Baugh Student Lounge Dedicated During Logsdon Colloquium

(Abilene, TX)–On January 24, faculty and students were invited to attend Logsdon’s Spiritual Formation Colloquium, where the new Baugh Student Lounge and Baugh Seminar Room were dedicated. Attendees included HSU President Eric Bruntmyer, as well as Jackie Baugh Moore of the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation. The service consisted of speeches from recipients of two scholarships provided by the Baugh Foundation, one for international students in ministry, and another for women in ministry.

“Throughout their life, the Baughs emphasized the importance of family, friends, and Christian endeavors. They, along with their foundation established in 1995, are well known for their generous support of non-profit organizations, specifically Baptist causes, that reflect the love of Christ by providing assistance to those in need, enriching the lives of children and youth, keeping faith communities informed and engaged, and protecting individual freedoms,” says Dr. Meredith Stone. The Baugh Foundation had previously supported Logsdon in 2018 when it awarded a grant to Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio that allowed for the development and renovation of Logsdon’s San Antonio campus.

Dr. Bob Ellis and MDiv student Hunter Brown provide prayers of dedication for the lounge.

The ceremony began with a time of welcome from Dr. Meredith Stone. Attendees were then asked to stand and join Dr. Ken Lyle in singing Praise, O God of Love Eternal, which was written by M. Vernon Davis in 2014 as he gazed at the Logsdon Chapel stained glass window. Following the hymn, Katie Earles and Joseph Tobias spoke on their experience of grace within Logsdon seminary and offered words of thanks to the Baugh Foundation for their financial support to students pursuing higher education in ministry. The main service concluded with a word of grace from Jackie Baugh Moore, a word of gratitude from HSU from President Eric Bruntmyer, and a word of gratitude from Logsdon from Dr. Bob Ellis.

A Logsdon hallway which once featured a glass wall that allowed students to peer into a seminar room and a library of pastors’ works has transformed into a sitting area featuring armchairs, two dining tables, and a kitchenette where Logsdon students are encouraged to eat, talk, and study together. The generosity of the Baugh Foundation also allowed Logsdon to revamp the adjacent seminar room with new technology, which will allow the classroom to be virtually accessible to anyone with a computer or smartphone.

Jackie Baugh Moore poses with Dr. Meredith Stone in front of the door to the new lounge.

Dr. Bob Ellis concluded the service by stating that, “we celebrate the grace of the foundation which has provided the grant for this space, the scholarships, and for financial assistance for international students,” He continued, “perhaps the best thanks we can give is… if we who are the ministers of today and tomorrow who have received grace become the conduits of grace.”

In 1946, Eula Mae and John Baugh founded a proprietorship designed to deliver frozen foods to hotels hospitals, schools, restaurants, and grocery stores. By 1970, the company had grown into the American multinational corporation, Sysco. Since its start in 1994, the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation has aimed “to support nonprofit organizations that reflect the love of Christ by providing assistance to those in need, enriching the lives of children and youth, keeping faith communities informed and engaged, and protecting individual freedoms,” The organization supports moderate or progressive Baptist institutions, nonprofit groups who share the faith-based ethics and morals of the foundation, and nonprofit organizations who “guard the separation between church and state.”