St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary

With an Abby Arboretum of more than 2,500 acres, nature center with community programs, and undergraduate Environmental Studies department, St. John’s is a center for environmental studies in Minnesota. With this grant, they are developing a structure within St. john’s School of Theology to incorporate a Benedictine ecotheology within the graduate curriculum in an ongoing fashion and establish a graduate school presence within a new Center for the Environment.

They see this grant as a means toward developing a comprehensive vision that would 1) fund a workshop for faculty and trustees to shape a chair in Benedictine Ecotheology that will be housed within the School of Theology 2) provide funds to aid in the revision of three courses: History of Christianity II (a core course taken by all students), A Benedictine Ecotheology (a spirituality and moral theology elective), and Rural Ministry (a pastoral ministry elective), 3) provide funds for books on climate change and ecotheology for a dedicated ecotheology library within the School of Theology, and 4) join with the Center for the Environment in promoting a speaker series by funding two public campus-wide events.