I am grateful for my relationship with Disciples Seminary Foundation, both for the generosity of its financial support and for its intentional efforts to amplify a diversity of voices. As DSF scholars, we are afforded monthly opportunities to gather with our peers for times of prayer and reflection and for times of education. My co-learners are spread out across the country, pursuing different theological degrees to prepare them for a beautiful multiplicity of calls. It is an incredible gift to share in growing and learning with people I only knew as strangers mere months ago. This precious gift of time through generous financial support allows me to focus on research towards my dissertation project as a Doctor of Ministry student at Pacific School of Religion. My research is focused on making theological learning accessible to lay people, specifically those who are trying to deconstruct and reconstruct responsibly. DSF’s generosity and attention to diversity make seminary a viable option for classmates for whom seminary might otherwise be out of reach. Including those voices in the religious academy leads to innovation that helps everyone better understand the multi-faceted nature of the Holy. DSF does more than support seminarians financially. We are supported spiritually through regular invitations to opportunities for meditation and reflection. We are supported vocationally and personally through introductions to the various ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. We are supported as individuals through regular conversations with Christy, check-ins where we are afforded the opportunity to express struggles and doubts – and exciting developments! – in spaces that feel safe and sacred.
BIO:Rev. Alyssa Spradlin is Pastor of Digital Ministries and Director of Communication at Brentwood Christian Church (DOC), Springfield, MO. Ordained in the Mid-America Region, she holds a Master of Divinity degree, a Master of Arts degree in Nonprofit Communication, and an undergraduate degree in journalism. In her limited free time, she researches and writes about the life of Sadie McCoy Crank, one of the first women ordained in our tradition, who founded and pastored churches in the Mid-America Region 100 years ago.