An email I sent to CJ and Ed Aponte this morning.... Dear Dr. Johnston and Dean Aponte, I am writing to inform you that I have arranged a guided research/independent study with Ron Allen which will satisfy my Introduction to Preaching requirement and complete my Master of Divinity at CTS. Yesterday I submitted my graduation application to the registrar, and I am no longer pursuing participation in the Discipleship Project beyond this semester. I am disappointed, even somewhat upset, that due to serious misunderstandings and miscommunications that nI will not have completed Clinical Pastoral Education as part of my M.Div and will have to pursue that independently post-graduation to fulfill the requirements for ordination. I am disappointed that our cohort seems to be being dismantled prematurely when we, students and faculty mentors alike, understood TDP to be a unique three-year, peer learning experience. Part of our experience as an intentional community has involved significant difficulties; we are a group with strong personalities with a rich diversity of life experiences, and because of that we have not always gotten along (to put it mildly). Having gone through these conflicts though, we were set up to see how a group of Christians who have had serious disagreements with one another might reconcile and move forward. I am also disappointed with the unwarranted level of stress and animosity that has risen among those of us who were current students when admitted to the Discipleship Project. I will sadly be graduating with a bitter taste in my mouth about a theological institution which has formed and transformed me, and prepared me for ministry. Despite my disappointment though, I am grateful for having had the opportunity to be part of this experiment in theological education. When I came to CTS in January 2011, I never imagined I would be invited to participate in something like the Discipleship Project. I give thanks to God for the relationships I have cultivated and experiences I have had through being part of the first cohort of TDP. And I give thanks to both of you for your leadership at CTS during these changing and difficult times. Gods Blessings, Michael Dodds
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 12:35:14 +0000
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