Over the years, the cost of a seminary education has increased while the financial support available has decreased. As a result, some individuals feeling God’s call into ministry look for routes to reduce the cost and others do not believe they can afford to answer God’s call in their lives at all.
“Many seminary students end up with a great deal of debt,” Rev. Gary Beach, Pass the Torch Chairperson, said. “I want to help make it possible for more candidates to be able to go to seminary and end up with less debt.”
In 1991, retired clergy in the conference developed the Pass the Torch Scholarship to help support men and women who were called by God into ministry and pursuing a seminary or Course of Study education. Over the past ten years, more than $50,000 in Pass the Torch scholarships have been awarded to the next generation of clergy.
The Kansas Area United Methodist Foundation is proud to partner with Pass the Torch to award scholarships. For the 2019-2020 Conference year the following students were awarded a Pass the Torch scholarship.
Seminary Scholarships:
Wesley Gately
Brenda Hogan
Spenser Johnson
Erynn (Dahlke) Kuehl
Maria Penrod
Victor Peterson
Stephanie Seth
John “Wesley” Young
Course of Study Scholarships:
David Abbott
Nicholas Baker
Dorothy Ellsworth
William “Stacy” Ellsworth
Lori Miller
Gordon Pettibone
Dorothy Smith
Pass the Torch scholarships are funded through generous gifts and can be given “In Memory” or “In Honor” of a Christian brother or sister to leave a legacy through the scholarship.
“I would challenge all retirees and their spouses to contribute annually to the Pass the Torch Fund so that we can help even more students and at a higher level of support” Beach said.
If you are interested information on the ways to give to the Pass the Torch Scholarship Fund, please contact the Foundation at 620-664-9623, foundation@kaumf.org, or visit our website.
