Category: This is Central

A Central Leadership Story – Rev. Bethany Ruhl

Rev. Bethany Ruhl Reflects on the training she received as an MDiv student at Central:

During this critical time of COVID-19, Central has prepared me to lead by giving me a great clinical ethics background. I am well-grounded and knowledgeable as I chair the Ethics Committee of Saint Luke’s Crittenton Children’s Center.  Pandemic times bring up issues that cause moral distress as well as a host of difficult decisions, especially as it concerns the mental and spiritual health of the children I serve.  Thanks to the excellent training I received from the Rev. Dr. Tarris Rosell, I am well-versed in clinical medical ethics, and I feel prepared to tackle the difficult issues that are coming our way with my team of ethics experts during this precarious time.

Central’s Director of the MACO Program Dr. Larry Cornine Says You Can Graduate “Practice Ready”:  

Central is on the cutting-edge for delivering affordable, quality and easily accessible education to students. Central’s visionary use of digital education allowed Central to continue “Learn Where You Earn” educational services to students without interruption during this time of global pandemic. While our country was trying to mobilize to meet the pandemic, Central was in military terms, “At the Ready.”  

Central also has this compelling belief: “You minister wherever you are and whatever you do.” The newly created Master of Arts in Counseling (MACO) reinforces this belief.

By practicing as a Licensed Professional Counselor, you can earn a living ministering to individuals at your professional setting while serving churches with limited resources to support a pastor.  

Another plus for Central is that scholar-practitioners staff the MACO program. From those with practical experience, students learn clinical and leadership skills. The recognition of practice and leadership skills are found in student statements like, “I must take care of myself before I can care for others,” “To lead is to listen,” and “I learned the art of being professionally friendly.”  Central MACO students presently serve as leaders in mental health settings that include a hospice center, an adolescent inpatient hospital, a teenage girl’s center, and a VA hospital.   

Want to change lives? Central’s affordable 60-hour MA in Counseling Program prepares you to make a difference in professional, congregational, and community settings. You will graduate “Practice Ready.”   

Ruhl agrees with Dr. Cornine:

I was initially drawn to Central because I knew that they valued women’s leadership, and now I am back for their Master of Arts in Counseling Program. I was impressed by the Central Alumnae that had mentored me into ministry including ACPE Supervisor Denise Hill, Prison Chaplain Lee Radar, and Hospital Chaplain Angela Lowe, and I was also very impressed with the leadership of Central’s president and her Biblical imperative towards social justice. I credit the invaluable mentoring I received while at Central for the Central Peace and Justice Award I was given at graduation and, more recently, for my being designated an ‘Ethics Champion’ by The Center for Practical Bioethics.

To anyone considering Central, I would encourage you to apply.  This is a school with real heart and soul, and their first priority is always the needs of their students.