LTSS主机Q&在北卡罗来纳教会聚会上

带着对未来的积极关注，牧师. Dr. 乍得轮辋, 南方路德神学院院长及院长, held a question-and-answer session with LTSS 校友 attending the 2024 North Carolina Synod Gathering on Lenoir-Rhyne University’s campus on May 31 to address questions about the seminary’s upcoming move to the LR campus in 2024.

The following questions and answers taken from the session have been edited for space and clarity.

问:神学院将建在哪里?空间将会是什么样子?

A: 作为一个教员, 全球网赌十大网站已到劳氏进行实地考察，以寻找可能的地点, and we're in the final stages of choosing which house on campus will house the LTSS faculty and 工作人员. 全球网赌十大网站将至少有一个房屋作为LTSS校园的实际存在. 在上课方面，全球网赌十大网站将利用校园内现有的教室空间. As our faculty talks continue about a balance between the seminary as an institution with its external accountabilities, 规划需求和文化传统, and our full as a graduate school of LR and all the vibrant aspects of campus life. 但, 是的, 将会有一座大楼, 一个有LR学生的标志的地方, 社区里的同事和邻居也可以来, 拿一杯咖啡，和那里的教职员工和学生坐下来.

Q: Some of us are remembering our difficult feelings surrounding the 2012 merger. 你能谈谈这一举措带来的节省吗, where they’re coming from and how this scenario is different from the 2012 merger?

A: I think everyone knows about the emotional and practical difficulties of the merger. It's been wonderful in this process to work directly with the LR administration and board of trustees because we all acknowledge those difficulties, we’re learning from those stories and are using this as an opportunity to heal memories with those who experienced it. We do that by being transparent in sharing news and inclusive of concerned and affected parties in the process. That’s the reason for today’s session and for future informational sessions we have scheduled, 保持对话的开放性.

至于财政问题, it’s helpful to think of this as simply a physical relocation to address the acute ongoing budgetary issues – which was the difficulty of duplicating student services on two campuses. While LTSS accounts for about 4 percent of LR’s  faculty and 2 percent of LR’s students, 全球网赌十大网站承担了近40%的赤字, 很大程度上是由于校园运营. This is simply not sustainable, and the reality is, it hasn’t been for many years. 搬迁在未来很好地解决了这个问题. 但LR和LTSS之间的财务结构没有变化. 事实上, since the merger there is no fiduciary entity called LTSS – the funds are all held by LR, 是专为LTSS而设, 并将在搬迁后继续保持不变. 所有用于神学院项目的有限资金——捐赠基金, 奖学金, all of the bequests and estate gifts – everything that has been in place to support the LTSS mission and programs since before the merger stays exactly the same.

问:神学院的学生可以在劳教学院选修额外的研究生课程吗, 比如市场营销或商业金融?

A: We have electives and concentrations already built into our curriculum – courses in sustainability, 咨询, 商业与领导力, 市场营销, accounting and similar interdisciplinary opportunities that address the practical aspects of ministry. 在校园里, 全球网赌十大网站将有更多的机会与其他学科的教师交流, and for seminary faculty to develop interdisciplinary seminars in addition to individual classes. For example, I think it would be amazing to think about Spanish language and Latine-focused courses. So, I think part of what we have to gain by being in Hickory is to offer more interdisciplinary opportunities to benefit our students and translate into more diverse skills for public ministry.

问:这对将来招收神学院学生意味着什么?

A: 在短期内, I think it’s important for all of us – including everyone in the room – to speak about the quality of the education and the formation that we received at LTSS. It’s reflected in the students you know, in each graduating class, each incoming class. 全球网赌十大网站就越能与教友和同事分享这些故事, 全球网赌十大网站可以缓解对正在发生的变化的短期紧张情绪.

从长远来看, I think we’ll be able to offer a lot of student services and experiences that will be wonderful – access to dining services, 文化艺术节目, 体育运动, the interdisciplinary access and life on a campus that’s always buzzing with activity. And I think the ecclesial community here in the immediate area will be a great gain for future students. 这些都是学生学习和体验的收获, which will build a compelling story about residential learning and the quality of the theological education and formation that LTSS offers. 通过分享这个故事, 全球网赌十大网站——教员, 工作人员, 校友, 教会成员-尽全球网赌十大网站的一份力量，在未来增加注册人数.

问:既然语境学习是形成过程中如此重要的一部分, we’ve had some conversations about what that could mean for congregations here in the Hickory area. Are there plans in place for addressing how congregations in Hickory and across North Carolina can be helpful and welcoming?

A: 这个过程还处于早期阶段. 贾斯汀镍, 谁领导实地教育经验并与堂区协调, has already reached out to some area congregations and leaders to begin the conversations and start working more closely with churches across the Synod. 就我个人而言, 因为我是北卡罗来纳教会的孩子, 感觉有点像回家的感觉, 所以我很高兴开始把全球网赌十大网站的教育嵌入到这些地方网络中. This will be a gain for the seminary, and for the communities and parishes in the area.

问:全球网赌十大网站已经谈到了此举带来的挑战. 到目前为止，有哪些快乐支撑着你度过了这个过程?

A: One of the joys is related to some of the colleagues that are in the room right now and the conversations we’ve had about how being on campus and in Hickory will look in practical terms.

The second thing that is really buoying me these days is the sense of story because our realities are created by the stories that we tell. 我在全球的事工中都看到了这一点. 我在每个地方都看到过. 毕竟, 作为基督徒, 全球网赌十大网站是有故事的人, 全球网赌十大网站每次聚会都以故事的形式重述好消息, 以建立生命与恩典的共同体. 全球网赌十大网站都在讲述LTSS是谁以及它将成为什么样子的故事. I think part of this narrative of pilgrimage is a question of what God is calling us toward. It allows us to focus on that mission and to reframe it so that we see this move in terms of hope, 可能性, ,成为, 圣灵在全球网赌十大网站里面的工作是什么呢.