This past year, 16 churches in our Presbytery helped undergird our seminaries through the combined gift of $20,988.55.  (Note:  even $.55 is important.)  Listed according to the General Assembly accounting order, they are:

Bellevue First
Rose Hill
Lake Burien
Northminster
Wedgewood
Inglewood
Newport
Rainier Beach
White River
Woodland Park
Mt. Baker
Redmond
Queen Anne
Wallingford
St. Andrew
Sammamish.

The level of support is of great help to the individual seminarians.  The AVERAGE student debt for a graduating D Min student is over $25,000. Obviously many graduate with a higher debt load.  It is not unusual for a seminarian to graduate and NOT seek a call to a congregation but rather go into the job market in order to earn enough to pay off loans.  Beginning pastoral salaries in many parts of our nation are not high enough to both cover  the cost of living and meet debt payments.

A future article on the Seminary Support system will address the distribution of the funds: who got what, and what the “what” means to the Seminary budgets.

Be a part of the Seminary Support Network through the TEF.