Identity and Vocation
In every generation God's spirit emboldens God's people to ask anew what we are called to in this time and this place. As Eastern Mennonite Seminary, we deepen our search with the following questions: What saving work is God initiating in the world that summons our wholehearted participation as a community of learning? How do our lives become an offering of praise and gratitude for God's initiative toward us in Jesus Christ? How do we make known the goodness of God's salvation in a world burdened by economic, social, environmental and personal degradation? Amidst cultures flooded by fear, what does it mean to call people to devote their primary allegiance to the reign of God that transcends national boundaries, as revealed to us in Jesus Christ?
As a seminary embedded within a small Christian liberal arts university we also ask, "Who are we?" What is our identity as a learning community within this network of learning communities? What is our particular vocation in the broader university, within the Mennonite communities of the eastern United States, and among the various other denominations seeking to serve God's mission in our region?
As students and minister within communities of worship and mission beyond as well as within EMU, we cultivate perspectives that are life-giving and thought-provoking as we study and serve. We seek to model a way of being in the world that show forth God's shalom. We desire that our life and work will be noteworthy because we are Christians who covenant together to proclaim that God is love, to live justly, to love our enemies, to tell the truth, and to care for creation.
The prophet Jeremiah speaks of those who trust in the Lord: "They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out it roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit." (17:8)
Engagement in God's mission is core to our vocation as a seminary. Our capacity to engage and be fruitful will grow as we attend to our root system. The roots nurture our ability to interpret the Bible, to discern our context, and to grow as Christian disciples. They give us confidence to know that Jesus' promise is for us: "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." (John 21:21)
In our time the Anabaptist stream of convictions and practices has branched out in many directions. We engage core elements of this history, gladly sharing it with Christian siblings with other historical roots. The Anabaptist commitment to following Christ in life provides us with a continual source of renewal. We also give thanks to God that as our roots intertwine with those of other believers, our vitality as a seminary now experiences the dynamic generativity visible in the tree's broad branches and green vibrant leaves. We commit to producing fruitful and critically engaged leaders in the churches and the worldEastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) is the graduate theological school of Eastern Mennonite University (EMU). Beginning in 1964, EMS emerged when professors in Bible and theology recognized a need to train Anabaptist Mennonite pastors and leaders beyond undergraduate studies. For many decades, EMS specialized in this theological training for pastoral ministry. But unlike the traditional model of freestanding seminaries, EMS’s unique position as a seminary embedded within a broader university has shaped EMS as a theological school enriched by the dynamic intellectual life of other disciplines and a broader learning community.
Since 1964, EMS has developed a seminary program that recognizes the value of holistic theological education. 25 years ago, EMS was ahead of its time in placing spiritual formation at the core of the seminary curriculum. EMS continues to educate students in a way that integrates personal, spiritual, intellectual and academic formation. As a result, EMS graduates are known as leaders with the internal resources to remain compassionately connected to God, self and others, and the skills to navigate complex leadership challenges with integrity and intention.
Biblical, historical, spiritual and theological reflection undergird EMS’s enduring commitment to seeking peace and justice in all spheres of life. EMS students are formed with the awareness and skills to pursue peace and justice on personal, social and systemic levels. Students at EMS engage scripture for critical academic study and personal spiritual formation, history with the interpretive commitment to peace and justice, theology as a communal endeavor that is living and dynamic, and religious practices as embedded in and accountable to particular communal contexts.
EMS has expanded as a robust ecumenical community that offers pastoral training and much more. EMS graduates are also chaplains, spiritual directors, professors and teachers, nonprofit CEOs, ecclesial administrators, peacebuilders, and community organizers. Slightly less than half of the EMS student body identifies as Mennonite, and approximately half of the full-time faculty are Mennonite. As an official seminary of Mennonite Church USA, EMS is accountable to Mennonite Education Agency and guided by the denomination’s Renewed Commitments, the denominational Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, and the Shared Convictions of Mennonite World Conference. Ultimately, EMS seeks to be faithful to the life, teachings and spiritual presence of Jesus and his call to justice, righteousness and liberation for all to live an abundant life.
Faith traditions represented among EMS students, faculty and staff include Baptist, Brethren, Episcopal, international ecclesial bodies, Jewish, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, nondenominational, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, and United Church of Christ. EMS has a significant UMC population, and is approved by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry to train candidates for ordination in the United Methodist Church.
EMS is distinctive in its location within a historic peace church and a world-renowned peace and justice university. Seminarians are alumni of the same university as such notable graduates as Leymah Gbowee, recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2022, EMS graduates had the honor of hearing Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and author of Just Mercy, give the commencement address at their graduation.