Lots of Feels as EDS’ St. John’s Chapel is Deconsecrated Today

The Philadelphia Divinity School and the Episcopal Theological School merged in the 1970s to become the Episcopal Divinity School. EDS had diverse faculty (Episcopal, Presbyterian, Jewish, Asian, African American, Caucasian, men, women, gays, lesbians, lay, ordained) and a diverse student body (Episcopal, Catholic, Lutheran, UCC, Unitarian Universalist, MCC, Seventh Day Adventist, Baptist, Anglicans from Kenya, Uganda, Jamaica, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, etc), and it was part of a world class consortium (The Boston Theological Institute) which included Boston College, Boston University, and Harvard.

EDS was a special place dedicated to anti-oppression work, to an inclusive gospel, to sharing the all-inclusive and unconditional love of God.

And, more than a school, it was a community. One never really was graduated from EDS. One was degreed, but never felt the need to “leave.” One to three times a year, every year since I earned my DMin there, I would go “home” to EDS.

EDS lives on in the ministry of the church I pastor and in parishes, Cathedrals, Chaplaincies, service organizations, the diaconate, classrooms, and hearts all over the world.

Last year, EDS was closed down (unnecessarily, in my view, and in ways that many of us resisted). EDS’ name and money still exist as EDS@Union (basically the Anglican house of studies at Union Theological Seminary in NYC, my other beloved theological alma mater). If the merger had been done more transparently and honestly (by EDS trustees), and if EDS could have retained a degree program (MATS or DMin maybe), I think it would have been something I could have celebrated (two great schools joining forces), and/or if they had kept one or two EDS faculty (they sacked them all) that would have been at least kind (and bridge building). Instead, the merger feels more like loss and has caused grief for many.

These thoughts are with me as St John’s Chapel on the campus of what was EDS in Cambridge, MA is deconsecrated today. God bless the EDS diaspora and the EDS energy that still flows through so many ministries.

Sunshine Cathedral: More than an MCC

     Sometimes people will refer to Sunshine Cathedral as “MCC” (which stands for Metropolitan Community Church). But Sunshine Cathedral is so much more than a Metropolitan Community Church!

     Sunshine Cathedral is currently affiliated with Metropolitan Community Churches (a denomination founded by and for LBGT people in 1968), and  is also affiliated with the Divine Science Federation International (Divine Science is the oldest of the New Thought schools of thought; New Thought emphasizes the power of positive thinking, the unity of all life, and the omnipresence of God).

     Additionally, Sunshine Cathedral is an affiliate of the Global Justice Institute, an independent ministry housed at MCC New York that focuses on social justice throughout the world. Sunshine Cathedral also participates in the pension plan of the American Baptist Churches USA (which is also used by the International Council of Community Churches), and Sunshine Cathedral is in the process of applying for affiliation with the Progressive Christian Alliance (and other ecumenical organizations). In the past, Sunshine Cathedral has held affiliations with The Center for Progressive Christianity and the International New Thought Alliance.

     Sunshine Cathedral’s staff ministers hold licenses and ordinations from MCC, Interfaith organizations, Divine Science, the Assemblies of God, a Baptist denomination, and Centers for Spiritual Living. The Samaritan Institute at Sunshine Cathedral is the religious education program for the Sunshine Cathedral, the diaconal training school for Sunshine Cathedral members who wish to pursue ministry as a deacon, and it is also a ministerial training school for the Divine Science Federation International!

     Sunshine Cathedral members and friends come from New Thought, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Unitarian Universalist, Jewish, Muslim, and Humanistic traditions. So, while Sunshine Cathedral began as a Metropolitan Community Church, it has become so much more! Please do not refer to your deeply ecumenical church as just “MCC”…we are Sunshine Cathedral, a different kind of church!