I am delighted to see this announcement from PSR. Many of you know my service in interfaith is through education and the seminaries. This marks progress for Pagans and religious liberals interested in diversifying our world and dismantling race and class problems to broaden the table. Do you know a change-maker that meets these criteria? Stay tuned for more info or contact directly any of be signers of the following letter!
-Michelle Mueller
NOMINATE SOMEONE FOR FULL-TUITION PSR CHANGE- MAKER FELLOWSHIP
We write today to ask you to nominate someone you know for a new and excitingfellowship at PSR that will bring as many as fifteen students of color to our campus for one year of study as PSR Change-Maker Fellows. As you may know, this past year PSR’s board, faculty, staff, students, and alums have been engaged in creating a new vision to more fully realize our institutional mission of educating leaders for social transformation both within and beyond the church and academy.
This ongoing work at PSR has led our Board of Trustees to create the Change-Maker Fellowship Program as one way of living into our new vision. Approved by the Board in April, our new vision states that PSR will equip leaders who are compelled by their own spiritual formation and practice, who are rooted in Christian theological traditions, and who have the skills to lead justice-driven change in churches, institutions, communities, and individual lives.
Through this fellowship program we hope to bring to campus deserving and promising individuals who are themselves current or potential “change-makers” in their contexts but who might never consider PSR because of the high costs of tuition. We are also using this opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to increase the racial/ethnic diversity of our community.
This cohort of Change-Maker Fellows will be made up of current or potential “change-makers” in communities of faith and society at large who would benefit greatly from one year of theologically-grounded immersive learning opportunities.
Here are some details of this new fellowship for the 2013-2014 Academic Year:
· Successful candidates for this fellowship (which is worth up to $16,320 in financial support) will be students of color who meet the admissions criteria of PSR and are nominated as active or potential “change-makers” by a professor, campus, religious, or community leader, employer, or program director with first-hand knowledge of the candidate.
· Change-Maker Fellows will receive full tuition support for up to 24 credits of on-campus coursework during the 2013-2014 Academic Year. (At this time, this program is not open to distance learners.)
· These fellows will take part in a variety of additional offerings including cohort and immersion learning experiences that focus on social transformation. The fellows will also be mentored by PSR faculty members who will meet regularly with the group for engaged reflection as well as academic and vocational advising.
· At the end of the year, fellows may receive a Certificate in Theological Studies or another of our certificates for which they qualify. They may also apply for admission for one of PSR’s regular Master’s degree programs for the following year and be eligible to apply for financial aid and merit awards.
Because of who and where you are, we hope that you will nominate at least one individual for this innovative year of study at PSR. Think of someone you know who would benefit from a year of creative and critical immersion learning opportunities. Nominate people who are committed to living out their faith and spirituality by creating positive change in communities of faith and in the world.
Ours is a seminary community of diverse and creative individuals who are committed to living out our faith in bold ways and who are deeply committed to living as members of a diverse network of “change-makers” moved by the spirit of the Gospel. Help us to bring to our community next year people who will join with us in this exciting venture as PSR’s first class of Change-Maker Fellows!
Sincerely,
Bishop Yvette Flunder
Trustee, Pacific School of Religion
Presiding Bishop, The Fellowship
Donaldson Hill
Trustee, Pacific School of Religion
Minister and Team Leader for Financial Development
Office of General Ministries, United Church of Christ
Rev. M. Linda Jaramillo
Trustee, Pacific School of Religion
Executive Minister of Justice and Witness Ministries, United Church of Christ
Connie K.Y. Fong Mitchell
Trustee, Pacific School of Religion
Executive Director, The Institute of Human Services, Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii
Bernard S. Schlager, PhD
Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Pacific School of Religion
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