Print Issue: August 22, 2002

Four Receive Master's Degrees Through Spring Hill

ATLANTA - Four people in the Archdiocese of Atlanta who attended the Spring Hill College Atlanta extension site received the master of theological studies degree this spring.

The four are Deacon Jerry Korte of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Hartwell; Judy Miller, adult education program director at Mary Our Queen Church, Norcross; Betty Clermont, a member of Holy Cross Church, Atlanta, who is coordinator of services at Misión Católica Nuestra Señora de las Américas, Doraville; and Brendan Murphy, Marist School, Atlanta, history teacher and a member of St. Briged Church, Alpharetta.

Since the program came to Atlanta in the spring of 1997, 25 adults have graduated. Deacon Korte and his wife, Mary, who graduated in 2001, are the first married couple to complete the program.

The four graduates attended a retreat prior to graduation organized by the college on Dauphin Island, Ala., and took part in the campus commencement ceremony where 238 bachelor's degrees and 69 master's degrees were conferred.

A Jesuit college with its home campus in Mobile, Ala., Spring Hill opened an extension site in 1997 at Holy Spirit Church, 4465 Northside Drive, Atlanta. The program in theological studies is designed for the non-traditional student and offers four courses a year that meet on Saturdays and one course on weeknights, typically on Tuesday evenings, during the fall and spring semester. Each course is offered for undergraduate or graduate credit with separate requirements for each level. Most courses are 3-credit courses. The cost is $207 per credit plus a $10 registration fee. Additional courses are offered through the Summer Institute of Christian Spirituality in Mobile.

The program offers a contemporary, ecumenical perspective in theology from the Catholic tradition and the challenge of serious theological reflection for lay people and for clergy and Religious. Students come from diverse backgrounds including teachers, nurses, lawyers, business professionals, lay ministers and Catholic and Protestant clergy. The program is appropriate as preparation for pastoral ministry or religious education, for continuing education and for personal enrichment.

"The program broadened and deepened my perspective in considering issues in the church," Deacon Korte said. "I found that classes ranging from Scripture to ethics to patristics to liturgy were comprehensive, challenging and thought-provoking. It is my intention to continue taking classes offered through the program."

For information and for application and registration procedures, call Ann Bailey at Holy Spirit Church at (404) 252-4513, ext. 28.