Austin Seminary

“When we care deeply for everything that constitutes our living environment, from people to nature, we not only find meaning and purpose as existential necessities but also enter into a stronger relationship with the God we seek to know.”

The Summer 2026 edition of Windows is here! In this issue, we proudly celebrate our 2026 graduates as they embark on their journey beyond seminary. We also explore how Austin Seminary faculty, students, and alumni live out their faith in the city of Austin. Through inspiring stories and insightful articles, this edition highlights Austin Seminary’s commitment to preparing adaptive, imaginative Christian leaders to make an impact where God calls them.

Give it a read online at www.austinseminary.edu/windows or see the link in our bio!

About Windows: Windows, the magazine of Austin Seminary, features articles and essays designed to enrich the spiritual lives of alumni, congregations, supporters, and all others. Windows features faculty-recommended books and news about the enterprise of theological education practiced at Austin Seminary. The printed edition of our summer issue includes our listing of mission partners. Windows is published twice a year and available in print and online!

STILL TIME TO APPLY: The Austin Story Project is facilitating a five-day retreat at the beautiful Menucha Retreat Center outside Portland, Oregon and will be held for two different groups on September 23-27, 2026, and May 12-16, 2027!

Like a sacred pilgrimage, our goal is for participants to move through the key experiences of Jesus’ life alongside their own life stories. Through storytelling, reflection, prayer, and small-group conversations, the retreat invites young adults to notice how God’s presence may already be moving in their lived experience.

Not only have we extended the deadline for young adults to apply for the Sacred Stories Retreat we are now accepting applications for Congregations, Independent Practitioners, and Christian Organizations to join the journey! Those selected to become Story Guides will learn how to tell their stories, to lead groups of people in sharing stories of regular human life enchanted by holy mysteries, and to convene larger publics for storytelling and reflection.

Learn more/apply at www.austinstoryproject.org/sacred !
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The retreat offers young adults aged 22-35:
- A pause from daily life to listen, reflect, and reconnect through prayer, silence, and storytelling
- Connection with others, navigating the questions and transitions of young adulthood
- An opportunity to encounter God through the story of Jesus, the stories of others, and their own story
- Story-sharing tools they can bring back to their communities
- Renewed hope and encouragement for the journey ahead

All retreat expenses, including travel, are covered through The Austin Story Project.

Campus is be a little quieter this time of year, so here’s a little to our Doctor of Ministry (DMin) students livening up campus last week during their June intensive!

Learn more about how you too can grow and lead in your ministry through witness and wonder with Austin Seminary’s DMin program, by visiting www.austinseminary.edu/dmin!
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SUMMER OPERATIONS
Summer is upon us here at Austin Seminary, which entails some changes to campus business hours and operations from now until July 31.

Visit www.austinseminary.edu for more information on summer operations and to stay connected with Austin Seminary!

Preparing Bridge Builders for the Church and the World

“Grateful for the opportunity to welcome clergy colleagues from Minnesota to Texas for several days of learning, relationship-building, and reflection on immigration justice, border realities, and faith-based organizing. Together we explored how local experiences can inform broader movements for solidarity, listened to community leaders engaged in this work, and strengthened connections across regions. These conversations reminded us that meaningful responses to migration emerge through relationships, shared learning, and collective commitment to justice.”

At the close of the spring semester, the Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Cuéllar, Professor in the Ruth A. Campbell Chair of Biblical Studies, welcomed a clergy delegation to campus from Minneapolis. This delegation was led by the Rev. Hierald Osorto (MDiv’18), Austin Seminary Alum and Lead Pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church - Iglesia Luterana San Pablo, alongside Rabbi Arielle Lekach-Rosenberg, Lead Rabbi of Shir Tikvah MN Congregation, and the Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel, Pastor for Justice Ministries and the Director of the Center for Sustainable Justice Lyndale United Church of Christist.

Blessings to this great group in their shared ministries, we can’t wait to see the fruits of their labors and partnership come to bear in bringing about healing and justice here and beyond.

Stay tuned for more inspiring features and stories highlighting the continued work of bridge building and preparation of bridge builders here at Austin Seminary and beyond.
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About Austin Seminary:
Austin Seminary is where faith meets purpose. Located at the intersection of significant societal and geographical borderlands in Austin, Texas, the Seminary fosters an environment of unparalleled cross-cultural learning, understanding, and development. Grounded in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition, Austin Seminary prepares adaptive, imaginative Christian leaders who bridge divides, inspire faith, and make an impact where God calls them.

Learn more today at www.austinseminary.edu.

Applications Due July 15 for Bridge to Ministry Clergy Cohort!

The Bridge to Ministry cohort is a three-year commitment designed to provide consistent, meaningful accompaniment through the earliest and most formative seasons of ordained ministry. Each cohort is made up of 6–8 clergy who journey together through monthly online gatherings and a three-day in-person retreat each year.

Each cohort is guided by a trained and experienced facilitator who offers structure, wisdom, and gentle leadership, while honoring the deep learning that happens when peers reflect together. Facilitators do not provide supervision or evaluation; instead, they create a hospitable and thoughtful space where new clergy can listen, share, and grow alongside one another.

Participants learn not only from the facilitator, but from the lived experience, questions, and insights of their fellow cohort members. The result is a community of practice—one that supports spiritual grounding, vocational clarity, and sustainable ministry through shared wisdom and mutual care.

Applying to Bridge to Ministry is an invitation to invest in yourself, your calling, and a community that will walk with you through the holy and hard first years of pastoral leadership.

Learn more about Bridge to Ministry and apply today at www.bridgetoministry.org or see the link in our bio!

Summer is upon us here at Austin Seminary! From now until July 31, our summer operations schedule is as follows:

STAFFING & HOURS:
- Seminary employees will primarily be working remotely during summer operations

- Summer Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8:30a.m. - 5:00p.m. (closed on Fridays)*

- Library Hours: The library will remain open to the public and for package delivery Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

BUILDING ACCESS & PACKAGE DELIVERY:
-McCord Community Center & Front Desk: CLOSED (re-opening August 3). Packages will be delivered to the Wright Learning and Information Center during business hours.

-Wright Learning and Information Center: The library will remain open to the public and for package delivery Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

-McMillan Memorial Building & Trull Administration Building: Closed

-Packages will be delivered to the Wright Learning and Information Center during summer business hours (M-F, 8:00am - 5:00pm), and NOT to the McCord Desk.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact the McCord Desk at 512-404-4800 if you have any questions or concerns related to Austin Seminary operations and schedule. Questions pertaining to the Library can be directed to the Library Circulation Desk at 512-404-4879.

Visit www.austinseminary.edu for more information and to stay connected with Austin Seminary!

As Andy Bernard said, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” 😭

No truer could these words be than today, when after 22 years of faithful partnership we gathered to give a bittersweet farewell to our friends (more like family) from Southern Foodservice - Vanessa, Josh, and Geneva - who remarkably served and nourished this community with dedication, warmth, and excellence.

However, words cannot fully express what Vanessa, Josh, Geneva, and all others who have been a part of this incredible team over the years have meant to Austin Seminary as an institution and community, as well as to our friends in the neighborhood.

As such, we celebrate this inimitable team today, tomorrow, and always, and wish each of them nothing but the best in their journeys ahead. As we all know, anyone who come to know and experience this special place at 27th and Speedway rarely ever leaves as a stranger, and this team is no exception.

From the bottom of all our hearts, and on behalf of all Austin Seminary community members and friends, past and present: THANK YOU Vanessa, Josh, and Geneva.

We love you and hope to see you on campus soon, where this time around we can have the pleasure of serving you. ❤️

This difficult news also means that daily on-campus food service in the Stotts Dining Hall of the McCord Community Center will be concluding following this week’s Doctor of Ministry intensive.

While this was not an easy decision, Austin Seminary remains committed to fostering the kind of community that gathers around a table, and the administration is actively exploring new and creative ways to continue that tradition in the chapters ahead.

We also invite all of our alumni, online community, followers and friends alike, who would like to share any well wishes or favorite memories from over the years for Vanessa and the team, please share them in the comments!
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Stay tuned for future updates and stay connected with Austin Seminary by visiting www.austinseminary.edu.

This Pride Month, we remember a beautiful service organized in the fall by members of the Q***r Alliance student group in honor of National Coming Out Day, and the timely, oft-needed reminder it gives us, especially in this month: ALL are loved by and beloved to God.

This month and always, we are grateful for the invaluable contributions and sacred gifts and ministries of our LGBTQIA+ students and community members - past, present and future - in helping make the world a better place and especially for making Austin Seminary a space where all can be and are welcomed and loved, without exception.
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At Austin Seminary we welcome everyone who is called to serve with purpose and meaning. Grounded in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition, we foster curiosity and collaboration in students of all backgrounds and identities, guiding them to explore their faith more deeply, engage in issues that matter, challenge norms, and lead their communities with compassion and understanding into the future.

To learn more about Austin Seminary, please visit www.austinseminary.edu today.

Welcome home, DMin students!

We’re so excited to welcome our Doctor of Ministry (DMin) students back to campus for their June Intensive! Blessings to them as they dive into a time of enrichment, wonder, and community this week!

Stay tuned for more updates from our students, both returning and new, as the week goes on!