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Higher education agency reallocates funds for 75 seminary scholarships

Aug. 2, 2005

NASHVILLE (UMNS) - Seventy-five seminarians will receive emergency
scholarships from the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and
Ministry.

The Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, the board's chief executive, has
reallocated $150,000 to provide scholarships to 75 qualified seminarians
who initially did not receive money.

However, board staff warned the temporary funding was only a short-term
solution.

"We must have a significant increase in congregational giving to Special
Sunday offerings if we are to continue assisting ministerial students
with educational expenses they are incurring to meet the requirements
for ordination," said Angella Current-Felder, executive director of the
board's office of loans and scholarships.

Even after the reallocation, Current-Felder said no funds were available
for 181 undergraduate applicants for scholarships because of a
significant drop in receipts in 2004 for United Methodist Student Day
and World Communion Sunday.

Giving to the three Special Sundays has dropped or remained flat while
the number of scholarship applications has increased, she recently said
and noted that the Office of Loans and Scholarships had to turn away 300
eligible applicants last year.

With the 75 new scholarships of $1,500 to $2,000 each, the Board has now
awarded more than 550 scholarships to seminarians. In total, more than
3,500 scholarships worth more than $4 million has been awarded to
undergraduates, graduates and seminarians.

Many of the seminarians receiving emergency scholarships are
first-career ministerial students pursuing their master of divinity
degree, Current-Felder said, and had participated in higher education
and ministry events designed to nurture young people in their journey
toward ordained ministry or other leadership roles within the church.

"These students are the future pastors of our churches," she noted. In a
recent letter to bishops, she urged them to support Special Sundays with
offerings "to respond to the needs of this new generation of Christian
leaders."

*The above story was adapted from a release written by Vicki Brown, an
associate editor and writer in the Office of Interpretation, United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

News media contact: Linda Green, (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

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United Methodist News Service
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