wfn.org | Agency offers religious communications scholarships

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Sept. 25, 2002 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn. 10-30-71B{428}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - United Methodist students interested in religious
journalism careers have until March to apply for scholarships from the
denomination's communications agency.

United Methodist Communications offers scholarships and fellowships annually
to students interested in religious communications, regardless of
denominational affiliation. For the fourth year, the Nashville-based agency
also is providing scholarships specifically for United Methodists to help
meet the need for trained communicators in the church. In addition, the
agency is offering its sixth mentoring experience to address the lack of
racial and ethnic diversity in annual conference communications.

The $6,000 Stoody-West Fellowship will help two graduate students pursuing
careers in religious journalism study at an accredited graduate school or
department of journalism. The agency also will award two $2,500 Leonard M.
Perryman Communications Scholarships for Ethnic Minority Students. These
scholarships assist ethnic minority college students who will be juniors or
seniors and are planning careers in print journalism, public relations, and
marketing or in audiovisual or electronic communications. 

The Stoody-West Fellowship honors the Rev. Arthur West and the late Rev.
Ralph Stoody, who were staff executives of United Methodist Communications
or one of its predecessor agencies.
 
The Perryman scholarship honors the late Leonard Perryman, a journalist for
the United Methodist Church for more than 30 years.

The $30,000 Judith L. Weidman Racial Ethnic Minority Fellowship is a
full-time, salaried fellowship given to a United Methodist and recent
college or seminary graduate for a 12-month period beginning July 1 to
explore communications in the church. 

The fellowship offers hands-on experience and mentoring in annual conference
communications. It is aimed at building communications leaders of racial and
ethnic minority background in the United Methodist Church. The fellowship,
named for the former United Methodist Communications top executive, began in
1998.  

The scholarship and fellowships provide opportunities for students with
communications backgrounds to enhance their skills and pursue religious
communications as a career option, according to Amelia Tucker-Shaw, a
consultant in the agency's Communications Resourcing Team. "Because mass
communications departments at colleges and universities don't separate a
special curriculum focus for religious communications, UMCom recognizes the
need to provide a link between secular journalism and religion
communications."

Application deadlines are March 7 for the Stoody-West and Perryman
scholarships and March 17 for the Weidman racial ethnic minority fellowship.

Details on the annual awards and applications can be found at the agency's
Web site, http://www.umcom.org/scholarships. More information and
applications for the racial ethnic minority fellowship are available by
visiting http://crt.umc.org/rem or calling Tucker-Shaw, scholarship and
fellowship coordinator, (888) 278-4862.  

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United Methodist News Service
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