The Hooding Ceremony At the banquet held the night before graduation, each graduate is presented with a letter from a faculty member as part of the hooding ceremony. The following is a excerpt from a speech explaining what the hooding ceremony means. "Tomorrow when these students receive their diplomas and sign out of the book, they are pronounced "graduates". They become "alumni". In terms of that ceremony, they will experience a change in their identity and social status. However, tonight, in this hooding ceremony, they experience a more subtle and fundamental transformation. Tonight is when the community and people who have nurtured them through this process take a moment to offer a blessing which is both descriptive and prescriptive. In the descriptive aspect of a blessing, information about a person’s being and identity is communicated. A blessing is always grounded in whom that person has shown himself or herself to be. Blessings we find in the Bible include the phrases, “You are my firstborn, my might, my strength,” “Ah! The smell of my son is like the smell of a field,” and “You are a rawboned donkey.” While we're not likely to hear exactly these kinds of accolades, the affirmation of identity we will hear can be no less honest. It's crucial that the descriptive portion of the blessing be as specific and insightful as the biblical examples. Yet, the real power of a blessing is in its prescriptive aspect. This is the functional component. The prescriptive speaks to the promise that is yet to come. As such, it honors the commitment and calling that has brought each of these graduates thus far because it releases the recipient to freely walk in the new responsibilities that completing this kind of study requires. As Paul wrote to Timothy, the graduates "must continue in the things which [they] have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom [they] have learned them" (2 Timothy 3:14). This hooding ceremony is a vital moment in the UGST journey because it is not enough to have the knowledge or the experience that UGST provides; you need the blessing. You need the understanding that you have been entrusted with a great responsibility for ministry and that you won’t be left to shoulder this alone."   View more pictures from the banquet

Contact Information 704 Howdershell Rd. Florissant, MO 63033 314-921-9290 www.ugst.org   Director of Admissions Rhonda Morley rmorley@ugst.org   Distance Learning Marjorie Truman mtruman@ugst.org   Registrar Gayle Yoder gyoder@ugst.org   Dean of Administration Evelyn Drury edrury@ugst.org

There's Still Time...

It's not too late to enroll for the Fall semester! If God is calling you to take the next step in enriching your ministry, please contact Rhonda Morley in the Admissions Office for more information in pursuing a degree either on campus or through distance learning. You can also complete an application on-line. The Fall semester kicks off with the pivotal Biblical Interpretation course offered August 11-16. This is an excellent introductory level course that will build a foundation of skills for scholarly research and methods of biblical interpretation. Furthermore, it is a great way to network with other students both in class and at a planned social event to be held that week. The class is taught by Dr. Dave Norris.

Don't Go to Israel Alone!

UGST is partnering with the UPCI Sunday School Department and is offering the course Following John's Gospel: Journey Through the Holy Land in conjunction with a once in a lifetime trip to the Holy Land where you will see and experience firsthand the sights and the sounds of the land where John composed his gospel account. The trip is scheduled for November 11-18. For more information, click on the link from the UGST homepage .

Graduation Report

The UGST Alumni Association was honored to induct the following 8 graduates as Class of 2008: Vinessa D'Sa, Curt Fee, Mike Hall, Steve Harris, Mike Krog, John Martin, Greg Norton and Norman Paslay, II. This class has 3 Masters of Divinity, 5 Masters of Theological Studies, 3 distance learners, 1 international student, 3 full time pastors, 2 military chaplains, 1 urban church planter, 2 Bible school teachers and 8 trained ministers of the Gospel. This brings the total number of UGST alumni to 39.