City Seminary of New York

City Seminary of New York A community of learning for ministry in the city

City Seminary of New York is a learning community that seeks the peace of the city through theological education. We are a seedbed for generations of leaders who make a difference in an interconnected and ever-changing urban world.

Our MA cohort and faculty made a pilgrimage to Alabama and Georgia this summer. Pilgrimage is a key practice at City Sem...
08/06/2026

Our MA cohort and faculty made a pilgrimage to Alabama and Georgia this summer. Pilgrimage is a key practice at City Seminary: we are formed by the practice of journeying to a new place and experiencing God's work and the life of the church in a different context. In Alabama, the MA students stood at the site of the 16th Street Bombing, walked the Selma Bridge with the son of Martin Luther King Jr.'s lawyer, and visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery. They also engaged with local faith communities, and discovered old friends from Harlem leading ministries in Birmingham today. As pilgrims we are called to feel the dirt beneath our feet, learning, listening, reflecting, and being transformed.

Compelling Preaching NYC is a five-year initiative of City Seminary of New York directed by Mark Gornik and Miriam Aceve...
07/16/2026

Compelling Preaching NYC is a five-year initiative of City Seminary of New York directed by Mark Gornik and Miriam Acevedo, with Vivian Grubb and April Bonano joining in the project. This initiative is supported by a generous grant from Lilly Endowment.

Working primarily with preachers in newer congregations, we are seeking to understand their role in forming and sustaining communities of faith and practice through the Word, and then bringing together different preaching voices into communities of mutual learning as the work continues to unfold. Our goal is to identify, support, and share with others the compelling preaching happening all over New York City, furthering the flourishing of Christian belief and practice in our city.

We are now in Year 3, still involving new congregations in the overall project and now beginning to form preaching communities across the five boroughs. Additionally, we piloted a preaching lab in our Graduate Center, and continued a preaching emphasis with WE LEAD NYC, our youth seminary, and in our Bible for Life programming.

Please continue to pray not only for the work of Compelling Preaching NYC here at the seminary, but for the many leaders faithfully proclaiming God's Word around our city!

We just wrapped up our fourth annual HUB Summer Camp, which gathered 15 participants in our national Ministry in the Cit...
06/24/2026

We just wrapped up our fourth annual HUB Summer Camp, which gathered 15 participants in our national Ministry in the City HUB network for four days of learning together for capacity building in their ministries. These leaders are engaged in creative and life-giving ministry work, and come from 10 different cities across the U.S. and Canada.

Dean Sarah Gerth van den Berg and Provost Maria Liu Wong shared practical insights on cultivating learning communities, and participants were also invited to share their own ministry and leadership practices, tapping into the wealth of experience and perspective in the room.

A loom remained a central symbol and practice throughout the week, weaving together strips of textile from participants' learning communities into a beautifully complex tapestry. This spirit of creativity carried into praxis groups, where participants worked through ministry and leadership challenges together. Overall, it was a wonderful week of fellowship, joy, and listening to the city.

Congratulations to our 2026 graduating class of youth seminarians!On Saturday, May 30, 15 high school students graduated...
06/04/2026

Congratulations to our 2026 graduating class of youth seminarians!

On Saturday, May 30, 15 high school students graduated from our year-long youth seminary program, WE LEAD NYC, surrounded by their families, pastors, and faculty. The goal of WE LEAD NYC is to nurture youth communities in the city for lives of purpose and joy through leadership development, spiritual formation, and ministry practice.

A few quotes from the day help tell the story of what this program means to the graduates, the program's peer leaders, the parents, and even their local pastors:

It was a highlight when we would break into small groups with our [peer mentors]. It gave us a real opportunity to connect on a deeper level, pertaining to how we maneuver the world as Christian youth in today's society.
[Makayla, 2026 WE LEAD graduate]

I'm so glad that my daughter came to the program because, more than just something to do on a Saturday, she learned about the Bible, about prayer, about community, and about the city.
[Father of a 2026 WE LEAD graduate]

As a WE LEAD peer mentor, I had the opportunity to see high school students grow in their faith and form new friendships. I also grew in my own faith and leadership. The way Miriam, Vivian, and Rex poured into my life helped my own calling as a young Christian woman in leadership.
[Lydia, 2025-26 WE LEAD peer mentor]

As a part of our Thriving in Ministry Initiative, supported by Lilly Endowment, we are in the midst of a six-week, Sprin...
05/21/2026

As a part of our Thriving in Ministry Initiative, supported by Lilly Endowment, we are in the midst of a six-week, Spring Community Chaplain "Praxis" cohort, bringing together five chaplains serving in different community contexts throughout the city. Each participant comes with a question rooted in their life or ministry context. Together, through prayer, conversations, creative practices, and fellowship, we seek to listen to the Spirit's wisdom in the community to explore the questions and insights they invite.

On Saturday, May 2, the Faith and Families Initiative hosted its Annual Gathering, marking the launch of a new phase foc...
05/07/2026

On Saturday, May 2, the Faith and Families Initiative hosted its Annual Gathering, marking the launch of a new phase focused on partnerships with local congregations and the development of a growing NYC learning community. The day began with table conversations centered on home, church, and community. A small group of representatives from each partner church gathered for a time of listening to key themes from our research. Their responses highlighted the complexities of intergenerational, intercultural faith transmission and formation.

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