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Dear JST Community,

We congratulate our M.Div. III students who completed their written comprehensives today.  Congratulations also to all those who have defended dissertations and theses and completed final papers and projects. Our prayers go to all those who are continuing in their research and writing.

Let us hold in our prayer our Muslim brothers and sisters, as they enter into the holy month of Ramadan. May this be a time of spiritual rejuvenation for them, and may we be mindful of our spiritual kinship and solidarity with them. 

We are grateful to Sonny Manuel, SJ, who facilitated a conversation last Tuesday on “Ministry in Time of Trauma or Crisis.” This Tuesday evening, Fred Piazza, Ph.D. continues this conversation with some additional perspectives in “The Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic.”  Please see further information in the calendar.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we celebrated Earth Day this past week. May we continue to pray and take action for justice for our earth and all of creation, and especially those who are most impacted by climate change.

Finally, we are mindful of our JST Board of Directors, who will be meeting virtually next Friday, May 1. May we hold them in prayer as they come together to provide guidance and stewardship for our school community.

Peace and blessings,

Paul 

• Register now for all 2020 summer courses.  The last day to register for any course is Tuesday, June 2 (the summer term begins on June 1).  All tuition must be paid ahead of time by Thursday, May 21, no matter when a course actually has its first day.  If you later decide to drop a course you must do so by June 2 in order to get a full refund on the tuition, no matter when a course actually has its first day. Currently, three courses are being offered, LS-8300: Liturgical Music for Ministerial Leaders (3 units) with Christopher Wemp, June 15 - July 17; NT-8270: Paul's Letters: Context and Theology (3 units) with Jean-Francois Racine, June 8 - July 3; and SP-8250: Toward a Spirituality of the Creative Life (3 units) with Carrie Rehak, June 1- July 12. For a full description of the courses, click here.
• JST updates on COVID-19 can be found here.   This page links also to the SCU and GTU updates.
• The JST Resource page for COVID-19 lists resources for faith and prayer, wellness, financial assistance, and service. 
• JST students who are experiencing financial need as a result of COVID-19 developments:
  1. Please see the SCU Financial Aid page for information on the SCU Special Assistance Fund, and submit the request at this link.  
  2. Those who require additional support may also apply for JST Supplemental Assistance at this link.  The application deadline is April 27, 2020. For more information, please contact Paul Kircher at pkircher@scu.edu.

-Jane Hirshfield, March 17, 2020, submitted by Mary Beth Lamb

Drew Roberts sent in this recording of The Brilliance who wrote and posted "We Are Gonna Make It Through" which they performed for the interdenominational Church, Good Shepherd New York's digital Easter Worship Gathering