Presbyterian pastors make a vow to serve with energy, intelligence, imagination and love. That’s been especially crucial than the past three years of life in a pandemic.

We celebrate this year’s Theological Education Sunday with a keen awareness that our Presbyterian seminaries are doing a remarkable job preparing ministers of the word and sacrament for service in our congregations.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we filmed a video with Rev. Dr. Mindy Douglas, who serves as pastor and head of staff at First Presbyterian Church in Durham, N.C. She expressed beautifully the challenges of ministry, especially during these recent years. “My calling to ministry is in the parish,” Douglas says. “The parish is where you are with families and people from every age. You are with them from the celebration of birth to the sadness of death, and you are in these life moments throughout their lives. Even during this pandemic, we are walking together, as best we are able, learning to hold each other close in different ways. I am grateful for the ways my seminary education fostered creativity, imagination and love in me to serve very differently in 2020.”

This year, we celebrate Theological Education Sunday on Sept. 18, 2022, with resources prepared for use in observance of this important day in your own congregation. You may also observe Theological Education Sunday on any day that is appropriate for your church.

Resources for Theological Education Sunday

All resources, which can be found on the Presbyterian Foundation website, are downloadable. You may print them from these PDF files, or share in social media. If these items are used on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, please use the hashtag #GrowTheoEd when posting so we can find your post and thank you for sharing it.

Bulletin inserts this year feature the stories of three PC(USA) educated pastors, Douglas, the Rev. Dr. Nicholas Yoda and the Rev. Dr. Jerry Cannon.

Cannon is pastor of C.N. Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian Church in Charlotte. He is a widely respected leader and mentor in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), encouraging many who are led to seminary to pursue God’s call to ministry. His work has influenced generations of church leaders.

Yoda serves as pastor and head of staff at Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati. He credits the pastors and Presbyterian leaders who mentored him with giving him the opportunity to lead and guide him along the way.

Liturgy, written by the Rev. Lindy Vogado is Associate Pastor for Outreach at Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, AR, where she has served for the past nine years. The liturgy includes suggested hymns and scripture readings, as well as prayers. Suggested scriptures are Jeremiah 8:18-9:1; Psalm 79:1-9; Amos 8:4-7 and Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 1: 2-17; and Luke 16: 1-13.

Each of the above pastors are proud graduates of our Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seminaries.

Contact us for assistance

As always, the Presbyterian Foundation is grateful for the many Presbyterian Churches and individuals who support the Theological Education Fund. If you’d like to talk to Hinson-Hasty about how your church can get involved, he can be reached at (502) 569-5357 or toll-free at 844.896.2959, or lee.hinson-hasty@presbyterianfoundation.org. Please do remember that the Theological Education Fund is now housed at the Presbyterian Foundation, and your gifts should be sent there.