The Fall chill has arrived here in the Midwest. The high temperature today will be only 38 degrees. The leaves have
turned their yellow and crimson colors, detached from their branches, and are swirling about on the roadways and
fields. The Higher Education and Leadership Ministries Board of Directors has met, selected a Search Committee to
identify the next President of HELM, and charted our course forward for the next year.
Two weeks ago, thirty-one college and university students from across the United States and Canada gathered
together in Washington, D.C. for the annual Leadership Fellows Retreat. We explored our Nation’s Capitol, toured the
National Museum of African American History and Culture, participated in two plenary sessions on climate change
and public policy with Bob Perkowitz, founder and President of ecoAmerica, and the Rev. Dr. Ken Brooker Langston,
Executive Director of the Disciples Center for Public Witness. We also focused our attention on four books: Dietrich
Bonhoeffer’s, Life Together; Martin Luther King Jr’s, Why We Can’t Wait; Jamaica Kincaid’s, A Small Place; and
Parker Palmer’s, Let Your Life Speak. Theologians, the Rev. Dr. Bruce Epperly and the Rev. Dr. Delores Carpenter,
guided us on the journey. Mentors Christian Watkins, Joshua Mata, Lonora Graves, and Colton Lott each led one of
the student cohorts, along with Chaplain Michelle Scott Huffman. Kudos to Katy Sundararajan, HELM’s Program
Coordinator, for pulling all this together.
Last week Assistant to the President, Luke Soderstrom, and I hosted a reception at the American Academy of
Religion and Society for Biblical Literature, gathering in Denver, Colorado. We did this in partnership with the
Disciples Seminary Foundation in Claremont, California. HELM supports the work of our Disciples scholars and
emerging scholars as they participate with academic colleagues and explore cutting edge research in the field of
religion and sacred texts. Both the AAR and SBL were staples to me in my early academic pursuits and remain
strong and viable organizations for the academic study of religion.
HELM’s Annual Fund appeal launched on November 16 and will continue through November 26. During these ten
days we invite you to financially support the work we do with colleges, universities, seminaries, divinity schools, and
graduate schools of theology. In past years, our Annual Appeal raised approximately 35,000 to provide scholarships
to undergraduate and PhD students and raise up leaders for both church and society. Your gifts make a difference in
the lives of students who are preparing for their life journeys. You can contribute by going to: helmdisciples.org,
clicking the menu button, and then donate. Or, mail your gift to: HELM, P.O. Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206.
On our donate page you will read: “HELM offers immersion and formational experiences and programs that help
young leaders explore the changing relationships between the Christian gospel and the world, acquire tools for
understanding the mission and witness of Christian communities and gain experience in creating and renewing those
communities.” Please join us as we reach out to our church’s youth and work to strengthen the relationship between
them and the church. Both church and society need educated, literate, and faithful leaders to guide the world toward
a better future. You can be part of their formation and the creation of a better world for all God’s people.
Fund Raising-ly yours,
Ron