Welcome our New Academic Dean – Rev. Dr. Christopher Grundy

A Message from Rev. Dr. Sonja B. Williams, Dean of the Seminary  

Eden Theological Seminary is blessed by the administrative leadership of its faculty. For the last two years, Rev. Dr. Damayanthi Niles has served as Interim Academic Dean. As she returns to full-time teaching as the Allen and Dottie Miller Professor of Mission and Peace, Rev. Dr. Christopher Grundy has agreed to serve as Academic Dean as he continues in his teaching and worship leadership roles as Professor of Preaching and Worship and Dean of the Chapel.

After graduating from Carleton College in Minnesota and Union Theological Seminary in New York, Dr. Grundy served churches in Iowa and Kansas for eight years before seeking an M.T.S. and PhD. in liturgical studies from Garrett Seminary. He is the author of Recovering Communion in a Violent World: Resilience, Resistance, and Risk (see www.belovedcommunion.org) and co-author of The Work of the People: What We Do in Worship and Why. Dr Grundy has also been writing and performing music for local, regional, and national church gatherings for more than two decades. You can find his music on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, www.convergencemp.com, and many other platforms. He is married to Dr. Carla Tellor Grundy, and they have three sons: Ross, Liam, and Gabriel.

“It’s an honor to work with Eden’s outstanding leadership team,” he says, “and to serve a school that has such an important and distinctive role, both in the St. Louis region and the world. I look forward to collaborating with Eden’s faculty and network of partners as we move into the new era of theological education that is emerging.”