Dean Richard J. Wood recently noted that one of the primary tasks of the Divinity School is helping its students develop "religious and social leadership" skills so that they can work effectively in their communities. In that case, the Vieth Resource Center might be considered one of the school's most valuable assets.
The mission of the Center, says director Carolyn Hardin Engelhardt, is to provide tools that help students develop those religious and social leadership skills. The Center also supports, through its free workshops and membership opportunities, the Divinity School's interest in pursuing an interactive relationship with its New Haven neighbors, she adds.
The Vieth pronounced VEETH Resource Center can be found on the lower level of the Divinity School, 409 Prospect St., two floors beneath the chapel. Inside the Center there are literally thousands of items that aid its mission. "There are curriculum resources on almost any topic that exists," Ms. Engelhardt says. "Everything a church cares about, we have resources for it. And generally speaking, the church is concerned about everything in life."
The Center is named after the late Paul H. Vieth, who taught at the Divinity School for 30 years. During his tenure, Vieth accumulated the core collection of materials as part of his Christian education program. According to the Reverend Harry B. Adams, professor of pastoral theology and master of Trumbull of College, "Vieth would order materials from publishing houses and use them as an adjunct to his teaching. There wasn't really a name for the collection, it was just several shelves of materials in one room. Then it began to expand. When slides came along, he got into that. When films came along, he got into that. When movies came along, he got into that."
The collection became formally known as the Vieth Resource Center after Vieth's retirement in 1963, and a board was established by the dean of the Divinity School to oversee it. Initially intended for use by Divinity School students, the Center has evolved over the years and now also serves as a resource for the community. The Center also reflects Vieth's belief, notes Ms. Engelhardt, that Divinity School professors should not deal solely with academic theory, but also with the practical aspects of church ministry.
The Vieth Resource Center is available to Yale students, faculty and staff weekdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. In addition, area church leaders may use the Center's services and congregations may purchase a membership which entitles them to borrowing privileges, consultations and customized workshops. Some 150 area congregations hold Center memberships.
In 1995 about 1,715 non-Yale visitors came to the Center for workshops or consultations, to check out resources or to browse -- an average of 7-10 persons each day, says Ms. Engelhardt. Of these, 265 took part in 68 joint workshops, offered for both students and non- students. "There are no obstacles to having students and church leaders together," says Ms. Engelhardt, "because they're mostly on the same ground. It's really very common ground.
"The workshops and materials I use here come out of the questions and concerns that congregations have," she explains. "The same things we do here with students -- who have to do a supervised ministry and run into real-life challenges -- are useful for church leaders."
Center workshops, which sometimes touch on controversial topics, offer "a way to integrate what we talk about in the classroom with our own work in the church," says John Endler, a third-year Divinity School student. "In a way they open up the possibility of things you can do in the church." A member of First Baptist Church in Wallingford, Mr. Endler has seen members of his congregation "make lots of use of the Center," he says.
Jeff Hill, a first-year Divinity School student, was familiar with the Vieth Resource Center even before he enrolled at Yale because the pastor of his church -- the Reverend Lester McCorn of Varick AME Zion -- had spoken highly of the Center's services. Mr. Hill, who has visited the Center to locate materials on youth ministry, finds that "a lot of times, particularly with Christian ministry, we don't often talk about our process. The advantage of the Vieth Resource Center is that it helps make us more aware of what we're doing." The Reverend Robert Martin, assistant professor of religious education, considers the practical applications presented by Ms. Engelhardt's workshops so important that he has made participating in workshops a requirement for some of his courses.
"There aren't sharp distinctions" between spiritual development and the practical applications of that development, says Ms. Engelhardt. "In fact, the church cares about all aspects of life. In some ways, we help bridge that gap between the abstract of the faith component and actually living it."
While leading workshops, Ms. Engelhardt has helped leaders consider that some adults are reluctant to participate in what is called "religious education," she notes. "'Education' words sometimes make people feel as if they will be put in a subservient position," Ms. Engelhardt says. "The stereotype is that Christian education is for children, and therefore some people don't use the term 'Christian education' for adults -- they'll use the term 'Bible study.' So I suggest dropping the 'education' and instead refer to the adult experiences as 'faith nurture' or 'spiritual growth,' or some other term." Regardless of what it is called, "there is a challenge for us as leaders to lead processes that encourage thinking and questioning," says Ms. Engelhardt. "Leadership is not as simple as preparing a lecture. When we have these processes, it means that we as leaders grow, too; I think of myself as a co-learner in the group. The resources are out there to make it easy and manageable for really good things to happen in adult education. There are tons of resources."
The ceiling-to-floor wall shelves of the Vieth Resource Center house a matrix of materials -- from multi and nondenominational books and pamphlets to puzzles and quizzes to cassette tapes and films -- in over 200 categories. Among them are printed materials on topics ranging from "Creating Visual Imagery in Worship" to "Pastoral Responses to Sexual Issues"; cassette and video tapes examining both historical and contemporary subjects, including a special "Hot Talk" video series focusing on salient youth-oriented issues; a "Women of Hope" poster series featuring trailblazers such as astronaut Mae C. Jemison, social activist Delores Huerta and poet Maya Angelou; resources for holidays and special events such as Hanukkah, the Advent/Christmas season and Black History Month; and noncompetitive games for all age groups, from the child- instructive "Bible Dominoes" to "A Question of Scruples," which challenges adults to answer provocative questions involving moral and ethical dilemmas.
All are welcome to visit the Vieth Resource Center and browse through materials. As noted above, regular workshops on various topics will be offered throughout the semester. The first of these -- "Worship: Images Involving Children," which addresses ways to consider children and youth when designing the worship service and other activities -- will be held 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Other workshop topics this semester include planning youth retreats, developing a church newsletter and exploring video clips of the PBS series "Genesis: A Living Conversation." Watch for listings in future issues of the Yale Bulletin & Calendar. The workshops, which also can be arranged by appointment, are free and open to the public. For more information about the Center, including church memberships, contact Ms. Engelhardt at 432-5319.
-- BY FELICIA HUNTER