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Every once in a while you get a message that makes more than just your day.
We recently received this from a HELM Leadership Fellow:
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I would just like to say "Thank you" for the opportunity to be in this program. Actually, a "thank you" isn't really enough to express the gratitude I have. This program has truly changed me in a very positive way, and I can't even imagine what my college experience would have been without it. More than likely, I would not have kept up with a church, would not have sought out the people, groups, and leadership opportunities that the Fellows program encouraged me to do. And more than likely, I would not have been able to discern my call to ministry as clearly or as early as I have. And more than likely, I would not have been as happy with my college experience... To put it bluntly, this program has been the most influential on my spiritual formation and my faith journey to date.
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You can read about the 2009 Leadership Fellows Conference, other ministries of leader development, in this e-newsletter. We feel very proud of the young people who have covenanted with the church to keep the call to leadership — as laypeople and clergy — alive and growing during their college years, and we are pleased to be a channel of the church's care and support for them.
God's love came into our world long ago in Jesus the Christ. New visions of how we will share that love in years to come are growing right now in the hearts and minds of young leaders.
Your support of HELM will help us to help nurture those leaders, even as church mission support and investment income decline.
You might help someone see God working through their life.
In Christ,
Your partners in ministry at HELM
What can we create together?2009 HELM Leadership Fellows conference focuses on creativity
in vocation, in faith, and in life
 So many situations in the church call for creativity. How do you create a vital community? How do you revitalize a congregation? How do you create a community of young adults? How can you do ministry in a new way? How can you provide a seemingly impossible-to-create ministry to reach the seemingly impossible-to-reach community?
Creativity — in our work, in our faith, and in everyday life — was at the center of the HELM Leadership Fellows conference, held November 6-8 in Dallas.
Three guests, each with backgrounds in creative fields and the church, helped students contemplate creativity during the weekend:
Bill Thomas is a musician and actor serving as associate minister and music director at Church of the Valley in Van Nuys, Calif., explained his belief that faith is a "human's encounter with the divine." He also talked about the value of having a mentor to improve your craft. In his case, one of those mentors was Bill Cosby while Thomas worked on "The Cosby Show."
Sherri Emmons, soon-to-be published novelist and managing editor of Indianapolis-based DisciplesWorld magazine, explained how documenting the family stories of her mother led to the creation of her upcoming fictional novel.
Thom Schuyler, country music writer, recording executive and associate minister at Woodmont Christian Church in Nashville, explained how creativity led him into the big-money music production scene — and the challenges he faced balancing business and songwriting.
Most of the conference was held at Northway Christian Church, which provided accommodations for the group and tremendous hospitality. HELM joined the Northway community Sunday morning for worship.
Learn more about the conference.
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If you know a student who will be entering a four-year college or transferring from a community college to a four-year college in 2009 - a student you believe has leadership potential for the church and the world - let us know. We will send information on how to apply for the HELM Leadership Fellows Program. It provides mentoring on or near campus, annual educational workshops, summer internships, a grant to help pay for the student's education, and the opportunity to discover his or her role in the future of our church.
To pass along the name of a potential applicant:
Please send your nomination by February 1.
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Talking leadership
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Texas Christian University's SALT (Spirituality And Leadership Training) program equips Disciples students for spiritually grounded transformational leadership in congregations and non-profit organizations. HELM's Dennis Landon and Brad Lyons visited about leadership and change with (from left) Sarah Tatlock, Erin Taylor, Phillip Short, TCU Associate Chaplain Jeremy Albers, and Ben Goss on November 8.
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Barton College, Week of Compassion help students see church dealing with disaster
WILSON, N.C. — Barton College students are learning first-hand how the world comes together to deal with natural disasters through a partnership with Week of Compassion.
"Campus Compassion," funded by a College-University Grant issued by HELM and by the Oreon E. Scott Foundation, is designed to educate and motivate young adults to respond to the global needs of the world.
 "As Disciples' ministries operating in different manifestations of the Church, Barton College and Week of Compassion have a responsibility to find new ways to engage young adults on the journey of spiritual maturity, social consciousness, and faithful stewardship," said Hollie Woodruff, chaplain of Barton College. "Exposure to the needs of the world is a critical piece of that journey. We want to create an innovative strategy to explore what working relationships can emerge between Week of Compassion and Disciples-related colleges and universities."
The program includes a spring-break mission trip to the Gulf Coast where cleanup from the 2005 hurricanes continues. Students also decided to support a medical mission to Liberia in April.
The year-long pilot program will conclude next summer with a retreat hosted by Barton College that will involve chaplains from all Disciples-related colleges and universities. Woodruff hopes this retreat will be a springboard for other Disciples-related schools to become more involved with Week of Compassion.
Bethany College's Hull receives T. A. Abbott Award for Faculty Excellence
Bethany psychology professor John H. Hull is the 2009 recipient of HELM's T. A. Abbott Award for Faculty Excellence.
 "Dr. Hull embodies precisely the qualities listed in the criteria for this award. His passion — and his accomplishments as a teacher, scholar and mentor to his students, and his commitment to faith and service to his fellow women and men, stand out as primary reasons for his achieving this honor," stated Darin E. Fields, Bethany College Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty. "John Hull is unquestionably one of the finest professors at Bethany College. He serves as an unsurpassed example to his students and colleagues of a life of continuing education and service."
The 26th recipient of the T. A. Abbott Award, Hull was selected by the HELM Board of Directors for his keen ability to inspire students toward excellence through teaching and personal example, his demonstration of an educational philosophy that focuses on wholeness of person, his continued commitment to grow and learn within his academic discipline and his manifestation of a personal faith. Hull joined the Bethany College faculty in 1976.
Hull received a $1,000 cash gift for the purpose of Hull's continued growth as a teacher and scholar and a plaque noting his recognition.
The T. A. Abbott Award was established through a gift to the Higher Education and Leadership Ministries from the descendants of the Reverend T. A. Abbott, who served as an administrator and faculty member at Culver-Stockton College. Nominees must be full-time teaching faculty at Disciples-related institutions of higher education. Hull is the third member of the Bethany College faculty to be honored with the award.
Campus news
Transylvania University's long-time president is retiring; Drury University welcomes a noted death-penalty opponent to campus; Chalice Camp teaches seminarians practical details about weddings, funerals, and baptisms. Disciples institutions of higher education are busy places. Keep up with what's happening on campus through HELM's web site.
Students tell their stories
HELM has asked college students from across the country to write about their faith during college. The variety of responses is tremendous. Join our Facebook group or subscribe to our Twitter feed (helmdisciples) to make sure you don't miss new stories. Here are our most recent student stories:
Tom Calvert-Rosenberger: Simplicity
What makes you truly happy? How can we live more with less stuff? What role should money play in your life? These questions are posed by ""Voluntary Simplicity," a textbook from a course Tom Calvert- Rosenberger is taking this semester. He's taking this class to heart as he tries to find ways to live a simpler life on campus. The book says close and supportive relationships, faith communities, positive traits, and daily flow give people the most satisfaction. With these simple measures, Tom also feels God there at his side.
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Virginia White: Life beyond the edge of campus
With all the activities and opportunities offered to students, it's easy to go a week without leaving campus or seeing the world beyond a campus' informal boundaries. As she has settled into her freshman year at Rice University, Virginia White has stayed connected with that outside world during a vigil for victims of human trafficking and through a local Disciples congregation. How can you help college students stay connected with their church and their faith?
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Katie Johnson: A different kind of Christmas
Katie Johnson loves the traditions that come with Christmas as much as the actual Christmas holiday itself. But Christmas 2009 will be different. Instead of candlelight services and hymns and fellowship, Katie will spend Christmas with her sister in India. As the Christmas season nears, she is remembering that while tradition is important, celebrating Christ's birth is the true reason for the holiday, regardless of where you celebrate.
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Cambria Findley-Grubb: My life is a 7-layer dip
Cambria Findley-Grubb loves 7-layer dip; in her case, refried beans, avocados, tomatoes, green onions, sour cream, black olives, and cheese. She also sees her life as a 7-layer dip: faith, family, friends, education, church, service, and fun. In both 7-layer dip and her Cambria's life, each element is terrific on its own, but together, they're even better — the sum is greater than the equal of its individual parts.
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Kristen Walling: Talk among yourselves
During a summer internship with the Disciples Peace Fellowship, diverse opinions on peace and justice issues forced Kristen Walling to rethink the way she thought and spoke about those issues. Sometimes conversation, analyzing the differing opinions, could do more to open minds than a canned lecture. So when Kristen returned to campus to find a social justice-oriented student group had become more conservative, Kristen realized the skills she learned during the summer would come in handy at school, too.
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Sarah Cheon: God at the center of marriage
When Sarah Cheon's mentor recently asked her to play piano at her upcoming wedding, Sarah found her feet shaking on the pedals and her mind praying that her fingers would find the right notes. Once the jitter-filled opening procession ended, she got to watch the couple exchange their own vows. As she listened, she heard purity and holiness in the vows and a commitment of their marriage to God's works. Sarah hopes her own marriage will share the same foundation and trust in God.
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Alison Simon: Out with the old, in with the new
There are a lot of differences between Texas, where Alison Simon is studying at TCU, and North Carolina, Alison's home. She headed to a Fort Worth congregation and appreciated the traditions — Communion, the Doxology, a Call to Prayer — only to hear a sermon challenging worshippers to jettison traditions that have no meaning. As Alison settles into a new home, she is learning to appreciate useful traditions but also to embrace the new traditions around her.
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Jesse Stephenson: Who's got your back?
Sometimes you have no idea how much community surrounds you. Jesse Stephenson saw this first hand recently when his roommate's step-father died suddenly. In a moment of need, dozens of the roommate's friend pitched in to help him keep up with studies and laundry. So often, life knocks us off our feet; having these friends in our lives can help us get up and fight through difficult times. |
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Georgia Kuss: New camp, same road
Georgia Kuss spent this summer working with special-needs campers who required one-on-one attention. The experience drained her energy and occasionally left her with a "battle scar" or two, but it also proved to her that therapeutic work is her calling in life. She also got to experience the gifts of unconditional love, learning to listen, and ultimately a life transformed with God's help.
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Melissa Hall: Fear of the new
Melissa Hall admits she tends to stay in a comfort zone, even when trying something new. Two experiences at this summer's General Assembly gave her reasons to reevaluate how she approaches the unfamiliar. Ushering helped her comprehend the vast variety of Disciples, and General Minister and President Sharon Watkins' address helped her think about how widen our circle of compassion to embrace all life and nature. She's hoping those lessons will change her way of looking at new opportunities.
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For more stories, visit "Students Tell Their Stories" on the HELM web site.
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