50

For almost 40 years the GTU has been a significant part of my life, a part that underscored the theological notion of vocation that each of us is called in a particular way by God to enter a path that will enable us to grow and to use our skills and potentials to make a significant contribution to the world, along a path that will lead us to our own fulfillment.

This idea of vocation or “call” has shaped my own personal history, especially where the GTU is concerned. The GTU has called me three times, the first in 1975. As I searched for graduate programs in theology, I heard a buzz...

By any standard, the Graduate Theological Union is unique. Envisioned as a grand experiment of cooperation and collaboration, the consortium overcame the early struggles of pioneering new ground in graduate theological education.

Berkeley was fertile soil for the germination of such an effort. By the 1950s, six seminaries representing a variety of Protestant traditions were located in the city – Berkeley Baptist Theological Seminary (later American Baptist Seminary of the West), Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Pacific Lutheran...

The GTU’s Golden Anniversary was capped by a gala at the St. Regis in San Francisco on February 28. The event brought together the faculties and administration of the member schools, in addition to alumni, students, and supporters from the community, to celebrate the uniqueness of the GTU — honoring our history and looking toward our future.

In addition to remarks by President James Donahue and Board of Trustees Chair Harold T. “Hal” Leach, Jr., invocations were given by Bishop Emeritus John...

In the April 1, 2013 issue of The Catholic Voice, Bishop Emeritus John S. Cummins shared the remarks he gave as an invocation at the GTU's 50th Anniversary Gala. Below is a brief excerpt and link to the full remarks.

My thoughts on this Golden Jubilee have drifted to time and tide. St. Paul spoke of "the acceptable time." William Shakespeare placed on the lips of Brutus, "There is a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood leads in to fortune." Dr. Martin Marty of our day — Chicagoan, Lutheran, professor, columnist — has added specificity: "Not...

Three UC Berkeley undergraduate Geography students, Vanessa Fernandez, Robert Lee and Alyssa Kies, began a blog (http://holyhillberkeley.wordpress.com/) in November about the Northside of Berkeley campus affectionately known as Holy Hill. The blog is a course project for Urban Geography of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Read about the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library and the GTU Master Plan in addition to individual schools. Much of the current information has been gleaned from books, newspaper articles, and online sources.

If anyone is interested in contributing to the project (e.g...

Though much of our religious traditions are recorded and communicated through text or action, art has been a long-standing avenue for expression and instruction of things concerning the soul.

The Flora Lamson Hewlett Library is hosting a special exhibit in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the GTU. Imaging Religion, which opens October 1 and runs through January 31, 2013, will feature visual and textual expressions characterizing beliefs from various religious traditions. Included in the display are Orthodox icons; Catholic paintings, prints, and vestments; Protestant prints...