Disciples of Christ Seminarians

Comment

Comment by HELMdisciples on December 2, 2010 at 2:48pm

Disciples Seminarians Conference set for March 31-April 3: The 2011 Disciples Seminarians Conference welcomes all M.Div. students who have completed a year of study. Scheduled for March 31-April 3 at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, Tenn., the conference gives ministerial students opportunities to meet other new Disciples leaders and learn how the church can help them and the congregation or organization they lead to minister faithfully and effectively.

The conference aims to provide seminarians with a "toolkit for ministry" by highlighting programs supporting congregational transformation and ministerial leadership. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about the Search and Call process and other ways the general ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) provide resources for church leaders.
Information on travel stipends and registration will be available following the Christmas break.

Held every two years, the Disciples Seminarians Conference is sponsored by Disciples general ministries and organized by Higher Education & Leadership Ministries.

Comment by HELMdisciples on February 11, 2010 at 2:41pm

Disciples seminarians are invited to apply for Ministerial Student Grants, a program of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM) providing up to $3,000 for selected M.Div. students to support research projects, educational experiences outside the student's institution, study-related travel, or other opportunities.

An applicant must be a member of a Disciples congregation and under care of a regional commission on ministry and have completed the first year of an M.Div. degree at an accredited seminary. A student may receive one grant during her or his M.Div. studies, and recipients will provide a written report on their experiences to HELM following the project.

Five seminarians received Ministerial Student Grants in 2009:

* Diane Faires of the Disciples Divinity House at Vanderbilt will join in Week of Compassion's trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina this summer.

* Jonathan Hall at Eden Theological Seminary will use the grant to help underwrite a semester at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. Hall will also receive major funding from the Council on Christian Unity.

* Linda Harding of Denver Seminary will participate in a trip to Turkey and Greece, studying Biblical sites and learning about the cultures from which Christianity grew.

* Erin Moore at the Disciples Seminary Foundation will create a Disciples-focused study guide to "Our Whole Lives," a sexuality education curriculum.

* Deb Phelps of Christian Theological Seminary aims to create "The Net Christian Church," an online congregation that will reach potential Disciples who are unable to participate in traditional brick-and-mortar congregations.

This new program is supported by the Hughey-Peery Fund, in partnership with the Pension Fund of the Christian Church.

Guidelines and application forms can be downloaded free online at http://www.helmdisciples.org/theological/ministerialgrants.htm or may be requested by calling HELM at 314-991-3000. All materials are due on April 1, 2010, and applicants will be notified of the results by May 1. Projects eligible for consideration must be completed between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011, with a final report due in the fall of 2011.

HELM works to nurture transforming leadership for the church in partnership with Disciples congregations, higher education institutions, campus ministry programs, regions, general ministries, and other parts of the church.