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Communications agency offers religious journalism scholarships

Nov. 4, 2003 News media contact: Linda GreenB7(615) 742-5470B7Nashville,
Tenn. B7 E-mail: newsdesk@umcom.orgB7 <mailto:newsdesk@umcom.org>  ALL-AA
{524}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) b United Methodist students interested in religious
journalism careers have until March to apply for scholarships from the
denominationbs communications agency.

 

United Methodist Communications offers scholarships and fellowships annually
to students interested in religious communications. The Nashville,
Tenn.-based agency is providing scholarships specifically for United
Methodists to help meet the need for trained communicators in the church. In
addition, the agency is offering its seventh mentoring experience to address
the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in annual conference communications.

 

The $6,000 Stoody-West Fellowship will help a graduate student pursuing a
career in religious journalism study at an accredited graduate school or
department of journalism. The agency also will award a $2,500 Leonard M.
Perryman Communications Scholarship for an ethnic minority student. This
scholarship assists ethnic minority college students who will be juniors or
seniors and are planning careers in print journalism, public relations and
marketing or in audiovisual or electronic communications.

 

The Stoody-West Fellowship honors the Rev. Arthur West and the late Rev.
Ralph Stoody, who were staff executives of United Methodist Communications or
one of its predecessor agencies.

 

The Perryman scholarship honors the late Leonard Perryman, a journalist for
the United Methodist Church for more than 30 years.

 

The $30,000 Judith L. Weidman Racial Ethnic Minority Fellowship is a
full-time, salaried fellowship given to a United Methodist and recent college
or seminary graduate for a 12-month period beginning July 1 to work in church
communications.

 

The fellowship offers hands-on experience and mentoring in annual conference
communications. It is aimed at building communications leaders of racial and
ethnic minority background in the United Methodist Church. The fellowship,
named for the former United Methodist Communications top executive, began in
1998.

 

The scholarship and fellowships provide opportunities for students with
communications backgrounds to enhance their skills and pursue religious
communications as a career option, according to Amelia Tucker-Shaw, a
consultant in the agencybs Communications Resourcing Team. bBecause mass
communications departments at colleges and universities donbt separate a
special curriculum focus for religious communications, UMCom recognizes the
need to provide a link between secular journalism and religion
communications.b

 

Application deadlines for the Stoody-West and Perryman scholarships as well
as the Weidman Racial Ethnic Minority Fellowship is March 15.

 

Details on the annual awards and applications can be found at the agencybs
Web site, http://www.umcom.org/scholarships
<http://www.umcom.org/scholarships> . More information and applications for
the racial ethnic minority fellowship are available by visiting
http://crt.umc.org/rem <http://crt.umc.org/rem>  or calling Tucker-Shaw,
scholarship and fellowship coordinator, (888) 278-4862.

  

************************************* 
United Methodist News Service 
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http://umns.umc.org