News Brief
Episcopal News Service. November 4, 1981 [81293]
The Very Rev. William S. Pregnall, D. Min., was installed as the sixth dean and president of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific here during a special service of inauguration and celebration of a new ministry on Thursday, Oct. 15, at All Souls Episcopal Church. Pregnall was elected by the CDSP Board of Trustees last March, following a nation-wide search of over six months. A native of Charleston, S.C., he holds theological degrees from the Virginia Theological Seminary and the School of Theology, the University of the South, Sewannee, Tenn. Pregnall succeeds the Very Rev. Frederick H. Borsch, who resigned as dean of CDSP to become dean of Princeton University Chapel, after serving as CDSP's dean and president from 1972-80. The Very Rev. Sherman E. Johnson, CDSP's dean emeritus, who was dean from 1951-72, acted as one of the presenters during the inauguration service.
Robert L. Hall, president of The Living Church Foundation, Inc., announced his retirement from office at the annual meeting in late October and was succeeded by William W. Baker, of Lake Quivira, Kans. Hall, a native of Springfield, Ill. has spent most of his life as a businessman in Milwaukee, and is president of the Hall Chevrolet Co. For many years an active parishioner of Christ Church, Whitefish Bay, he has held many positions in the parish and diocese. Elected to the Board of Directors of The Living Church Foundation in 1964, he was chosen president in 1973. Baker, is a native of Kansas City. He joined the staff of Kansas City Star in 1947. In 1968, he became editor, and also served as president from 1975 until his retirement in 1977. A member of St. Michael and All Angels' Church in Mission, Kansas, he is currently on the standing committee of the diocese. He has been a deputy to five General Conventions, and currently represents Province VII on the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church.
"The Episcopal Perspective" the Diocese of Newark's venture into cable television, began broadcasting this fall with a sermon series on the Ten commandments by the Rt. Rev. John S. Spong, Bishop of Newark. Culminating 18 months of preparation by the Communications Commission, the 26 programs also include "The Gospel of Mark," "The Black Man's Experience," "Runaways," and interviews with Bishops George Browne of Liberia, Francisco Reus-Froylan of Puerto Rico, and retired Bishop John Burgess of Massachusetts.
For the benefit of the hearing impaired each ½-hour presentation has been signed by the Rev. Columba Gilliss of St. Ann's Church for the Deaf, New York.
Initially funded by a grant from ACTS/VIM, the series will be available for use by parishes in their education programs, confirmation classes, and other areas. They may also be used by nursing homes and hospitals in their closed circuit systems.
The Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I, paid a formal visit to Presiding Bishop John M. Allin Oct. 21. There was discussion about the historic friendly relations between the two churches and expression of a desire that this should continue and increase.
The Patriarch was accompanied, among others, by Archbishop Athanasius Y. Samuel of the Syrian Orthodox Archdiocese of the U.S. and Canada during the visit to the Episcopal Church Center.
The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief has dispatched a $10,000 emergency grant to the Diocese of Jerusalem for the purchase of new sterilization equipment for the Church's Gaza Hospital. Although owned by the Episcopal Church of the Middle East, the hospital had, until recently, been managed by another group. That group is turning the management back over to the Anglican communion and Diocesan Bishop Faik Haddad requested the grant to maintain the proper level of sanitation in the hospital. Two other grants, also of $10,000 each, have been authorized to meet the needs of civil strife in Central America. The first will go to the Episcopal Diocese of El Salvador to aid a school and home for orphans and the second will be part of a larger Church World Service campaign to aid victims of strife throughout the region.
A special two-week program originally formulated for the Diocese of Calgary is now available to U.S. clergy, through the Continuing Education Program at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. The format of the Mini-Sabbatical was "too good not to share," according to Professor Patricia N. Page, CDSP's Director of Continuing Education. This opportunity for "re-creation in community" will take place Jan. 12-26. The Mini-Sabbatical will be followed immediately by CDSP's PreTrinity West seminar, Jan. 26-28, and the annual Trinity West Conference at Grace Cathedral, Jan. 28-30. The specific content of the Mini-Sabbatical is planned by Professor Page in response to the interests and desires of the group, which is strictly limited to 10 participants. Lectures by CDSP faculty and other resource persons are balanced by time for group discussion, individual reading, and exploration of the San Francisco Bay Area. Individual study projects are encouraged, and consultations with appropriate professors will be arranged. All participants may use the Graduate Theological Union Library, just across the street from CDSP's quiet, scenic campus. Total cost of the two-week Mini-Sabbatical (tuition, room and board) is $450 per person. Participants will share in the seminary community's worship and social life, and be granted Continuing Education Units.
Protestant members of the United States Air Force have contributed more than $2,500 to the work of the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief. In sending the gift, Air Force chief of chaplains, Major Gen. Richard Carr explained that was the proportionate share of the offering taken up each Palm Sunday at Protestant Chapel services throughout the Air Force bases. The Fund's director, the Rev. Samir J. Habiby told Carr: "Your kind gift will be of great help to many both at home and abroad. The concerned participation in the ministry of the Fund is deeply appreciated." The share is based on the number of Episcopal chaplains serving with the Air Force, currently 24.