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| Photo by Usama Malik |
One of the casualties of the economic downturn in 2008 was Austin Seminary’s ability to include students through our global partnerships. Thanks to the generosity of donors to our Weaving Promise and Practice into Ministry Campaign, the 2018-19 academic year once again included members from the international community. Axolile Qina (South Africa) received the New Covenant International Student Fellowship, and Daniel Awuah (Ghana) received the Robert W. B. and Shirley Johnston International Student Fellowship. Additionally, Webster Kaisi (Malawi) received financial aid from Austin Seminary and support from a consortium of Mission Presbyterian churches through Shepherd of the Hills Presbyterian Church in Austin.
During their time at Austin Seminary, the students have taken a full load of classes and participated in campus life. After receiving their master's degree from the Seminary, they all plan to return home in May. Qina returns to a graduate program at the University of Stellenbosch; Awuah and Kaisi, who are Presbyterian pastors, will be appointed to new congregations upon their return. It is likely that will mean each serving up to five churches, sometimes more than seventy kilometers apart. All say they are interested in further study.
Qina has had the chance to travel while in the U.S., seeing “the ancient sites” of San Antonio as well as Disney World and Fort Wayne, Indiana (“So many churches!”). He says, “One thing I have observed that is different from my country, is that here, Christianity is so much a part of who people are. People's religious identity is their cultural identity.”
Rev. Awuah says he chose Austin Seminary because it is rooted in Reformed theology and he appreciated that the Seminary faculty reflects different races and genders. He says, “I am now in a better position to teach congregants about the Reformed tradition. I also understand how to deal with moral and ethical issues from different perspectives in the church and society.”
Rev. Kaisi says that he has enjoyed worshiping in many different churches alongside his fellow students. He values the diversity of the Seminary, especially the different denominations and faiths represented on campus. He says, “the students have become teachers to us."
• New Certificate to explore Jewish-Christian relationship
Austin Seminary has developed a third certificate program, The Certificate in Jewish-Christian Relationship. The goal of the online program is to foster deeper connections between Christians and Jews through close readings of sacred texts and an increased familiarity with each tradition’s history, theology, liturgy, and ethics.
Instructors in the certificate program will include Austin Seminary faculty, area clergy from both Jewish and Christian communities, and faculty affiliated with the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Examples of course titles include: “Heschel and Niebuhr,” “Reading Exodus in the Synagogue and the Black Church,” and “From Mt. Sinai to Jon Stewart.”
The first course will be offered this fall. Stay tuned for details!
• A source of life, hope, prayer, encouragement, and sustenance
Application deadline for College of Pastoral Leaders grants is May 15. Read more and apply here ...
• MAYM partner receives grant for UMC churches
Austin Seminary partners with the Center for Youth Ministry Training (CYMT), a non-profit based in Nashville, Tennessee, to educate and train students called to youth ministry. CYMT recruits students and churches to participate in this experiential model of formation. Currently there are 33 students enrolled in the Seminary's Master of Youth Ministry (MAYM) program; next month seven students will be the first to earn the MAYM degree from Austin Seminary.
CYMT has now been awarded a $220,000 grant from the Texas Methodist Foundation for the Innovation Laboratory for Youth Ministry. This is in addition to a $1.1 million grant they recently received from Lilly Foundation Inc. These funds will allow CYMT to create five new cohorts comprising a research-based incubator for innovation in youth ministry in Texas over the next two years. Interested Texas UMC churches can find out more here ...
According to their press release, CYMT wants to “help a select group of congregations design and test innovative models of youth ministry that are practical and theologically rich ... Five United Methodist youth pastors and their congregations will be selected to engage this process and learn the keys to successful implementation. Selections will be announced in July.”
• "Cry of the Borderlands" Travel Seminar
If you are interested in traveling with the Seminary to the Rio Grand Valley, click here ...
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