Seminarians Gain Crucial Support

From left, Charles Martin, T'24; David Wilcox, T'23; Tyler Proctor, T'23

In 2013, Sewanee was fortunate enough to receive a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. in its Tomorrow’s Church Leaders Program. The foundation’s goal was to help potential clergy through the process of ordination without amassing a large amount of education-related debt, and also to help new clergy understand better their own personal financial planning. Sewanee’s plan was to create the EQB House, a communal living and learning community, where students would receive the support of a group of peers and live more economically by sharing housing expenses. Students making this commitment would receive full scholarships and could graduate debt free. 

 Making that plan work meant also raising funds for the scholarship grants, and several foundations and churches took up that challenge, among them St. George Episcopal Church in Nashville, the William R. Kenan Trust and one of its trustees, Thomas Kenan, the Pearl Dixon Balthis Foundation, and, locally, the Cartinhour-Woods Foundation. All together, since 2013, these organizations have contributed nearly $720,000 in direct support of students preparing for ministry. 

 The largest contributor to the fund to date has been the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, headquartered in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The Foundation is a faithful supporter of schools of theology around the country, and began contributing to the EQB program in 2015. 

 The 2013 Lilly grant recognized that eliminating financial barriers was important to building a vibrant church through energized and supported new clergy. Thanks to the EQB program and other financial aid initiatives, the School of Theology has been successful in lowering the cost of seminary education and ensuring that students graduate with as little education-related debt as possible.

For more information about scholarship for seminarians contact Bess Turner at this link.