FTE "On Call" Blog

Trace Haythorn

Former President, The Fund for Theological Education

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July 20, 2009

Thank you, Dr. Vivian, and….

The stuff of legend – that’s how one young person described C.T. Vivian after meeting him at a Sunday morning gathering, having heard him recount his experience on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement. We can never say thank you enough for his courage, his fortitude, his unwavering commitment and his seemingly endless energy. Like so many of his generation, Rev. Vivian has been the kind of transformative leader that our world so dearly needs. And I want to let him – and everyone else know – we’re with you Dr. Vivian.

This past weekend, the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran a story about the work of Dr. Vivian and his continuing efforts to inspire the next generation of pastoral leaders for the African American church. He continues to strive through his C.T. Vivian Leadership Institute to notice, name and nurture leaders for society with the kind of vision and values that will not only honor the work of the first generation of civil rights leaders but will also imagine the needs for the next generation, that will not simply rest because we have come so far, that will empower the kind of collaboration necessary to sustain the fight against injustice.

We know these efforts as well through our work at FTE. We know it in our Fellowship programs, through which we seek to provide the catalytic interventions that launch young people in their sense of call as pastors or professors. Since 1954, we have worked to enrich pastoral leadership by supporting racially and economically diverse, gifted young people in their education and pastoral formation. We convene these young people in a variety of ways so that they can discover one another, much like Dr. Vivian discovered James Lawson, the nonviolence teacher within the civil rights movement.

Most recently, we have formed Project Rising Sun, a leadership academy for young pastors of color who face unique challenges and who are afforded unique opportunities. We don’t want to take for granted their gifts or their struggles, so through the visionary leadership of Stephen Lewis we have invited our first class of 20 young pastors to join us in the journey. They are precisely the kinds of gifted leaders that can give Dr. Vivian hope and will be great colleagues to those who are nurtured by his institute.

So we’re with you, Dr. Vivian, and we trust you’re with us as well. God knows we need all of our efforts to bring about the kind of beloved community God has longed for this earth, for this nation, for our communities. May we continue to build partnerships in ways that can make the transformation move from dream to reality.