Just days before Rev. Deborah Krause was announced as the next president of Eden Theological Seminary – the first woman to lead the seminary in its 159-year history – she served on a panel at a Deaconess Foundation Just 4 Kids Community Conversation. Rev. Starsky Wilson, president and CEO of the Deaconess Foundation and former co-chair of the Ferguson Commission, introduced Krause by saying that she was on the streets of Ferguson during the unrest more than he was.
Krause said she had been summoned to the streets of Ferguson by her former students, including Wilson and Pastor Traci Blackmon of Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant (who also is now a national leader with the United Church of Christ).
“It was a redemptive movement to be in proximity to the suffering of God’s people,” she said on December 9 to a crowded room of community organizers (Kayla Reed and Sarah Watkins of Action St. Louis), elected officials (St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones, state Senator Karla May) and activist clergy like Blackmon and Wilson.
When Krause’s elevation to president of the seminary, where currently she is a professor of New Testament studies, was announced on social media with a nod to her frequent presence in Ferguson, many veterans of the Ferguson unrest offered testimony in support of her. Heather DeMian, one of the most dedicated documentarians of the Ferguson unrest and Stockley verdict protests, immediately posted a number of photos of Krause bearing witness at protests. One of those images illustrates this story.
Krause testified to the Deaconess audience about the importance of clergy “moving into spaces outside of our churches and our home villages, into spaces where people are doing reparative work.”
She recognized Cathy Daniels in the crowd, the iconic Mama Cat of the Ferguson protest movement. “She fed a movement,” Krause said of Daniels. “She created a family home on the streets and the Andy Wurm parking lot,” a reference to Andy Wurm Tire & Wheel, located across the street from the Ferguson Police Department. The Wurm family patiently allowed protestors to operate and fellowship out of their parking lot when the shop was closed.
“Without a pastor and without a church, they gathered a movement of people,” Krause said of Ferguson protestors. “If you follow those people, maybe the church will come, too, but I promise you will meet Jesus there.”
An ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Krause has been a member of Eden’s faculty since 1992 and served as the multidenominational seminary’s academic dean from 2005 through 2018. Among her accomplishments over this time were a comprehensive curriculum revision completed in 2016 and inclusion efforts that have substantially boosted diversity on Eden’s campus.
In her new role leading the seminary, Krause plans to “extend and expand upon its initiatives to bring people together to forge a joy-filled future for Christianity,” according to a release. In recent years, Eden has launched multiple new programs to advance its mission, retaining a strong focus on preparing tomorrow’s church leaders while also creating and strengthening ties to the business community, civic organizations and interfaith initiatives. New offerings include a degree program in Community Leadership and Next Steps, a non-degree program designed to help retirees find new callings to support their communities.
“Eden has long served as a pillar of the Progressive Christian Movement, and I’m excited for the opportunity to help strengthen and expand its role in the months and years ahead,” Krause said in a statement. “The theological education provided at Eden empowers church and community leaders to explore their faith, pursue racial equity, promote interfaith collegiality and strengthen the resiliency of the church. We will work to build on this foundation moving forward.”
Krause will succeed David Greenhaw, who plans to retire in the summer of 2020 after a 23-year tenure as Eden’s president. Krause will officially take on the new role on July 1, after a transition period working in partnership with Greenhaw.
Krause was selected for the position after an intensive six-month search process led by Eden Board of Trustees chair and former president and CEO of Parents as Teachers Susan Stepleton and board member and retired Energizer Holdings CEO Ward Klein. Hundreds of candidates were contacted and dozens of strong candidates were given consideration.
“Deborah Krause has extraordinary gifts and brings deep wisdom to this work. She is ready to lead Eden,” Greenhaw said in a statement. “No one loves Eden more than Deb, and no one will work harder for Eden’s future.”
For more information on Eden Theological Seminary, which is located at 475 East Lockwood Ave. in Webster Groves, visit https://www.eden.edu/.
