Dear Friends,
June is typically one of the quieter months at the College. It comes as a welcome relief from the “sprint” that is the academic year. However, when we say quieter, it is by no means quiet! Right at the end of May, Ian and Graham attended the BUS Canopy event with the College stand. In June, Ian represented the College at the Baptist Ministers’ Conference in St Andrews and the Baptist Colleges’ Principals meetings in Oxford. Graham went to Connect Church, Paisley and Leslie Baptist Church to take College Sundays. And in between times, we’ve had a prospective student Open Evening, an SBC staff training day, a UWS Learning and Teaching Conference on AI, and a training event for the new University Academic Quality Framework. Quiet is always a relative term in the College!
The big news of June, however, was the appointment of Rev. Dr. Al Cuthbert as a full-time lecturer, joining the College from the start of September. Al has been an associate lecturer over the past year and we’re pleased to have Al join us more fully. You can read more about Al’s background and interests on our website here. One of our hopes is that Al will help us launch a new Masters course in September 2026. We’ll be able to bring you more details soon, but if you’re interested then please get in contact with us and we can make sure we get the information to you as soon as we can!
As we’re now just over 2 months until the new academic year begins, we move into a crucial time for connecting with new and prospective students. We’ve had a good level of interest and several conversations already, but it still takes time and input to move from interest to starting with us in September. So please continue to spread the word about the College and connect us with anyone that might be interested in diving deeper into theological studies. Please continue to pray for those who may be sensing a call to service – pray that they will hear that call and act on it. We really value your support in both prayer and promoting the College – it gives us so much encouragement to hear from friends and former students championing our cause.
In September, we’re offering our upper-level modules to any accredited ministers and/or graduates to either refresh knowledge or take new modules that have been added since they left. These can be audited (no assessment/limited access) for £100. For more information or to register your interest please email Graham Meiklejohn on graham.meiklejohn@uws.ac.uk by Friday August 29th. In the coming term there are three modules that we hope will be of interest to ministers for CMD. You can read more about all of our classes in September here.
As ever, we value your support and prayers as we move into this important season for the College as we strive to create a learning community that nourishes faith where students find a place to belong and a space to grow.
Ian Birch and the SBC Team
Prayer Points:
Please continue to remember us in prayer.
+ Pray for prospective students who have and will connect with us over the next few months.
+ Give thanks for the appointment of Al as he prepares to join the SBC team.
+ Pray for the safety and well-being of staff as they travel, research, and network over the summer months.
+ Give thanks for the opportunities to connect with the wider Baptist family through May/June. Thank you for your continued support and prayers as we continue to equip people to serve God’s Kingdom.
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