A Word from Pastor Nathan

Dear Friends:

On Sunday, we will collect our special offering for Ministerial Relief and Seminary Scholarships. Both Jane Hutson and Mark Mathes have spoken during the second service on Sundays about these opportunities.

The Pension Fund of the Christian Church provides benefits for over 12,500 employees of Stone-Campbell and Restoration Movement ministries and organizations across the globe. With more than $3 billion in assets, the Pension Fund is fully-funded and supports the church and its ministry worldwide. Through Ministerial Relief, the Pension Fund of the Christian Church offers a monthly grant to retired ministers and their surviving spouses whose incomes are below poverty level and do not have a pension. Some of my clergy colleagues, now retired, depend on Ministerial Relief for their financial well-being. I am proud that Washington Avenue Christian Church has a strong history of supporting the Pension Fund of the Christian Church. Your gift makes a substantial difference in the lives of clergy and their spouses.

This year, the Outreach Committee decided to redirect the Seminary Scholarships portion of the October special offering to Brite Divinity School. In Fall 1914, the Brite College of the Bible opened its first building, which still stands on the Texas Christian University campus, and the institution welcomed its inaugural class. Almost 30 persons comprised this incoming class, more than one-third of whom were women. Six years before women had the right to vote, Brite Divinity School prepared women for leadership in the church. In Fall 1952, Brite integrated, which was two years prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education and twelve years before TCU integrated. Two students of color joined the Brite student body in 1952: John Claiborne and Vada Phillips Felder. In May 1954, Felder received her Master of Religious Education from Brite. She was the first black graduate of Brite Divinity School and Texas Christian University. Felder later coordinated the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s visit to Fort Worth, Texas, in October 1959, and the National Baptist Association contracted with Felder to write its Sunday School curriculum, which had a nation-wide circulation. Your giving to this special offering makes graduate theological education possible for ministers and leaders who are transforming the church and world through scholarship, justice, and practice.

What does one say in response to such a generous and loving congregation? One phrase comes to mind: Thanks be to God!

Love,

Nathan