From @austinseminary ... "The Reed" for October 2020

Seminary receives grant for small town and rural congregations project

Education Beyond the Walls, or EBW, Austin Seminary's lifelong learning program, has received a grant of nearly $1 million to fund an initiative dedicated to small town and rural churches. Conceived as “Houses of Hope,” the project aims to serve mainline Protestant churches in small towns and rural communities where their vitality, if not their very presence, is at risk. The initiative centers on the promise of hope in the midst of social conditions which challenge hope: polarization, demographic and economic changes, structural oppression, and declining investment in institutions. Administered through EBW, Houses of Hope will offer a digital community for small town and rural congregations anywhere and in-person learning cohorts for twenty congregations in Texas and Oklahoma.

"Houses of Hope extends EBW's focus beyond individual professional development to serving entire congregations," says Melissa Wiginton, vice president for Education Beyond the Walls. "We want to invest with congregations where hope may be at a low ebb but where the potential for congregations to influence transformation toward hope is significant. We will focus on Christian practices of forgiveness and gratitude that open to and nourish hope."
Read more here ...

Meet (the rest of) our new class!!

New Master of Arts in Youth Ministry students who joined the entering class of fifty-eight master's-level students for the 2020-21 academic year.
Learn all about the entering class for 2020 HERE ...

Help welcome our entering class with support for our students!

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You're our best recruiter!

If you know someone who should be considering the vocation of Christian ministry, please tell them about our "Virtual Lunch & Learns."
•  November 18
• More Information, and Registration Here ...

2020 College of Pastoral Leaders (CPL) Cohorts

Five clergy cohorts have received grants of up to $10,000 over two years to pursue professional and spiritual programs. The groups are broad denominationally and members are from the Midwest, South, Central Texas, and the east coast. The design of the CPL grants allows each cohort to pursue projects that are personally meaningful.

• Courageous Couples: Four ministry couples want to grow by becoming more courageous.
• Emerging Sister Circle: Six women committed to each other's success and trying to change the world.
• Pilgrims of Lughnasadh: Five deeply seasoned pastors who will meet for prayer, theological reflection, encouragement, and laughter.
• Sankofa Sistahs: African American clergywomen who will create legacy projects focusing on family, faith, and cultural heritage for their descendants.
• Small Churches, Big Impacts: A cohort of Episcopal clergy women transformed by the experience of serving in small congregations.

Education Beyond the Walls is excited to announce a Spanish-language CPL program, offering five Latinx renewal grants of $2,000 each for Latinx pastors and church leaders.
• Leer más aquí / Read more here ...

Partner with us to ensure theological education excellence!

There are many ways to partner with Austin Seminary in the formation of men and women for Christian ministry. Your gift to our Annual Fund supports the formation of Christian leaders.

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