PROCLAMATION FROM THE CITY OF CHICAGO

Delivered by Chicago Alderman Toni Preckwinkle during the Service of Worship in Celebration of Shared Ministry between Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and McCormick Theological Seminary
January 23, 2001

Congratulations extended to McCormick Theological Seminary and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago on their historic collaboration.

WHEREAS, McCormick Theological Seminary has been a noteworthy institution of Presbyterian higher education since its founding in 1829 in Hanover, Indiana, later settling in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood for over 110 years;

WHEREAS, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago has been an outstanding leader in education within the Lutheran tradition through its predecessor institutions since 1860 and its founding in Chicago in 1962;

WHEREAS, McCormick Theological Seminary faculty and students have been at the heart of social change through their work in the abolitionist movement, tending the injured after the great Chicago fire in 1871, tackling the problems of the urban industrial environment in the 1950s and supporting the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s,

WHEREAS, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago has been a pioneer in preparing church leaders in the African-American and Hispanic communities and in training church leaders from around the world;

WHEREAS, McCormick Theological Seminary and the Lutheran School of Theology are active partners in the Association of Chicago Theological Schools and have been a model of shared resources since McCormick moved to the Hyde Park neighborhood in 1975;

WHEREAS, both the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and the McCormick Theological Seminary are distinguished by their urban context and affiliation with the University of Chicago; culturally diverse faculties, staff, and student bodies; and dynamic ecumenical and inter-faith commitments;

WHEREAS, the boards of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and McCormick Theological Seminary have agreed to expand their 25 year collaboration through the construction of a new McCormick building and shared parking facility on the campus of the Lutheran School of Theology, thereby launching a new ecumenical venture in ministry, foreseen by the "Formula of Agreement" entered into by the seminaries’ governing bodies—the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); now therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the mayor and members of the City Council in meeting assembled this 10th day of January 2001, do hereby celebrate the historic collaboration of McCormick Theological Seminary and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago offering them congratulations and best wishes on the event of their groundbreaking festivities on January 23, 2001, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Rev. Dr. Cynthia M. Campbell, President of McCormick Theological Seminary, and to the Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Echols, President of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Toni Preckwinkle, Alderman
Fourth Ward