Dear Members of the Fifth Episcopal District,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, I greet you on behalf of the Fifth District Lay Organization and the young men and women of the District. The organization has joined with the young people of the district to assist them in “Claiming their inheritance”. With a post- secondary education, the young adults of the Fifth District will have a greater capacity to participate in the multitude of opportunities offered in the 21st century.

It is to this end that we solicit your support on behalf of the young adults of the Fifth Episcopal District. They belong to all of us; clergy and laity: Lay Organizations, Missionary Societies, Presiding Elder’s Councils, Women in Ministry, and the Ministerial Alliances. We solicit the support of your organization at every level of the Fifth Episcopal District; local, conference and Episcopal District.

The Fred J. Stuart scholarship of Achievement is awarded to graduating high school seniors, and the T. Larry Kirkland Scholarship of Excellence is awarded to college students returning to a post-secondary institution. Recently we added two additional scholarships: The Lay Leadership Scholarship, awarded to high school seniors who have demonstrated leadership throughout high school; and the Lay Community Service Scholarship, awarded to high school seniors who are active in their community.

In 2020, a new scholarship was added to the Fifth District Lay Scholarship program; The Bishop’s Graduate Honors Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to graduate students who exemplify outstanding academic success, demonstrated leadership skills and abilities, participation in the local church Lay Organization or other church ministries, community service and a commitment to the mission of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

During the 2023 scholarship series, we initiated the Conference Leadership Scholarship. Each of the six conferences will select a graduating high school student who demonstrated outstanding leadership in their church, school and community. The Conference Leadership Scholarship will be awarded from the Fifth District Flay Scholarship Fund.

Each scholarship will assist our young adults with much needed financial resources in the pursuits of higher education.

We are prayerful that your organization will make a financial contribution to the Scholarship Fund of the Fifth Episcopal District Lay Organization. Attached are the applications for the five scholarships we offer. We appreciate your support of our young people, and we are already praising God for your generosity.

Blessings & Thanksgiving,

Lamar Rose, President

Dorothy Vails-Weber, Chairperson

2025 5th District Lay Scholarship Appeals Letter