http://www.ai.edu RSS feeds for Aquinas Institute of Theology 60 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/61/New-Degree-Format-Makes-Ministry-Careers-PossibleRegardless-of-Address.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=61 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=61&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/61/New-Degree-Format-Makes-Ministry-Careers-PossibleRegardless-of-Address.aspx You can keep the house. That’s the message from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, which is offering a degree for people who feel called to serve God in new ways but can’t turn their lives upside down to study. The Aquinas@Home program is a spin-off of a successful degree program the school offers in Oklahoma City, which combines online study with occasional weekends of face-to-face study. The last time Oklahoma City and Aquinas Institute sought applications, they came from as far away as Florida and New York City! “That is when we knew we were onto something,” said Jared Ainsworth-Bryson, admissions director. Here is how Aquinas@Home will work: The first group of students—limited to about 25—will begin their studies in Fall 2007. They will spend eight to 10 weeks on each course. They will discuss their readings online with faculty and other students. Once during each course, they’ll gather in St. Louis for a weekend, where they will study and pray together. “This is more than an academic pursuit,” said Sr. Mary Kay Oosdyke, O.P., academic dean. “We will prepare these students for work in ministry, and fundamental to their success will be the development of a strong spiritual and ministerial identity.” Students also will complete internships in ministry at locations close to their homes. The first students in the program will graduate in spring of 2011. They will be qualified for positions such as campus minister, hospital chaplain, administrator of a diocesan agency or ministry, director of a parish without a resident priest or a parish pastoral associate. “We have heard from so many people who seek a greater purpose in life but because of family and career commitments, they can’t stop everything to make the transition,” said Fr. Charles Bouchard, O.P., president of Aquinas Institute. “This degree format makes it possible.” Aquinas Institute of Theology is a Roman Catholic graduate school affiliated with Saint Louis University. Priesthood candidates study alongside vowed religious women and men and lay students preparing for careers in the Church, or seeking simply to better understand their faith lives. To find out more about Aquinas@Home, go to http://www.ai.edu/keepthehouse (so named because you can!)  SuperUser Account Mon, 25 Sep 2006 17:55:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:61 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/62/Dialogue-Broadens-Understanding-Makes-Better-Ministers.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=62 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=62&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/62/Dialogue-Broadens-Understanding-Makes-Better-Ministers.aspx Aquinas Institute’s new visiting professor of interreligious theology says he simply wants people to think differently. He doesn’t want Hindus to become Christians or Christians Hindus. He’s not even seeking common ground. Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, O.P., merely wants to look at other faith traditions and learn from them. To that end, Steinkerchner, who arrived in July, will work with faculty this year to incorporate other religions into Catholic courses. In a course studying Jesus Christ, for example, he would like to see professors introduce Buddha and Krishna. In a course on Scripture, students also would discuss the Qur’an. In a classroom conversation on ministering to the sick, the class would explore Buddhist thoughts on dealing with pain. Steinkerchner’s work at Aquinas Institute is possible through a three-year, $195,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. He describes the interreligious teaching position as “cutting edge” in Catholic seminaries today, and predicts interreligious dialogue will be at the center of growth in Catholic theology for the next 50 years. “Conversation with other religious traditions will make theology better and prepare better ministers,” Steinkerchner said. “The world is smaller. Communication is better. A true religious professional today has to know about other religions.” The Dominican friar earned his Ph.D. in theology from Boston College in 2005; his dissertation was on interreligious dialogue. He spent the following year in Nepal, studying in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery That eclectic background is reflected on the bookshelves in Steinkerchner’s office. While Catholic resources claim more shelves than any other tradition, he devotes entire cases to titles that represent Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and traditions such as Scientology. “I love to find disparate ideas that are great in their own right, and bring them together to see what happens,” he said. “It might affirm what we know as Catholics. It might expand what we know as Catholics. It might even force us to rethink some things. Above all, it will help us think differently.”  SuperUser Account Wed, 06 Sep 2006 17:55:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:62 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/63/Apartment-Community-for-Students-to-Open-Soon.aspx#Comments 0 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=69&ModuleID=402&ArticleID=63 http://www.ai.edu/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=63&PortalID=0&TabID=69 http://www.ai.edu/AboutUs/PressReleases/tabid/69/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/63/Apartment-Community-for-Students-to-Open-Soon.aspx Students who enroll for the Spring 2007 semester at Aquinas Institute will have the opportunity to become inaugural residents of an apartment community open for the exclusive use of the school. When University Village Loft Apartments opens in January, 41 of the 242 units will be designated as housing for Aquinas Institute. They will serve students who are in classrooms at Aquinas Institute every week and others who come occasionally from across the United States for long weekends of intensive study. The layout of apartments will allow students to form a community within a community, sharing common spaces such as a meeting room, meditation area, and kitchen. Each unit also will have its own kitchen. The building, mere yards from the front door of the school, is one more piece in a $55 million renovation project on this once-blighted block of Midtown St. Louis. The new Aquinas Institute, which opened in January, was the first completed piece of the project. The renovation of this century-old, former factory has won rave reviews for its architectural innovations and sensitivity to historic preservation. The apartments, mostly one- and two-bedroom units with one four-bedroom unit, will offer residents high-speed internet access, cable television and parking in a garage that is connected to the building. Developer Rick Yackey said the apartment building also will have a swimming pool, exercise room, coffee shop and a restaurant. For Aquinas Institute, the apartments are a chance to bring to an even deeper level the school’s commitment to fostering a culture in which students progress individually and collectively through study and prayer. Ron Knapp, dean of students for Aquinas Institute, said the addition of the residential space also will have practical benefits for students. “For the person who likes to save the time and gas of commuting, this is ideal,” he said. “For a person who doesn’t want a car and prefers to live more simply, this could be a great option.” For information about the apartment community, call Knapp at 314.256.8803.  SuperUser Account Fri, 01 Sep 2006 17:56:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:63