Jeanne Audrey Powers Leadership for Change Scholarship

The Jeanne Audrey Powers Leadership for Change Scholarship is an innovative program for United Methodist seminarians studying at any one of the 13 United Methodist seminaries in the United States or at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. It aims to bring about full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the United Methodist Church (UMC) by supporting the development of leaders committed to this goal.

The Leadership for Change Scholarship provides assistance of up to $3,000 per year to students who are preparing for ordination as elders in the UMC and who are committed to promoting justice for gay and lesbian persons in the life of the UMC. Scholarships may be renewed for a maximum award period of three years.

The scholarship program is administered by the Office for Institutional Advancement and the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at Pacific School of Religion.

The Leadership for Change Scholarship was established by Rev. Jeanne Audrey Powers, retired member of the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. Rev. Powers, one of the first women ordained in the UMC (1958), has long been engaged in national and international work in the Church. In her retirement she continues to be an advocate for ecumenism and inclusiveness in the life of the Church.

View the scholarship guidelines and request an application.