Dear MTS Family,
I know that these are anxious times for all of us as we face the Coronavirus pandemic. Your Executive Team and I visited together yesterday and lifted each of you in prayer. We also covet your prayers as we seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in making decisions that will impact our Seminary community and beyond.
This morning, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland declared a civil emergency for the City. As a result, bars and restaurants are closed to dine-in customers, but they are allowed to offer delivery and curbside service. With the progression of the virus, your Executive Team made the decision to close the Seminary offices and Library to the public effective Monday, March 23rd until after Easter break. We will continue daily operations and compensation to our employees, but all of our faculty and staff will be working from home as much as possible. There will be a small number of people on campus each day of the week, and the transitional work schedule will be coordinated by each of the department heads.
To our students, we remain committed to serving you and assisting in every way we can. As we resume classes with remote learning this Monday, March 23rd, it will be a time of transition for us all. Here are some details of how Library resources will be made available to each of you.
- MTS Library will not be open to the public.
- MTS Library will reduce open hours for students to two hours per week: Monday (noon-1pm) and Tuesday (5-6pm)
- Faculty/Staff/Students are encouraged to request books via email before they come to the Library.
- Upon an email request, Library staff will scan and email small parts from reserve titles that are not available in EBSCOhost to faculty/students who cannot get to the Library.
- Students needing help with their research can ask for help from Mr. Hughes at ehughes@memphisseminary.edu
- Students needing editorial assistance with their writing projects can submit their project to Mr. Hughes for his suggestions.
- All email correspondence should be directed to the Interim Director of the Library, Mr. Hughes at ehughes@memphisseminary.edu
Please contact our Director of Student Services, Dr. Barry Anderson, if you need guidance or support during these challenging times. Dr. Anderson can be reached at banderson@memphisseminary.edu or (901) 334-5806.
For Canvas, Zoom, or other technical concerns, please contact Mr. Chris Smith, Director of Information Technology, at csmith@memphisseminary.edu.
Lastly, I am inspired during these times by words of Scripture from the book of Joshua. As the people Israel journeyed into uncharted territory, they were comforted with these words of hope, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). As people of faith, we are all leaders to our world in this time of sickness and physical isolation. May we communicate through our actions and words that God is indeed with us as we journey through this crisis.
With affection and prayers for all,
Rev. Jody Hill
MTS President