Bethany’s Enduring Values

by Jonathan Graham

The world has changed and the Church has changed since Bethany’s founding in 1905. But 120 years later, the most important things are unchanged. The core values of the Seminary — spiritual empowerment, strong Biblical scholarship, and an education rooted in a practical experience — remain at the center of the Seminary’s mission. Bethany continues to provide a beacon of hope for the Church of the Brethren, demonstrating the continued relevance of the Brethren values and witness, even as the Seminary enrolls a majority of students from outside the denomination. This is no surprise, core values like community, service to others, and the quest for spiritual fulfillment are widely held by people from various backgrounds and traditions.

The core of the Seminary’s educational mission remains to nurture intellectual and spiritual growth in students, to challenge students to delve deeper into scripture and theology, and then to put their faith and education into practice. This was true for Bethany’s earliest students, who volunteered in hospitals and prisons. It is true, also, for current students, who work with at-risk schoolchildren and with adults in recovery from addiction. Today’s students share many qualities with alumni from previous generations, as they respond to a call from God to pursue lives of ministry and service. 

This article highlights how Bethany’s long-held values play out in our present context. These components of a Bethany education provide opportunities for transformation to individuals. For the denomination, these enduring values demonstrate how Brethren values remain vital and relevant where members of the Bethany family are called to minister and serve.

Spiritual Empowerment

Bethany students come from diverse backgrounds, and they choose to attend Seminary for a variety of reasons. Regardless of what brought them to Seminary, however, our students find plenty of opportunities to deepen their faith, reflect on their beliefs, and learn from those who have perspectives different from their own.

Most of our Master of Divinity students are already serving as pastors while completing their degrees. For these students, Seminary remains an opportunity to go deeper into questions of faith, to reflect on their own ministries, and to explore new ideas and approaches to pastoral leadership, guided by faculty. Because students find classmates at Bethany who are following a similar path, they often find conversation partners who encourage, challenge, and inspire them.

Bethany offers students ongoing opportunities for contemplation, exploration, reflection, expression, and worship as they continue on their faith journeys. At weekly chapel services, students are invited to serve as worship leaders, preach, or share musical gifts. In doing so, Bethany students often draw on various worship traditions, providing members of the Bethany community a variety of entry points to worship God and connect with one another. 

Even though many Bethany graduates pursue careers other than pastoral ministry, faith and spirituality are driving forces in their lives and careers. The knowledge, skills, and practices that they gain and polish at Bethany can have a strong influence on how they approach their lives after Seminary. In class and in community, students deepen their faith and foster strong relationships with peers, preparing themselves to minister and serve in a variety of contexts.

Strong Biblical Scholarship and Brethren Studies

The study of scripture has always — and will always — be a central focus of a Bethany education. In the 2008 book, Lines, Places, and Heritage: Essays Commemorating the 300th Anniversary of the Church of the Brethren, Dr. Dan Ulrich, Wieand Professor of New Testament Studies, notes that Brethren tradition, beginning with Alexander Mack, has seen the purpose of studying scripture is to understand and to follow Christ’s way of thinking and living. This approach remains prevalent at Bethany.

Ulrich points out that the study of scripture in Seminary classrooms requires close attention to a biblical text in its literary and historical context and it encourages students to engage in conversation with other careful readers, which can enhance everyone’s understanding of the text. By focusing on close reading of the text, Bethany classes attempt to focus students afresh on what God is saying as opposed to simply using a text to buttress a predetermined opinion. 

Bethany students also study the history of the Church of the Brethren, and even students who arrive at the Seminary unfamiliar with the denomination discover the denomination’s unique witness and testimony. As part of Flourish: A Campaign for Bethany Theological Seminary, the Seminary has raised funds to establish an endowed professorship in Brethren Studies, ensuring that Bethany will be able to provide students with in-depth study of Brethren history and practice in perpetuity. 

Taken together, the Seminary’s investment in robust Biblical Studies and Brethren Studies means that students will receive an education that is grounded in Anabaptist and Radical Pietist witness. This is particularly important as the demographics of the student body evolve. Most of Bethany’s students now come from faith backgrounds outside the denomination. This diversity is a strength, as it means conversations inside and outside the classroom — and even chapel services — are shaped by a variety of Christian traditions. But by embedding Brethren studies in the Bethany curriculum, students from diverse backgrounds gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the denomination.

Education Rooted in Practical Experience

Time and again, Bethany students have benefitted from important learning opportunities outside the classroom. Thanks to a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment, the Seminary offers Bethany BOLD, a service-based program for exceptional residential students. Participants put their education and faith into action by volunteering with local non-profit organizations, seeking solutions to issues like poverty and racism. BOLD (which stands for Build, Organize, Love, and Dare) also challenges students to engage more deeply with the local community by worshiping with a variety of local congregations, attending school board meetings, participating in training sessions with community leaders, and visiting local organizations that serve communities in need. The program also provides participants with formal opportunities to reflect on their experiences — individually, and as a group.

The Seminary is exploring ways of offering more BOLD-type experiences to students who are studying at a distance, but Bethany already offers opportunities for learning outside traditional classrooms. Travel courses, which take place during January and May intensive periods, take students to off-campus locations like Atlanta, Los Angeles, Iona, Scotland, or Greece so that they can learn through experience and delve deeply into subjects that connect with Biblical Studies, peace studies, worship, or theopoetics.

Bethany has also expanded partnerships with other institutions in order to provide students additional learning opportunities. In addition to the Seminary’s 30-year collaboration with Earlham School of Religion, Bethany now has a formal relationship with Eastern Mennonite University for students in the Master of Arts in Social and Spiritual Transformation to take courses in nonprofit management and Oasis Ministries to study spiritual direction. In recent years, the Seminary has offered courses in collaboration with New Brunswick Theological Seminary in New Jersey and Columbia Seminary in Georgia.

Ministry Formation placements have long provided practical experience to MDiv students. In response to the evolving needs and interests of students, Bethany has connected with new partners in order to provide students with options for these placements beyond the Church of the Brethren, including a student who gained a cross-cultural experience by completing an internship at Bethel AME Church in Richmond. Bethany is also working with a local hospital and a retirement community to create chaplaincy placements. Students at a distance receive support in finding placements tailored to their interests, including an MDiv student who interned in campus ministry at a college near her home.

Though much has changed, our core values endure. They are the foundation of Bethany’s success.

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This article originally published in the Spring/Summer 2025 issue of Wonder & Word.