Seminary's Class of 2011 Marks New Era

LEXINGTON, Ky., May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Graduation almost always marks the end of one thing and the beginning of another.

For the class of 2011 at Lexington Theological Seminary, the journey across the academic stage for these 20 students on Friday carries a deeper symbolism.

The traditional, residential seminary experience they encountered as they embarked upon their ministerial training is now part of the historic Seminary's past. In the fall of 2010, LTS shifted its curriculum to a limited-residency program, with 2/3 of classes online and the focus became teaching students within the context of congregational ministry where they are, surrounded by covenant groups and mentors, without requiring students to move to answer a call to ministry.

While the academic preparation remains strong, it is also framed by a pastoral perspective so that every step of the journey strengthens students' future roles as ministers.

"The Seminary demonstrated faith in action by reshaping her focus and visioning a future filled with possibilities. I commend the leadership for staying the course," says Master of Divinity graduate Nathl Moore, a native of Huntsville, and pastor of First African Baptist Church in Lexington.

Moore, a husband and father of four young children, answered his call to ministry 13 years ago. After years of commuting between Paris, Ky., and Cincinnati, Ohio, as a bi-vocational minister, he was called as the full-time pastor at the Lexington church not far from the Seminary, "an answered prayer," he said. The barriers of distance and time he faced have been largely removed for current and future LTS students.

"The most important lesson that I've learned here at LTS is that what you know makes no difference if you don't make a difference with what you know," Moore said. "This thought has put into perspective all the insightful and inspiring lectures, classroom assignments, books that have been read, notes that have been scribbled, papers that have been written and exams that have been taken. From the one whom I considered to be one of the greatest theologians of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I've learned that religion and religious knowledge is worthless if it doesn't lead me to allow God to use me to bring worth and value to the lives of others."

The Rev. Jean Halligan Vandergrift, keynote speaker at the 2011 LTS graduation service, also shares that vision for ministry.

A 1983 LTS graduate, Vandergrift is a Ph.D. candidate in Practical Theology at the Boston University School of Theology, with a concentration in Congregations and Community. She is also an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Jean has served pastorates in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Washington, as well as a mission appointment in Paris, France. She has given leadership to mission and ministry at the local, regional, and general expressions of the church, currently as co-chair of the Discernment Team of the Northeastern region, the in-coming chair of the Disciples Home Missions Board, and a member of the Congregational Transformation Team.

She is married to Steve, also an LTS alumnus, now living out his ministry as a public school educator. They are active covenant partners with Hope Central Church (Disciples/UCC).

Graduation ceremonies begin just prior to 10 a.m. with a traditional processional across Limestone Street to the sounds of a bagpipe.

Lexington Theological Seminary is an accredited graduate theological institution of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).  Consistent with the Disciples' historic commitment to Christian unity, the Seminary is intentionally ecumenical with students, faculty, staff and trustees of various denominations. The Seminary has been preparing leaders for the church since 1865. For more information, visit www.lextheo.edu.

CONTACT: Beth Goins  (502) 316-4575, [email protected]

SOURCE Lexington Theological Seminary