Pittsburgh Theological Seminary NAMES DIRECTOR OF FAITH FORMING FAMILIES NETWORK
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary has named Lynne M. Bassett as the inaugural director of the Faith Forming Families Network. She will begin at the Seminary Feb. 5.
“Lynne is a collaborator with experience in community organizing, project management, grant administration, and program development. These skills make her the ideal candidate to launch the Seminary’s Faith Forming Families Network,” said the Rev. Erin Davenport ’05, vice president for strategic initiatives and continuing education.
Currently Bassett works at Pittsburgh Mercy, a person-centered, population-based, trauma-informed community health and wellness provider, as senior manager: mental health rehabilitation and justice-informed services. She previously served there as program administrator/supervisor of children’s outpatient services. As a judicial programs analyst with the Office of Children and Families in the Courts (Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, Harrisburg) for a decade, Bassett provided direct support for Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas judges and county children and youth administrators to minimize the length of time children are in foster care and enhance the Dependency System. Her other work experience includes KidsVoice, and Metamorphosis Foster Homes, Family Counseling and Advocacy Services, and The Open Door Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center.
“I am honored to be the first director of the F3 Network. Having the opportunity to use my education and experience in convening community groups and collaborating on family-centered, community-based solutions to support the spiritual and moral development of children is a calling very close to my heart. After years of working with families and community partners involved in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health systems, I am excited to work in the spirit of the Rev. Fred Rogers, to ‘build a neighborhood’ around parents, caregivers, and children. In today’s complicated world, this is important and meaningful work,” said Bassett.
Bassett is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh (M.S., applied development psychology) and Indiana University of Pennsylvania (B.A., psychology).
The Seminary’s Faith Forming Families Network reconnects families and communities as partners in the spiritual formation and moral development of young people, and empowers them to define the problems they face for themselves and to discern solutions they will implement together. The F3 Network is part of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Neighborhood Collaborative, which includes the Center for Adaptive and Innovative Ministry, Continuing Education, Faith Forming Families Network, Kelso Museum of Near Eastern Archaeology, Metro-Urban Institute, Miller Summer Youth Institute, and World Mission Initiative. Together, in their respective and collective work, these programs foster vocational discernment, co-learning, and transformative action for the common good by connecting diverse neighbors locally and globally.