A more expansive view: a blog about encounters with Presbyterians and seminaries

Sabbatical Grants, Seminary Debt Assistance, and More!

How can a PC(USA) pastor pay for a sabbatical?  How can some of a pastor's educational debt be payed down?  Who can presbyteries and synods partner with to  create continuing education events and opportunities for church leaders? 

The answer to all three of these questions is the Board of Pensions (BOP)of the PC(USA)!  Specifically, the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions works with pastors, congregations, synods and presbyteries to make these opportunities available.  The sabbatical grants and seminary debt assistance is limited to pastors serving churches under 200 and 150 members respectively.  Presbyteries and synods can work together with other presbyteries and synods to propose special projects with the Middle Governing Body Grants maybe with a Presbyterian Seminary as a third partner?  All the details, application directions, and contact information for further questions can be found on the Pastors: Vocational Leadership Needs page of the Assistance Program website of the BOP.

Back up to the Assistance Program website and you will see a number of other ways the BOP can assist financially during times of special need including emergency assistance, adoption, and transition-to-college grants.  Many retired church workers may apply for income and housing supplements.

These are twice a year or more Peter Sime, the Vice President for Assistance and Funds Development at the Board of Pensions, visits the Presbyterian Center.  He visited recently on, and this is not a joke, on April 15th, tax day!  He came to report on some of these assistance programs and continuing conversation with national PC(USA)  staff who work to support ministers of Word and Sacrament.  Amazingly, many of these programs are under utilized. 

Maybe you know someone that they could help today!

Lee from Louisville.

Happy Eastertide and Kentucky Derby week :)!

Graciously Recieved by Grace Presbytery

I have always been told about how big things in Texas are and once again I have experienced it.  The TEF Seminary Support Network received an overflowing welcome to Texas by members and staff of Grace Presbytery.  There were so, so many wonderful experiences and connections that happened around the edges of our annual gathering of the TEF Seminary Support Network last week.  One of the most memorable was the love, prayer and presence extended to us by leaders in Grace Presbytery, 180 congregations and over 45,000 members in northeast Texas. 

Pictured above is the font/fountain that greets visitors to the Grace Presbytery, at the Presbyterian Mission Center where one will find the offices of the Synod of the Sun, the Texas Presbyterian Foundation, and FaithHospice.  Around the base of the font is the commissioning words that emerge from baptism, "Sent by God into the world."  What a message of hope that reminds all who enter there of the call by God to be in ministry in the world. 

I was invited by Ashley Hood (pictured on the left with me and sporting her "Seminaries and Churches Together shirt!), Acting Associate General Presbyter of Grace Presbytery and the chair of their Committee on Preparation for Ministry, Betsy Winters, to meet with the COPM while I was in town.  They shared dinner with our Network and I shared lunch with them.  I felt like it was an extension of the communion table as we gathered both places.  Grace has over seventy inquirers and candidates, one of the most of any PC(USA) presbytery.... and they are looking for more! Grace's Eli Project seeks to identify high school and college age students who are discerning potential calls to church vocations.  They match them with mentors and provide events for all involved.  I could see there how a culture of call is being nurtured and created in wonderful ways. 

That same Spirit was recognizably present during a Prayer Breakfast organized by Lander Bethel, Pastor of Grand Avenue Presbyterian Church in Sherman, TX.  Over a dozen pastors gathered with Judy Fletcher, the Synod of the Sun Executive, Linda Valentine, the Executive Director of the GAC, Carol Adcock, the Chair-elect of the GAC, and TEF Seminary Support Network synod representatives.  Prayers of thanksgiving and praise, especially for the numerous churches that have given to the TEF almost every year since it began, nineteen years ago.  Eastminster Presbyterian Church of Dallas was honored for giving every single year of the fund!

Days like these remind me about the new life that we are all given in baptism.  They remind me that we are not alone in answering our call by God in our new life.  I give thanks that we are a connectional and connected church that is doing faithful and fruitful ministry in every corner of the globe and the NE corner of Texas!

Lee back home in Louisville

Seminary Support Network @ American Airlines Training Center

The Theological Education Fund Seminary Support Network is holding it's annual meeting in the American Airlines Training Center in Dallas, Texas. Over a hundred faithful Presbyterians from across the country have fought the airline cancellations and storms to be together because they care about PC(USA) Seminaries and strong theological education in the PC(USA). 

Pictured above are Nicholas Yoda and Sue Dallam, a current and former member of the Committee on Theological Education, led the group in a time of visioning and community building on Wednesday evening. 

Amy Pagliarella, a recent McMormick MDiv graduate, former business consultant, and current Director of Children's Ministries at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, IL is serving as a liturgist and worship leader.  Ted Wardlaw, President of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary preached for the opening worship service.

Tony Ruger, a Senior Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of Theological Education at Auburn Seminary, shared with us about the history of the TEF. 

More to come....

"My" Seminary, "Our" Seminary: Johnson C. Smith

The Rev. Paul T. Roberts, Pastor of Church of the Master Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA and chair of the Alumni Association for Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary opened the 141st Founder's Day Conference today at New Life Presbyterian Church in Atlanta with a story and a song.  Roberts welcomed the gathered group and celebrated the over 150% attendance growth from the previous year.  Roberts, a key organizer of the event shared how he received communications leading up to Founder's Day from alums saying how proud they were that  "Johnson C. Smith is my seminary."  This year's event is different: it is a time of sharing and equipping.  Three plenary workshops were held today and worship will be later this evening.  Each time different alumna and alumni are the leaders and more is to come tomorrow and Wednesday when the Founder's Day Convocation will take place.  There is a renewed sense of ownership of the seminary taking place that models something for all of us in the Presbyterian Church (USA). 

Certainly, Johnson C. Smith is the seminary of a large number of African-American PC(USA) pastors, probably the majority in the PC(USA).  But it is also a seminary of the PC(USA)... our seminary, too!  One we all can be proud to support.   Supporting the leaders on the Board of Trustees for the seminary, the Interim Dean, the Rev. Dr. Mark Lomax, and the Alumni Association with our prayers and our friendship in Christ are critical.

Dr. Lomax briefly addressed the assembled and shared a message from Jeremiah 32 where the prophet is asked by God to go and buy a field in Anathoth, in a perceivably foolish place to purchase land at a clearly difficult time.  Ownership, partnership, relationship, leadership, identity, and contextual ministry and praxis were all key concepts in the morning and afternoon presentations by alums the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, Pastor of Liberation Community Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN; the Rev. Warren LeSane, Associate Presbyter for Church Development for the Presbytery of Charlotte; and the Rev. Dr. SanDawna Ashley, Pastor of Community Presbyterian Church, New Castle, DE. 

There is more to come this evening with the Rev. Dr. Larry Hill, Pastor of Woodland Presbyterian Church, Paw Creek, NC preaching.  Tuesday and Wednesday are also filled with workshops and celebrations.

Lee in Atlanta, GA.

Tipping Point

One of my favorite people and musicians in the world is David LaMotte.  In 1998 he came out with a really cool CD with "songs for kids and their grownups" called the S.S. Bathtub.  My family really loves it, especially "Drops Like Me," a song he wrote about how everyone matters and how one person can make a difference.   Drops like me is the story of a raindrop turning into a wave.  Rhetorically the song asks, "How much does one drop matter?  How much does one drop mean?" He answers, "A little bit of water can do a whole lot of washing clean!"

The last few weeks, you may have heard, have been quite wet in Louisville.  Flash floods last night meant that a small pond formed in my driveway and my youth soccer team had to cancel practice for the third time in five weeks.  Those raindrops add up and we are almost at a tipping point in Louisville.  Let's hope the banks of the Ohio River don't reach that point!

Malcolm Gladwell's 2000 book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, was a tipping point for me.  I would not say that the book is as profound as it is practical.  This former reporter for the Washington Post and staff writer for The New Yorker talks about how epidemic change takes place as new trends and ideas spread like epidemics. In it he talks about how three types of persons are needed to create a tipping point for change: Mavens, Salespersons/ Persuaders, and Connectors.  The mavens know the details, the salespersons/ persuaders know how to tell the story, and the Connectors know so many people that they spread that story quickly.

I think Gladwell is right in his observations and loved reading the stories about when and where he has seen this happen.  Most interesting to me are the Connectors.  They seem to be the key to something spreading like wildfire. These are probably the people on social networking websites like Facebook.com, MySpace.com, Ning.com and others that have hundreds of "friends."  They are also people who know your name and often introduce you to others because they know them as well and something the two of you have in common.  I love Connectors!  They really make the world a fun and exciting place!

I am not 100% sure what makes water molecules bond to other water molecules, but my eight year old son tells me it happens at a sub-atomic level.  I believe him, and I am thankful for those connections!  In spite of the damage water can do, it can do so, so much good when it is connected! 

Next week I will be with the Seminary Support Network, a group of about 150 folk who are real Connectors in the PC (USA) on behalf of our Presbyterian seminaries and the Theological Education Fund.  I plan to blog regularly during that meeting.  For me, this Network is connectional church theology at work.  The multiple networks (hunger, college women, worldwide networks by country and region, health, and more!)in the PC(USA)are great reasons why we are a great church.  Thanks be to God!

"And the water gonna roll from the mountain to the stream
And the water gonna roll from the river to the sea
We will roll on together until everyone can see
That the mighty tidal wave is made of little bitty drops like me"

(Drops Like Me, Words and Music by David LaMotte, ©1998 Lower Dryad Music/ASCAP)

It reminds me of Amos 5:24 "...Let justice roll down like the waters, and righteousness like and ever flowing stream."

Lee in Louisville.

P.S. David LaMotte will be featured at the Monday, June 23 group breakfast at this year's PC(USA) General Assembly!  Hope to see you there!

Lee Meme

Meme is a term coined by evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins.  A meme is modeled after and rhymes with gene and is influenced by the terms mimic and memory or the Greek term μίμημα (imitation, copy).

In the blogging world, memes are responses to the same list of questions by a group of bloggers that is passed on to others as a way of getting to know each other.   Some have said it is like a "chain letter for blogs, but without any horrible ramifications if you stop it."

I was tagged/ invited by Noelle Gulden who writes for Network Notes, a blog of the National Network of Presbyterian College Women (NNPCW).  Here are the rules I was given:

·         In 25 words or less answer the following five questions;

·         Tag five Presbyterian bloggers and send them a note to let them know they were tagged;

·         Be sure to link or send track backs.

So here we go. PresbyMEME 5:

1.    What is your earliest memory of being distinctly Presbyterian?

I grew up in five Presbyterian churches, at Presbyterian Camps, and a Presbyterian-related college (Maryville College, TN). I began to visit friend’s Baptist churches as a teenager.  Everything fell into place for me then and I began to see why education matters so much to Presbyterians. 

2.    On what issue/question should the PC(USA) spend LESS energy and time?

Coveting the past.   The PC(USA) is not a static body of Christ.  I’m not saying we need to do away with our history, I think we should study it more.  I just don’t think we need to idolize it.

3.    On what issue/question should the PC(USA) spend MORE energy and time?

Nurturing strong leaders, in my mind, is critical to addressing the adaptive changes among us and ahead of us.  They will help us engage and embrace the future God is giving us.  There is wonderfully faithful ministry going on in the PC(USA) and new ministry opportunities unfolding everyday. 

4.    If you could have the PC(USA) focus on one passage of scripture for an entire year, what would it be?

I would have to say the Exodus story.  I love the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, the women in the reeds, Moses at the burning bush, the parting of the Sea of Reeds, manna in the wilderness, the pillar of fire by night and cloud by day, the wilderness experience, the liberation that is accomplished, and the leadership and group struggles along the way.

5.    If the PC(USA) were an animal what would it be and why?

I’m not sure about what animal, but I do think of one of the largest living organisms on the earth, the Aspen tree.  Aspens grow in colonies, sending out trunks in multiple locations.  They survive and even flourish in high winds and forest fires. Trunks are constantly dying and new ones are always emerging.

Extra Credit: Jesus shows up at General Assembly this year, what does he say to the Presbyterian Church (USA)?

Thank you for your many gifts and ministries!  Do not be afraid to share those gifts and expand the reach of those ministries.  Keep hope alive!

Now for the hardest part, who to tag?  So many have already been tagged!  Carol Howard Merritt, Walk Jones, Shannon Nicole O’Donnell, Landon Whitsitt, and Greg Bolt.

Lee in Louisville

New Life Blooming All Over

The resurrection stories in the gospels each includes eyewitnesses to the good news of the new life of Christ.  No longer dead but alive and, as Matthew's account says, "going ahead" of the disciples. 

The last few weeks I have been aware of our seminaries leading the church in many exciting ways that gives me hope that our new life in Christ is real and tangible in the world we now live.

I see that new life...

• in so many of the news stories that the Presbyterian News Service reports to us on our seminaries.
• as Louisville Seminary appoints Cliff Kirkpatrick, the retiring Stated Clerk of the PC(USA) to a professorship of Ecumenical Studies and Global Ministries.
• when leaders of Rabbinical Schools and Presbyterian Seminaries gather to imagine how we all could form better interfaith leaders for the future.  This was done in cooperation with the PC(USA) office of Interfaith Relations.
• as professors from one of our seminaries are invited to be plenary speakers at another one of our seminaries.
• as I anticipate the april 9-11 gathering of over 100 volunteers in Dallas, TX who serve as Theological Education Fund Seminary Support Network members.
• in the participation of national and local church leaders from across the country in what may be one of the largest alumni and friends gatherings at Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary in Atlanta, GA April 6-8.
• when I recieve an invitation to the May 7 inauguration of the Rev. Dr. Brian Blount as Professor and President at Union Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education.
• as I am in conversation with the Rev. Dr. Sara Juengst, former professor at Columbia Theological Seminary and christian educator, the recipient of the 2008 PC(USA)/ Committee on Theological Education Award for Excellence in Theological Education.

Christ is risen!  Christ is risen, indeed!

Thanks be to God!

Lee in Louisville

Lenten Practice

As the lead staff person for the Committee on Theological Education I am privileged in a number of ways. Working directly with the members of the Committee itself, both the GA elected members and the Institutional Members, the presidents of our PC(USA) related seminaries. Visiting and being a partner with our schools, their staff, faculty and especially their students. Playing a liaison role in the Presbyterian Center and with national staff and entities is also my joy! During the Lenten season I have one of my greatest privileges, signing the paperwork for the distribution of gifts from congregations to our seminaries through the Theological Education Fund.

In 2007 over $2,000,000,000 was given by almost 2000 congregations and dozens of individuals and groups to support our schools and the church for generations to come. These gifts come with prayers for the future strength and vitality of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). With each dollar Presbyterians are faithfully putting into action their hope in Christ through the work of our seminaries. What was given in 2007 is sent to the schools in 2008. This also includes some endowments and trusts that Presbyteries over the centuries have designated for this ministry including the Theological Schools Endowment Fund.

It is an honor to serve those of you who gave, and those who receive. Ultimately, it is our corporate ministry and life in congregations that benefit from these invested funds. Thanks be to God!

I invite you and your congregation to make a "for generations to come" investment through the TEF in 2008! Maybe your Lenten meditations will sustain you at the table, at the cross, all the way to the empty tomb, and into the future God is providing for us all!

Sharing hope for holy gifts during this holy week,

Lee in Louisville.

Seminary Board Chairs Collaborate!

In 1993 the General Assembly approved and endorsed a report from the second Special Committee to Study Theological Institutions in the PC(USA).  Among the recommendations was one for PC(USA) Seminary presidents.  The Committee and GA recommended that gather annually on their own for the mutual benefit of all.  That recommendation was whole-heartedly embraced and the presidents began meeting in 1994, often with their spouses.  This meeting comes at their own expense with the assistance of their institutions.  This meeting is in addition to being full members of the General Assembly's Committee on Theological Education that meets three times in a two-year period.  The benefits are great including the nurturing of collegiality among these leaders in the church and the academy.  As early as 2003 the board chairs of the seminaries were invited to join the presidents and the benefits blossomed even larger.  Other seminary staff began to gather, leading themselves in collaboration and cooperation with the staff in the Office of Theological Education. 

This year another group began to gather as colleagues and partners on their own and with staff resourcing from the Office of Theological Education, the chairs of our PC(USA) Seminary Boards of Trustees.  These dedicated volunteers are sometimes invisible in the pastoral formation ecosystem.  Yet, as I learned again, they are essential and excellent partners.  The long-time chair of Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Dot Ridings pictured above, made this dream a reality.

In 2007 the Chairs met gathered with their presidents and, at that time, decided they could learn more from one another.  This past weekend eight of them gathered in Louisville for three days.  Mark Hostetter of Auburn, Art Ross of Union-PSCE, Jack Isherwood of Pittsburgh, Mary Lee Fitzgerald of Princeton, Peter Whitelock of San Francisco, Deborah Block of McCormick, Pam Kidd of Louisville and the outgoing chair of Louisville and "dean" of this group, Dot Ridings.  Bill Scheu of Columbia had planned to attend but could not make it at the last minute.  Others were interested as well but the timing did not work.

They met at the Presbyterian Center in downtown Louisville and at Laws Lodge on the LPTS campus.  Dean and Rebecca Thompson hosted the group for dinner one night.  Linda Valentine and I spent time with the group to help give them a feel and understanding of seminary connections to and with the General Assembly Council, the Committee on Theological Education, and our COTE project to support schools through the Theological Education Fund, and to the PC(USA) in general.  Carol Lytch, Presbyterian minister, PhD, and Assistant Executive Director of the Association of Theological Schools also made very helpful presentations to the group.

But it was their conversations with each other that really seemed to mean to most.  In the end, they wanted more time to share and listen... to learn from one another.  Peer learning is what the ATS encourages.  Peer learning in action.  That's what I experienced: theological education leaders being educated.  Forever committed to being ever more excellent and taking their trusteeship seriously because it matters to the seminaries, but more than that, it matters to the Church of Jesus Christ. 

Thanks be to God for PC(USA) Seminary Board Chairs and to the Boards and institutions they lead!

Sincerely, Lee

Louisville, KY

A Valentine's Day Family Meeting

In my house we have a practice that you may use as well. When things begin to get a little chaotic, and that happens quite often with and 7 & 2 year old in the house… especially the 2 year old, when boundaries need to be redefined; when family members need to be reminded of their roles and responsibilities and certain ground rules reestablished or established for the first time; when hopes and dreams need to be named and problems dealt with properly, we call a family meeting. Anyone in our family has the right to call a meeting. Mainly, it is a time and a place for everyone to be heard. It is a time listen carefully, speak deeply, and to pray corporately. It is a time to remember we love each other and are love. It is a time to promise to be more intentional about our life together. It is not about pointing fingers at others so much as it is about taking ownership for our own role in a communal difficulties and family successes.

On Valentine’s Day this year the the PC(USA) held a family meeting of sorts. Significant national partners in pastoral leadership formation gathered in Louisville to remember that each is loved by God and called to love one another. PC(USA) Seminaries represented by academic deans, the General Assembly Council, the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly , the Committee on Theological Education and requiste staff deepened and widened understanding of one another. Called together by the GAC, the partners displayed that we love each other so much that we promise to be intentional about the impact we have on one another and especially our emerging and current church leaders.

The most recent Auburn Theological Seminary study earlier: "How Are We Doing?: The Effectiveness of Theological Schools As Measured by the Vocations and Views of Graduates." It is a December 2007 publication from Auburn’s widely respected Center for the Study of Theological Education. The study is available in a booklet for a nominal fee or free online at www.auburnsem.org . The concluding paragraph to the study served as an encouragement and guide for the "family meeting":

The most surprising finding of this study is how positive graduates are in their retrospective assessment of their theological education. How is it, then, that so many religious officials believe that seminaries are not doing a good job? We suspect that there are too few occasions on which denominational and seminary leaders’ paths intersect. Seminaries and religious bodies become separate worlds and grow different cultures that harbor stereotypes of each other. On the seminary side, all complaints from religious officials are attributed to anti-intellectual bias on the part of practitioners; for their part, denominational leaders caricature seminaries as ivory towers remote from religious bodies and from the world. In fact, seminary and denominational leaders have common interests and goals. They should pursue the facts about theological education—in seminary and beyond—together, and acknowledge the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the kinds of formation that ministers receive in school and beyond. Then they should work together to support and strengthen both theological schools and in-service programs. Such an alliance between schools of ministerial education and the religious communities their graduates serve is critical if religious bodies, their congregations, and professional leaders are to flourish in the future. (Auburn, HAWD, 30)

May we celebrate that we are in this together: seminaries, national church entities, presbyteries, church leaders, and congregations! Thanks be God that we gather together from time to time, on seminary campuses, at conferences, in coffeeshops, and even in GAC Plenary halls to listen carefuly to one another, speak deeply, and pray fervently as we seek to be more intentional about our life together. May God continue to move in amazing ways!

On the Lenten Journey,

Lee

Louisville, KY