Seminarians from the Dakotas Conference enjoy fellowship and a laugh during a recent seminarian event in Bismarck, ND. Photo by Joni Rasmussen, jlynnstudios.com.

Dakotas United Methodists awarded 11 seminary students $90,200 in scholarship funding for this academic year.
 
The award money is distributed from 21 different endowments and trusts which are managed by the Dakotas United Methodist Foundation.
 
A joint committee of the Dakotas Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and the Dakotas UM Foundation met earlier this summer to award scholarships. The committee of seven members, including laity, clergy, university faculty members, and conference leadership, reviewed applications and awarded funds based on need and merit.
 
Scholarships are needed to lessen the debt incurred by candidates for ministry. The General Board of Higher Education for The United Methodist Church estimates that many clergy are coming out of seminary owing more than $50,000. While the absolute dollar figure involved with seminary school loans is much smaller than other professional schools, the debt to income ratio of most ministers is high. 
 
Jason “Marty” Martens, who was recently appointed to serve Celebration UMC in Brandon, South Dakota, is a student in the Kairos program—a collaborative effort of Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary and Sioux Falls Seminary. Martens says the program fits him. “Even though life is hectic and crazy, the program allows you to learn as you are doing. Family is part of the experience.”
 
Paying for seminary is not something that Pastor Marty is worried about. “The scholarship I received has lifted the financial burden. I can focus on my education and do it well. I don’t have to worry about paying for a seminary degree. It is a huge blessing for my family and me,” he says.  

Bryce Blank, a 2019 graduate of DWU and the summer chaplain at Lake Poinsett Chapel, is now attending seminary at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Photo by Dave Stucke, Dakotas Conference.

Christine Cappetta is serving as the pastor for a church restart, The ARK in North Sioux City. “I am attending the Kairos program through Sioux Falls Seminary. I really appreciate this scholarship,” she writes in a thank you note.

The scholarship is making a difference in the call to ministry for Bryce Blank, who is in his first year of seminary at Perkins School of Theology. Blank reports that seminary is going well and he is meeting a lot of great people that are of the pathway as he is. “The scholarship made it possible for me to be able to afford to come to seminary. It is expensive, and the support from the Dakotas Conference is huge,” he says.  
 
Congratulations to these scholarship winners:
 
Bryce Blank, Perkins School of Theology
Natalie Buck, Candler School of Theology
Christine Cappetta, Sioux Falls Seminary
Thanael Certa-Werner, Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary
Donald Dinger, Sioux Falls Seminary
Veronica Fleming, Sioux Falls Seminary
Jason Martens, Sioux Falls Seminary
Matthew Morrison, Sioux Falls Seminary
Teresa Person, Sioux Falls Seminary
Derek Runge, Sioux Falls Seminary
Teresa Whetsel, Sioux Falls Seminary