SEMINARY ESTABLISHES REV. CAROLE A. BURNS SCHOLARSHIP

The church was full of people eager to hear the Gospel Choir perform its 14th annual concert on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in May. This was the first time that the community was seeing the choir in their new robes that were a gift from Trinity Lutheran Church, West Bend. And it was the first time the choir would perform for the community without Carole A. Burns, one of its founding members. Carole died on December 27, 2001, and the choir dedicated its performance to celebrate the life of their valued friend. That day, the seminary also announced the inauguration of the Rev. Carole A. Burns Scholarship Fund.

A 1992 graduate of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Carole was pastor of Austin Messiah Lutheran Church, Chicago. To honor her memory and commitment to the choir, the seminary established the scholarship to help women of color pursue their calling to the ordained ministry.

"Carole sang with the Gospel Choir from its inception in 1988. I had the idea to honor her memory in this way because of her dedication to the choir and because she is one of the founding mother’s of the Grover Wright Scholarship Fund and sat on the committee to select the winners," said Patricia Bartley, seminary registrar and founder of the Gospel Choir.

An accomplished singer and musician, Carole released a compact disc entitled "Carole A!," and was planning a 17-day concert series in Japan this spring. In addition to the Gospel Choir, she sang with the South Shore Community Chorus and DePaul University Community Choir.

Seeded with $10,000 from the seminary, the first recipient of the Rev. Carole A. Burns Scholarship is Gracie Bates, who will begin her studies at the Lutheran School of Theology this fall. She will receive a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Southwest Texas State University this summer, where she has been a peer minister at the Lutheran Campus Ministry.