Today in the Mission Yearbook - Seminarians of Color Conference nurtures and supports future Church leaders

A source of affirmation, friendship and mutual support for more than 40 years

June 6, 2021

The Conference for Seminarians of Color was first held in 1979. Since then, students of color
have found a much-needed space to support one another, learn and share. Participants say
the friendships made at the conference have been invaluable. Courtesy of the Presbyterian Mission Agency

Presbyterian survey of seminary life revealed a pressing need among students of color, which at the time represented a small percentage of seminarians attending various theological institutions nationwide. The study found that, in some cases, there were very few seminarians of color per campus, and most frequently, they were not members of the same racial or ethnic group.

The realization arose that Presbyterian seminarians of color needed to feel less isolated. But how could that be remedied?

The answer was the Conference for Seminarians of Color, in which the Rev. James “Jim” Reese and the Improving Minority Prospects (IMP) Committee were the driving forces behind its creation.

The IMP Committee of the Church Vocation Agency, in the Office of the General Assembly, was chaired by Dr. Frank Wilson. He and committee members Jim Costen and Charles Marks, and other influential voices, realized there was a great disconnect for seminarians of color and particularly Black seminarians.

“We needed to let minority students know the process for becoming a minister,” said Marks. “We needed to prepare them for what they were getting into and offer a major support system. These students needed to know they had a safe place. We also realized that we needed to start a pipeline for minority students, and it needed to start before they entered seminary.”

The Church Vocation Agency was staffed at that time by the Rev. Don Smith, director of the Vocation Agency; Edgar Ward, associate of the Vocation Agency; and Reese.

These astute Black ministers realized there was a need to provide ongoing support for minority seminarians, and particularly Black seminarians, since that was the largest minority group of the church at the time.

Marks says the formation of the IMP Committee was a pioneering initiative. “It was a very inclusive group,” he said. “There were African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and others on the committee. This perhaps was the first intercultural committee of the Presbyterian Church.”

Reese explained it this way: “It appeared to me that the number of persons of color in seminary was so small that they didn’t have any way of feeling they were important, as well as comfortable about what they were doing, where they were doing it and how they were doing it. So, I came up with the idea that we should bring all of the seminarians of color together once a year in a single place to strengthen their relationships, help them feel significant and important, and address whatever questions or needs they brought to the meeting.”

In 1979, every person of color attending a Presbyterian seminary was invited to the inaugural Conference for Seminarians of Color, which was held in Atlanta at Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary. At the time, the Presbyterian Church was a denomination divided into northern and southern divisions. Reunification didn’t occur until 1983 with the formation of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Reese recollects that there were only 55 students of color enrolled in Presbyterian seminaries that year.

However, he said over the next eight years the number of nonwhite students enrolled in Presbyterian seminaries doubled.

In addition, an invitation was extended to non-Presbyterian seminaries to reach Presbyterian seminarians of color who were attending other institutions.

Since the conference’s inception, more than 1,000 seminarians of color have attended. Many of these individuals are currently serving or have served in national leadership roles within the denomination.

They include: the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, stated clerk of the Office of the General Assembly; the Rev. Dr. Diane Moffett, president, and executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency; and Rhashell Hunter, director of Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries, which she says “seeks to offer seminarians of color, new immigrants and women an overview of the many skills and talents needed to succeed in leadership.”

According to Jewel McRae, associate for Women’s Leadership Development and Young Women’s Ministries, and an alumna of the conference, attendees “come together to join in community with other church leaders in a spiritual and nurturing environment.”

The seminarians explore paths to ordination, engage in vocational discernment, learn how to take senior ordination exams and navigate the call process.

Gail Strange, Director of Church and Mid Council Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Lisa Love, Presbyterian Foundation
Sandy Lucas, Presbyterian Foundation

Let us pray:

Our Father, you have given us so much, including your own Son. Please look with favor on our efforts to care for what you have given us and to lead people to hear your message. Amen.

Today in the Mission Yearbook - Three men and a conference

Conference for Seminarians of Color creates lasting bonds of friendship

January 6, 2021

Jewel McRae

When Edward Byron Elam, Ryan Atkinson and Ralph Lowe arrived in Clinton, Tennessee, in 2019 to participate in Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries’ Conference for Seminarians of Color held at the Children’s Defense Fund’s Haley Farm, they had no idea that they would connect with individuals with whom they remain close one year later.

Last year 19 seminary students with diverse backgrounds arrived at the farm, formerly owned by “Roots” author Alex Haley, for four days of training and networking. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was not held in 2020.

“While we are disappointed that we are unable to gather in person for the conference this year, 2020 is still a special year for the Conference for Seminarians of Color,” said Jewel McRae, Associate for Women’s Leadership Development and Young Women’s Ministries. “It marks the 40th anniversary. This conference has been very close to my heart for many, many years — I would say for at least 20 years. It gives seminarians an opportunity to come together to network, to hear from church leaders so they can experience the wonderful things that the Presbyterian Church has to offer them.”

McRae says that it always warms her heart that although people gather as strangers, “When they leave, they are leaving as siblings in Christ,” she said. “They are networking, they are forming and building relationships that will sustain them through seminary and also as they embark on ministry.”

Since the late 1970s, more than 1,000 seminarians of color have participated in the conference.

“One of the purposes of the conference is to connect seminarians of color with church leaders to help them engage in ministries and to deepen and enhance their skills and experience so they can serve effectively for Christ’s ministry,” said McRae. “It is extremely important for the church to hold this conference.”

McRae says the conference will be rescheduled once it can be done safely. “This conference develops great leaders. It has produced moderators, mid council leaders, General Assembly staff and leaders who serve in nontraditional ministries,” McRae noted.

“The continued relationship between these three young men is what we hope to have happen after each conference. This is one of the main goals of the conference — building and sustaining relationships during and after seminary,” she said.

A member of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Tennessee, and a student at Memphis Theological Seminary, Elam says he came to the conference hoping to make the type of connections that are hard to make in most corners of the PC(USA).

Elam, who currently serves as co-moderator of the General Assembly Committee on Representation (GACOR), said being a Black Presbyterian “is a very isolating experience. To be a Black Presbyterian seminarian is an even more isolating experience. Through attending the 2019 Seminarians of Color Conference, I was blessed to meet Ralph Lowe and Ryan Atkinson. As fellow Black men in seminary pursuing ministry in the PC(USA), we had an instant connection.”

“We vowed to maintain this connection even after the conference had ended. Since the October conference, we have participated in bimonthly calls. We spend about an hour twice a month on the phone discussing the joys and struggles of life. It’s liberating to have this relationship. We’re able to share things on that call that we couldn’t share with anyone else. As Black men in ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) there just are not many people that you can talk to that understand your experience fully. Ralph and Ryan provide that space and opportunity for me. The Seminarians of Color Conference made this friendship and brotherhood possible.”

McRae said that the conference “provides an opportunity for seminarians to join in community with other church leaders in a spiritual and nurturing environment.”

In addition to the networking and opportunity to join in the connectivity of the Presbyterian Church, McRae says the conference allows participants to learn about senior ordination exams, the realities of ministry as a person of color, self-care, serving in a new worshiping community, mentors and peer groups, building and sustaining relationships during and after seminary, and much more. “I’m so glad the Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries offers this training,” McRae said.

Gail Strange, Director of Church and Mid Council Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Let us join in prayer for: 

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff
Andrew Kang Bartlett, Presbyterian Mission Agency
Dwayne Batcho, Administrative Services Group (A Corp)

Let us pray:

Our gracious God, we come together with our differing abilities as the diverse people you have created. We sometimes hesitate to share our own abilities with others. We think that others can do the work before us better than we can. Give us strength to share our talents and gifts in your name. Amen.