CLASS OF 1958 PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR SEMINARY

Grateful that American Baptist Seminary of the West “midwifed us into ministry,” Dr. Bill Clark and fellow members of the Class of 1958 have pledged to contribute $10,000 to the school by next May, the 50th anniversary of their graduation.

Clark, who was born and raised in the Midwest, wanted to do something different for graduate school after earning his bachelor’s degree at American Baptist-related Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kan.

“It was kind of the lure of the West,” Clark says, adding he also was attracted by the quality of what was then called Berkeley Baptist Divinity School.

After graduation, Clark was ordained in the United Methodist Church. His first wife, Twila, died in 1977. He remarried in 1981 and retired from his last pastorate in 1995.

Clark and his wife, Sally, had the opportunity to visit ABSW in the past year, sit in on a class, and meet President Keith Russell. Clark noted something special about the seminary’s spirit, and he wants to support it.

The school has changed, he says. “But neither am I the same person I was 50 years ago,” he adds.

Members of the Class of 1958 who are interested in contributing to this special anniversary gift should contact the Rev. Michelle Holmes at 510-841-1905 ext. 225 or mmholmes@absw.edu.