wfn.org | Women of Color scholars celebrate 10 years in theological education

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

June 9, 1999	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-31-71B{323}

A UMNS News Feature
By Linda Green*

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - Ten years have passed since the United Methodist
Church set up an avenue to increase the women of color on its seminary
faculties, and the program remains a trailblazer even today.

The Women of Color Scholars Program (WOC) was initiated by the churchwide
Board of Higher Education and Ministry in 1989. A group of professional
women employed at church-related seminaries and participants at a 1987 black
clergywomen's consultation had expressed concern about the lack of women of
color faculty in theological education.

The WOC initiative's mission is the placement of women of color in faculty
positions at all 13 United Methodist-related seminaries. The program
provides up to $10,000 per year in scholarships to women of color doctoral
degree candidates, and it engages in regular mentoring. It is unique in the
life of the United Methodist Church, and other denominations are considering
it as a model for their use.

"In fact, the program is quite radical and trailblazing," said the Rev.
Rosetta Ross, a 1989-1993 WOC scholar and chairwoman of the ethics
department at Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta. "There is no other
denomination that has done anything like this. The impact of the program is
evident from the number of people who are in the field as a result of this
quiet revolution."

The scholars program, including a mentoring component, "is making a systemic
difference in theological education today," said the Rev. Lynn Scott,
director of clergywomen's concerns in the churchwide Division of Ordained
Ministry in Nashville, Tenn. "This impacts both the academy and the church,
and is preparing all of us to prepare to live and do ministry in a
multicultural, multiracial and multilinguist world."

Another goal of the WOC fellowship is increasing the number of women of
color who teach, lecture, write and research at the doctoral level in all
seminaries. The program seeks to heighten denominational awareness of the
need for women of color in theological education and to encourage eligible
United Methodist women to consider careers in that field.

To be eligible, a United Methodist woman must:
*	have at least one parent of African, African-American, Hispanic,
Native American, Asian or Pacific Island background;
*	have a master of divinity degree; and 
*	be pursuing a doctorate for a career in theological education and
religious studies.

The project was established in 1988 as a demonstration program, said Angella
Current, executive director of the denomination's Office of Loans and
Scholarships. It was developed by a group of multiethnic United Methodist
clergywomen, who emphasized the need for a support network in addition to
scholarship funds to ensure success, she said.

At that time, the Rev. Karen Collier was the only documented woman of color
in the denomination with a doctoral degree, having earned one in church
history from Duke University Divinity School. The need for women of color as
faculty members at church-related seminaries was supported by many members
of United Methodist Seminary Women Faculty and Administrators. The group was
then staffed by the Rev. Kathy Nickerson Page, who was later succeeded by
Scott.  

The intent was to create a pool of United Methodist women of color with
doctoral degrees by providing substantial scholarships and mentoring.
Collier, a professor of religion and philosophy  at Fisk University in
Nashville, became the convener of the mentors and scholars, and she
continues in that role.  She is joined by the Revs. Jacquelyn Q. Grant, Rita
Nakashima Brock, Katie Cannon, Renita Weems and Jung Ha Kim.

Mentors, women of color already working in theological education, meet with
scholars twice a year to provide support and reflection on the academic
process and to develop plans for completing the program.

A Korean-American clergywoman, the Rev. Ai Ra Kim, was the first graduate of
the woman of color scholars program. She likens the program to "midwifery,"
noting that "through its spiritual nourishment and financial support" she
received a doctorate in religion and society from Drew University in
Madison, N. J., in 1991.

"The United Methodist Church is the womb of my new life; the WOC scholars
program functioned as the midwife," said Kim, a faculty member at United
Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. "It is my commitment to be a dedicated
midwife by nurturing and cultivating future church leaders at United, so
that they would bring new life-energy to the church and society."

Today,  eight women of color have received doctoral degrees, and six are
serving on the faculties of United Methodist-related seminaries. Eighteen
are in the pipeline pursuing doctoral degrees.

"This exciting new program has enabled women who at one time in their life
may have felt it impossible to accomplish their vocational dream," Current
said. "The denomination's commitment to increasing the pool of women of
color theologians will positively impact the preparation of persons for
ministry in local churches around the globe in the next millennium."

Ross said the program was "lifesaving for me" as she pursued a post-graduate
education at Emory University in Atlanta. The fellowship allowed her to make
a full-time commitment to pursue her doctoral degree without worrying about
expenses.  

In addition, she said, "the program provides a safe place to explore the
process and meaning of becoming a woman of color academian entering an arena
and a specified field still overwhelmingly dominated by persons of European
descent." 

Part of the significance of the WOC program is that it enables people to
"engage at another level of religious discourse, which often is so important
to the lives and communities of people of color," Ross said.

The Rev. Bessie Collins, a current scholar, said that in addition to
receiving financial help, she applied for the WOC program because of
excitement about the prospect of being mentored by women who have completed
their degrees and are working in seminaries and graduate schools across the
nation. "I also very much appreciated the fact that the program respects and
honors my academic work as well as my commitment to the local church," she
added. 

Collins expects to receive her a doctorate in pastoral care and counseling
from Claremont (Calif.) School of Theology in 2000.  

As a way of affirming the accomplishments of the graduates and those
currently enrolled as scholars, an anniversary celebration and consultation
will be held Oct. 15-17 at the J. H. Costen Center at the
Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.  

The 1999 WOC program will celebrate 10 years by highlighting the theological
and academic work of its scholars, and it will affirm the changes made at
seminaries in the United Methodist Church and beyond.

Described as a historic gathering, the consultation will provide
opportunities to hear the leading United Methodist women of color scholars
in theological education today.

"Women of color respond to life from a specific vantage point of being
confronted at the same time with issues and barriers of race and gender,"
Scott said. The church, through the support of WOC theologians, has the
opportunity to expand its understanding and experience of the nature of God
and to expand practical ministry through clergy who have been trained in
United Methodist seminaries, she said.

"In the academy and in the church, women of color help to bring the fullness
of God's nature and help to expand our understanding of living in a diverse
culture," she said.

As a Korean-American clergywoman, Kim noted that she has experienced racial,
sexual and cultural bias in the church as well as in society. "Through my
experience, I was well aware of the need of social and cultural
reconstruction along with the institutional change of the church. Therefore,
I decided to participate in the process of reformation through teaching."

Ross classifies herself as a trailblazer because relatively few women of
color have doctorate degrees in religion. She was the first African-American
woman and possibly the first woman of color to complete Emory's doctoral
program in religion. 

"That's really shameful," she said. "I didn't finish until 1995, so I was
trailblazing at Emory. In my South Carolina Annual Conference, I certainly
was a trailblazer." On another level, she feels humbled because the Revs.
Katie Cannon, Karen Collier, Jacquelyn Grant and Cheryl Gilkes "preceded me
and made my way a lot less difficult." 

Kim sees herself not as a trailblazer but as "an ant. A small, yet
hardworking, dedicated ant." She understands the power of those nameless
ants who can even move a house, she said. "As an ant, I will faithfully
teach and care for seminarians who would transform the church and the world.
This is my conviction."

Ross, Kim and Collins advise upcoming WOC scholars to strive for excellence
and maintain focus. Collins also requests that upcoming students "take your
academic work as seriously as employment; be attentive to your physical,
spiritual and emotional needs; and celebrate your uniqueness by daring to be
who God created you to be." 

For more information about the WOC scholars program and the Oct. 15-19
consultation and anniversary celebration, contact Debra Franco at the Office
of Loans and Scholarships. She can be reached by e-mail at dfranco@gbhem.org
or by calling (615) 340-7337.

# # #

*Green is news director of United Methodist News Service's Nashville, Tenn.,
office.

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