"The scholarships we received [at the seminary] helped us gain a very valuable theological education, which has formed us as ministers of the church and set us on a path that's so very different from our previous life."
Sewanee’s legendary fog is occasionally characterized as mysterious and sometimes labeled a nuisance. Valerie Crumpton, T’11, sees it as something else: a spiritual gift. Early in their time on the Mountain, Val and her husband, the Very Rev. Al Crumpton IV, T’11, experienced pangs of deep uncertainty—the 2008 economic recession had hit, and “the world seemed to be caving in around us,” Val says. After dinner one evening, they decided to visit the Memorial Cross. “The fog was thick and dancing around us,” she says. “That’s when we felt the hand of God enveloping us, as if to say, ‘It will be OK.’ Then, a deep, abiding peace came over us. It’s like our burdens were lifted in the fog and taken away.”
Crumpton says she shares this Sewanee story often as a testament to God’s faithfulness. “When He calls, if you obey, He’s going to take care of you.” Despite periods of hardship, the Crumptons both graduated from the School of Theology in 2011—Val was awarded an M.A. in theology, and Al earned an M.Div. They now live in Evans, Georgia, where Al serves as rector at Our Savior Episcopal Church in nearby Martinez, and Val oversees the parish’s marketing and communications outreach.
Several years after leaving Sewanee, the Crumptons began providing a monthly recurring gift in support of School of Theology scholarships and financial aid, and Val has also served the University as a trustee. “The scholarships we received [at the seminary] helped us gain a very valuable theological education,” Val says, “which has formed us as ministers of the church and set us on a path that’s so very different from our previous life.”
Val started her career in the corporate sector but soon transitioned to nonprofit work. “I felt a strong call to make that move,” she says. “My passion has always been people—understanding the human psyche and social issues.” She met Al at a Habitat for Humanity global conference in Bangkok—at the time, they were both working for the organization, but Al was discerning a call to ministry. “My conversation with Al introduced me to the Episcopal Church,” Val says. Six months later, the couple married in Singapore, Val’s home country. They then moved to Americus, Georgia, where Al lived. Having grown up in metropolitan settings, Val says, adjusting to life in the rural South was “a bit rough,” but she and Al found a welcoming community at Calvary Episcopal Church, Al’s home parish.
It was the former rector at Calvary Episcopal Church, the Rev. Don Hutchens, T’04, who recommended the School of Theology to Al. “Without us knowing, he arranged for us to visit Sewanee,” Val says, “so we went and got a grand tour.” The beauty of the Domain, and the chance to sit in on several seminary classes, quickly won the couple over.
Though Val continued working for Habitat for Humanity as a consultant during Al’s initial months as a seminarian, her contract ended in late 2008, and it wasn’t renewed. “I started in a work-study job, which was allowed for seminary spouses,” she says, “but it was limited to eight hours a week, and the pay was about $6.25 per hour. You can’t live on that.” Crumpton searched for a new full-time position, but she also considered pursuing a graduate degree at the seminary. A heart-to-heart conversation with then-Dean of the School of Theology the Very Rev. Dr. Bill Stafford convinced her to apply to the School of Theology’s master’s program, and she received a full scholarship to enroll. “I was to start the following year, in August 2009,” she says. “That thrilled me.”
Crumpton says her desire to explore theology and engage in service-oriented outreach dates back to her childhood. At age 12, during a period of preteen angst, she had a series of spiritually moving dreams. “I dreamed I saw Jesus. His arms were outstretched, and He was saying, ‘Come and follow me.’” She now views the dreams as a call to ministry—though not necessarily to priesthood. “When you talk about ministry, it’s not just ministry at the altar,” she says. “There are so many aspects of ministry that you can focus on.”
Describing herself as an avid learner, Crumpton says she loved all of her School of Theology classes and professors. Associate Professor of Theology the Rev. Dr. Robert MacSwain and emeritus Professor of Christian Ethics and Theology Cindy Crysdale, both of whom assisted Crumpton with her thesis, stand out. “Dr. Crysdale had an impact on my understanding of God,” she says. “I always remember her mantra in classes: ‘God is God, and we are not.’ We can’t do everything, and we should never put God in a box.”
To cover living expenses, Crumpton eventually took on several part-time jobs, including serving as an administrative assistant to former Director of Instructional Technology Larry Wood. “Larry and his wife, Nancy, adopted me and Al,” she says. “We ate with them and went out together, and we’re still friends. We have a shared experience—that’s the beauty of the Mountain.”
After graduating from the School of Theology, the Crumptons moved to Brunswick, Georgia, where Al served as a curate at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. “Given my Sewanee background, the rector of the church put me to work,” Val says. Within months of settling in Brunswick, Val coordinated St. Mark’s mission trip to Lima, Peru. She then transitioned to supporting the church’s thrift shop, creating a process through which local charities could apply for a portion of the shop’s earnings. “We started giving out grants in small amounts in 2012,” she says, “and, as of today, [the shop] has awarded more than $3 million in grant funding.”
In Brunswick, Crumpton also served as executive director of the International Seafarers Center, a nonprofit Christian organization that aims to meet the needs of visiting merchant mariners from around the globe. Eventually, she and Al moved to St. Mary’s, Georgia, and then to Evans, where Val worked with the Family YMCA of Greater Augusta before launching a marketing and communications consulting firm, VTC Consulting LLC. “My goal was to help small businesses, nonprofits, and churches come back from where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.” In 2021, Val looked for a new challenge, and Our Savior hired her as a marketing and communications consultant for parish outreach.
Through many relocations and professional roles, Val says, she and Al have maintained a focused objective: “Our main goal is to raise people up, through scripture, reason, tradition, and community-building.” Val credits Sewanee with providing “the safe space to find God, to understand what it means to be faithful—to understand what it means when God says, ‘I got your back.’” The Crumptons’ philanthropy has similarly bolstered the School of Theology, says the Rev. Casey Perkins, T’22, the seminary’s director of development. “Scholarship funding continues to be the University’s primary need, across both the College and the School of Theology, and recurring gifts are absolutely invaluable as a steady, reliable source of support.”
While Crumpton is no stranger to navigating bumps in the road, not all surprises are obstacles. In her final semester at the seminary, she received the School of Theology Prize in Community Service—a delightful shock, she says. “When I heard my name called out for the award, I thought I was hearing things. Al had to prod me to get up and go onstage.” After her disbelief wore off, Crumpton says she felt honored and validated. “I now wish to say to seminarians: Expect the unexpected—for opportunities are available to anyone who puts in the effort and lives in faith, obedience, and love.”
