St. Mary’s Seminary & University’s Pinkard Scholars is the cornerstone of Youth Theological Studies at SMSU. The high school juniors admitted to this challenging course, RLST235: Foundations for Dialogue: Theology and Culture, explore and increase their understanding of:
- The Theology of God and the Existence of Evil;
- The Person and Work of Jesus Christ;
- Humanity, Sin, Grace, and Hope;
- The cultural reality of Human Trafficking with a specific focus on where God, Christ, Sin and Grace interact.
As the Pinkard Scholars learn to articulate and grapple with these explorations they, both as individuals and as a small learning community, broaden their capacity:
- to engage consciously in the dialogue between theology and culture.
- to develop and deepen the critical thinking, theological reflection and dialogue skills needed for social, ecumenical, and interfaith dialogue
- to contemplate the concept of call and how they might make a difference in the world and in their present sphere of influence
- to envision the cultivation of a culture of peace in the midst of human suffering and systemic violence
Pinkard Scholars Program Celebrates its 21st Year!
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the originally scheduled fall 2020 semester of the Pinkard Scholars Program was postponed until the fall, 2021 semester. Students who have been accepted to the 2020 class will have a space held for them in the fall of 2021 and will join the juniors who will be nominated in the spring of 2021. Applicants are only accepted through nomination. Please see brochure. If you have any questions, please direct them to Mrs. Krista Koronios at kkoronios@stmarys.edu
