Ministry Scholarships

Scholarships up to $10,000 are awarded annually. In large part, the legacy received from the Browns is a result of relationships built over many years by the Commission on Development and by local congregations of the United Church of Christ. Brown Scholarships are also awarded annually to a student of an overseas/global partner church studying abroad or in the U.S. and to overseas/global partner church members for continuing education leading toward professional ministry. The awards are given upon nomination by the Area Offices of our common Global Ministries /Wider Church Ministries and typically range from $3,000 to $6,000. http://www.ucc.org/education/scholarships/

With support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Kroc Institute invites applications for Visiting Fellowships in its Program in Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding (PRCP). The PRCP explores the complex role of religion in contemporary conflicts, ranging from the legitimation or sacralization of violence, to participation in conflict mediation and reconciliation, to the advocacy and practice of nonviolent resistance as a religious imperative. The fellowships will ordinarily be for one year. Stipends begin at $30,000 per year. Visiting Fellows will also be provided with an apartment in the Hesburgh Centers residential quarters, an office in the Hesburgh Center for International Studies, a computer, an email account, access to the internet, and photocopying, faxing and communication facilities. Visiting Fellows will also receive full privileges at the Hesburgh Library. http://www.nd.edu/~krocinst/visiting_fellows/rockvf0607.html

Criteria: * Full-time students in accredited Protestant seminaries in the United States who are preparing to serve Japanese American congregations * Must be at least one quarter Japanese $500 to $1500 scholarships.

Criteria: * UMC students preparing for local church ministry in the California-Pacific Annual Conference (or other). Each year the Scholarship Fund of the Laguna Country United Methodist Church provides financial assistance to help worthy students to obtain the education they need to prepare for the service they propose to give their fellows. The guidelines for awarding scholarships are as follows: returning applicants are to be favored over new applicants.

Students enrolled full-time in a Masters of Divinity degree program leading to ordination as a Unitarian Universalist minister. Candidate status is required. Application: Contact Christine May at cmay@uua.org. For further information: http://www.uua.org/awards/ Master of Divinity

$2,500 per year to an African American woman in or preparing for seminary dedicated to creating an anti-racist, multi-cultural religious organization and country.

$2,250 per year to a promising ministerial candidate.

Awards of $2,500 each are made to ministerial students - one woman and one man - who, in addition to meeting the requirements for general financial aid, choose to submit as part of their general financial application a paper, sermon, or other special project on some aspect of Universalism.

$2,500 per year to a person who has shown outstanding commitment to UUism as a lay leader and has not yet entered seminary.

Two awards at $2,500 each (will increase as value increases). First priority: Meadville-Lombard Students. Student must be in the second or third year of seminary. Up to 25% of award can be directed to assisting African American, Hispanic, Native Americans and foreign students to allow them to spread the faith in their native countries.

Amount varies depending on fund performance to a junior or senior student with academic excellence and good character, studying for ordained ministry.

In 2000, the predecessor body to Local Church Ministries, The Board for Homeland Ministries, created a scholarship for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender United Church of Christ seminarians in honor of William R. Johnson, the first openly gay man ordained in the United Church of Christ. The scholarship was established as a concrete way of affirming the long-standing conviction of the United Church of Christ that sexual orientation should not be a barrier to ordination. To qualify for this scholarship, students must be open about their sexual orientation, enrolled in an ATS accredited seminary, and have proof of both local memberships in a United Church of Christ church and of In Care status. First-time applicants must exhibit exceptional academic ability typically demonstrated by a 3.0 GPA or better while in seminary. Specific written recommendations are also required. The scholarship is available to second and third year students. Scholarship awards typically will be in the $2500 range. Those interested in applying for a Johnson scholarship should contact: The William R. Johnson Scholarship Parish Life and Leadership Ministry Team 700 Prospect Ave E Cleveland OH 44115-1100 866.822.8224, ext. 3848 scholars@ucc.org http://www.ucc.org/education/scholarships/