Class of 2015 to Graduate

Bethany Theological Seminary anticipates graduating its second-largest class in seventeen years on Saturday, May 9, 2015. The ceremony will be held at 10:00 a.m. in Nicarry Chapel with eighteen expected to graduate from the master of divinity, master of arts, and Certificate of Achievement in Theological Studies programs.

Rhonda Pittman Gingrich of Minneapolis, Minnesota, will deliver the commencement address “Wells of Living Water,” based on Jesus’s encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4. Her remarks will lift up the woman as an example for us today: after receiving living water from Jesus to quench her spiritual thirst, she became a well for others, sharing the good news of the Gospel with them. A 1998 graduate of Bethany, Gingrich has served the Church of the Brethren in roles relating to Christian education, youth ministry, and congregational life. She served ten years on the Bethany board of trustees and has taught courses for Bethany, the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership, and United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. She earned a doctor of ministry degree from United in April 2015.

Admittance to the academic ceremony is by ticket only. However, the public is invited to attend a worship service that afternoon at 2:30, also in Nicarry Chapel. With a theme of transformation from Romans 12:1-2, it will be written, planned, and led by the graduates. Class members Richard Propes from Indianapolis, Indiana, and Steve Lowe from Keymar, Maryland, will speak.