wfn.org | United Methodist agency awards more than $4M in scholarships

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

Aug. 31, 1999 News media contact: Tim Tanton*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{441}
 
By Kathy Gilbert*
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) -- More than 3,500 United Methodist students will
attend college this year with $4.4 million in scholarships awarded to them
by the denomination's Office of Loans and Scholarships.

The Office of Loans and Scholarships, part of the United Methodist Board of
Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, administers more than 70
scholarship programs each year. Included this year were an additional 780
Gift of Hope: 21st Century Scholars awards for students who have taken
leadership roles in their local churches or campus ministries.

"The new Gift of Hope: 21st Century Scholars program started in 1999," said
Angella Current, executive director, Office of Loans and Scholarships. The
four-year, $4 million special scholarship program is intended to provide
$1,000 scholarship awards to 1,000 United Methodist students each year.

"Our overriding thought in forming this program was to prepare a new
generation of Christian leaders for the United Methodist Church," said
Aubrey Lucas, president emeritus of the University of Southern Mississippi
and chairman of the Office of Loans and Scholarships advisory committee.

The new scholarship program will help United Methodist students attending
any regionally accredited academic institution in the United States. Most of
the other scholarships offered by the board are earmarked for United
Methodist students attending denomination-related schools.

"We read hundreds of applications from bright youth who love the church.
Their statements of faith are clearly articulated. The future of our church
is exceedingly bright," Lucas said.

"These scholarships are for 'ordinary' students, not just those going into
ordained ministry but those who are going to provide leadership for the
church as lay members," said the Rev. Karen Engle Layman, senior pastor of
Allison United Methodist Church in Carlisle, Pa., and vice chairwoman of the
Office of Loans and Scholarships advisory committee.

"We often worry that natural leaders may drift away from the church. These
scholarships serve to remind the youth that we believe they matter and the
church is willing to invest in them," Layman said.

The Board of Higher Education and Ministry directors who reviewed the Gift
of  Hope applications "were excited and impressed with the number of United
Methodist youth and young adults involved in their local church or campus
ministries," Current said. "The Gift of Hope Scholars program has
accomplished its goal."

Current also noted that 40 percent of the Gift of Hope scholarships went to
students attending United Methodist institutions.

"The Office of Loans and Scholarships has awarded over $3 million so far
this year, and we anticipate an additional $1.4 million in scholarships will
be awarded by the year's end," Current said. Sources for the additional
scholarships will come from the United Methodist Student Day special
offering and scholarships awarded by the United Methodist Foundation for
Christian Higher Education.

"Each United Methodist-related college receives allocations from the United
Methodist Student Day offering, and each annual conference receives 10
percent of their Student Day receipts to award to merit scholars in their
annual conference," Current said.

The United Methodist Foundation for Christian Higher Education gives three
$1,000 scholarships to each United Methodist-related college, one $1,000
scholarship to each annual conference, and three $3,000 scholarships to each
of the denomination's seminaries.

The Office of Loans and Scholarships also increased the amount students may
borrow to $2,500. As of July, $855,685 in loan funds has been granted to 385
students. This is a slight increase from 1998's loan amount, Current said.

More information is available from the Office of Loans and Scholarships,
P.O. Box 871, Nashville, TN 37202; scholarships phone: (615)340-7344; loans
phone: (615)340-7346; fax: (615)340-7367; Web site:
www.gbhem.org/loans.html.
# # #
*Gilbert is a staff member in the Office of Interpretation at the United
Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.

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