Each year, the In Trust Center provides Resource Grants to support schools with matching funds for special projects. This story, by Karen Stiller, is part of a series highlighting initiatives made possible through these grants. Learn more about the Resource Grants program here.
The Tikhonaire, the magazine of St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, began in 1948 as a souvenir booklet with eight pieces of legal paper folded in half and space for autographs of notable personalities who could be spotted and approached during the monastery’s annual pilgrimage. Over time, the publication grew into a hefty 200+ page annual yearbook of seminary life, chronicling students and staff, and distributed to the surrounding community.
“About 500 copies were printed to be distributed annually,” says Fr. John Parker, dean of the seminary, “When I arrived here, I found boxes and boxes of undistributed copies from across the decades in the closets.”
Today, The Tikhonaire is a sleek, bi-annual, 32-page publication filled with news, beautiful photos, and inspiring journalism. It is mailed to an ever-growing list of alumni, donors, and friends of the seminary across the country. The redesign and relaunch of this beloved seminary publication into a more focused and strategic magazine was the first project St. Tikhon’s undertook with the support of an In Trust resource grant.
“Our goal was to take our big, huge fat magazine, bring it to 32 pages, and mail it to everyone on the seminary mailing list, and we would do it twice a year,” explains Parker. “The grant funded that process for basically two and a half years, funding two full cycles of the new process.”
He explains that the magazine became more substantially focused, featuring messages from administration and campus leaders, brief faculty essays, introductions to two board members in each issue, and sections such as alumni news and student essays.
“So now, the seminary news goes to everyone who has ever asked to join our mailing list, instead of the 200 people who live around the seminary,” says Parker with a chuckle. Although he can’t prove a direct link, he suspects that the recent increase in giving to the seminary is related to the magazine’s new focus and expanded distribution.
“I attribute it to The Tikhonaire. It’s a beautiful representation of a brilliant place.”
That experience also convinced Parker of the value of resource grants. So, when an alumnus shared that his parish bulletin boards were covered with posters from other seminaries, but not his alma mater, Parker answered: “I will resolve that, with our Lord’s help,” and applied for a new grant to help launch another creative communication project.
Using striking campus photography, Parker and his team created 11x17-inch posters with a Bible verse and the seminary logo, perfect for parish bulletin boards or refrigerator doors of seminary supporters. On the reverse side, each poster includes the latest seminary good news, a sermon, or an inspirational message perfect for the season.
“Our non-appeal posters simply offer a beautiful update on what’s happening at the seminary, so that we don’t fall into the trap that the only time people hear from us is with a request,” explains Parker. “We also aim to make each poster feel timeless. For the winter, we featured a snowy scene from campus with the biblical passage, ‘Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.’ Now, when I visit parishes around the country, I see posters on bulletin boards. And when they come here, they connect more, because they feel it’s their home away from home.”
Video creation was another part of the second grant awarded to St. Tikhon’s. “We proceeded with two different kinds of videos with this grant,” explains Parker. “The first one is called “Prayer First,” and it’s a beautiful day in the life of one of our students, now Fr. Nicholas Johnson, and his family. It follows them around their kitchen table in the morning and then into their evening prayers with their children. “Prayer First” shows what student family life at St. Tikhon’s can be like, as well as being spiritually inspiring.
“I also did a vocations video that is a more extensive study on 1 Timothy 3 and the qualifications of a church leader,” says Parker. “I narrated through the topic in accessible language to describe what the standards are in the churches, because we are facing, in our churches at least, a clergy shortage. How will we grow our church and grow the roles of our clergy without intentional effort?”
A third grant proposal is in development, as Parker and his team contemplate a vocational handbook and a future conference.
“In Trust has invested thousands and thousands of dollars in our seminary,” says Parker. “With these grants, the In Trust Center is transforming our seminary, with the outward pieces like the posters and videos, and the inward work of what it means to be a wise steward and good governor through the other board-related grants we’ve received.
“We are so grateful to the In Trust Center. It has played a pivotal role in strengthening and growing the seminary in every conceivable facet, from fundraising and image recognition to the public face, to the part that no one sees, which is the board governance.”
Watch "Prayer First" here.
Watch Vocations video here.