DHM scholarships

Jackson, Mattison and Schutze scholarship Funds

Background information on these DHM Scholarships

Listed below is information about certain faithful individuals in whose names some of Disciples Home Mission’s specific scholarship funds were established, in order to honor the legacy of these Disciples.

The Michelle Jackson scholarship was named after a second career student who graduated in 2003 from Vanderbilt Divinity School at the age of 38, but died after a brief, unexpected illness, less than a month after receiving her Master of Divinity degree. She was the mother of four and sought ordination later that year. Jackson was still seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance in finding a place to serve. As a student, Jackson chaired the Council of Black Seminarians, serving in the Student Government Association, and was known as a gifted preacher.

The Michelle Jackson Scholarship is to provide a legacy for her stillborn ministry. It will serve African-American Disciples women in M.Div. degree programs at accredited seminaries whose lives offer the same deeply spiritual charisma and gifts for leadership in the church that were evident in Ms. Jackson's too-short life and ministry.

The Lloyd and Iva Mattison Youth Ministry Scholarship fund is named for a couple who originally met in a Disciples of Christ Young Adult Program in Anderson, Ind. Over the next 60 years in six different states, this couple energetically worked with and supported youth and young adults in local, regional, and general level activities and special events. Lloyd Mattison was a Disciples minister, as is their son-in-law and also a grandson. Iva established the scholarship for those preparing to serve the church in the area of youth ministry in 1993 so that their love and commitment to young people would continue to be experienced by generations to come. Lloyd and Iva are survived by two daughters and one son, and also two grandchildren.

Scholarship recipients will be selected based on their academic achievement, current passion for youth ministry and vision for such Christian service in the future.

The Katherine Schutze scholarship was named in honor of a native of Marfa, Texas, who was ordained at 30. Katherine’s early career included teaching Hispanic children in that community for several years. Later, she became a missionary to China, and later at what is now the Yakama Christian Mission. Schutze also taught at Drake University in Iowa, and at Lexington (Ky.) Theological Seminary. She especially maintained a passion for women in ministry in the Disciples of Christ. In her last years with the United Christian Missionary Society (UCMS), Schutze devoted energy to locating other ordained women and establishing the first programs for support of Disciple clergy women. Upon her death in 1980, the Katherine Schutze Scholarship was founded to encourage future generations of women in preparation for ministry.

Recipients who are chosen are judged to embody the same energetic and visionary spirit as this scholarship's namesake.