Jay Ebersole?s Gift for the Building Abrahamic Partnerships Program

Hartford Seminary alumnus the Rev. Dr. Jay Ebersole ?53, in memory of his wife, the Rev. Dr. Eleanor Ebersole, ?51, ?53, along with their son Mark and Judy Ebersole have made a gift to the Seminary to support participation in the Building Abrahamic Partnerships Program (BAP). He has created an endowed fund, The Rev. Drs. Eleanor and Jay Ebersole and Family BAP Fund, that will provide annual income to underwrite student tuition, travel and accommodation expenses to participate in this program. Dr. Ebersole?s preference is that the scholarship be awarded to current United Church of Christ pastor in the Southern Conference, within which Dr. Ebersole resides in retirement.

Building Abrahamic Partnerships is an interfaith community of learning for Jews, Christians and Muslims that provides a solid foundation in interfaith ministry and education. This year, it will be held from June 23 through June 30 on the Hartford Seminary campus.

?I made my gift to Hartford Seminary because of all that Hartford Seminary has meant to me and my wife, Eleanor, over the years,? Dr. Ebersole explained. ?I was particularly inspired by the work that has been done to create the Building Abrahamic Partnerships Program, which I read about in a recent edition of Praxis.?

Dr. Ebersole was also inspired to contribute when he learned that a portion of their bequest of his long-time friends and classmates, Bill and Jane Inderstrodt, had helped fund the Abrahamic Partnerships endowed faculty chair, completed this past fall. ?We were all very much aware of the growing importance of interfaith dialogue from our studies and from our classmates who came from a wide variety of faith traditions. We were studying in an era when Hartford Seminary professor Dr. Kenneth Cragg, who increased Muslim studies in the 1950?s, created a greater emphasis on the importance of interfaith dialogue, following the lead of Prof. Duncan Black Macdonald,? commented Dr. Ebersole.

Hartford Seminary President Heidi Hadsell commented recently, ?It is inspiring to see that our alumni/ae have had such rewarding careers and are now eager to support interfaith dialogue with gifts that will ensure that this training will be available now to leaders of today and tomorrow. I am sincerely grateful for Dr. Ebersole?s thoughtful generosity and his desire to provide interfaith training for pastors from the mid-Atlantic.?

The Ebersoles at their engagement party on the Seminary campus

About Hartford Seminary:

Hartford Seminary is an educational institution where a consciousness of God is cultivated and shared. We believe strong religious institutions and healthy communities of faith are necessary to the well being of individuals and society. We affirm the goodness of religious differences that exist in the world and we support faithful living in a pluralistic and multi-faith environment. We are committed to the pursuit of knowledge and academic excellence, to the understanding of religion and spirituality as they are lived out in daily life, to the exploration of issues of gender, race and class, and to education that integrates the many dimensions of human experience.

Hartford Seminary?s mission is to serve God

á By preparing leaders, students, scholars and religious institutions to understand and live faithfully in today’s multi-faith and pluralistic world;

á By teaching, research, informing the public and engaging persons in dialogue;

á By affirming the particularities of faith and social context while openly exploring differences and commonalities.

About Building Abrahamic Partnerships:

The program goals are to:

á Enhance understanding of the beliefs and practices of all three faith traditions

á Create a safe and supportive environment in which seminarians, clergy, religious educators, and lay leaders can forge mutually beneficial relationships across communal boundaries

á Develop pastoral skills integral to effective interfaith ministry

á Generate leadership strategies for promoting interfaith relations in our pluralistic society.

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