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08161
February 29, 2008
Seminary news
AUSTIN, TX – A committee at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary has selected three top proposals from entries in a contest for a new quality enhancement plan (QEP) regarding student-learning outcomes. The winning proposal, which will become the seminary’s QEP, was prepared by a group of staff, faculty and students: Helen Kennedy, Lila Parrish and Kathy Fowler, librarians; Andy Dearman, professor; and Debbie Garber, student. The title of their plan is, “Enhancing Information Literacy for Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Students.” The QEP committee will develop the proposal into a plan that will be submitted to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Committee on Colleges through the reaffirmation of accreditation process. The QEP itself will begin during the 2009-2010 academic year. The second winning proposal in the contest was submitted by David White, C. Ellis and Nancy Gribble Nelson Associate Professor of Christian Education, and is titled “Enhancing the Riches of Ethnic Diversity Through Self-Reflection and Curriculum/Pedagogical Development.” Austin seminary will be putting into effect an expanded version of White’s proposal in the coming months. The final winning proposal was submitted by C. Ellis Nelson, research professor in Christian education, and has to do with screening and intervention to enhance students’ oral communication skills. The QEP committee has encouraged the administration to explore ways in which Nelson’s proposal might be implemented. Each of the three winning proposals will receive $250.
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LOUISVILLE – “Young Voices in Homiletics” will be the focus of lectures, sermons and master classes during the 2008 Festival of Theology at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary March 2-5. The annual Festival of Theology is open to the public, and the endowed Greenhoe and Caldwell lectureships enable the seminary to offer these learning experiences free of charge and to feature nationally recognized theologians, authors, teachers and preachers. All lectures and preaching will take place in the Frank H. and Fannie W. Caldwell Chapel on the seminary campus. Among those on the program will be the Rev. Otis Moss III, pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago; and the Rev. Anna Carter Florence, professor of preaching and worship at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. In addition to the preaching, LPTS alums will participate in the annual reunion, which will include reflections on the current state of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) from Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick during the “Voices of the Church” dinner March 4. For a detailed agenda of festival events, go to the Web site.
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PITTSBURGH, PA – Forty-five students from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary are currently using their break time, which runs through March 7, to explore mission nationally and internationally. Six students are traveling with the Rev. Jen Haddox to Haiti, 21 students are traveling to Israel and the West Bank with the Rev. Craig Barnes, Robert Meneilly professor of leadership and ministry and senior pastor at Shadyside Presbyterian Church; and six students are visiting Southeast Asia with the Rev. Don Dawson, director of the World Mission Initiative at PTS and director of the New Wilmington Mission Conference. Staying stateside are 12 students under the leadership of the Rev. John Welch, vice president for student services and dean of students. That group is traveling to New Orleans to continue assisting in Hurricane Katrina clean up.
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PRINCETON, NJ – Princeton Theological Seminary will hold its annual used book sale March 31- April 2 in the seminary’s Whiteley Gymnasium. Book donations will be accepted through March 28 and may be dropped off in the lobby of the gymnasium in boxes or bags marked “Book Sale.” Donations also can be mailed to the Stewardship Committee Book Sale, Princeton Theological Seminary, Box 5204, Princeton, NJ, 08543.
All proceeds from the sale will benefit theological seminaries around the world, many in nations to which Princeton seminary’s international students will return to teach. The stewardship committee of the student government sponsors the sale. For more information, call Katherine Elliott at (716) 587-2373 or email.
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RICHMOND, VA – Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education has announced the winners of its 2008 Congregation Awards. The awards honor congregations for innovative ministry in Christian education, outreach and social concern, and ministry with young children and youth. Each award carries a $1,000 prize to support the congregation in its ministry. The winners are: Katharine Hawes Award for Effective Youth Ministry, Central Presbyterian Church in Huntington, NY; W.T. “Tolly” Thompson Award for Excellence in Christian Education, Christ Presbyterian Church in Tucson, AZ; Sarah Hill Brown Award for Early Childhood Education, Providence Forge Presbyterian Church in Providence Forge, VA, and Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, MD; and the Elinor Curry Award for Outreach and Social Concern, Westminster Presbyterian Church of Lakeland, FL, and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Charleston, SC.
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SAN ANSELMO, CA – Philip Wickeri, Hewlett professor of evangelism and mission at San Francisco Theological Seminary, has published the book, “Reconstructing Christianity in China – K.H. Ting and the Chinese Church.” The work recounts a large part of modern Chinese Christian history by telling the story of one of its key protagonists – Bishop K. H. Ting, a public figure both revered and reviled – as he negotiated the path of millions of Chinese Protestant Christians from the triumph of Mao’s Revolution until today. Wickeri offers a perspective on what that survival entailed, not just for Bishop Ting, but for a Christian movement that is today mushrooming beyond anything either Mao Zedong or K. H. Ting could ever have imagined. To order the book, email or call (800) 258-5838. |
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