Seminary Friends

Friends of the Seminary

We live in ever more complex and demanding times. We must build and maintain strong congregations that can share the message of hope and reconciliation with a world full of great needs.

The Community of Christ Seminary has been established to help prepare ministers for these challenges. The leadership of the seminary believes strongly in the mission to which we are called. We also know that we need to enlist the invaluable help of others if we are to accomplish our shared vocation.

This is why we are forming a group known as Friends of the Seminary. We certainly do need material resources. We also need your prayers, your advice, and your companionship in this exciting journey. We need to share our story with attentive listeners!

Please consider becoming a partner in the great enterprise of theological education. We are deeply grateful for the expressions of generosity that bless us daily.

Here is an example of one of our Seminary Friends:

Seminary Gift Creates a New Endowed Chair. A gift to Graceland's Community of Christ Seminary has created the Paul E. Morden Seminary Chair in Religion (the first faculty endowed chair for the seminary) and moved the seminary, according to Dean Don Compier, "a significant step closer to the compliment of full-time faculty needed to obtain accreditation from the Association of Theological Schools." Paul Morden passed away about in 2004. He and his wife Louise are long-time friends of the Community of Christ. Louise chose to honor his memory by creating an endowment of $1 million (to be fully funded by 2011) which will support a full-time faculty member. A dinner was held in fall 2007 at Graceland's Independence campus to celebrate the gift: pictured are, from left, Community of Christ President Steve Veazey; Dean Compier; Louise Morden; Graceland Board of Trustees President Ken McClain; and Graceland President John Sellars.