Affiliation

Eden is one of seven seminaries of the United Church of Christ (UCC). The UCC was founded in 1957 as the union of several different Christian traditions. From the beginning of its history, the UCC has affirmed the ideal that Christians did not always have to agree to live together in communion. The denomination’s motto—”that they may all be one”—is Jesus’ prayer for the unity of the church. The UCC is one of the most diverse Christian churches in the United States.

In addition, Eden helps prepare women and men of many denominations for leadership in their churches. For instance, Eden is approved by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church (UMC) to provide theological education for those who will be ordained in the UMC.

Student Body

Students from a variety of denominations live and study together on our campus, preparing for leadership in their churches. Although the exact list of denominations represented in our student body varies from academic year to academic year, this list is typical:

• American Baptist
• African Methodist Episcopal
• Missionary Baptist
• General Baptist
• Christian Methodist Episcopal
• Disciples of Christ
• Evangelical Lutheran Church of America
• Episcopal
• Interdenominational
• Metropolitan Community Church
• National Baptist
• Non-Denominational
• Presbyterian Church (USA)
• Pentecostal
• Roman Catholic
• United Church of Christ
• United Methodist Church
• Universal Unitarian
• Other (denominations not represented by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS)

Faculty

Eden’s faculty is a diverse group of scholars from a variety of denominations, including UCC, UMC, Presbyterian Church (USA), Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), National Baptist Convention and more. In addition, adjunct faculty from additional denominations and faith groups teach regularly at Eden, bringing an even wider diversity to the educational program.

A progressive voice in conversation with others

Eden is committed to its role as a progressive voice in the St. Louis area and beyond. Yet it is also committed to working in concert and coordination with others to witness to God’s work of reconciliation in Jesus Christ in the world.

So while Eden is a seminary in the liberal tradition and the only St. Louis area seminary that works with denominations ordaining women, we also work intentionally to be in dialogue with seminaries from different perspectives than ours.

Eden engages each year in a Day of Theological Conversation with area seminaries representing more conservative church bodies. We meet with students and faculty from Concordia Seminary, a Missouri Synod Lutheran seminary; Covenant Theological Seminary, a Presbyterian Church in America seminary; Urshan Graduate School of Theology, a Pentecostal school; and two local Roman Catholic schools. These conversations can be difficult and challenging to students from each seminary, yet they are invaluable experiences to our students who will work in a diverse church and world.