$15,000 from a Donor Advised Fund
Luther Seminary used the $15,000 grant for general operating support, to support and strengthen their work:
- teaching 848 students enrolled in degree programs
- providing scholarships to students
- maintaining campus
- providing student services such as the library and registrar
- operating the largest Lay School of Theology in the ELCA
- investing in technology to make Luther Seminary’s resources available to a broader audience throughout the United States and around the world.
The seminary also offers a Distributed Learning Master of Divinity program, which helps students like Lisa Kipp:
When a surprise third pregnancy blessed Lisa Kipp and her husband, John, Lisa had already started traditional seminary classes at Luther Seminary. She was also working full time as director of youth ministry at Zumbro Lutheran Church in Rochester, Minn., and raising two boys under age 5.
When the pregnancy proved especially hard, she put her dream of becoming a pastor on hold. “Even though I still felt this call, I just couldn’t do it, so I had to let it fall by the wayside for a bit.”
The Kipps had a third son, and when he was several months old, Lisa found a one-credit, two-week summer class at Luther that felt manageable. She had also heard about the Distributed Learning Master of Divinity program, and was eager to learn more since most DL classes are conducted online with just two annual two-week sessions on campus. Once she started the summer class, Kipp was pleased to learn that nearly two-thirds of her classmates were students in the DL M.Div. program—and loved it. After learning how the DL M.Div. program allows her classmates to balance work, school and family, Kipp was soon convinced that the program was right for her. “I realized my classmates were from all over the country, working full time,” she says.
Kipp was also heartened by the sense of camaraderie and community the DL students shared with each other. “They all knew each other,” she says. “There was this whole sense of community; and they were of different ages, backgrounds and experience in the church.” She was surprised they formed such close connections by interacting in the program’s online chat rooms. “They’d only been to campus one other time to get to know each other in person,” she says.
Kipp and others in her cohort (a group of students who progress through their classes with each other) started DL classes in fall of 2008. The DL program’s requirements for hands-on, practical experience enable Kipp to incorporate her work at Zumbro Lutheran with her classroom education. “Taking the work you’re already doing and making that part of your education, I think that’s great,” she says, adding that her classmates share her enthusiasm for this aspect of the program. She previously drove 90 minutes each way to classes in St. Paul, so she also appreciates how much easier the new program is on her family and their gas budget.
Pleased to have found an ideal way to pursue her seminary education while continuing with her other responsibilities, Kipp believes the DL M.Div. program through Luther Seminary is the answer to her prayers. “This is exactly what I need and what I’m looking for.”
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