Ministerial Student Grant applications due April 1

Disciples seminarians are invited to apply for Ministerial Student Grants, a program of Higher Education and Leadership Ministries (HELM) providing up to $3,000 for selected M.Div. students to support research projects, educational experiences outside the student's institution, study-related travel, or other opportunities.

An applicant must be a member of a Disciples congregation and under care of a regional commission on ministry and have completed the first year of an M.Div. degree at an accredited seminary. A student may receive one grant during her or his M.Div. studies, and recipients will provide a written report on their experiences to HELM following the project.

Five seminarians received Ministerial Student Grants in 2009:

• Diane Faires of the Disciples Divinity House at Vanderbilt will join in Week of Compassion's trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina this summer.

• Jonathan Hall at Eden Theological Seminary will use the grant to help underwrite a semester at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. Hall will also receive major funding from the Council on Christian Unity.

• Linda Harding of Denver Seminary will participate in a trip to Turkey and Greece, studying Biblical sites and learning about the cultures from which Christianity grew.

• Erin Moore at the Disciples Seminary Foundation will create a Disciples-focused study guide to "Our Whole Lives," a sexuality education curriculum.

• Deb Phelps of Christian Theological Seminary aims to create "The Net Christian Church," an online congregation that will reach potential Disciples who are unable to participate in traditional brick-and-mortar congregations.