Lenten Gratitude

We recently received this wonderful thank you from Cisa Payuyo, who is studying at San Francisco Theological Seminary in Southern California. Cisa wrote, "Dear Friends, I received my DSF check today, Fat Tuesday! What a beautiful way to start the Lenten season and to be reminded of the undeserved grace which we all have been given. I am continually grateful for the support and care you give DSF seminarians. Thank you for blessing us."

The Lenten season invites us to find time to pause; it is a season in which we consider what it means to follow Christ and to prepare ourselves for the ministries to which we are called. Disciples Seminary Foundation begins this Lenten season with deep gratitude for Don Reisinger who made our ministry possible. We also have a profound awareness of the ongoing responsibility to prepare people for service. DSF is supporting 29 Disciples students and 9 UCC students at our partner institutions, but we do so with joy because we know these students already are reminding us of God's undeserved grace.

During this Lenten season, may you find time to pause and become aware of the grace you have received so that you are strengthened in your ongoing ministry.

Blessings,

Rev. Dr.Tamara Nichols Rodenberg

Interim President

Patricia "Cisa" Payuyo is Associate Director of Church Relations for Chapman University. Before beginning her Master of Divinity coursework, she completed the Certificate of Ministry Studies program offered by Pacific School of Religion through DSF. Cisa has had significant hands-on education in the greater church as well, serving as First Vice Moderator of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and as Regional Moderator in the Pacific Southwest. Cisa would eventually like to work in ministry with women who have experienced brokenness. DSF is blessed to be able to support this exemplary "emerging theological leader" through your donations.

 

 

Sad News

 Dear DSF Community,

I write this message with a heavy heart. Don Reisinger passed away February 1, 2010, of a heart attack. Information for the memorial service is available below. For now, I want to give thanks for Don and his profound love and vision for the church. We have lost a wonderful human being and a leader who not only built the Disciples Seminary Foundation but who also touched the lives of many. We are greatly blessed by his life and I ask you now to surround his wife Marjorie with your love and prayers. 

You can send cards to Marjorie at:

1189 Northwestern Drive

Claremont, CA  91711

Warmly,

Rev. Dr. Tamara Nichols Rodenberg
Interim President

 

 

Memorial Service for Don Reisinger

 

February 21, 2010,  3:00 p.m.

First Christian Church

1751 N. Park Avenue

Pomona, CA, 91768

Church Telephone: (909) 622-1144

Reception following at the church

 

The family has requested in lieu of flowers that gifts be made to Disciples Seminary Foundation (Donald D. and Marjorie T. Reisinger Endowment Fund), Eastmont Community Center (Reisinger Academia Fund) and First Christian Church (Memorial Fund).  

 

Eastmont Community Center            First Christian Church              Disciples Seminary Foundation

701 So. Hoefner Avenue                   1751 N. Park Ave.,                  300 West. Foothill Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA., 90022                    Pomona, CA., 91768              Claremont, CA 91711

(323) 762-7998                                (909) 622-1144                      (909) 624-0712

info@eastmontcc.org                        fcc@fccpomona.org                DSF Donation

 

My Journey of Global Discovery 
 

On June 15th, Division of Overseas Ministries/Global Ministries welcomed three Disciples Seminarians for a two month College of Mission Summer Intern program.  DSF’s Sharon Mann, an M.Div. student at CST, provided these reflections on her service with Bob Shebeck in the Office of Mission Interpretation and Constituency Relationships.
 

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first-step.” Right? For me, this was literally a summer of many miles and steps… and what a journey! So how did this become my summer adventure? The process began during finals when I was completely oblivious to the world around me. A routine visit to the Disciples Seminary Foundation turned into an opportunity to meet that world up close. During a conversation with Rev. Dr. Tamara Nichols Rodenberg, she asked if I had seen the email about the opening for a summer intern with Global Ministries. In the midst of the mayhem of finals, DSF assisted with filling out papers, writing recommendations, and conducting phone interviews. A few weeks went by and I was among the interns from around the country standing next to Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins as she prayed for our weeks in the Indianapolis office.

 In Indiana I observed the way decisions were made, and how the departments worked together, adding to my overall understanding of the interworking of the national church. This exposure and training greatly increased my understanding of the organization of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the wider Church and strengthened my knowledge of the history and polity of the church.

My specific task was to work with Rev. Bob Shebeck, who is responsible for communications and interpretation. Much of the focus was the 2009 General Assembly. This event was to be the richest source of the stories I have to share of this thousand mile journey. There was the incredible day the international partners gathered at the assembly. Among my responsibilities was leading interviews with our partners from Mexico, Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo, Fiji Islands, India, and Poland. As we progressed from simple interviews to shared stories, we grew from acquaintances into friends. The interconnectedness we share around the world became clear. These were more than simply international partners; these were our friends on the journey.

The same themes repeated in our conversations, especially the importance of sharing our resources for the wellbeing of all. I left Indianapolis for my journey back to California with new friends in all the regions of Global Ministries and invitations to “come and see” their work. It is an invitation I share with you. I encourage you to visit Global Ministries.org for the weekly prayer and to hold our friends, partners and missions personnel in prayer each week in your faith communities.

Thank you to everyone at Disciples Seminary Foundation and the supporters of the foundation.

Thank you for the support you have demonstrated in resources, good wishes, kind words, encouraging smiles and faithful action. Because of your partnership, I had the opportunity to take this life-changing journey.

 

 

On the Road to Ordination

As I approach my graduation and the hope of ordination, I prepare to enter search and call. Currently women of color, GLBT individuals, and people who are differently-abled are sitting in the Search and Call pool longer than any other group of Disciples. As a differently-abled individual, the reality of these statistics is frightening and disturbing. I know I am called, but I worry that I may emerge from my time in seminary with loans and debt and a dream of serving and yet be unable to find a church.

 

As we discussed our denomination’s stance to fight racism, the up and coming group of Disciples ministers challenged our leaders that our fight against oppression must not stop there; it must extend to fighting all forms of oppression wherever they emerge.

We heard from our General Minister and President Rev. Dr. Sharon Watkins. She encouraged us and challenged us with the roads that lie ahead. I shared my anxieties with both Rev. Dr. Watkins and Rev Warren Lynn, Director of the Office of Search and Call. Their words to me were clear: The road ahead will be hard, and, although the ways things  are aren't fair or right,  no matter what any one church might say, when I walk into a room I must fight, fight, fight for my call, build allies with my regional ministers, and trust and believe that God has called me.

So as I enter my last year of seminary and as the next step in my journey rapidly approaches, I step forth with courage and a hope for my journey and for our journey as a denomination.  We as Disciples have come a long way, yet we have not arrived; we recognize that we are still on the journey. There is still much work to be done, but together as clergy, as laity, as general, regional, and local leaders, as people of faith, let us continue the work of love, let us challenge oppression wherever it arises. Let us speak boldly for justice and for the rights of all people and let us continue to work to ensure that all are welcome at the table. So with hope, with courage, and with the unity of love as our polar star, let us journey as Disciples of Christ.

 

Greetings from DSF!

DSF just received a lovely note from Lorraine Ceniceros.  She writes, "Thank you for your gift of scholarship.  I feel blessed and honored to have your support while I am away from home."

 Thirty seven Disciples and UCC students are well into the semester at Claremont School of Theology, Claremont Graduate University, Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and San Francisco School of Theology in Pasadena and San Anselmo. DSF is proud to provide financial support, academic counseling, and spiritual direction to these gifted, emerging theological leaders.

 On September 16, 2009, we held a cookout in Claremont for our students so they could meet Don and Susan Gonzales Dewey, Co-Regional Ministers of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of the Pacific Southwest Region, as well as Jane Fisler Hoffman, Interim Conference Minister of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ.

 On September 23, 2009, students gathered for dinner in Berkeley with Ben Bohren, Regional Minister of the Christian Church of Northern California and Nevada, and the DSF Advisory Committee.

 Please join me in holding our students in prayer as they begin the new school year.

Blessings,

 Rev. Dr. Tamara Nichols Rodenberg