3 minute read
Of Note:
Dr. Wesley D. Avram Director of the Fran Park Center for Faith and Life
The Fran Park Center for Faith and Life (a program of Pinnacle Presbyterian Church) is not a building. It is an idea that at the center of faith and life is a zealous desire to know God. And with that desire comes a passion to understand (at least in part) the world created and loved by God, the Word given in Christ to inspire our faith, and the Spirit of engagement and dialogue that deepens us all. We believe that sophisticated religious learning shouldn’t be reserved for seminaries and divinity schools— but should be offered to anyone who is eager for it. And so that we try to do. We experiment, discovering what meets this promise and what needs a bit more work. We aim high, often finding our aspirations exceeding our grasp and stretching our resources. And we keep inviting, engaging, offering, listening, and enjoying all who participate in our offerings. And so here we review 2022, with gratitude for all who have been a part of what we do over these years.
Begun at the Pinnacle Theological Center, with homegrown educational programming meant to draw the church into the world and the world into the church, our programming was expanded and renamed on the occasion of a pledged gift of $1,000,000 over five years - beginning in 2016. Take a look at previous years’ reports to learn more about what we tried, and accomplished, during those years. Smaller levels of additional funding came through grants and individual gifts. All of that funding paid administrative, teaching, and media-related salaries. It provided honoraria for speakers and bought equipment that has been invaluable. It supported advertising and helped us tell our story: a story of classes, series, courageous conversations, creative pilgrimages, podcasts, partnerships, youth engagement, hosting and training seminarians, and more. A lot has happened.
All that said, there’s no question but that the kind of in-person, highly interactive programming we were developing was hit hard in 2020 by the COVID pandemic. We quickly learned how to create usable video content and online programming, like webinars or zoom meetings. Two years of that kind of programming expanded our video and audio content. It even led us to create a smallgroups based video series called “Pathways,” content for which is still being created. Many plans had to be put on an extended hold, but the work continued in all these ways. With that, the original commitment of five years to fulfill that generous pledge stretched to seven years, with the final gift on that pledge given at the end of 2022.
And so we enter 2023. We could not be more grateful to the anonymous donors of our initial gift. They have inspired us, grounded us, and pushed us forward. We now build on what we’ve learned over these past seven years and retune, recommit, and reimagine what comes next. It is also now that we can confidently call on participants in the programs of the Park Center, the members of Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, and interested friends around the country to help us continue this good work.
You can tell us your own visions for congregation- and community-based theological education. You can participate, in person and online. You can join our group of volunteer supporters and help us continue to bat above our weight. You can affirm our vision of education as a mission. And you can contribute to the work.
We have financial support in hand to continue our programming for 2023. Pinnacle’s lay leadership has committed to raising funds to continue the work into 2024 and beyond. We seek cash gifts to build the fund that will take us into 2024, even as we will invite estate and other pledged gifts to lay groundwork for the years ahead. To that end, The Pinnacle Foundation has established a special endowment fund for the Park Center. If you are interested in giving a living gift, a restricted endowment gift, or an estate designation for the Fran Park Center, please reach out to:
• Kelly McGinn, Park Center Administrator
(kmcginn@pinnaclepres.org)
• Dr. Wesley Avram, Director (wavram@pinnaclepres.org)
• Dr. Michael Hegeman, Associate Director (mhegeman@pinnaclepres.org)
We are grateful.
Enjoy reading about 2022 here, get a hint of what’s in store for 2023, and imagine the future with us.
Educationally yours,
