Elkhart, Ind.—Kajsa Herrstrom is the latest recipient of a scholarship that supports seminary studies integrating spirituality and visual arts. The Worship Arts Scholarship is offered by Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), one of its 100 endowed scholarships. Herrstrom, a masters of divinity student from Champaign, Ill., says, “I have been on a lifelong artistic and spiritual journey. I wouldn’t always have articulated it that way, [but] I became much more intentional about integrating the two when I started my studies at AMBS.” The endowment for this scholarship began in 2001, with gift from Barbara Peterson of Elkhart, Ind., an artist who took a long view on how she could make a difference. In addition to creating worship banners and teaching visual arts at AMBS, Peterson, along with her husband Duane, donated stocks to the seminary to establish a scholarship that would support students who are preparing to use visual arts in ministry or theological studies. When Barbara died in 2013, memorial gifts in her honour added to the endowment. And to mark the scholarship’s 20th anniversary in 2021, Duane made an additional contribution. The seminary’s goal for the Worship Arts Scholarship is to raise $20,000, so that the scholarship can support 10 percent of the tuition cost for one student for one year.
—Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary
