In 1985, the Divinity School initiated a program of United Methodist Studies, designed to provide opportunities for United Methodist students to learn more about the life and traditions of their denomination. Under the direction of Professor M. Douglas Meeks since 1998, the program offers students opportunities for:

• General and advanced courses in Wesleyan Theology
• Required courses for United Methodist ordination: Theology, History, Polity, and Evangelism
• Fellowship and spiritual growth
• Nurture and support in discipleship through Covenant Discipleship Groups
• Study of developments in church life through visiting speakers
• Innovative worship services
• Wesleyan immersion trips to England and internships in England and elsewhere
• Annual retreat

United Methodist Student Association. The UMSA sponsors a number of opportunities for worship, fellowship, and growth throughout the academic year. Not only are there weekly worship services and covenant discipleship groups (see below), but each month the UMSA gathers for a plenary meeting over lunch. These gatherings are designed: 1) to discuss the Wesleyan heritage in relation to the students' preparation for ordained and lay ministry, 2) to discuss matters of spiritual formation, 3) to meet with regional and national leaders in the UMC (including yearly meetings with the Bishop, a couple of District Superintendents, the chair of the Board of Ordained Ministry, and staff members of the UMC Boards), and 4) to work at deepening students' ecumenical awareness and involvement in the social and justice ministries of the church (these include meetings on health care and prison ministries, evangelism and UM media, congregational involvement in the community, and college chaplaincy). These meetings provide United Methodist students in the divinity school an opportunity for learning, interaction, and dialogue with persons of various backgrounds in ministry. Programs in the past have included:

* Robert Kohler, Associate General Secretary of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, presented a proposal, which was presented at the 2008 General Conference, to re-structure the ordination process in light of renewed theological reflection upon the nature of the ordained ministry and the present dynamics of pastoral leadership in our denomination.

* Professor Dennis Dickerson, who holds the James. M. Lawson chair in History at Vanderbilt and is the historiographer for the African Methodist Episcopal Church, reflected with us on several issues surrounding the work of the Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation and Union, which is seeking to foster meaningful cooperation among the major Methodist denominations.

* David Esquivel, partner at Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville and an active United Methodist layperson at Belmont UMC, spoke about his experiences as the lead lawyer in a major human rights violations case that found Nicolas Carranza, former Vice-Minister of Defense of El Salvador, liable for crimes against humanity.

* Nashville District Superintendent John Collett and Susan Padgett, from the Tennessee Conference Office of Ministerial Concerns, offered theological reflection and practical assistance concerning the process for becoming an ordained deacon or elder in the United Methodist Church.

* In partnership with the General Board of Discipleship, the UMSA hosted a VDS breakfast with Dr. Donald Messer, author of Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence: Christian Churches and the Global AIDS Crisis and the executive director of the Center for the Church and Global AIDS.

* Tennessee Conference Bishop, Dick Wills, and Assistant to the Bishop, Roger Hopson, shared their visions for the future of ministry in the United Methodist Church.

* Garlinda Burton, Chief Executive of the United Methodist Commission on the Status and Role of Women, spoke about the work of COSROW and her personal journey of joyful struggle for the full inclusion and recognition of women in the life of the United Methodist Church.

* Darcy Freedman, a Ph.D. Candidate in the Community Research Action Program at Peabody, an active United Methodist, and the Founding Director of the Food Security Partners of Middle Tennessee, spoke about her work in seeking to bring 'food security' to middle Tennessee.

The 2009-2010 Executive Committee of the UMSA includes:

Douglas Meeks, Faculty Advisor, m.douglas.meeks@vanderbilt.edu

Sean Hayden, UMSA Coordinator, sean.g.hayden@vanderbilt.edu

Blair Tolbert, Co-Chair, b.ea.tolbert@vanderbilt.edu
Jessica Bridges, Co-Chair, jessica.p.bridges@vanderbilt.edu
Niger Woodruff, Vice-Chair, niger.a.woodruff@vanderbilt.edu
Emily Reeves Grammer, Secretary, emily.b.reeves@vanderbilt.edu
Brandon Blacksten, Covenant Discipleship Coordinator, brandon.r.blacksten@vanderbilt.edu
Rachel Peavyhouse-Fay, Ecumenical and Wesleyan Partnerships Coordinator, rachel.a.peavyhouse@vanderbilt.edu
Merrilee Wineinger, Liasone to Second-Career Students, merrilee.m.wineinger@vanderbilt.edu
Carolyn Davis, Liasone to Graduate Department of Religion, carolyn.j.davis@vanderbilt.edu

United Methodist Boards and Agencies. Nashville is an important center for United Methodist boards and agencies, including the General Board of Discipleship, The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, The United Methodist Publishing House, and United Methodist Communications. Here experts from all across world Methodism converge for the leadership of the church. These persons, who have acquired knowledge and insight vital to effective Christian ministry, are called upon for leadership roles in the Vanderbilt program. There is an annual dinner for United Methodist divinity students and the General Boards in Nashville. This is a unique opportunity to foster a relationship between divinity students and the officers and staff persons of the United Methodist General Boards, which opens up opportunities for dialogue, mutual cooperation in efforts in ministry, and internships.

The Divinity School is also located only a block away from the beautiful campus of The Scarritt-Bennett Center, a United Methodist Center for lay and continuing clergy education. An annual fall retreat for VDS United Methodist students is held at Scarritt-Bennett. This is only one aspect of the exciting developing relationship between The Divinity School and The Scarritt-Bennett Center. Under discussion are joint endeavors in worship, the arts, lay and diaconal education, and evangelism.

Covenant Discipleship Groups are designed to give students a regular setting for accountable discipleship and mutual support in spiritual formation. The groups meet for one hour each week and are organized around the students' actual experience of and accountability for acts of devotion, worship, compassion, and justice. The shape and theology of these groups are Wesleyan but are also adaptable to the main strands of the Christian tradition. Some non-Methodist students participate in the CD groups.

Wesley Heritage Immersion In England. Every few years, Dr. Meeks leads students on an immersion trip to England. The trip involves extended stays in Oxford, Bristol, and London and is concentrated on the Wesley historical sites. British church historians and church leaders have lectured on Wesleyan and Methodist history and the group visits sites of contemporary British Methodist ministries to the poor. Our next immersion in England will be in May of 2007. This immersion experience can be used for academic credit, either as United Methodist Worship (with some additional coursework) or as a Global Immersion and used for Field Education.

For more information, please contact our Methodist Program Coordinator, Tim Eberhart.