Christian Education: Remembering Southwestern Christian’s ‘Penny Lady,’ Lipscomb’s prison program and more quick takes

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Featured image (above): Seven Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center residents received their college diplomas from Lipscomb University at a graduation ceremony.

GRAY ROAD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

Jeremy Flowers

CINCINNATI — The Gray Road Church of Christ is launching a new Christian high school. The board of trustees of Gray Road Christian Academy has appointed Jeremy Flowers, the church’s senior minister, as the founding head of school and CEO. Opening in August, the academy will offer “accessible and affordable private-school education for residents of the inner city and inner-ring suburbs,” according to a news release.

Flowers most recently served as a school executive and faculty member at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, an independent K-12 school. Flowers earned a Doctor of Education degree in organizational leadership.

LIPSCOMB UNIVERSITY

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Lipscomb University awarded degrees to seven Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center residents as it recently held its sixth graduation ceremony behind the prison’s bars. The residents studied as part of the LIFE — Lipscomb Initiative for Education — program. Rehabilitation center residents and traditional Lipscomb students study side by side at the prison each Wednesday night.

“This education has allowed me to become the best version of myself. Thanks to the Lipscomb community, I can lead from a place of healing and make a difference in the world around me,” said Alisha, who earned an Associate of Arts degree. “God has truly blessed us with this extraordinary experience.”

SOUTHWESTERN CHRISTIAN COLLEGE

During a birthday celebration, Ethel Benton shows off a jar of pennies for Southwestern Christian College.

TERRELL, TEXAS — Southwestern Christian College’s “Penny Lady,” Ethel Benton, died Dec. 11 at age 97. Known also as Aunt Suzy, she began a tradition of collecting pennies to support Southwestern, the only historically Black college associated with Churches of Christ.

Everywhere she traveled, she encouraged others to join her “Pennies for Southwestern Christian College” campaign. She presented the pennies annually to the college. The humble offering was “a testament to her belief that every contribution, no matter how small, could help advance the Lord’s work through Christian education,” Southwestern administrators said.

Born in Cullen, La., she was baptized at the Perrin Street Church of Christ in Shreveport, La. After her husband, John Benton, died, she kept serving the church, friends said. “Though she never bore children, Aunt Suzy became a mother figure to many, always ready to travel, support, and care for family whenever the need arose,” her obituary noted. “At her funeral service, her ‘Jug for Southwestern Christian College’ was present.”

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