Illustration by Fernando Cobelo

In December, Meadville Lombard Theological School will move about 10 blocks north of its current location in the Spertus Building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. At Spertus, we reimagined our educational model and enjoyed a gorgeous view of Lake Michigan, but we also faced challenges in centering the needs of our students. The pandemic helped us reimagine our space needs to prioritize student learning and formation and make us better stewards of our resources.

Good stewardship of our space means rethinking our business model to enable us to use facilities in mission-centric ways, specifically that of being a theological learning community engaged in curricular and co-curricular events.

The space we’re moving to is roughly the same size, but with a different design. We’ll have dedicated classroom space, a chapel, a meditation room, a recording studio, spaces for private and public meetings, a faculty lounge, and a dedicated library space, among other amenities that will better support and enrich our learning community.

When the school moved about a decade ago from its historic location in Hyde Park, it was not easy, yet we thrived. Today we embrace a new opportunity to live into our mission, meet student needs, expand our reach, and grow.