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CDSP and The Secret Life


18 September 2001

Dear CDSP Community Members:

First, and most important, I write to welcome all of you to CDSP for the beginning of a new year. Some of you are returning, some of you are brand-new to this place, and some of you really never left! But all of us are here now, ready to start another year filled with study, worship, and the many other things necessary for this community to function well. It is an exciting time and I wish all of you a productive, good year.

Once in a while I ask myself (sometimes one of you) what the purpose of life is. While this sometimes comes across as a joke, the answer to it is, finally, pretty serious! Recently, I heard an interesting answer: the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time. As I reflected on that answer to my often-asked question, I realized that change was a rather important part of the answer. This past summer I returned to a summer vacation spot I had not visited for some time. I found that the front nine of my favorite golf course was now the back nine, that my coffee shop haunt no longer had books to sell; that my usual path by the sea had been altered by erosion and collapse; that the local Episcopal church was now an Episcopal-Lutheran church; that some old restaurants were gone and new ones had appeared elsewhere. All of this was at first disconcerting, but I was also being challenged to embrace the new, and to enjoy it-if in different ways.

This passage of time-with change-is also a part of CDSP. I want to mention just three of these changes "in process."
  1. The CDSP Faculty is continuing to work on curricular revision, which will surely affect the nature and shape of our instruction in the future. We are also exploring the "ethos of interaction" here at CDSP in light of commuter students, residential students, GTU demands, and so much more. Finally, the faculty is thinking on the "theology of community" inherent in the way we live out theological education in this special place. We want and need to be more explicit about the ways God is calling us to be the people of God at this school.
  2. Gibbs Hall will be undergoing a major renovation next year, if planning and funding go according to schedule. This may affect worship, classroom space and teaching, and many other things. While the "new" Gibbs will be a beautiful place much better able to carry out part of CDSP's mission, the change will require some adaptation.
  3. New Students bring new hopes, expectations, and diversity. All of this affects the shape of our community—to which faculty, staff, and trustees must be ready to respond.
So, much new is in process and what CDSP is being called to become is only partially seen. But one thing is clear, God is in the middle of all this-asking us to enjoy and give thanks for the stable and the unstable. Please know that we will work hard to involve all of you in the plans we make and the changes we encounter. It is all finally a gift from the one who brought us here and who provides us with grace and direction to begin this new year together.

Faithfully yours,

Donn F. Morgan
 
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