wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] $1 million pledged for African seminary

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ECUNET.ORG>]

Note #8901 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

05478
Sept. 14, 2005

$1 million pledged for African seminary

Hearts & Hands campaign won't identify donor or recipient till next year 

by Toya Richards Hill

LOUISVILLE  - A new $1 million pledge to the Mission Initiative: Joining
Hearts & Hands campaign is earmarked for a Presbyterian theological seminary
in Africa - although the donor and the seminary won't be named until next
year.

	The details of the gift will be announced during a celebration in
2006. The money will endow a Presbyterian Foundation fund that will provide a
yearly income to support seminary faculty positions, according to the Rev.
Emily Odom, associate for communications for the fund-raising campaign.

	"As relief, recovery and rescue efforts continue in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina, it seems almost disrespectful to think or write about
anything else," Odom said. "And yet, even as we are all called to pray and to
work on behalf of those affected by this disaster, we also continue to claim
our unique calling to glorify God and to honor all of God's creation through
the vital, life-affirming work of the Mission Initiative: Joining Hearts &
Hands."

	As of June 30, the MIJHH funds-development effort for international
mission personnel and church growth had netted nearly $16.1 million in cash
and pledges - not including the $1 million Africa pledge. The goal of the
campaign, launched in 2002, is to raise $40 million by the end of 2007.

	Odom said the African seminary trains men and women for ordained
ministry, now awarding a bachelor's degree in theology. The $1 million
donation will be used to recruit international and African professors to
augment the faculty, with the ultimate goal of offering a master's of
theology degree. 

	Plans also include graduate fellowships for study in the United
States and Europe, and the purchase of library and instructional materials.

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