Covenant Between Rhodes and The Synod of Living Waters

I. Purpose of the Covenant

The purpose of this covenant is to define the nature and scope of the relationship between Rhodes College and the Synod of Living Waters, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (hereinafter called Synod).

II. History of the Relationship

Founded in Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1848, Rhodes College first entered into relationship with the Presbyterian Church (Nashville Synod) in 1855 as Stewart College, a name which was changed to Southwestern Presbyterian University in 1875, the year in which the Charter of Incorporation was granted by the State of Tennessee. When the College moved to Memphis in 1925, it adopted as its official name Southwestern, and in 1946 it was changed to Southwestern At Memphis. The “Plan of Union” of 1873, was subsequently modified and was formulated in 1973. The Charter was last amended in 1984 to change the name from Southwestern At Memphis to Rhodes College.

The corporation of Rhodes College is recognized to be an official institution of the Synod of Living Waters of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

III. Parties to the Covenant

The parties to this covenant, Rhodes College, operating under its governing board, the Board of Trustees, and the Synod of Living Waters, operating as a governing body, are separate entities. They are independent, neither being controlled by the other. They are, however, interdependent in that they must work together to accomplish their common purposes.

IV. Responsibilities Under the Covenant

A. Rhodes College. The Board of Trustees of the College has adopted a Statement of Christian Commitment and Church Relationship that provides the background for these responsibilities of the College under the Covenant:

To provide opportunities for corporate worship.
To demonstrate active concern for social justice and human mercy.
To conduct an educational program in which a large majority of the faculty are Christians; to insist on freedom of inquiry for the faculty and students; to create a climate in which the Christian faith is reasonably and persuasively presented without pressing for acceptance; and to explore the relationships between religion and other facets of life.
To express personal concern for students.
To require study of the Bible and its relationship with history and culture.
To provide intellectual stimulus to the Church through research, publication, and by providing leaders, library and location for Church education conferences.
To educate students to become leaders in the Church and in society.
To work toward the effective recruitment of racial ethnic persons at every level of the College’s life.
To maintain Christian governance and leadership by maintaining the practice that a large majority of Trustees and administrators be Christians.
To provide services to the Church such as preachers for pulpit supply, the Rhodes College Singers, and leadership for Church conferences and councils.
To provide Synod with a report of the campus ministry program and activities of the College in its Annual Report to the Synod; and other reports as are deemed useful.

B. Synod of Living Waters. The Synod of Living Waters is a governing body of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. as defined in the Book of Order, Chapter XII (G-12.0000) with jurisdiction as set forth in BO IX. As a governing body of the Church, the Synod is committed to and expresses the functions of the Church as stated in the BO I.

It seeks to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His Mission as set forth in Scripture and as revealed as a gift of the Holy Spirit. It believes that the rich diversity existing within its bounds is a clue to its effectiveness in fulfilling its mission. This mission is pursued, among other ways, “by providing for a ministry in higher education.”

In fulfilling the responsibilities of this covenant, the Synod of Living Waters agrees to:

Communicate to church governing bodies and congregations an understanding of Rhodes as a church-related college which provides students with an experience of living in a Christian community of sensitivity, mutual concern, and awareness of the needs of the world, and which emphasizes developing the whole person: physically, spiritually, intellectually.
Work with Rhodes in the recruitment of students for enrollment in the College. The Church vitally aids in determining the level and quality of enrollment and the character of the institution.
Encourage financial support for Rhodes by encouraging support by Presbyterians within the Synod of the College’s capital funds programs and planned giving programs through trusts, wills, and bequests. Rhodes will consult with Synod about campaigns among governing bodies within the bounds of Synod.

C. Each party affirms the purpose of the other and hereby covenants to support and encourage the other in pursuing their missions.

V. Mutual Understanding and Accountability

A. Election of Members of the Board of Trustees. No Synod-elected Trustees.

B. Disposition of Property. If Rhodes should cease to operate as an institution of higher learning, the Board of Trustees of the College will determine the disposition of property, except to the extent that donors have imposed restrictive reversion clauses on their individual gifts to the College.

C. Accountability and Communication. Both parties agree to provide regular and formal channels of communication including:

Rhodes will provide the Synod with copies of its Annual Audit, Minutes of its Board meetings, and other significant documents.
The Synod will provide Rhodes with copies of its Annual Audit, Minutes of Synod meetings, and other significant documents.
The text of this covenant shall be printed in the minutes of the Synod of Living Waters and in the Rhodes College Handbook, and shall be summarized in the Rhodes catalogue and made available to members of the administration, faculty, staff and to other constituencies as deemed appropriate.

D. Review and Amendment of The Covenant.

This Covenant may be reviewed as deemed necessary by the College or the Synod by a team composed of persons appointed by the Synod and persons by the College’s Board of Trustees.
This Covenant may be amended by the Synod of Living Waters and the Board of Rhodes College.

VI. Formal Approval

This Covenant shall be effective upon formal approval by the Synod of Living Waters and the Board of Trustees of Rhodes College.

The Synod of Living Waters and Rhodes College do so covenant and agree.

-----------

A Statement of Christian Commitment and Church Relationship
(Adopted by the Board of Trustees)

Too many colleges today, lacking a clear identity and direction, have become imitative. The prestige image they follow is often a secular pattern since most of the well-established private institutions in this country are secular in outlook. For church-related institutions the problem is especially serious because imitation draws them away from their own distinctive purposes.

Some people today feel that religion is not genuinely concerned with truth; that by its very nature it is inharmonious with the purposes of an academic community. Some people are apt to think of church-related colleges as restricted environments clouded by moralistic prohibition. Some think of religion not as embodying truth about ultimate reality, but only as a moral code, or as a set of impractical ideals, or as quaint and antiquated ideas that educated people are supposed to have outgrown. Following this tide some church-related colleges drift away from their original identity, purpose and distinctiveness.

Rhodes has chosen to go in the other direction, and in these disturbed and crucial times, restates its distinctive and extraordinary function as a church-related institution.

As we face our mission of education, people are yearning for values that abide and are searching for meaning and purpose in the changing world. In a society that grows increasingly massive, impersonal, and technologically driven, there is need for strong spiritual leadership. We of Rhodes dedicate ourselves to continuing as a dynamic source for stimulating this leadership.

What is Rhodes’ distinctive and extraordinary function as a church-related college?

First, let us look at what it is not. Rhodes’ commitment to the church and to the Lord of the church does not mean that it is a doctrinaire institution requiring intellectual adherence to creedal religion. It does not mean that Rhodes excludes persons from its student body, faculty, administration, or governing bodies who may hold other views. The College does not exclude people, ban books, or avoid ideas.

Now let us look at what Rhodes’ commitment to being a church-related institution does mean.

The College strives to fulfill these Ten Marks of a Church-Related College:

Opportunities for Corporate Worship. Rhodes provides regular opportunities for corporate worship, led by students and members of the faculty and administration using a variety of formats ranging from the high liturgical to the very informal.
Demonstration of Social Concern. The student coming to Rhodes lives in a community where faculty and students show active concern for social justice and human mercy. This is expressed both in voluntary activities, such as the Kinney Program, and in academic involvements, such as off-campus internships.
Balance of Commitment and Freedom. How can Rhodes do justice to its purpose of being a church-related institution, a purpose which carries with it commitment to beliefs, and, at the same time, maintain the freedom of inquiry necessary for good education? Rhodes’ policy avoids the pitfalls of absolutizing either freedom or doctrine which would make them mutually exclusive in an educational setting. Rhodes reconciles freedom, responsibility, and our purpose of being a Christian college by:
1) seeing to it that a large majority of the faculty are Christians;
2) insisting on freedom of inquiry for the faculty and students;
3) creating a climate in which the Christian faith is reasonably and persuasively presented without pressing for acceptance; and
4) encouraging faculty and students to explore the relationships between religion and other facets of life (as in the course “Search for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion”).
Personal Concern for Students. In an age of bigness, mass production, and impersonality, Rhodes students enjoy close contact with professors in small classes and grow in an atmosphere where personal relationships are important, and where values, ideals and commitment are mediated. The Office of Chaplain is an expression of the College’s concern for students and the campus community.
Courses in Bible and Religion. In keeping with Rhodes’ historic mission, it is the policy of the College that requirements for graduation shall substantially comply with requiring two years of Bible. Rhodes’ primary mission is to educate. Within this framework the College provides a variety of courses in Bible and religion that reflect on the Judeo-Christian heritage, the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and the implications of these for the whole of life.
Providing Intellectual Stimulus to the Church. The academic community of Rhodes provides intellectual resources to the church through research, the publication of scholarly articles and books, and by providing excellent leaders, library, and location for study seminars and church education conferences.
Providing Leaders for Church and Society. While avoiding quotas, narrow boundaries or intellectual compromise, Rhodes best serves both church and society by being the very finest liberal arts college it can be. By linking spiritual values with intellectual insights, Rhodes prepares students for service in church vocations and in all walks of life.
Maintaining Christian Governance and Leadership. Rhodes maintains the practice that a large majority of trustees and administrators, as well as faculty, be Christians.
Providing Services to the Church. Rhodes’ primary service to the church is in carrying out its educational mission. Subsidiary to this are other services that include providing preachers for pulpit supply, the Rhodes Singers, providing location and leadership for church conferences and councils, furthering academic research in the field of religion and a growing list of other services.
Reporting to the Church. Rhodes, a College related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), makes regular reports to the Synod of Living Waters.

What does Rhodes, as a church-related institution, reasonably expect of the Church?

First, An Understanding of Rhodes as a church-related college; not as “a parent away from home,” and not as “a protective agency for a child,” but as an environment that provides young men and women an experience in living in a community of sensitivity, mutual concern, and awareness of the needs of the world; and where emphasis is placed upon developing the whole person: physically, spiritually, intellectually.

Second, Enthusiastic Enlistment of young men and women for enrollment in Rhodes. The church vitally aids in determining the level and quality of enrollment and the character of the institution.

Third, Generous Support for Rhodes as a church-related college by regular benevolence giving, by supporting capital funds programs, and by providing for the College’s future mission by gifts through life-income trusts, wills, and bequests.

Rhodes has chosen the better way—against the imitative, secular flow—and restates its distinctive and extraordinary purpose. In a time of turnover-technology, impersonality, and eroding ethics, Rhodes reaffirms its Christian commitment to prepare men and women in mind, in body and in spirit fitted for leadership in tomorrow’s world.

The Definition of Church-Related College

A Church-related College is defined as an academic institution of higher education which intentionally cultivates a cooperative and collaborative connection with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and which seeks to reflect Christian values and convictions in its common life. To be related or connected means:

That the College and the Church share a common history. This history, rich in tradition, shared values, and guiding beliefs, binds the College and Church in a common educational mission.
That the College attempts to be faithful to the Reformed heritage, its values, and guiding beliefs in its corporate life. Among those values and beliefs are the sovereignty of God over all of life, the goodness of the created world, the value and limitations of reason, a commitment to a moral life, and the call to service. The Church, in turn, supports the related College as it attempts to carry out its educational mission.

On Being Faithful

The College reflects in its common life the traditional values of the Reformed tradition. The basis of the relationship with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is expressed in a covenant. The leadership of the College, as well as its interpretative literature, speak of the historical circumstances and the nature of the connection with the Church.

Rhodes intentionally cultivates church relatedness, and the connection with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is an important dimension in the life of the College. The covenant with the Church is taken seriously. Rhodes has a clear statement of church relatedness in its interpretive literature, in a strong chaplaincy, and in a Department of Religious Studies that includes an emphasis on the denomination’s theological and historical tradition. Rhodes sustains a vital Christian community and provides opportunities for spiritual nurture, worship, and service.

Amendments to this information requires approval of the Rhodes Board of Trustees.