Baylor University announced it will launch a year-long observance of its 175th anniversary, beginning next month.
According to an article published on the university web site, Baylor was established Feb. 1, 1845 by an Act of Congress then signed by Republic of Texas President Anson Jones. In 1886 the institution moved from Independence, Texas, to Waco to join with Waco University.
Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone said the university continues to grow the vision of its founders.
“We are humbled to be the caretakers of such a remarkable legacy at Baylor,” she said in remarks included in the article.
The anniversary observance will be launched with a Feb. 1 birthday party held in conjunction with a Baylor men’s basketball game at the Ferrell Center in Waco.
More information about Baylor history and upcoming events is available online.
Duke Divinity School announces scholarships
Duke Divinity School has announced a program offering 52 full-tuition scholarships during the next four years.
The Thriving Communities Fellowship, which is part of a $12 million grant from The Duke Endowment, is designed to “equip students for innovative, pastoral leadership for the church and their communities,” according to a Divinity School news release.
The fellowship is designed for Master of Divinity students “who are exploring a vocation as an ordained pastor and who have a vision of the church as a catalyst for social healing, local economic development, and community revitalization.”
Thriving Communities fellows also will benefit from mentoring, travel to faculty hosted events, cohort-based professional development and up to $30,000 in stipends by participating in a community-based learning program.
The fellowship “will create the capacity to strengthen and deepen our ability to equip leaders who embody wisdom with the tools and skills to reweave the social fabric,” said L. Gregory Jones, dean and professor of theology and Christian ministry at Duke Divinity School.
In Texas, Baptists and Methodists gathering
Baptists and Methodists in Texas will gather next month to discuss their differences and share their commonalities.
The Feb. 20 initiative is sponsored by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Texas and will be held at Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary.
In remarks shared online, CBF Texas Coordinator Rick McClatchy said the event reflects similar endeavors being held world-wide.
“This initiative is to work in collaboration with the dialogue that the Baptist World Alliance and the World Methodist Council are having,” McClatchy, the event organizer, said in an online invitation to the event. “We are working to bring that dialogue to the grassroots level.”
Baptists and Methodists from around Texas will dialogue around tables about the positive contributions of both traditions.
“We will use this positive dialogue as a springboard to greater cooperation,” McClatchy said.
Speakers also are part of the format, including Roger Olson, professor of theology at Truett, and Laceye Warner, professor of Methodist studies and associate dean for Wesleyan engagement at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina.