Introduction

I was working in public relations for a project to prevent drug abuse. One day I thought, "What can we do so that young people don't want to take drugs in the first place?" In the Seminary I started to find answers for my questions.

Elisabeth Reardon, 1st Semester

Students come to the seminary with all sorts of questions. In the training, the course on the inner life is followed by one on Gothic architecture. The Theory of Knowledge comes after the geology field trip to the Black Forest. How can such a varied and wide training help the students to understand drug addiction, or any of the other questions they come with?

At the roots of many of the challenges that face us today are the barriers that we have erected - barriers between one another, between humanity and nature, between what goes on inside us and what goes on in the world outside. Deep inside we know that these barriers are unreal. Living in an unreal world can make young people feel such despair that the escape offered by drugs seems attractive.

A truly spiritual way of looking at the world lets us find connections where before we only saw barriers. We learn to trust our own experience, because we know that it is connected with the world outside. We realise that what we can do inwardly and outwardly can help the world. This is what we try to achieve together in the training at the Seminary in Stuttgart.

The best way of getting to know the Seminary is to come and visit. There is an Orientation Course in the week after Easter every year. You can also get in touch [link] to arrange an interview with the Seminary directors individually.

Profession

The work of priests in The Christian Community has many sides. They

* celebrate the sacraments

* teach, respecting freedom of thought

* help human beings in pastoral care

* work in congregations in such a way that the priestly quality of every member can come to the fore.

A lively interest in the world and openness for the questions of the present are as important for the priest as leading an inner spiritual life. Priests need to be citizens of the world!

Training as a priest does not mean getting a fixed set of abilities and knowledge. It means being open for change and development. It can be right to start the training young. It may lead directly to priesthood, or the time at the Seminary might help you to find another profession you want to pursue. The training is an excellent preparation for any other course in life - for being human.

Training

The training at the Seminary is not narrowly academic. The students are introduced to a wide variety of subjects and activities which they will be able to pursue throughout their career. Later in the training they can deepen their studies in particular areas.

The seminary directors follow the progress of the individual students in conversations and offer individual help when this is needed. In this ongoing conversation, it can become clear whether the path to the profession of priesthood is the right one.

Life

Three features make the life at the Seminary unique:

• Celebrating the Act of Consecration of Man together every day - the community of prayer.
  The Act of Consecration of Man, celebrated daily in the Seminary Chapel, is the wellspring of the community life of the Seminary.
  
• Living together under one roof - the community of life
  Students come from every continent of the world and create a community at the Seminary. Here they live and work in a supportive environment. Students become friends for life - whether their way leads them to priesthood or not.
  
• Studying together - the community of thought and inspiration
  The week's morning course is always a lively topic of conversation. Students are encouraged to work together preparing presentations. The students learn to give lectures and sermons by presenting them to fellow-students. The evaluation takes place in the group. All artistic activities are in groups.

Staff

Many people share the responsibility for the training, working in the office or the household, giving courses in Eurythmy or Greek, holding the "main lesson" for the weekly courses in the first year. Finally there are the seminary directors who are responsible for the character of the training and the overall identity of the Seminary.

All of these people join with the students in a community. Here we try to work in the spirit of a modern schooling, overcoming the tension between giving and receiving, teaching and learning, studying and working. Carrying the responsibility for the identity of such a community means being open to learn. In this sense Carola Gerhard, Michael Debus and Thomas Ravetz are continually learning at the Seminary.

Carola Gerhard

was born in 1964. After completing her Abitur she worked in a community for social therapy. "I didn't want to learn a profession, I wanted to become a human being and I thought you can do that everywhere." Following her Ordination in 1992 she was a congregational priest in Göppingen and Constance. She has been a director of the Seminary since the Winter semester 2000-1 and remains involved in congregational work in Constance.

Thomas Ravetz

was also born in 1964, in Leeds, England. He too went to work in a community for social therapy after completing his A-levels. "I had the feeling that my deepest questions would not be answered by going to university." In 1991 he received the Ordination and worked as a priest in Marburg, Germany and then in Aberdeen, Scotland. In Aberdeen he studied for a degree of Bachelor of Divinity alongside his work in the congregation. He joined the leadership of the Seminary in the Summer semester 2000.

Michael Debus

was born in 1943. Following his Abitur he studied Mathematics, Physics and Philosophy. "I wanted to get to know natural science in order to gain a secure ground for my knowledge of the human being." He received the Ordination in 1969 and worked as a priest in Stuttgart. He has been a director of the Seminary since the summer semester 1978.