wfn.org | Turner Endows Chair in Wesley Studies

[owner-umethnews@ecunet.org (United Methodist News list)]

Reply-to: owner-umethnews@ecunet.org (United Methodist News list)
"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (389
notes).

Note 388 by UMNS on Oct. 15, 1997 at 16:45 Eastern (3459 characters).

CONTACT: Thomas S. McAnally   		576(10-21-71BP){388}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470	Oct. 15, 1997

NOTE:  Photo available for use with this story.

Dollar Generals Cal Turner endows Chair in Wesley
Studies; ministerial leadership program

	NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)  A Chair of Wesley Studies at Vanderbilt University
Divinity School and a program to undergird the lifelong formation of
ministerial leadership in the Nashville Area of the United Methodist Church,
have been endowed by Cal Turner, chairman and chief executive of Dollar
General Corp.
	Turner, a United Methodist, is a member of the universitys Board of Trust.  
Announcement of the gifts was made Oct. 15 by Bishop Kenneth L. Carder of the
Nashville Area of the United Methodist Church - including the Tennessee and
Memphis Annual (regional) Conferences --  and Vanderbilt Divinity School Dean
Joseph C. Hough Jr.
Turner, a 1962 Vanderbilt graduate, said he was particularly interested in
funding a partnership between the church and the school.  "Two institutions
that have been very important in my life are Vanderbilt University and the
United Methodist Church," he said.  "I believe it is important to foster
excellence of leadership in both places and I hope this gift will make that
possible for the region and the country."
The holder of the Cal Turner Chancellors Chair in Wesley Studies at
Vanderbilt will serve as a theological consultant for the lifelong learning
program of the Tennesee and Memphis conferences. The director of the
conferences program is likely to serve as an adjunct faculty member for the
Divinity Schools ministry program.
The Turner gift will enable the United Methodist Church and the Vanderbilt
Divinity School to enter their first formal partnership since the universitys
affiliation with the church officially ended in 1914.  The university was
founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1873.
Even without affiliation, an informal relationship has continued throughout
the years, Hough noted.  Approximately 60 percent of the ministers in the
Tennessee Conference and a significant number in the Memphis Conference are
graduates of the Divinity School.
 	The gift to the Memphis and Tennessee Conferences, which include 1,100 local
churches and approximately 700 pastors in Middle and west Tennessee and
southwestern Kentucky, will be devoted to strengthening the mission and
ministry of the churches through ministerial leadership, according to Carder.
	"Effective ministerial leadership requires persistent and lifelong nurturing,
support and learning," he said.  "The establishment of an institute or center
for the ongoing support of ministerial leadership and formation represents a
creative and bold step toward the spiritual renewal of the ministers and
churches of the area."
In consultation with the bishop and district superintendents, the director of
the lifelong leadership program will help pastors and lay leadership design
and implement individualized strategies that will enhance their effectiveness
in mission and ministry.
	Carder said the partnership represents a "new era of cooperation in
fulfilling a mutually-shared mission.  Both are committed to providing the
most effective leadership possible to the church."
	Vanderbilt is a private research university with approximately 5,900
undergraduates and 4,300 graduate and professional students.
#  #  #  
	

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 To make suggestions or give your comments, send a note to 
 umns@ecunet.org or Susan_Peek@ecunet.org

 This article sent to both the umethnews list <umethnews-request@ecunet.org>
 and also to the Worldwide Faith News list wfn-news <majordomo@wfn.org>
 Look at the header files to figure out which this is.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------