The Boston Theological Institute
www.bostontheological.org
Introduction to the Consortium
The Boston Theological Institute (BTI), an association
of nine theological schools in the Greater Boston area, is
one of the oldest and largest theological consortia in the
United States. It is the only one to include as constitutive
members schools representing the full range of Christian churches
and confessions. Additionally, persons representing other
religious traditions are present in many of our schools, particularly
through member university departments of religion.
Through its history, the BTI has grown to meet the demands
of a changing theological climate. The member schools’ students,
faculty, alumni and friends have been proud participants in
a collaborative effort that has helped to achieve collectively
what the schools could not have accomplished individually.
This collaboration is recognized through three certificates
of study, in International Mission and Ecumenism, in Science
and Religion (through four tracks), and in Youth and Young
Adult Ministry Studies.
The BTI is known for its faculty and resources. The association
of the nine schools’ theological libraries together contains
a total of over one and one-half million volumes. Cross-registration
widens the opportunity for more than 3,000 students to enjoy
an unparalleled number of possibilities in academic courses
and programming. The BTI supports ecumenical events in areas
of concern to ministers, academics, and theologians through
its programs and special events.
Work of the Consortium
BTI activity takes place under three headings: administrative
operations, program facilitation, and academic development.
The purpose of this collaboration varies with the participants
involved. However, the general mission of the BTI is to pursue
the truth in love, advance the unity of the Church, and bring
closer the healing of broken humanity. (See the BTI Mission
Statement.) Such activity includes the following:
1) Administrative Operations: cross-registration, faculty
ecumenical exchange, library development, cooperation in field
education, BTI Newsletter, Bulletin of the Boston Theological
Institute, administrative working groups, consortium-wide
calendar and web services, and other purblications;
2) Program Facilitation: faculty and/or student programs in
International Mission and Ecumenism, Inter-Religious Dialogue,
Science and Religion, Religion and Ecology, Liturgy, Worship
and the Arts, Restorative Justice, Spiritual Formation, and
Youth and Young Adult Ministry Studies; and
3) Academic Development: program in Comparative Christianity,
facilitation in module and course development in Religion
and Science, faculty colloquia in numerous theological disciplines,
Certificates in International Mission and Ecumenism, in Science
and Religion, and in Youth and Young Adult Ministry Studies.
BTI Faculty Committees provide special programming that often
offers opportunities for special student involvement. This
is particularly true in the following three areas.
International Mission and Ecumenism
The Trustees of the BTI have promoted a program in Focused
Ecumenical Theological Education (FETE) for the past several
years. This program, operated through the International Mission
and Ecumenism faculty committee and out of the Central Office
of the BTI, has developed a four-year cycle of courses entitled
“Comparative Christianity.” This rota includes a course offered
in the spring term at a BTI school that focuses upon a given
Christian tradition, its development and pattern of ecumenical
relations. The course is followed by a workshop-seminar (late
May-early June) in an area of the world that is central to
the consciousness of the tradition under study. Students are
invited to participate in this program by contacting the Central
Office.
To date, courses have been organized around the following
themes:
1991-92 Protestantism and the Ecumenical Movement (Switzerland)
1992-93 Roman Catholicism and Ecumenism (Vatican, Italy and
Switzerland)
1993-94 Orthodoxy and the Ecumenical Movement (Greece and
Turkey)
1994-95 Ecclesiology from a Non-Western Perspective (India)
1995-96 The Struggle for Protestant Identity (Switzerland,
Germany, and Czech Republic)
1996-97 Reconciliation: Catholic and Ecumenical Witness (Northern
Ireland)
1997-98 Reconciliation: Orthodox and Ecumenical Witness (Fr.
Yugoslavia and Greece)
1998-99 Immigration, Refugees and the Church (South Africa
and Ghana)
1999-2000 Identity, Instrumentality, and Inter-Faith Relations
(Israel, Jerusalem, the West Bank and Ghaza)
2000-2001 Culture, Identity and Religion in the Caribbean
(Jamaica and Cuba)
2001-2002 Issues of History, Religion and Identity in Russian
Orthodoxy (Russia)
2002-2003 Restorative Justice for Community (U.S.A.)
2003-2004 Building Cultures of Reconciliation (Egypt, Israel
and Palestine)
Science and Religion
In addition to FETE, the Science and Religion program of the
BTI, currently known as Interfase, promotes the interdisciplinary
dialogue among the scientific disciplines, including that
of theology, within the seminaries, schools of theology, universities,
and local congregations of faith. Interfase includes a special
relationship with the BTI Program in Religion and Ecology.
Several courses offered in the schools in the fields of ethics,
theology, and environmental science are related to this program.
Interfase and the BTI together sponsor yearly colloquia and
other events, have published a periodic journal and other
material. The Director of Interfase is currently the administrator
of the BTI certificate in Science and Religion.
Youth and Young Adult Ministry Studies
The Trustees of the BTI have also approved the creation of
a program with certificate in Youth and Young Adult Ministry
Studies. This program is based on the idea that recent research
has suggested that many younger Christians are identifying
their call to ministry with youth and young adults in varied
settings: in college chaplaincies; in restorative justice
programs working with juvenile offenders, youth-at-risk, or
homeless youth; in schools; in the international mission field;
and in church-based religious education, camping, and outdoor
ministries. Through colloquia and other events the BTI schools
are becoming, collectively, more conscious of this vital area
of service in the church.
Whether one takes advantage of the program in Comparative
Christianity, participates in the conferences and workshops
of Interfase/Program in Science and Religion or avails oneself
of the many opportunities in the member schools, such as the
new Program in Youth and Young Adult Ministry Studies, the
existence of the BTI makes it possible for a student enrolled
in any one school to acquire an association with all. Each
school offers its own distinctive perspectives and, through
interaction with others, strengthens its own vitality and
contributes to the ecumenical breadth of all. Through the
BTI an atmosphere for dialogue, envisioning and experimentation
in theological inquiry and the preparation for ministry is
created which preserves the diversity present in our schools,
yet assists each in the common quest for the “good” seminary
education appropriate to the challenges that confront us in
the twenty-first century.
How to Use BTI Resources
A. Cross Registration
1. Decide which course(s) you wish to take within the possibilities
open to you in your program and at your school. By using the
index of this catalogue you can easily identify the course,
its faculty and school. Each BTI school has its own internal
schedule so be sure to check when a course begins and ends
by referring to the inside front cover of this booklet.
2. Some courses have limits on the number of internal or external
registrants permitted. Be sure to consult with the faculty
instructor of the course to see if it is open to you.
3. Go to your home school registrar to determine eligibility
and to get the proper form for a course to be taken at a host
school.
4. Bring the form to the host school’s registrar to be completed
and signed.
5. Return the completed form to your home school’s registrar.
B. Library
1. See the Library section of this catalogue. Additional information
about each of the BTI libraries is available in the BTI library
brochure, A User’s Guide, available online, in each library
or through the BTI Central Office.
2. Libraries that are on-line are accessible from each of
the BTI libraries.
3. The library brochure gives details about the different
borrowing privileges at each library. In general BTI students
and faculty are encouraged to use their home school’s facilities
before accessing the resources of other member schools’ libraries.
4. When borrowing books you will need identification that
you are a current BTI student.
C. Programs and Other Opportunities
1. Certificate Programs. Students, visiting scholars, and
church workers have the opportunity of earning certificates
of study through the BTI. A Certificate in International Mission
and Ecumenism is offered in recognition of work done in member
schools. A Certificate in Science and Religion is offered
with four tracks: 1 Religion and Natural Science, 2 Religion
and Bioethics, 3 Religion and Ecology and 4 Religion and Cognitive
Science. A third Certificate in Youth and Young Adult Ministry
is given through the BTI Religious Education Studies Advisory
Committee (RESAC), as a supplement to a degree program within
a BTI school, or as a continuing education program. See the
pages in this publication on certificates for additional information
about how to pursue these opportunities.
2. Other Opportunities. Many other academic and special opportunities
are available to members of the consortium through the BTI,
its member schools, or in the Boston area generally. See the
biannual Bulletin of the Boston Theological Institute for
an overview of the school activities and new faculty publications,
or see the BTI Newsletter, distributed weekly to each school
during the academic year, for current information.
Rodney L. Petersen, Ph.D.
Executive Director
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