[Church Divinity School of the Pacific] Laity and clergy from across The Episcopal Church converge on Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) in Berkeley, Calif., next month to study history, theology and Anglican tradition.

The numbers of CDSP students enrolled in summer programs as alternatives to traditional residential programs is growing. The seminary reports 29 students have signed up for classes at the Berkeley campus in July. Meanwhile, in Chicago, 25 CDSP doctoral students completed one week of concentrated theological education last week.

“Growth in our ‘low-residence’ programs demonstrates the attractiveness of these options for theological education among laity and clergy alike,” said CDSP President and Dean W. Mark Richardson.

“They are able to combine the richness of education in community life on campus with online and independent study at home,” he said.

At the CDSP campus in Berkeley, the addition of eight new students seeking a graduate Certificate of Anglican Studies increases to 14 the number of students enrolled in this low-residence option inaugurated last summer. In this program, students earn a graduate certificate by combining two two-week summer-school sessions at CDSP with a year or more of online classes.

“Judging by the positive response, we anticipate the program has a promising future,” said Richardson.

The graduate certificate students will be joined by continuing education students in a two-week “Anglican Immersion” on the CDSP campus July 15-27, when they will take courses in church history, leadership, liturgy, and theology taught by CDSP faculty.

CDSP also is offering a special four-day course in Berkeley, July 23-26, “Art and the Theological Imagination,” taught by four distinguished visiting professors: former Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev. Frank Griswold; Mark D. Jordan, Ph.D., Professor of Humanities at the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St.Louis; Kathryn Tanner, Ph.D., Professor of Systematic Theology at Yale Divinity School, and Jacqueline B. Winter, executive director and managing editor of the Anglican Theological Review. Registration for this one-week course is open until July 15, with no prerequisites.

The Chicago classes this month were part of a joint Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Development program of CDSP and Seabury-Western Theological Seminary. The 25 students in the three-year program, all clergy, spend one week each year in Chicago in June and one week in Berkeley each January. The rest of the year comprises individual study at home, and interacting on line with a faculty mentor.

CDSP also offers a D.Min. degree that requires one semester of full-time course work on campus, with the rest of the work in independent study at home.

For more information about CDSP options for theological education, go to www.cdsp.edu/prospective-students, or e-mail admissions@cdsp.edu.

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About Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP)
Founded in 1893, Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is a seminary of The Episcopal Church and a founding member of the Graduate Theological Union offering cross-registration opportunities at the University of California, Berkeley. Women and men come to its Berkeley, California, campus to prepare theologically and spiritually for leadership roles in the Church and community.

CDSP offers graduate degree programs and post-graduate courses and certificates for students pursuing avariety of ordained and lay careers. CDSP is committed to academic excellence and a strong worshiping community.

CDSP is located at 2451 Ridge Rd., Berkeley, Calif., just north of the University of California, Berkeley. For more information, visit www.cdsp.edu, or call 510-204-0700.