Episcopal Press and News
Seminary Potpourri
Episcopal News Service. July 16, 1987 [87156]
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (DPS, July 16) -- This year's Kellogg Lectures at the Episcopal Divinity School, honoring the late Rev. Frederic Brainerd Kellogg and his father, Frederic Rogers Kellogg, were given by the Rev. William John Wolf, Howard Chandler Robbins Professor of Theology, Emeritus. His subject for the May series was "Benedict Arnold: A Study in Good and Evil (The Novel as a Vehicle for Theological Reflection)." Also in May, the seminary presented a workshop on "Ministering to the Coming New Majority: The Challenge of Ethnic Change." The keynote speaker for this was the Rev. David Garcia, rector of St. Mark's in the Bowery, New York City.
At commencement later in the month, George Howell Kidder, president of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, received the degree of Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) from the Episcopal Divinity School for his "wisdom and leadership in governance and support of theological education." Kidder served on the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Divinity School from 1967-1986 and as president of the Board from 1976-1986. The School also conferred 25 postgraduate degrees at the commencement, which was presided over by the Rt. Rev. Otis Charles, president and dean of the School. Two students received the degree of Doctor of Divinity; 18, Master of Divinity; five, Master of Arts; and one received the Certificate of Advanced Theological Study. The Rt. Rev. David E. Johnson, bishop of Massachusetts, represented the local diocese, and the commencement address was delivered by the Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, superior of the Society of St. John the Evangelist.
AUSTIN, Texas (DPS, July 16) -- "Doing What We Teach" is the basis of the Pastoral Education and Family Counseling Center at the Seminary of the Southwest. The nine-year-old Center, which serves as both a service and a training facility, has a seven-person staff -- including a rabbi, lay persons, a Methodist clergyman and Episcopal clergy -- and offers a range of counseling services to persons throughout the Southwest. The Center, which is accredited by the American
Association of Pastoral Counselors, also trains seminarians from ETSS, as well as divinity students, religious workers and clergy of many faiths, in Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). According to the Rev. William C. Spong, Center director, "The Center is the basis of all pastoral theology courses we teach at the Seminary." The Center is the only such program in an Episcopal seminary to be accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education. The Center is currently developing a testing and evaluation process to better screen candidates for the priesthood and plans to develop more programs for parish-based CPE work and deal more with the mounting problem of clergy burnout.
A mini-sabbatical program for clergy is now available at the Seminary of the Southwest. Clergy can come to the Seminary for a short period of study or reflection of their own design. Faculty members are available on request to assist clergy in study. Participating clergy can use the Seminary's library, as well as the national archives of the Episcopal Church, which are housed on the campus. For more information, contact the Very Rev. Durstan R. McDonald, Seminary Dean, P. O. Box 2247, Austin, TX 78768; telephone: (512) 472-4133.
NEW YORK (DPS, July 16) -- At the 165th commencement at the General Theological Seminary, Dean James C. Fenhagen awarded the Master of Divinity Degree to 34 graduating seniors; the Master of Arts degree to four students; the Master of Sacred Theology to five students; and conferred the certificate of the Seminary on 14 persons. In addition, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, he conferred the degree of Doctor of Divinity on five persons: the Rev. Canon Burgess Carr, partnership officer for Africa in the World Mission unit of the Episcopal Church Center; Jean Margaret Haldane, founding Dean of the Lay Academy of the Diocese of California; the Hon. Hugh R. Jones, chancellor of the Diocese of Central New York and Executive Council member; the Rev. Florence Li, honorary assistant in St. John's Chinese Congregation in Toronto, who was ordained priest in Macao in 1944; and the Rev. Daniel P. Matthews, 16th rector of Trinity Church, Wall Street, here.
SEWANEE, Tenn. (DPS, July 16) -- The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK)/USA, headquartered here, is currently funding and overseeing the translation of the University of the South's School of Theology Extension Center's Education for Ministry (EFM) materials into Spanish. The first year of the EFM materials translation into Spanish has recently been completed and will be tested in Central America and the US in 1988. Years two and three are currently being translated, with their distribution scheduled for 1989. This undertaking, which was conceived in 1984 and began in 1985, was requested by the Ninth Province of the Episcopal Church, which is largely Spanish-speaking. The four-year, $126,050 project, which does not include the cost of printing the materials, is being funded by SPCK/USA with the assistance of individuals and parishes. Presently, EFM and SPCK/USA are also discussing the possibilities of translating the EFM materials into other languages. Those wishing to contribute to the EFM translation or who wish information about other SPCK/USA projects, may write to SPCK/USA, SPO Box 1184, Sewanee, TN 37375.
At a special convocation at the end of April, the Very Rev. Robert Giannini, former dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter in St. Petersburg, Florida, was installed as the University of the South's 11th dean of the School of Theology, and the Rt. Rev. Clarence C. Pope, Jr., bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Fort Worth, and the Rt. Rev. Don A. Wimberly, bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, received honorary doctor of divinity degrees from the university.
AMBRIDGE, Pa. (DPS, July 16) -- The Department of Church Relations of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry is offering training for clergy, seminarians and lay leaders in how to start new congregations. The Rev. Robert Madden is the program developer and lead teacher. The program is an intensive week-long experience covering a wide range of material adaptable to local situations, including: clergy leadership; practical, effective steps to take in starting a new congregation; and flexible principles to underlie evangelism and assimilation of new members. A session was held at Trinity in June; further sessions are planned for Oct. 12-16 at the Bishop Mason Conference Center in Dallas and Oct. 26-30 at St. Christopher's Conference Center, John's Island, S.C. For further information, write to "Church Planting," Department of Church Relations, Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, 311 11th Street, Ambridge, PA 15003; telephone: (412) 266-3838.
"On Faithful Sexuality," a paper by Dr. Stephen M. Smith, associate professor of systematic theology at Trinity, has been cited by Christianity Today magazine, which quoted him as saying, "What is at stake is the role of the Church in our society. Should the Church challenge the destructive narcissism of our culture and call people to the fulfillment of marriage, or instead genuflect before the strange logic that all sexuality is a means of knowing God?" Written on behalf of the School and with the consultation of the Dean and faculty, Smith's paper was sparked by the Diocese of Newark's controversial study document, "Changing Patterns of Sexuality and Family Life," received earlier this year.