David Esterline Installed as Sixth President of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
The Rev. Dr. David Esterline was inaugurated as Pittsburgh Theological Seminary’s sixth president May 9, 2016.
The day began with a packed room for Taizé worship. After which we joined with the larger community for a complimentary lunch provided by Pittsburgh food trucks. The inauguration service was a wonderful time of worshiping God and celebrating all God's people. To conclude the evening, attendees heard more about "Learning Amid Difference in Theological Education." Presenters included the Rev. Dr. Kathleen D. Billman from Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, the Right Rev. Dr. David D. Daniels III from McCormick Theological Seminary, and the Rev. Dr. Gary Riebe-Estrella, SVD, from Catholic Theological Union. Responders included the Rev. Patrice L. Fowler-Searcy from East Liberty Presbyterian Church, the Rt. Rev. Dorsey McConnell, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, and the Rev. Dr. Edwin van Driel, Directors’ Bicentennial Associate Professor of Theology at PTS.
About Dr. Esterline
As the sixth president of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, the Rev. Dr. David Esterline is charged with leading the strategic vision and growth of the Seminary in carrying out its mission in the world.
Also professor of cross-cultural theological education, Dr. Esterline began his ministry as a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-worker serving as a lecturer at Theological College, Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, and as academic dean, lecturer, and chair of the biblical studies department at Pacific Theological College in Suva, Fiji Islands. He joined the faculty of Chicago’s McCormick Theological Seminary in 1997, where he filled a variety of roles through 2015: dean of faculty and vice president for academic affairs, the James G. K. McClure Professor of Theological Education, director of the Institute for Cross-Cultural Theological Education, and professor of cross-cultural education and ministry.
A graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz (A.B.), Oxford University, Trinity College (M.A.), and Graduate Theological Union (Ph.D.), Dr. Esterline was ordained by the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon in 1987. He is co-chair of the Global Forum of Theological Educators, has worked extensively with the Association of Theological Schools, and has served with the World Council of Churches focusing on ecumenical theological education.
About Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Mission
Participating in God’s ongoing mission in the world, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is a community of Christ joining in the Spirit’s work of forming and equipping both people for ministries familiar and yet to unfold and communities present and yet to be gathered.
Vision
Trusting in God’s promises, we seek to be a generous and hospitable community, committed to scholarship in the service of the church, inviting one another into life-giving and transformational practices including shared prayer and worship, intellectual inquiry, theological reflection, witness, reconciliation, justice, evangelism, and service—practices of discipleship that stir our imagination and shape our desires—as we seek to participate fully in God’s work in the world.
In the complex realities of this world that God loves, from our neighborhood to the ends of the earth, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary will draw upon the best of our tradition and learn from others as the Spirit shapes and reshapes our common life and work in order to become a leading resource for theologically reflective and contextually engaged ministries.
