2020 Seminarians Grant Recipients Announced

Geonyul Byeon served as an ordained pastor in South Korea until last year when he came to study at Claremont School of Theology. After witnessing the death of a homeless man in 2017, Byeon began reflecting on the connection between faith and justice and currently focuses much of his studies on how the arts, such as music and icons, can help those suffering from poverty, discrimination, and violence to have courage and hope. He currently serves at Sallims Christian Church in Newport Beach, California.

Sandi Cassidy says that answering God’s call into ministry at age 65 was not part of her original retirement plan. However, serving the last 13 years of her career as an oncology healthcare administrator prepared her for a calling to hospital chaplaincy. Cassidy is a mother of four and has ten grandchildren. She enjoys walking on the beach, cooking, and traveling, especially to southern Africa where her daughter is a Peace Corps administrator. Cassidy is a member at First Christian Church in Wilmington, North Carolina, and is currently enrolled at Lexington Theological Seminary.

Julia Davis grew up in Northern California and now lives in Los Angeles. She holds degrees in English from UC Santa Barbara and Brown University and will graduate from Claremont School of Theology in December with a Master of Divinity in Interfaith Chaplaincy. Prior to seminary, she spent seventeen years as an English teacher at Brown and at an independent school in Pasadena. Davis says that it was through conversations with students about meaning, identity, and purpose that she felt called to seminary and chaplaincy. Currently, she serves as the Minister of Outreach at The Little White Chapel in Burbank.

Renae Earl is a member of First Christian Church in Concord, California and a proud DSF student studying at the American Baptist Seminary of the West. She is currently working towards a Master of Divinity and Certificate in Public Theology. Her focus in ministry is spiritual guidance as an aspect of recovery for female-identified survivors of sex trafficking. Earl served an eight-year term on the Women’s Ministries Council of the Northern California/Nevada Region and remains active in a variety of areas of women’s ministries throughout the denomination. She also volunteers as a state-certified sexual assault counselor at the Bay Area Women Against Rape (BAWAR) where she supports survivors.

Alex Kip, a budding Broadway star, lost his voice to cancer with only a 15 to 30% chance of survival at the age of 20. Now in complete remission and with his voice restored, he helps people discover the power of God’s love as the Associate Pastor at Oceanside Sanctuary in California. Kip is also an inspirational speaker who has given keynotes to United Healthcare, Abington Jefferson Health, the University of Michigan, and the United Nations Culture of Peace. As a “Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Hero,” his inspirational writing has appeared in the Huffington Post, Addicted2Success, and Lifehack. His play, My Other Voice, has been featured on PBS, NPR, and NBC and, as an actor, he appeared in major picture films (Marvel) and TV (NBC, Syfy, Comedy Central, and Spike TV). Previously, his podcast, SoulFeed, peaked with the self-help and health categories with over 1 million downloads and reaching over 130 countries. Kip is currently earning a Master of Divinity at Claremont School of Theology.

Alysha Laperche is a student in the Master of Divinity program at Phillips Theological Seminary and is in the ordination process with the Northern California/Nevada Region, where their sponsoring congregation is Lafayette Christian Church. Alysha’s specific interest is in equity, justice, inclusion, and pastoral care concerns for the LGBTQ+ community. They hold a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and it was the introduction to progressive values through those studies that led them to an affirming seminary community. Alysha discerned a call to ministry at a young age and has spent the last few years navigating the move through evangelical and fundamentalist Christian spaces as they embarked on their coming out process. Alysha is excited to continue following their call to embody the inclusive love of God revealed in Jesus, particularly through working to actualize the vision of setting a place at the table for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Amory Merriman is a second-year student at Phillips Theological Seminary working towards a Master of Divinity and ordination. A fifth-generation Disciple, her great-great-grandmother hosted Alexander Campbell in the family’s Illinois home and her father has served as a Disciple pastor for 62 years in Oregon, Indiana, and Pennsylvania. Merriman responded to the call to ministry at age 56 and notes that this has come with both growth and blessings. Besides serving a church full-time and taking seminary courses, she is also the chaplain for the Disciples Women’s Ministry in Pennsylvania and is active in other regional activities. Merriman is a commissioned minister for the United Christian Church in California, Pennsylvania where she says she enjoys integrating her studies into her ministry context, learning from both, and being able to share those learnings with those she serves.