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"To find suitable persons for the Episcopal ministry and
aid them in acquiring a thorough education"
SIM's founding purpose on October 2, 1857;
our ministry ever since.
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Theological Education Sunday 2012
February 5th
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Greetings!
The primary joys of the SIM's ministry surface in our visits with seminarians. February, the month the church turns our attention to theological education, is also the time for our 2nd semester visits to seminarians. This academic year we have the privilege of calling on 99 seminarians from 53 dioceses at 14 seminaries and divinity schools.
Today I am visiting with "our" 15 seminarians at Sewanee.
Their backgrounds, experiences, goals and stories never fail to renew our sense of mission and deepen our comprehension of the wisdom of the eight visionaries who founded SIM 155 years ago. Today those eight may well be doing heavenly "high-fives" and dancing in the end zone for over 6000 scores (SIM's historic grant total).
SIM donors can also vicariously share in today's vocational journeys of SIM supported seminarians. Their dedication and commitment to serve The Episcopal Church is humbling. The Episcopal Church is blessed with our donors' support of these future ordained leaders that God has called to serve our church.
The quality of our clergy is a great heritage and asset of The Episcopal Church. In 1976 the 65th General Convention recognized this asset of human capital cannot be taken for granted. It resolved that parishes annually set aside a Theological Education Sunday and urged their financial commitment for theological education. The resolution, reaffirmed and refined in four subsequent General Conventions, now calls for setting aside 1% of parish operating budgets for the support of theological education and for designating the first Sunday in February as Theological Education Offering (TEO) Sunday.
Limited attention has been paid to TEO Sunday on a church-wide basis. The outcomes are predictable. Today's financial challenges of our seminaries and seminarians would be vastly diminished if the strategic goals of the 65th General Convention had been met.
SIM's Circle of Seminarian Friends takes a different approach to supporting "our" future ordained leaders. It is a grassroots appeal offering every Episcopalian a meaningful way to minister to Episcopal seminarians. The Circle of Seminarian Friends is not just a program; it's a solution to the Church's perennial issue of funding theological education. If only 5% of the Average Sunday Attendance in The Episcopal Church joined at the suggested monthly donation of $18.57 (SIM's founding year, 1857), sufficient funds would be generated to cover the tuition cost of every fulltime, three year Episcopal M.Div. student!
Success for the Circle of Seminarian Friends would be a game changer for the future of The Episcopal Church!
Today's seminarians are tomorrow's future ordained leaders!
Tom Moore Executive Director SIM
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