Illinois Great Rivers Conference 2025 Journal-Yearbook
Over the last year Garrett has also been blessed by multiple major grants to fund faculty research and institutional priorities. A major grant is funding the work of our Center for Ecological Regeneration, allowing the seminary to partner with local congregations in the Midwest to equip them to respond to climate change in their communities and the disproportionate impact it tends to have on the poor and local economies. Another major grant is funding work in our Centro Raices Latinas to strengthen Hispanic-Latiné pastoral leaders and congregations, helping clergy and communities build institutional capacity and expand their ministries. Yet another grant is helping to expand the reach and impact of our Garrett Collective, our lifelong learning and resource platform that seeks to make theological education accessible and affordable to a significantly broader audience. Garrett’s world-class faculty continue developing curricular innovations that are responsive to the church’s growing needs, while also contributing a significant body of scholarly work to their respective fields. They are also partnering with annual conferences and local churches in delivering much needed programming for leadership development and faith formation, an expanding focus of our Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships division. Garrett is proud to be a United Methodist institution, and proud to continue to deepen its partnership and programming with annual conferences around the globe. Report to the Annual Conference 2024-2025 Saint Paul School of Theology Saint Paul School of Theology, a seminary of the United Methodist Church, is committed to the formation of people for innovative, creative ministry. We are one institution with campuses in Kansas and Oklahoma. During the 2019-2020 academic year, the seminary enrollment in master and doctoral degree programs increased by 11%. Saint Paul School of Theology began the 2019-2020 academic year with the addition of Dr. Casey Sigmon in her new role as Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship, and Director of Contextual Education. Saint Paul also welcomed Dr. Anne Walker as the new Executive Director of the Oklahoma Campus. With the addition of Dr. Walker to Saint Paul came a new webinar offering titled, “Explore Calling: A Guide to Helping Others Answer the Call.” Offered complimentary, the webinar provides a resource for anyone looking to nurture a culture of call in their congregation; including meeting one-on-one with congregations looking to reach out to their community. Dr. Walker also launched the Vision OK Advisory Committee to serve the purpose of gaining support for and assisting in the development of the Oklahoma Campus. Similarly new this year, Dr. Melissa Pearce along with Dr. Walker hosted Listening Sessions to learn more about the challenges pastoral leaders face and dream together about how theological education might meet the changing demands of their ministry. Honoring Saint Paul’s longstanding commitment to praxis learning and ministry, part of the 2019-2020 curriculum included practicums which are workshop-style seminars that teach ministry skills. For Spring 2020 FOCUS Week, Alumnus Rev. Dr. Emanuel Cleaver III, Senior Pastor of St. James UMC, taught the course Urban Church in the 21st century which explores the Urban Church and its context in relation to ministerial practices and
238 Ministry Reports
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