By Rev. Cisa Payuyo, Associate Director of Church Relations Chapman University
The most rewarding part of my ministry at Chapman University these past twenty years has been mentoring and taking spiritual care of our Disciples and United Church of Christ-related students. It is a blessing to hear them share their Joys and Concerns during Wednesday Night Worship, sponsored by our Disciples on Campus community. Then, there are times when a student sits on the couch in my office and says, “I think I want to go into ministry. Will you help me explore this yearning?” My heart fills with gratitude to God as I hear them talk about their call. I have often witnessed God’s nudge in their life even before they realize it. These students come in at the beginning of their college career, wide-eyed, full of excitement, and ready for new experiences. Or they come in anxious, homesick, yet somewhat brave enough to take it a step at a time, a day at a time. Throughout the school year my colleagues in the office of Church Relations and I pray for and with them. We see the transformation in their lives as they become compassionate global citizens, effective church leaders, and grow into the good, kind, and courageous people God meant for them to be.
I have kept a record of graduates who have gone on to seminaries and divinity houses during my time at Chapman. From 2003 to the present, we have sent twenty-four alumni to schools with names such as Claremont School of Theology, Pacific School of Religion, Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Christian Theological, Lexington, and Union. Half of the graduates are ordained ministers. All of them serve in churches, hospitals, or in non-profit organizations. The first and the last names on the list are Leadership Fellows. Rev. Tiffany Curtis ‘07 works for the National Benevolent Association, while serving as minister with the open circle: a Disciples of Christ Community in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Tristan Spangler-Dunning ’21 currently attends Union Theological Seminary.
Disciple-related schools of higher education offer a legacy of hope to the world and ignite the passion in people to be God’s grace incarnate.