By Fletcher Word
The Truth Editor
On Sunday, June 22, the Worship Center’s sanctuary was packed with the family and friends of the graduates of the McKinstry Midwest College of Theology. This year’s 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.
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’s Administrator of the Year.
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 “flash from the past” about their experiences with the theology programs they undertook.
Commencement addresses were given by a number of graduates in each class such as Shannon Banks, who earned an associate’s degree.
“This was one of the most transformative experiences of my life,” said Banks. “This taught me that God is not distant; it taught me that we have to worship in a definitive way … I walk with a new attitude.”
The experience of earning a master’s degree, “gave me a sense of fulfillment and enrichment,” said graduate Priscilla Richardson, who earned a master’s degree. “And it will inform the way you live for the rest of your life,” she added. “It enriches your perspective of the world.”
One graduate, Suzette Cowell, CEO of the Toledo Urban Federal Credit Union, earned two degrees – a master’s of Divinity and a doctorate of Theology.
Cowell had enough college credits, says McKinstry, to skip the bachelor’s program and enroll in the MCT’s master’s course. In addition, says McKinstry, “I felt she could do both years in one year.”
“I was feeling helpless,” 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 – June coursework kept her busy during those precious few moments when she wasn’t running a financial institution, planning community events such as the African American Festival or serving on a number of boards throughout the area.
“I was hungry for the word – 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.
“Life has changed,” she says of the ongoing and evolving challenges of the modern world. “Issues are totally different today and you want to help [yourself and others] deal with those situations.” Studying the Bible, she says, has enabled her to deal more effectively with those changing circumstances.
“Biblical theology is about understanding God’s great story,” said Marisha Peace during her commencement remarks. Peace is another graduate who earned a doctorate degree. “It taught me how God reveals himself.”
