I agree with Elizabeth (of “Elizabeth’s Little Blog”) that you should read PolityWonk’s “How UU Ministry Got to Be So Expensive” — and especially the little-told parts of the story from point #7 onwards.
In a related note, my own choice of seminary was conditioned on the full tuition I got from Brite Divinity School (M.Div. ’97) — but only after I had ruled out Meadville Lombard and Starr King as viable options. That said, I’m working on a longer piece on the Meadville Lombard issue for publication at my long-format blog, RevScottWells.com. But I’ll risk taking time and getting it right than hacking out a few, punchy, attention-grabbing words.
Thanks for the link. It explained ALOT about the origin of our mixed messages in our process where ordination is congregational, but fellowshipping is nationalized. Not to mention the reasons behind the economic hoops that I and others have not been able to jump through.
Thanks for the link, Scott, and for pardoning all the turkeys. Looks like a great feast! I also went vegetarian this year. When I do Thanksgiving with turkey eaters, I often have the bird. Now that I have a critical mass of vegetarians in my family, I brought a really excellent Tofu Provencal (Quick and Easy Vegetarian Pleasures) to the collective table.