McCormick sends four to PCUSA racial ethnic event
10-23-2009
Four of McCormick’s first-year students have been selected to attend the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s Annual Racial Ethnic Seminarians Conference, held this year on November 5-8, at the Marywood Center for Spirituality and Ministry in St. Johns, Florida. Designed to offer students the opportunity to network and be exposed to the realities of ministry, the conference brings together 28 Presbyterians from 13 theological institutions in the United States.
McCormick will be represented by the following students:
Jin Kyung Lee is a Korean American woman from Des Plaines, Illinois, who is an experienced Web programmer and designer. She has come to McCormick with a desire to learn how to help Korean churches work through the tensions of generational and cultural differences.
Constance Johnson is a lifelong African American Presbyterian and an accomplished publisher in print media. She feels called to the pastorate and to building community out of people of diverse backgrounds, skills, and theological persuasions.
T.C. Anderson identifies himself as multiracial and hails from Canton, Michigan. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from Eastern Michigan University and has expressed interest in African American Ministries and Black Church Studies.
Jeniffer Rodriguez is a Dominican American from Cliffside Park, New Jersey. She has a well-rounded education in communications and the arts with special training in graphic design and painting. She feels called to chaplaincy.
McCormick’s participation in the annual conference, which has been sponsored by the General Assembly Mission Council for 31 years, fits seamlessly into the seminary’s commitment to prepare leaders for a church in transition.
“We continue to have among the most diverse student bodies in theological education and we believe that is the community God has called us to be,” says the Rev. Dr. Christine Vogel, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs.
“Participating in the PCUSA Racial Ethnic Seminarians Conference is an important extension of that work. The conference provides students of color a dedicated space to reflect together on their experience as Presbyterians, to find fellowship in their common struggles, and to identify ways in which they can lead us to become a more just, inclusive Church.”
According to current statistics from the Office of Preparation for Ministry, there are approximately 450 racial ethnic inquirers and candidates who are preparing for Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Learn more about McCormick’s student body, degree programs and mission