The US Bossey Assessment Project.

Lindner, John B. ; Delloff, Linda-Marie

For five decades, the role of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey in preparing new church leaders has been recognized in every part of the world. Bossey has assisted in the leadership needs of churches in new nations in the post-colonial period. It has been a major centre for preparing students from Eastern Europe for church roles, both during the Communist period and in its wake. And it has helped church leaders face the forces of secularism that have swept the US and Western Europe. Bossey is a place where new generations of Christians from all continents have come together to study, engage one another and form bonds that last a lifetime. Insights and experiences from Bossey have taken on new life in its alumni/ae, and have served to transform churches and communities.

Bossey's 50th anniversary is a logical time to examine its role in the US ecumenical movement. To longtime observers, Bossey has seemed to occupy a special niche in the historical development of that movement. Many ecumenical leaders and activists in the US have spent time at the Ecumenical Institute, whether in a programme seminar or the graduate school or both; whether as student or instructor. Whenever these people talk about Bossey, they tend to describe it as a profoundly formative experience -- not just as "one part" of their ecumenical education.

Such an enquiry is particularly appropriate at a time when churches in the US face increasing challenges to the effort of raising new generations of young people in the Christian faith and adequately equipping them for participation and leadership in the life of the church.

Many of those challenges come from US society at large. Perhaps most problematic is the well-documented trend to mistrust large institutions formerly regarded as authoritative: government, the political system, the educational system and institutional religion.

For years the US was viewed (however inaccurately) as a "Christian nation" whose leaders tended to have mainline Protestant roots. Many old models of Christian education and formation that served well during the long "Protestant epoch" have now been abandoned or perceived as less effectual in this more pluralistic, secular and technological age. Even programmes of ecumenical education and formation, which might be presumed to be more inclusive, have not adapted sufficiently to the changing cultural milieu.

The nature of faith formation currently occupies a significant place on the US religion research agenda -- particularly in work supported by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, which has provided support for the US Bossey Assessment Project. This project -- still in process -- seeks to answer questions like these:

-- Has the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey played an identifiable role in shaping ecumenical attitudes within the US? How important has it been?

-- Are there distinctive aspects of the Ecumenical Institute experience that distinguish it from other ecumenical experiences?

-- Are there some aspects of the Bossey experience that could be transferred to settings in the US -- for example, seminaries -- enabling more people to benefit from it?

-- What distinguishes the discrete elements of effective ecumenical faith formation from formation within a particular denomination or communion?

To answer such questions, a list of former US Bossey participants had to be compiled -- a task rendered difficult by the lack of comprehensive records kept by the institution itself. Partial sources eventually yielded the names of about 600 such US alumni/ae -- though often with uncertain addresses. There are doubtless more. (This list has now become a data base for developing an association of Bossey participants in the US.)

A ten-member research advisory team (chaired by Heidi Hadsell, dean of McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago) and two staff members prepared a 13-page questionnaire to elicit information about the Bossey experience of US alumni/ae and particularly its aftermath upon return to the US. The questionnaire used the standard research methodology of multiple-choice questions suitable for statistical analysis, as well as a number of questions requesting a narrative response. Approximately 200 people took the rather demanding amount of time necessary to fill out the mail survey -- a satisfactory and statistically significant rate of response.

The second phase of the project involved four meetings in different parts of the US to bring together some of the former Bossey participants to look more deeply at issues and questions raised in the surveys. Some 20-25 people attended each gathering, which lasted about a day and a half. The agenda included both guided discussion and a significant amount of time for narratives of personal experience. Some participants had attended Bossey as long ago as 1948, some as recently as 1995.

Each meeting reflected not only the personalities, ages and interests of its particular participants, but also something of the regional realities represented in the widely separated sites: Stony Point, New York; St Louis, Missouri; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Burlingame, California. For example, the California gathering confirmed the impression that the west coast of the US, with its considerable multiculturalism, is a harbinger of trends which spread later to the entire nation.

Results so far

Initial findings from the surveys and regional meetings break down into seven main areas. Though the information gathered needs further analysis, some preliminary generalizations are already possible.

1. What types of people go to Bossey from the US? The project looked at participants in both the graduate school and programme seminars. US Bossey graduates have been mostly male (67 percent of respondents), highly educated (graduate degrees), almost entirely white (91 percent of respondents). They work today primarily in the ordained ministry (47 percent in parish ministry), other church-related vocations or academia. More than half were students when they attended the Ecumenical Institute. More women have attended in recent years, but the overall numbers are still small.

Presbyterians are more heavily represented among respondents (26 percent) than any other denomination or communion, with United Methodists and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) coming next in order of numbers. (These three denominations have also been most consistent in promoting Bossey and in providing scholarships for its programmes.)

More than 75 percent of respondents attended Bossey only once, and in some cases this was for a (relatively brief) programme seminar. Based on the importance respondents assigned to Bossey in their overall educational development, this figure suggests that the one experience was highly influential. More than one-third of respondents (37 percent of those attending the graduate school, and 30 percent of those attending programme seminars) said they made concrete changes in their career or professional life as a result of their Bossey experience.

Nearly two-thirds of those responding received some funding (usually from the participant's own denomination) to attend, and probably could not have attended without such aid.

2. Creative initiatives in work and ministry as a result of the Bossey experience. Not surprisingly, a number of Bossey graduates have subsequently become ecumenical officers in their own communions and have thus been instrumental in helping to send new participants, as well as fostering their communion's general ecumenical involvement. Of equal significance is the variety of ways in which other individuals have made creative use of the Bossey experience, especially in parishes and academic settings.

In the field of college education initiatives attributed to Bossey include one graduate's introduction of religion courses into a curriculum that previously had none. Another example is an ongoing programme of undergraduate student visits to Bossey by a denominational college. Students, coming as a group between terms, focus on a specific theme and keep journals about their experiences.

Graduate education, too, has benefited from innovations whose originators credit Bossey's influence. For example, organizers of San Francisco Theological Seminary's doctorate of ministry programme in women's studies (which also includes a regular unit of study held at Bossey) note the importance of Bossey models.

Others spoke of innovative types of parish ministry and cooperative ventures growing out of their Institute experience. After spending time in Bossey during the early years of the US civil rights movement, a parish pastor in a small town organized an ecumenical coalition to discuss and support the goals of that movement. Others have instituted ecumenical lay academies for analysis of theological issues. A "church without walls" functions in Baltimore to serve homeless people. In St Louis, a Bossey graduate is developing a new ministry aimed at young adults who have grown up without any worship experience. Some graduates are now working as pastors in areas (for example, rural settings) where there is often little awareness of people from other cultures, to which they have been able to bring perspectives on international and ecumenical understanding.

On a personal level, too, questionnaire respondents and seminar attendees reported dramatic, even life-changing experiences. During earlier years, when fewer women enrolled as official participants, many accompanied their husbands to Bossey. Some of these women became intensely involved in the programme, experiencing life changes that led to increased activism or to their own ordination.

3. Is Bossey unique? Most survey respondents said No to a question about whether attendance at Bossey is similar to other ecumenical experiences. They identified a number of particulars helping to define its singularity. Obvious, perhaps, but noted repeatedly are the location of the Ecumenical Institute in a neutral country and its proximity to the World Council of Churches and other international organizations. Respondents noted that WCC staff, library and archival resources and programme materials enhanced stays at Bossey (in fact, there were requests for more involvement of this sort).

Equally compelling is the particular history of the Institute -- especially its beginnings as a place to resolve tensions resulting from the second world war. Respondents suggested that Bossey's history in itself contributes to a certain atmosphere that tends to dramatize and contextualize even current programmes.

Nor were respondents hesitant to cite the chateau's idyllic setting, as a place apart from the bustle of ordinary life where people can relax and withdraw to contemplate basic questions. This observation taken with several other responses suggests that part of the genius of Bossey may be a creative balance between the global presence -- with all its implied tensions -- and its contemplative, pastoral setting.

Extremely important according to respondents is the fact that at Bossey "everyone is vulnerable; everyone is a stranger". This is particularly true for the graduate programme, in which participants remain in close encounter for approximately four months, during which it is difficult to avoid dealing seriously with differences. One should recall that this is a view from the perspective of US participants; while the experience might be even more alien for attendees from a non-Western culture, the sentiment is implicitly relativistic (in other words, if the Institute were in the US, North American participants would presumably not encounter the same transformative sense of dislocation).

At the same time, according to respondents, there is also a sense of underlying safety: differences and tensions exist openly within a context of implied promises of ultimate resolution. (The Ecumenical Institute is "an experiment in controlled alienation", according to Bossey veteran Hans-Ruedi Weber.) Participants also praised Bossey's focus on encouraging people to shape their own religious identity more carefully by learning about the religious identities of others. In this regard, opportunity to share in diverse worship practices ranked high on the lists of specifics. For most Protestants, the exposure to Roman Catholic and Orthodox practices is central to their experiences of growth and increased openness.

Other unique features of the Institute that respondents highlighted are graduate programme visits to the Vatican and the high quality of interpretation services. While the latter might seem to be a more practical point than those cited above, respondents emphasized that it makes all of the other unique aspects possible.

Also not to be underestimated is the necessary inclusion of humour as an element in the general operating ethos of the place.

4. Bossey's strengths. While some of Bossey's greatest strengths overlap with its most unique features, this is not inevitable, and the project defined them as two distinct categories.

Respondents identified as most compelling the following aspects of the experience. As noted above, experiencing vulnerability and discomfort for a time is regarded as crucial to real growth and change. In the same vein, respondents stress that the exposure to people from other nations and cultures, as well as from other communions or denominations, was essential to their development.

Most important of all -- in what has emerged as one of the study's key findings -- is the experience of living together, not just studying together, especially for an extended period of time, as the graduate students do. Survey and seminar participants said experiences outside the classroom were just as important as those in the classroom. This experiential and relational element is the most distinguishing feature of the "type of ecumenism" practiced at Bossey, in the view of project participants.

5. Room for improvement. The degree of enthusiasm for the Bossey experience by no means suggests that there is no criticism. Asked about areas for improvement, participants were specific and pointed. Most frequently cited was a teaching style based on a formal lecture method in which the interaction between "teacher" and "learner" is too hierarchical. Only 22 percent rated the teaching methodology as "excellent" (though 53 percent rated it as "good"), and only 35 percent rated the total classroom experience as "excellent" (50 percent "good"). This set of figures was in marked contrast to evaluations of other features, such as "type of ecumenism" or "exposure to people from other cultures", where approval ratings tended to be in the 70-80 percent range. Comments on teaching style were directed more towards the past than the present, but some respondents felt that a formal, non-participatory model has continued to operate in practice if not in principle.

Survey answers also expressed a concern that the whole Bossey experience -- especially in the classroom -- needs more organization and attention to detail. Orientation, explanation and adherence to agendas were all mentioned as needing focus and standardization. Participants expressed a desire for more preparatory material before coming to Bossey, and for more follow-up afterwards. Introduction of a core curriculum for the graduate school was also suggested.

Project participants urged more involvement of laypeople in as many Bossey programmes as possible. They also expressed a wish for more programmes available to older and retired persons, who may have more time (and money) available. The expenses of travel to the Ecumenical Institute are always an issue.

6. Transplanting Bossey? Are there aspects of the Bossey experience that could be adapted and incorporated into other settings? The background to this question is the admitted scarcity of regular and extended ecumenical training in the US. Although there was general approval for the idea of replication in some form -- or at least for adaptation of some key elements -- project participants agreed that several crucial aspects pose difficulties.

First, many cited the need for North Americans to be jolted out of their familiar circumstances in order to undergo basic change. Thus any programme held in the US runs the risk of not providing enough challenge. Others emphasized the difficulty of duplicating the wealth of diverse resources Bossey's location provides, which is unavailable even in an international city like New York.

As noted earlier, US graduates view the history of the Ecumenical Institute as very much part of its identity. History and location together seem to add up to a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. To transpose certain specific elements of the experience outside of its context might create a typologically different experience altogether. Further stages of the study will consider this set of questions in greater depth. (Note has been taken of individual Bossey-sponsored programmes taking place in other countries; the question in this study relates specifically to the US.)

Participants were more optimistic about incorporating particular aspects of the Bossey experience into other programmes, such as seminary curricula, but they were cautious about how well the vital mix of "in-classroom" and "out-of-classroom" experiences would work in other settings. One point to bear in mind is that the in- and out-of-classroom experiences provided by Bossey take place in an environment that is both controlled and limited. Unlike the typical seminary setting, Bossey does not offer the opportunity to withdraw from the intensity of the experience.

This relates to a debate going on in North American theological circles about the concept of "distance" and "extension learning". Distance learning refers to programmes of external independent study; extension learning consists of courses for groups of students at sites away from the main campus of an institution. Each can assume a variety of forms, but all de-emphasize the residential and relational aspects of seminary training.

Distance learning takes advantage of new technology to offer computer and interactive video course-work for students who cannot be on-campus. Such students normally work from home. Extension learning still involves group process, but this model, too, lacks the residential aspect of physical proximity and ongoing regular interaction.

This debate will continue to heat up as technological capacity becomes greater; and as schools in pressing financial straits -- virtually all US institutions -- continue to look for alternative ways to maintain or increase student enrollment. On the other hand, the Association of Theological Schools, which accredits seminaries and divinity schools in North America, has recently written a new set of guidelines for accreditation. These include more emphasis on spirituality and experiential learning to accompany academic training (though this does not by itself imply more emphasis on personal interaction). Of course, it remains to be seen how each member institution will apply this.

7. Challenges to ecumenism in the US. A variety of US cultural commentators at the close of the 20th century have identified forces and trends in society that will shape the nation for a new century. Many of these trends -- particularly the increasing mistrust of large institutions and authorities -- reflect an atmosphere of alienation and fear on the part of the population at large. Such trends would obviously work against a widespread organized ecumenical movement. Ironically, while there is more global consciousness and integration in many spheres -- business, for example -- there is a simultaneous withdrawal towards particularism, especially in areas of personal life, which people feel may be the only arena where they can exert control.

There are several forces that propagate fear and distrust of "the other". Prevalent economic unease continues to plague a population worried especially about lack of job availability and security. At the same time, an atmosphere of violence and insecurity includes new waves of racism (burnings of black churches) and terrorist acts that make people wary of the "new" or the "unfamiliar" (even though it has often been "homegrown Americans" fomenting violence or terrorism). The continued increase in pluralism and diversity -- with new waves of immigrants from Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe -- has fostered new forms of "tribalism": the tendency to cling together with others of like background and experience.

The world of organized religion mirrors all of these problems. And there are additional forces creating difficulties within that world. Many communions and denominations, especially WCC member churches, are experiencing major financial problems along with falling membership and decreasing influence within the society. Many mainline churches seem to be losing contact with their youth; and recent studies indicate that youth work is the weakest aspect of many denominations' programmes. The US now has several generations of young people who are "biblically illiterate".

Religion has increasingly become a factor in US politics, yet the various groups on the religious spectrum have not found successful ways of working together towards common interests -- or of working together despite differences.

All these trends have led to a tendency for communities, including congregations, to turn inward and "focus locally". Congregations want to keep their money at home, where they can see firsthand how it is used, and they want to define their identities more personally and locally as well.

Indeed, there is vibrant and dynamic ecumenism occurring around the country in individual congregations and local coalitions, in many of which Bossey graduates are involved. This local reality suggests that it may not be ecumenism itself, but the "movement" aspects, that are less appealing at a grassroots level. This would lead to the conclusion that it is especially the "relational" or "community" elements of Bossey -- those which survey participants rate most highly anyway -- that could most profitably be duplicated or adapted. How to link local ecumenical efforts more directly with the worldwide ecumenical movement remains a crucial question.

In each of the regional meetings held for this project, discussion of these trends and their implications occupied an important place.

Next steps

During the next several months, the US Bossey Assessment Project will continue to analyze gathered information and interpret it in ways that can be useful to a variety of audiences, including seminaries, denominational offices at various levels, religious education groups, congregations and ecumenical organizations.

The most important unanswered questions for the project -- questions underlying all others -- sound deceptively simple: "What, exactly, is ecumenism? And what is ecumenical formation or education?" Participants in this project have identified a number of elements as vital to ecumenism, including all those listed above as features of Bossey. In this regard, participants' comments and questions have paralleled some of those in the current process "Towards a Common Understanding and Vision of the WCC". Yet, like the Bossey experience itself, the whole seems to be more than the sum of its parts, and the project has not yet arrived at a clear and specific definition.

Based on participants' observations, what might an ecumenical movement look like for the future? Old models do not seem to fit, but there are no widely accepted new models. Whatever the ultimate nature of such new models, they will have to take into account the crucial necessity to bring local congregations into closer touch with ecumenical realities worldwide. As noted above, many local congregations in the US seem to operate in an ecumenical fashion, though without necessarily defining exactly what they are doing. Some might ask whether they are in fact practicing ecumenism, or whether heightened awareness and greater theological understanding are necessary to engage in real ecumenism.

A related area of further enquiry for this project is the more relational and less curricular aspects of the Bossey experience. Survey respondents placed a high value on the elements of interaction with persons from other cultures and traditions, not just other communions, and said they learned as much from each other as from faculty members. On the basis of these responses, the project will look further at differences between participants in the graduate programme and those who attended programme seminars. While initial findings indicate that both have lifelong impact on attitudes, further exploration may reveal distinctive outcomes that derive from the respective experiences. Specifically, the goal is to learn more about how the longer experience of living together in community shapes the views and actions of participants.

It seems that participants returning to the US after living at Bossey -- in such an extraordinary milieu of study, worship, contemplation and confrontation -- have begun to develop significant skills for coping with diversity, conflict, ambiguity and change -- the very traits characterizing the increasingly pluralistic and multicultural environment of the US. Opportunities to encounter a living situation that includes such an intentionally rich mix and ferment of traditions (where no individual or group is more "at home" than any other), with an equal overlay of language and culture, is rare in North American theological education settings. Further, as noted, current educational trends (distance and extension learning) lead away from intentional community as part of preparation for ministry and religious leadership. While the Bossey study is limited in scope, it may offer a contribution to the current discussion of these trends. As such, the project is potentially an important link between groups in the US concerned with education and formation, those concerned with emerging new ecumenical realities and those with special focus on models and forms of institutional Christian community.

While it may be possible to direct some of the project results to such wider discussions, there are also elements that point specifically to current conversations about the future of ecumenism. The nature of the ecumenical connection clearly needs redefinition -- not so much in a theoretical or ecclesial sense as in a very practical sense leading to connections between people and resources.

Today's need for an ecumenical movement, in the US especially, comes out of a crisis of values, identity and the ability to live a faithful life in communities of people with diverse backgrounds, interests and needs. Such a context for ecumenical formation is clearly a formidable challenge, but at the same time addresses the essence of real Christian unity.

John B. Lindner is director of the Bossey Assessment Project and of the Ecumenical Development Initiative in New York. Linda-Marie Delloff, senior writer and researcher for the project, also works for the interdisciplinary