Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina, Marks 30 Years of Celtic Cross Church Leadership Program

Presbyterian College marked the 30th anniversary of its Celtic Cross program this spring with a luncheon held during the “Thriving in Ministry” conference. The event honored a church leadership program that has shaped generations of students preparing for professional and lay ministry.

The celebration was part of PC’s Ecology of Calling Initiative, which is supported by a $1.25 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Thriving Congregations Initiative. Alumni, students, mentors, and the program’s founder, the Rev. Dr. Bob Smith, attended to reflect on the program’s legacy and future.

Smith, a 1961 graduate of PC and the retired director of church relations, founded Celtic Cross in 1994 to address a growing concern: keeping students connected to the church during their college years. “I spent my whole career working with young people, except for the years I was in Congo,” Smith said. “And I saw these kids coming here, coming out of programs like I directed, I thought, we need to have something to continue the relationship, because most kids drop out of the church during college years.”

With help from students and support from faculty and staff, Smith created a program that paired students with mentor pastors and congregations. It also offered opportunities for worship leadership, mission trips, and participation in national church gatherings such as the Presbyterian General Assembly.

By conservative estimates, more than 300 students have taken part in Celtic Cross over the past three decades, and roughly a third have pursued professional ministry as pastors, chaplains, missionaries, or church staff members. The Rev. Dr. Buz Wilcoxon ’05, PC’s Lassiter Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual Life, said the college also celebrates the others. “We also celebrate that about two-thirds are regular people who are also wonderful leaders of the church—elders, deacons, volunteers, and faith-informed leaders in their lives,” he said.

Wilcoxon described his own path through the program. He met his future wife at a Celtic Cross-sponsored ice cream social in the fellowship hall of First Presbyterian Church of Clinton during freshman orientation. As a participant, he was also mentored by the Rev. Allen McSween at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Greenville, where Wilcoxon served as associate pastor during his first call to ministry. “I’ve said for a long time, Celtic Cross gave me a PC education, my call and my first job, and the love of my life,” he said. “So, I am eternally grateful for this program, for Dr. Bob’s vision in founding it.”

Dr. Peter Hobbie, professor emeritus of religion, was among the program’s most influential mentors, and his name came up often at the luncheon. “It’s really not about me, though,” Hobbie said. “I think it’s the institution and what it’s always stood for. I’m hoping it will be here a long time.”

The Rev. Joe Evans ’02, now senior pastor at First Presbyterian Church of Marietta, Georgia, shared that view. “I am confident that I would not be a Presbyterian minister at all were it not for my participation in Celtic Cross and the influence of Peter Hobbie,” Evans said.

The Rev. Jennifer Fouse Sheorn ’96, pastor of Triune Mercy Center in Greenville, was among the program’s earliest participants. She recalled faculty who made the program personal, including Dr. Ron Burnside, who drove students to events in a snowstorm. “It was a way to get to know faculty. And the Holy Spirit was at work—I never thought I’d go into ministry,” she said. “I was a preacher’s kid who said, ‘Hell no.’ But now, 30 years later, I see a former student of mine leading worship at the church that first sponsored Celtic Cross. It’s humbling.”

The Rev. Betsy Turner ’04, designated pastor of Druid Hills Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, recalled a pivotal moment when she found a flyer in her mailbox in Springs Campus Center.

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