UMC reaffirmation strengthens LTSS Methodist Studies Program

The United Methodist Church (UMC) has reaffirmed Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (LTSS), allowing the seminary to continue preparing students for ordination in the United Methodist Church and strengthening its growing connection with the Western North Carolina Annual Conference.

“The UMC University Senate’s reaffirmation of our Methodist Studies Program commends the work at LTSS,” said the Rev. Dr. Chad Rimmer, dean and rector of LTSS. “We are nurturing a growing partnership with the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, that includes students enrolling for theological education and formation, which strengthens the ecumenical nature of our community.”

The reaffirmation signals continued denominational confidence in LTSS as a site for ministerial formation, while also reflecting an expanding influx of United Methodist students from Western North Carolina.

For faculty in Methodist Studies, that work is rooted in a relational approach to formation.

“We see ourselves as walking alongside candidates for ministry, not simply instructing them from a distance,” said the Rev. Dr. Melanie Dobson, associate professor and the Lefler and Wohltmann Chair in Methodist Studies. “That sense of accompaniment is very much in keeping with the Methodist tradition — even going back to Francis Asbury, who didn’t just send ministers out, but traveled with them, mentored them and built relationships that shaped their ministry in very personal ways.”

Asbury, the first bishop of American Methodism, traveled approximately 280,000 miles during his ministry and ordained roughly 4,000 preachers. Historical records show repeated travel through Western North Carolina, a region where early Methodist communities were taking root.

That legacy of presence and personal connection, Dobson said, continues to shape LTSS’s approach to ministerial formation.

“Seminary formation is profound relational work,” she said. “For students who want to be formed in community, LTSS offers that opportunity in the heart of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, where learning and ministry are shaped in close relationship with others.”

Dobson added that this relational model is reflected in the faculty as well, including colleagues who serve both in the classroom and in the church, including her fellow United Methodist faculty colleague, Rev. Kermit Moss, who serves an appointment at Columbia UMC.

“Our faculty are deeply committed to the church and have extensive experience in congregational ministry as pastors” she said. “We are teaching, mentoring and serving alongside one another in ways that reflect the very communities our students will one day lead.”

The seminary’s investment in the region is both professional and personal for Dobson.

“I am a clergy member of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference and have a vested interest in seeing this region and its clergy flourish,” she said. “This is home.”