Celebrations

Pittsburgh Seminary has so much to celebrate!

As you read this, the 2023-2024 academic year at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is well under way. This year marks the launch of our hybrid gathering model for our master’s programs. This means students, if they choose, are able to learn remotely but also to be formed through learning intensives in the PTS community, prioritizing accessibility and community formation. We are also nearing the formal launch of the PTS Neighborhood Collaborative, which brings together six of our historic programmatic areas to form and equip present and future Christian leaders for ministry alongside and outside of the degree programs. Included in the work of the Neighborhood Collaborative are plans to establish the Faith Forming Families Network (F3 Network). The F3 Network is an initiative that creates a hub of spiritual formation to shape faith-affirming families in our communities. The goal is to create the cornerstones of faith and moral formation that will “rebuild the neighborhood”—one of mutual care and flourishing as envisioned by our most notable alumnus the Rev. “Mister” Fred Rogers ’62. This project is being funded with a $1.25 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative.

Much of the talk around the Seminary lately has been around these two newsworthy items: the hybrid modality of learning and the launch of the PTS Neighborhood Collaborative. Yet, as you’ll find in this issue, there are so many wonderful stories of how God has been, and continues to be, at work through Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. These stories often garner less attention, but are no less important. Alumnae/i formed by the PTS community have gone on to provide significant leadership in the church, the academy, and the public square. Current students are engaging theologically and relationally both inside and outside of the classroom. Staff make us proud with their daily attentiveness to offering uniquely resourced and hospitality-driven education. And we are led by a faculty committed to rigorous scholarship that contributes to the life of the church and stewarding the academic and vocational needs of every student in a theologically diverse community.

All of our celebrations—great and small—are possible because God continues to provide abundant resources for our mission and ministry. Through grants, legacy gifts, and generosity from our broad network of individual donors and supportive partners, we are equipped with extensive resources to provide this innovative and diverse approach to theological education for today’s changing neighborhoods. And so we celebrate you as well, all of you who, in so many ways, make Pittsburgh Theological Seminary a unique place to be grounded in faith and formed in community. 

Gratefully,

The Rev. Dr. Asa J. Lee

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