe communities benefit from our professor’s research, our diverse student body and ecumenical dialogue with each other.
RIGOROUS. REVERED. RESPECTED. Graduate students at Saint John’s University Graduate School of Theology and Seminary study under some of the academia’s foremost theologians, earning advanced degrees that are highly regarded worldwide. Indeed, scholars from across the globe visit Collegeville to conduct research in the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library and study in Alcuin Library, home to the second largest collection of theological books in the United States. Within the Benedictine understanding, we become who we are in relationship with others. Here we encounter authenticity, unconditional love, mercy and forgiveness. Students and community members come to learn together in this rich and inspired context and go on to become better professors, priests, lay minsters, chaplains, deacons, spiritual directors, mentors, parents, and servants of Christ’s mission in many other ways.
For more information about how you can help support the annual fund at the Graduate School of Theology and Seminary and find out when the next Theology Day is near you, please go to www.collegevilleMN.com or contact:
Giving Opportunities
$2,500
Theology For A Day
Provide great theological engagement for a community for a single presentation.
$5,000
Theology Day Elsewhere
Spread the gospel by covering travel and advertising expenses for a year.
$300,000
Theology Day Endowed
Establish an endowed fund that ensures these presentations continue as a legacy for your family, friends, and community.
Any Amount
Annual Giving
Gifts to the Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary Annual Fund are used for financial aid, scholarships, programing and the important work of general operations in order to offer the excellent education and formation our students and communities need.
20-25
Number of Theology Days a year
1500
Average annual attendance of Theology Days
Theology Days are the result of faculty research. Research opportunities and professorships are ways colleges and universities recruit and retain key faculty, improve teaching, and raise the stature and visibility of the institution in the academic marketplace. Help inspire them through your financial support of Catholic Benedictine teaching.
Transforming Lives | Changing the World
Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary
Plan a legacy with a lasting impact today at no cost to you during your lifetime.
Benefits of Planned Giving
• Stewardship - It is for anyone concerned with the wise use of his or her personal resources.
• Flexibility - You can change your mind at any time.
• Versatility - You can structure the gift to leave a specific item or amount of money, make a gift contingent on certain events, or leave a percentage of your estate as a gift.
• Tax Relief - If your estate is subject to estate tax, your gift is entitled to an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift’s full value.
The Impact of Planned Giving
Contemporary Christians are yearning for encounters with Christ and are not satisfied with mere ideas about God or information about God’s Law. Across the globe there is a great need for church leaders who can articulate a dynamic vision of the faith grounded in the ancestral tradition. The Graduate School of Theology and Seminary cultivates in its graduates a yearning for the pursuit of truth the wisdom of the Christian tradition that they may assist others to encounter Christ in meaningful ways.
Much like our graduates, living God’s call to be a good steward and expanding God’s kingdom while caring for your family, you may not have immediate finances to help others you wish to help. Fear not, there is a way through planned giving.
It’s simple!
Share this sample bequest language for Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary with your estate planning attorney:
“I, [name], of [city, state ZIP], give, devise and bequeath to Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary [written amount or percentage of the estate or description of property] for its unrestricted use and purpose.”
All that we are, all that we have, comes from God . . .
Gifts you make after your lifetime
provision
insurance
The ability to make a significant gift in the future
Make a large gift at little or no cost to yourself by naming SOT/Sem as beneficiary
Avoid the twofold taxation on retirement plan assets Retirement plan assets
Gifts you make in partnership with us
Fixed supplement income for you and loved ones while living
The need for Planned Giving
Planned gifts are a great way to support something you love after a lifetime of caring for your loved ones.
Leave a legacy to educate theologically grounded and pastorally discerning leaders skilled at drawing forth the gifts of faith communities. Continue building and strengthening the church beyond your glorious departure from this earth for you loved ones and friends remaining.
Have an eternal impact though financial and estate planning today. The
Another source of income while investing in God’s work
Reduce estate taxes on assets passing to heirs
you might make now
Transforming Lives | Changing the World
Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary
“Because of the diverse student body, we are able to experience the global church right in our classroom. . . It’s a gift to be able to take what I am learning in my classes and take these valuable teachings around. . . with energy and passion. This wouldn’t be possible without help from generous donors.”
Jessie Bazan ‘17 Jessie came to us from Marquette University, Wisconsin. Jessie's leadership in the liturgy offered to students through her work in Campus Ministry is quite profound. Most recently, she explains the use of a liturgy to help those dealing with grief on a college campus. Insight to her work can be read in the article, “A space to heal" written by Jessie for the U.S. Catholic magazine (July 2016).
To read more of Jessie Bazan's story, visit www.collegvilleMN.com
“Our students are preparing to be leaders in communities of faith, to help people live lives of faithful discipleship in the modern world. At the heart of that work is good theology. I strive to help students learn from wise women and men, past and present, who have sought to make Christian faith meaningful in their lives and their worlds so our graduates might do the same today.”
- William J. Cahoy, Dean Emeritus Professor of Theology
Christian Communities Need Theologically Sound Leaders
Across the globe there is a great need for church leaders who can articulate a dynamic vision of the faith grounded in the ancestral tradition. Our Graduate School of Theology and Seminary cultivates in its students, faculty, and staff a yearning for the wisdom of the Christian tradition and pursuit of truth. Listening carefully to sacred texts, asking searching questions of what our ancestors in the faith understood about God, participating in the tried and true worship practices of the past two millennia, praying the psalms and reading the spiritual classics—these practices help us remain in conversation with God and position our students to be heralds of the Gospel and servant-leaders of Christian communities. Contemporary Christians are yearning for encounters with Christ and are not satisfied with mere ideas about God or information about God’s Law.
Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary educates and forms students for life as professionals, ministers and Christian disciples by integrating world class academics, Benedictine practices and a spiritual community in a contemplative environment.
The need for Scholarships
We believe our alumni do great things upon receipt of an education at our school. Graduates touch lives as a professor, a chaplain, a Senior National Associate for Roman Catholic Engagement, as the Director of Bread for the World, as a doctor, and even a producer, director, and host of Salt and Light Catholic Media. Take Gabriel Joseph Ssenkindo ‘99 (above) for example. Gabriel has taken on many different roles for Christ the King Priory in TororoUganda. He credits the SOT/Sem for educating and forming him to minister and serve anywhere and in any situation he encounters, includng COVID-19.
Finances should not cripple those in ministry from doing the wonderful work God has called them to do. Ministering families likely have one parent working full-time simply to provide medical insurance. When the bill comes for earning a master’s degree, where will financial support come from? Remove the simple obstacle and wondrous things can happen.
For more information about how you can help support scholarships at the Graduate School of Theology and Seminary and read more of Gabriel’s story and others, please go to www.collegevilleMN.com:
Giving Opportunities
$50,000
Endowed Scholarship Fund
Donors may established a named endowed scholarship fund with a minimum gift of $50,000 which can be paid over five years or through an estate gift.
$300,000
Full Tuition Endowed Scholarship Fund
Establish an endowed fund that will cover full tuition of one student each year.
Any Amount
Annual Giving
Gifts to the Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary Annual Fund are used for financial aid, scholarships, programing and the important work of general operations in order to offer the excellent education and formation our students and communities need.
$30,000 - $75,000
Annual Cost of Attendance Per Student (2 year M.A. vs. 3 year M.Div)
$11,200
Average Full-Time Student Scholarship Award
98 Lay and Ecclesial Student Population
Full-Time Lay Students Receiving Aid
Concern over financial aid is the number one reason top candidate students truly seeking God’s will do not attend Saint John’s or do not attend full-time. Knowing they are entering fields where salaries do not allow for financial freedom let alone support a family, students seek schools that will support them in all aspects of following God’s will. Help call forth their gifts through your financial support of a Catholic Benedictine education.
Community ofFellowsHopeSociety
Calling forth
the spiritual gifts of the faithful is the outcome when pursuing our Catholic mission to educate and form students for life, ministry, and service. At Saint John’s University Graduate School of Theology and Seminary (SOT/Sem) students are immersed in a Catholic Benedictine communal environment committed to ecclesial and liturgical renewal through integrated world class academics, Benedictine practices, and a spiritual community in a contemplative environment.
Christ inaugurated the church as a vehicle of hope, the voice of good news. Through centuries of change and against those in every age who would dismiss our hope as naïve, the church bears witness to the reality of hope in the presence of God. Historically the church has relied on priests and religious to bear this mission of hope, to articulate our faith, lead our liturgies, teach our children, minister to the poor and hurting. Today the church is experiencing major shifts in the shape and practice of this leadership.
Heralded by new voices of leadership, a new era is dawning in the church. The Spirit is at work among us calling the baptized to new forms of responsible, adult participation in the life and work of the church. Fittingly, we first experienced this in the liturgy. The baptized are called to participate in this holiest work of the church, not to observe it from the gallery. Now comes the call to participate in the ministry and leadership of the church. In response to this call, leaders are arising from among the laity to carry forward our mission of hope. While the absence of adequate numbers of ordained pastors and religious may have opened the door to this new era, we believe it is the work of the Spirit and a sign of the spiritual maturation of the church that many are stepping forward to walk through that door to leadership.
Likewise, we need your leadership. The Spirit calls some brothers and sisters in Christ to be ministers, others are called to be their support and encouragement. Saint John’s University Graduate School of Theology and Seminary provides the discernment, education, and formation students needthat they may obey the Spirit’s call as a light in this world. To do so, a Catholic Benedictine education requires financial support. Support we receive from our Community of Hope Fellows Society. Be a leader and become a member of the SOT/Sem Fellows Society in calling forth the gifts of the faithful.
Walter Reger
Annual gifts of $1,000 - $1,499
Godfrey Diekmann Annual gifts of $1,500 - $2,499
Martin Schirber Annual gifts of $2,500 - $4,999
Virgil Michel
Annual gifts of $5,000 - $9,999
Donald LeMay Annual gifts of $10,000 - $24,999
Don Talafous
Annual gifts of $25,000 and more
Members of Saint John’s Graduate School of Theology and Seminary Fellow Society express their commitment by providing annual leadership gifts of $1,000 or more to the school through a 5-year pledge. These gifts are a significant investment in the education and spiritual formation of students and the church they serve. We invite you to make a real difference by becoming a member of the Community of Hope Fellows Society.
SOT/Sem Faculty Making Distinct Contributions to Global Church
By Ben Caduf ’11 SOT/Sem
Over the last century, Saint John’s School of Teology and Seminary (SOT/Sem) has led the world church in such areas as liturgy, sacramental theology, ecumenism, rural ministry and engaging the Second Vatican Council.
It seeks to guide the local and wider church to engage the “signs of the times” with both theological insight and pastoral wisdom and so build up the Body of Christ.
Pope Francis continues to direct the church’s ministers and theologians to engage questions about how the People of God can create cultures of encounter, both within and beyond the church’s doors.
Faculty members at the SOT/Sem fnd themselves as vital partners in this work, cultivating close relationships with Vatican leadership and their counterparts across the globe.
Tree of its faculty are presently working with Vatican commissions in the areas of science (particularly artifcial intelligence), communications, ecumenical dialogue and the global Synod on Synodality.
•Dr. Noreen Herzfeld, the Nicolas and Bernice Reuter Professor of Science and Religion, joins a group of invited theologians, philosophers and ethicists who work with the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education to “discuss the current and future issues that the continued development of Arti fcial Intelligence poses for life and society.”
•Dr. Daniella Zsupan-Jerome, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Teology, has been collaborating for three years with the Vatican’s Dicastery of Communication as part of a 2021 group that published the document Towards Full Presence: A
Pastoral Ref ection on Engagement with Social Media.
•Finally, Dr. Kristin Colberg, Associate Professor of Teology, currently serves under two Vatican appointments. Working under the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, she is a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), which participates in ongoing dialogues between the Catholic Church and Anglican Communion. Under the Dicastery for the Synod, she serves on the Teological Commission on the Church’s global Synod on Synodality as the only theologian from the United Sates on the commission.
Few schools can boast having even one theologian serving in these capacities, yet Saint John’s community and its School of Teology and Seminary are blessed with three such leaders, each with her distinct theological contributions to share.
Beyond their noted distinct areas of scholarship, all three mentioned the importance of working with scholars and leaders of the global church.
Dr. Herzfeld's 2023 book Te Artifce of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic Age was enhanced through her collaboration with others working at the Vatican.
Dr. Zsupan-Jerome appreciated getting to know the “context” of the Vatican, gaining a greater understanding for how church teaching develops through her own contribution to the document Towards Full Presence.
Dr. Colberg is presently writing a book on the nature of synodality and its meaning for our understanding of the church and its mission. She stressed that her ecumenical work is “part of the heritage of Saint John’s Abbey. People
Seated: Dr. Noreen Herzfeld
Standing Left: Dr. Kristin Colberg
Standing Right: Dr. Daniella Zsupan-Jerome
all over the world know that Saint John’s has long been a leader in helping the church engage contemporary questions and dialogue with the modern world.”
With this heritage in mind, it is no wonder that these three accomplished scholars were chosen to serve in these ways.
Dr. Colberg mentioned that when people hear she is from Saint John’s, they frequently bring up the work here that helped lead to Vatican II, Te Saint John’s Bible, Virgil Michel and liturgical renewal, Godfrey Diekmann, etc.
Herzfeld’s, Zsupan-Jerome’s and Colberg’s gifts of service contribute not only to the worldwide church and its mission: Tey also bring the fruits of their collaborations, conversations and projects back to the classrooms and larger mission of the SOT/Sem and CSB and SJU.
Students have marvelous opportunities to learn f rst-hand from these theologians – gaining a sense of theology unfolding in real time around the world – who challenge them to translate their learning into new forms of ministry and leadership.
Faculty like Zsupan-Jerome, Colberg and Herzfeld keep Saint John’s and the SOT/Sem rooted in its heritage and at the forefront of theology’s most timely discussions and contributions.
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