Being Reformed in the Twenty-first Century: A Gift or a Challenge? – Celebrating a Quarter Century of the Reformed Church Center

Celebrating a Quarter Century of the Reformed Church Center

While New Brunswick Theological Seminary (NBTS) is a historically Reformed Seminary, founded by the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in North America, it has, in the last half-century, become increasingly diverse, both culturally and ecumenically. By the late 1990s, there was a perceived need to provide a place to care for distinctly Reformed things so NBTS could honor that heritage while being more intentionally ecumenical. The Board of Trustees approved the creation of a “Center for Reformed Church Studies” on May 21, 1999, and the “inaugural” program of the Center was held on April 30 and May 1, 2001. But the first four programs of what would become the Reformed Church Center were held during the 2000-2001 academic year.

This is why we will celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Reformed Church Center on Thursday, April 24, 2025, beginning with a special hybrid lecture: we will be in-person as well as online for the first time since 2020. Our speaker will be Setri Nyomi, Interim General Secretary of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), whose topic will be “Being Reformed in the Twenty-first Century: A Gift or a Challenge?”

Setri Nyomi is a Ghanaian pastoral theologian, ecumenical leader, and theological educator.  He was General Secretary of the WCRC—formerly the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) – from April 2000 to August 2014, the first non-European General Secretary of this church family that unites Presbyterian, Reformed, Congregational, Waldensian and some Uniting Churches globally. Ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, in 1980, Dr. Nyomi has served as Senior pastor in several congregations in Ghana and has been part of a pastoral staff in the USA.  He has also been a Senior Lecturer in Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Ghana, and a Visiting Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary in 2016 and at the University of Goettingen, Germany, in 2018.  

An ecumenical leader known for his commitment to the mission of the church and its relevance to the twenty-first century as well as to the church’s role in being a beacon for justice in the world today, Nyomi has received academic degrees from University of Ghana, Trinity Theological Seminary in Ghana, Yale University Divinity School, and Princeton Theological Seminary.  He is also very committed to Christian unity and ecumenical engagement and is married to Akpene Esther Nyomi; they have three adult children and five grandchildren.

After Dr. Nyomi’s lecture and discussion, there will be a gala celebration dinner for everyone who is able to join us in New Brunswick, as we remember the good work done by the Reformed Church Center and look forward to the future.

Registration

Registration information will be available soon, but mark your calendars now for this special event.