EDEN PROFESSOR CHOSEN TO HEAD
NATION’S LEADING ECUMENICAL ORGANIZATION

ST. LOUIS—November 8, 2007—Michael Kinnamon, Allen and Dottie Miller Professor of Mission and Peace at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, has been named the new General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, also known as the NCC. Upon ratification of the selection in November, Dr. Kinnamon became the successor to Bob Edgar, who left the NCC in September to become President and CEO of Common Cause.

“Professor Kinnamon’s selection for this position of leadership is a remarkably high achievement and one that affirms his gifts for ecumenical leadership and his calling as a servant of the church as it participates in the mission of God in the world,” said David Greenhaw, President and Professor of Preaching and Worship at Eden. “While this announcement brings with it the sadness of saying goodbye to a wonderful scholar and teacher on the Eden Faculty, it also bears the affirmation that the resources of Eden’s faculty and broader mission are of deep and abiding relevance to the life of the church in the world.”

Michael Kinnamon is widely regarded as a leading voice in the ecumenical movement both nationally and in the global church, and within his denomination, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He joined the Eden Faculty in 2000, becoming the first occupant of the Allen and Dottie Miller Professor of Mission and Peace chair. In that role, he embodied the Eden tradition of commitment to the ecumenical church and the struggle for world peace by helping to involve the Seminary in local interfaith and social justice activities. At Eden, Professor Kinnamon has taught courses in the global and local mission of the church, the history and theology of the ecumenical movement, peace and justice, interfaith dialogue, modern theology and literature from around the world. He provided leadership and direction to various interfaith efforts and organizations in the greater St. Louis area.

“There couldn’t be any better preparation for this kind of ecumenical leadership than teaching,” said Dr. Kinnamon. “The opportunity Eden afforded to be with students from all different backgrounds and to look for consensus in midst of diversity is a tremendous discipline and joy. I love to teach, and there is no better place to do that than Eden. The NCC is also a teaching position—in many ways, while the venue will change, I will be engaging in the same ministry, different venue. Much of my preparation for this position has been in the classroom.”

“The impact of Professor Kinnamon on Eden’s academic and common life cannot be overstated,” said Deborah Krause, Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament. “In his scholarship and teaching, he has offered gifts of intellectual rigor in discerning and defining the mission of the church in the world. He has brought to Eden’s curricula a vital commitment to living out our calling to seek unity among people in the Christian faith and fellowship with peoples of all faiths. Through his own witness, he has strengthened our connections with ecumenical and interfaith partners for peace and justice throughout the St. Louis community and throughout the world. His presence at Eden has raised the profile of this school and its mission throughout the church at local, national, and international levels. We will miss Professor Kinnamon’s presence in the Eden community tremendously, but there is no doubt that his influence on Eden’s mission and programs will endure for generations to come.”

The NCC was founded in 1950; its 35 member faith groups — from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Quaker, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches — include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation. Its contributions to social justice have been a hallmark from its earliest days to the present: A social justice creed created in 1908 by the NCC’s predecessor organization, the Federal Council of Churches, formed the basis of the New Deal legislation of the 1930s; last year, the NCC was instrumental in the passage of minimum wage legislation nationally and in 11 states. But beyond its social justice commitments, Dr. Kinnamon will be emphasizing the NCC’s role as a council of churches.

“I am committed to continuing the social witness of the council, but also to the faith and order emphasis,” said Dr. Kinnamon. “What I want to stress is that a council of churches isn’t just an agency that does things for churches; it’s a community of the churches themselves. Because of their life together, they can’t be as they once were—they must engage each other in depth and with accountability. Part of my role will be to encourage that the member churches begin to pray for one another and know one another at a deeper level than simply across a meeting table or picket line.”

Dr. Kinnamon has served as an Executive Secretary of the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission. In addition, he served as General Secretary of the U.S.-based Consultation on Church Union (COCU), and in 2002 presided over the culmination of that body’s work and the inauguration of its successor, Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC). He is currently chair of the Justice and Advocacy Commission of the National Council of Churches. In 2004, the NCC presented him with its first Award of Excellence for work in Christian Unity. Professor Kinnamon is author or editor of a dozen books, the most recent being The Vision of the Ecumenical Movement and How It Has Been Impoverished by Its Friends. He is a regular columnist for DisciplesWorld, the national magazine of the Disciples of Christ.

Dr. Kinnamon will complete the fall semester at Eden before assuming his new responsibilities in January 2008.

Eden Theological Seminary, a graduate school affiliated with the United Church of Christ, prepares women and men for lay and ordained Christian ministry. Eden offers four graduate degrees in theology, including Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies (MAPS), Master of Theological Studies (MTS) and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.), along with a dual degree (M.Div. or MAPS) in conjunction with a Master of Social Work degree from the Washington University’s George Warren Brown School of Social Work in St. Louis. Founded in 1850, Eden has more than 200 students from approximately 18 denominations.

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Editor’s note: For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Lois Ford Long, Director of Communication, 314-210-0464 or llong@eden.edu. For additional information about the National Council of Churches, contact Daniel Webster, NCC Communication Department, dwebster@ncccusa.org, or 212-870-2252.

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