To the Members of the Ecumenical Theological Seminary Community,
I hope that this summer has provided you with opportunities for rest and relaxation.  For many of us in ministry circles, the summer is a season of transition and change.  Following graduation in June, many of our alumni begin new chapters leading churches and chaplaincies, moving on to fulfill their calling and vocation.
I wanted to write to you about a number of important academic changes at Ecumenical Theological Seminary, with transitions on our faculty and a new track within our Doctor of Ministry program.
Departing ETS is Dr. Hannah Hofheinz, Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology and Church History.  Although she was with us for just one year following her doctoral work at Harvard and life in Turkey, Dr. Hofheinz made significant contributions to our seminary, and we will miss her dearly.  We wish Dr. Hofheinz well in her new work as Instructor in Religion at the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, one of the premier boarding schools in the United States.
Joining the Faculty at ETS is the Rev. Dr. Constance Banks Simon as Assistant Professor of Christian Education.  An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, she received her B.A. and M.Ed. from the University of Miami, the Ed.D. from Atlanta University, and the M.Div. from Ecumenical Theological Seminary.  Currently serving as the Minister of Education at Fellowship Chapel in Detroit, she brings a deep and broad background in education to ETS, having served for fifteen years directing educational programs with the Michigan Department of Corrections, twelve years with public schools in Georgia and Ohio, and as the Division Chairperson for the School of Education at Tougaloo College in Mississippi.  Welcome back to your alma mater, Professor Simon!
Elaine Elizabeth Belz is joining ETS as Adjunct Professor of 
Systematic  Theology.  A  graduate of the University of Michigan, Ms. Belz began her theological education at Ecumenical Theological Seminary before going on for her M.A. at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, where she currently is completing her Ph.D. in theological aesthetics.  An Episcopalian, she currently serves as Senior Warden at The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit.
In addition, I am pleased to announce that our upcoming August Emergent Week of the Doctor of Ministry program will include a new track within the D.Min. for Certified Professional Education and Leadership in Ministry, designed for people who have completed training or are training to be C.P.E. (Clinical Pastoral Education) Supervisors.  Ecumenical Theological Seminary is one of four seminaries in the United States that are partnering with the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) to provide this pairing of a doctoral degree program alongside their supervisory training.  This new track will be overseen by Dr. Urias Beverly, Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling and Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program.  Four new doctoral students from throughout the country are joining this program in August, and we already are accepting applications for more to join this D.Min. track in January 2018.
Thank you for your letters and emails and phone calls regarding ETS.  I am grateful to all of you who are active as alumni and friends, students and faculty of this outstanding theological school.  I look forward to providing you with more updates about the seminary as we prepare for our opening Convocation for the 2017-2018 academic year on Thursday, August 31st! We welcome you to join us, please RSVP at http://bit.ly/ETS40thConvocation.
May peace be with us all,
The Rev. Dr. Stephen Butler Murray
President and Professor of Systematic Theology and Preaching
Ecumenical Theological Seminary, Detroit, Michigan
smurray@etseminary.edu