History
The school opened in 1904 as the Pacific Unitarian School for the Ministry. With most Unitarian ministers being educated at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Meadville Theological School in Meadville, Pennsylvania, the new seminary would meet the need to train leaders serving the churches west of the Rocky Mountains. The school held its first classes at the First Unitarian Church of Oakland, moving just a few years later to the City of Berkeley to be closer to other seminaries and the University of California, where students were able to take classes. The first president was Earl Morse Wilbur. In addition to his service to the school for 30 years, he is remembered for writing the first comprehensive histories of European Unitarianism.
In 1941, the school changed its name to honor Thomas Starr King, minister of the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco. During the Civil War, the popular lecturer and activist spoke zealously in favor of the Union and was credited by Abraham Lincoln with preventing California from becoming a separate republic. In addition, he organized the Pacific Branch of the United States Sanitary Commission, which cared for wounded soldiers and was the predecessor to the American Red Cross. King’s prominence also contributed greatly to the spread of Unitarianism on the West Coast.
In 1962, local seminaries officially formed the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), a diverse consortium of what now numbers nine theological seminaries, several research centers, affiliates and institutes. Starr King joined the GTU in 1964.
Read more about this topic: Starr King School For The Ministry
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