Highlights of the GUIDELINES

for

The Virginia ROMBERGER Reber Pettijohn Scholarship  

St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweet Air

P. O. Box 337

3911 Sweet Air Road

Phoenix, MD  21131

410-592-6565, Fax 410-592-5868

A.      Authority

•  Pettijohn Scholarship Fund established in 1995 from the estate of Virginia Romberger Reber Pettijohn, a long time member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweet Air.

•  Pettijohn Scholarship established by authority of the Congregation of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweet Air.

• All guidelines are amendable at the discretion of the Scholarship Committee and Finance Committee with approval by the Congregation Council of St. John’s.

B.  Purpose of the Scholarship

• The income from fund will be used to support deserving students pursuing higher education in preparation for ministry in the Lutheran Church.  This includes degree programs in colleges, universities or seminaries that will lead to careers as Ordained Ministers, Associates in Ministry or Diaconal Ministers.

C.  Eligibility Requirements

Generally, the applicant:

• Must be seriously planning and striving for a career in ministry in the Lutheran Church: and,

• Must be a communicant member of a congregation of the ELCA; and,

• Must be registered in a degree program at a college, university, or seminary which is fully accredited by state and national accrediting associations; and,

• Must have established and maintained a satisfactory academic record, (normally a cumulative grade point average of 2.5).

D.  Application

• Completed applications must be received by July 1^st for the upcoming academic year.

• An official copy of the applicant’s most recent high school or college transcript must be included with the application.

• A copy of the applicant’s Student Aid Report must be included with the application.

• First time applicants must request three letters of reference.

E.  Selection

• Administration of scholarships at St. John’s is the responsibility of the Scholarship Committee to be nominated by the Finance Committee and appointed by the Congregation Council.

• The Scholarship Committee and the pastor(s) of St. John’s will review all properly submitted applications.

• Candidates will receive preference based on the following criteria (in descending order of preference):

1. Members of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweet Air,

2. Members of congregations in the Delaware Maryland Synod of the ELCA,

3. Members of congregations in the ELCA at-large.

• Other factors which could govern the Committee's decision include, but are not limited to the following (Listed in no particular order of preference):

1. Financial need,

2. Merit (based on at least a cumulative grade point average of 2.5),

3. Full or part time study,

4. Career intent (Ordained Minister, Associate in Ministry or Diaconal Minister)

5. Undergraduate or postgraduate study,

6. Lutheran Seminary attending (Preference to those attending Lutheran Theological Seminaries at Gettysburg, PA, Philadelphia, PA and Columbia, SC)

• Scholarship Committee and the Pastor(s) will jointly recommend grants to deserving applicants to be approved by the Congregation Council.

F.  Award Amounts, Renewals and Payments

• Scholarships will be awarded on an annual basis with payments made by semester or quarter.

• Scholarship amounts will normally range between $1500 and $2500 per year.  Amounts will vary depending on availability of funds, success of applicant renewals and other factors.

• Current recipients must submit a new application by July 1st of the next school year to be eligible for renewal.

• Scholarship amounts will be prorated for part time students based on the ratio of credit hour load to credit hours required for full time status at the institution recipient is attending.

• Scholarship recipients are expected to maintain a 2.5 cumulative grade point average.  Failure to do so will result in termination of the scholarship.

• Scholarship payments for successful applicants will be paid by the scholarship fund to the financial office only of the applicant's academic institution.

• The Scholarship Committee may choose not to recommend an award in any given year.

The following are Adobe Acrobat PDF files and require the Acrobat reader which you can download here or by clicking on the image to the right.
Pettijohn Guidelines -
Pettijohn Summary -
Pettijohn Application - To apply for one of the scholarships, please fill out this form in the Adobe Acrobat 6.0 Reader, then print it and mail or fax it to St. John's Lutheran Church.  Thank You.