Fall 2020 Announcement

Dear Students of the School of Theology and Seminary,

          We miss having you here on campus with us.  Learning within community is an essential component of the pursuit of wisdom.  The quiet times of dialogue with God and with the voices of our ancestors of the faith embedded in the texts of the tradition need to be complemented by our interactions with one another.  We have experienced how Zoom meetings can facilitate these face-to-face meetings.  Nevertheless, we recognize that such virtual meetings are stronger if we have previously had actual face-to-face conversations with our dialogue partners.  We have become more skilled in the use of electronic media to extend the walls of our community but recognize that such efforts build upon our residential learning community.  Therefore, we are planning to welcome you back to campus in late August for actual face-to-face instruction.

          As part of Saint John’s University, the SOT/Sem will be following the directives of the University on how to safely re-open the campus (https://www.csbsju.edu/covid-19/campus-communications/052620-fall-update).  The University undergraduate class schedule will likely see new schedule formats.  Our graduate class schedule will see SOME adjustments, but we plan to have our full semester run of courses.  We will have classes in once -a -week and twice- a -week formats, as well as weekend and asynchronous web offerings.  We may need to adjust times of some course meetings.  We will communicate our class schedule to you as soon as possible, noting any significant changes.  We are committed to offering our full run of courses and working with you to timely completion of your degree work.

          To all returning and new students of the SOT/Sem, we are excited to welcome you back to classes in August.  For you who will be taking classes online, we anticipate that the quality of these classes will only have increased through our immersion in online learning this spring and summer.  Please let us know of ways that we might assist you in making this return to classes either on-campus or online possible.

          Jesus consoled his disciples at the Last Supper with the message that it was important for him to go away that the Holy Spirit might come to guide them into all truth.  May this Holy Spirit be with you and strengthen you in the days and weeks ahead.

In Christ’s peace,

Fr. Dale Launderville, OSB

Dean, Saint John’s U. School of Theology and Seminary