{"id":16539,"date":"2025-07-03T17:10:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T17:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=16539"},"modified":"2025-07-03T17:10:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T17:10:37","slug":"spring-commencement-at-mckinstry-midwest-college-of-theology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/03\/spring-commencement-at-mckinstry-midwest-college-of-theology\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Commencement at McKinstry Midwest College of Theology"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Fletcher Word<\/em>
\nThe Truth Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

On Sunday, June 22, the Worship Center\u2019s sanctuary was packed with the family and friends of the graduates of the McKinstry Midwest College of Theology. This year\u2019s commencement, during which 20 diplomas were awarded for those earning associate, bachelor, master and doctorate degrees, featured the largest group of graduates in the 19-year history of MMCT.<\/p>\n

The MMCT, says Bishop Pat McKinstry, pastor of the Worship Center, is accredited through the Midwest College of Theology. The MCT, headquartered in Missouri, has affiliates in 28 states and seven foreign lands, according to founder and president Don Jones, DMin, who was present at the Worship Center for the commencement and also to honor Bishop McKinstry for her personal achievement as MCT\u2019s Administrator of the Year.<\/p>\n

Rev. Mark Williams, EdD, served as the master of ceremony for the commencement and attendees were welcomed by Valerie Walston Simmons, EdD, after which Claudia Dodds and Meredith Capps, offered a bit of a \u201cflash from the past\u201d about their experiences with the theology programs they undertook.<\/p>\n

Commencement addresses were given by a number of graduates in each class such as Shannon Banks, who earned an associate\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was one of the most transformative experiences of my life,\u201d said Banks. \u201cThis taught me that God is not distant; it taught me that we have to worship in a definitive way \u2026 I walk with a new attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experience of earning a master\u2019s degree, \u201cgave me a sense of fulfillment and enrichment,\u201d said graduate Priscilla Richardson, who earned a master\u2019s degree. \u201cAnd it will inform the way you live for the rest of your life,\u201d she added. \u201cIt enriches your perspective of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

One graduate, Suzette Cowell, CEO of the Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union, earned two degrees \u2013 a master\u2019s of Divinity and a doctorate of Theology.<\/p>\n

Cowell had enough college credits, says McKinstry, to skip the bachelor\u2019s program and enroll in the MCT\u2019s master\u2019s course. In addition, says McKinstry, \u201cI felt she could do both years in one year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was feeling helpless,\u201d says Cowell of her motivation for enrolling in the Midwest College of Theology programs and her desire to gain as much knowledge and insight as she could. The September \u2013 June coursework kept her busy during those precious few moments when she wasn\u2019t running a financial institution, planning community events such as the African American Festival or serving on a number of boards throughout the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hungry for the word \u2013 to learn. It was a lot of work, a lot of late nights but I learned so much. We had some wonderful ministers and instructors and I learned so much from them.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife has changed,\u201d she says of the ongoing and evolving challenges of the modern world. \u201cIssues are totally different today and you want to help [yourself and others] deal with those situations.\u201d\u00a0 Studying the Bible, she says, has enabled her to deal more effectively with those changing circumstances.<\/p>\n

\u201cBiblical theology is about understanding God\u2019s great story,\u201d said Marisha Peace during her commencement remarks. Peace is another graduate who earned a doctorate degree. \u201cIt taught me how God reveals himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

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