Candler is a community of faith and learning, one that is diverse in gender and ethnicity as well as economic, social, and national background. One of 13 official seminaries of the United Methodist Church, Candler’s 40-plus faculty members embrace multiple theological traditions. Candler is an intellectually vital, internationally recognized, and intentionally diverse university-based school of theology grounded in Christian tradition.
Growing up in a Pentecostal church in North Dakota, Nancy Eiesland believed she could best serve God as a hospital chaplain. And she did, briefly, while working on her master of divinity degree at Candler. But Eiesland noticed a gap in the study of theology and disability and decided to devote her career to filling it. Her thesis, titled The Disabled God, focused on the effects of religion on people with disabilities and the response of religious groups to these people.
Eiesland describes Candler as a home—one where she feels appreciated for who she is, as a person with congenital disabilities. Studying with Eiesland, students develop a deep respect for the searching and intellectual prowess of the laity. She wants them to understand themselves as lifelong learners.
Your support of Candler will encourage a diverse student body and faculty, inspiring Candler scholars to ask new questions and to seek new answers to old ones.
