Alumni clergy

Church Relations

Church Relations
Phone 757.455.3287
Fax 757.461.4944

 

Church Relations

Virginia Wesleyan College was founded by the Virginia Annual Conference of The Methodist Church and chartered in 1961. The Office of Church Relations continually seeks to strengthen the relationship between the College and the Church in order to maintain that strong historical connection to a ministry in higher education.

The College fulfills this mission in a variety of ways:

Leadership

  • The President of the College is an ordained elder in the Virginia Conference.
  • The Presiding Bishop of the Virginia Conference and four area district superintendents serve as ex-officio members of the Board of Trustees.
  • A majority of the trustees are United Methodists.
  • The College has a Director of Church Relations, a Chaplain and a Bishop-in-Residence.
^Back to top

Alumni

  • More than 60 graduates serve as pastors in United Methodist churches in the Virginia Annual Conference.
  • Another 40 alumni clergy serve in other annual conferences or denominations.

Events

  • The Office of Church Relations sponsors an annual Continuing Education Seminar for clergy and laity each spring.
  • The College hosts conference and district events which have included Awakening, the annual Virginia Conference youth gathering, and the Tri-District Leadership Workshop, which brings local church leaders to campus for an all-day training session.
^Back to top

Spiritual Growth/Ethics

  • A full-time United Methodist Chaplain supports the members of the College community in their spiritual journey through personal interaction and a variety of programs.
  • The College is recognized for programs in academic honesty and spiritual growth in The Templeton Guide: Colleges That Encourage Character Development.
^Back to top

Community Service

  • Established through the Birdsong Endowment for Community Service, the Office of Community Service engages students in volunteer experiences addressing community needs while enriching students' lives.
  • Projects have included: Alternative Spring Break trips, Habitat for Humanity builds and Potato Drops through the Society of St. Andrew.
Potato Drop Habitat for humanity

Virginia Wesleyan students volunteer their time for Habitat for Humanity and the Potato Drop.
^Back to top

Financial Aid

  • Virginia United Methodist students entering full-time Christian service in the Virginia Conference receive one-half tuition assistance.
  • Dependent sons, daughters and spouses of Virginia conference clergy receive one-half tuition.
  • Virginia Wesleyan College Dollars for United Methodist Scholars provides a $1,000 VWC matching scholarship when a Virginia Conference student’s home church contributes $1,000 in tuition assistance to the student.Click the following link to download an application form: Dollars for United Methodist Scholars Application Form
^Back to top

The Center for the Study of Religious Freedom

The Center for the Study of Religious Freedom is an academic initiative that promotes the education and foundation needed to meet the challenge of fostering religious freedom in a diverse world. The Center offers a forum for people of deep faith and abiding conscience to share common goals that transcend denominational boundaries—a place where students, faculty and people of all faiths join together to forge a common ground of mutual concern, working to achieve civil solutions to difficult problems.

^Back to top

The Center for Sacred Music

The Center for Sacred Music offers performance opportunities and educational programs designed to foster understanding and to encourage an appreciation of diversity and excellence in the sacred arts. The Church Music Certificate Program offers courses at the undergraduate level (also offered for Continuing Education Units) to prepare students for service in church music ministry, or enhance the skills of adults working in the profession.

^Back to top