People
Episcopal News Service. November 21, 1991 [91236M]
Helen Rotch Ferguson, co-editor of the New Hampshire Episcopal News, died November 8 after several months' illness with cancer at the age of 70. She edited the diocesan publication with her husband, William, with whom she celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on October 4. Known for her puppetry, she helped found the Boston Guild of Puppetry and wrote two books on how puppetry could be employed as a teaching tool. She also served on the vestry of the Church of Our Saviour in Milford, New Hampshire.
The Rt. Rev. Horace W.B. Donegan, retired bishop of New York, died of throat cancer at his home in Sanibel, Florida, on November 11. Donegan, 91, was spiritual leader of the diocese from 1950 until 1972, and a noted champion of the rights of blacks, women, and the poor. In an act that characterized his engagement with social issues, Donegan halted construction work on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1967 and rechanneled funds to housing and development projects in nearby Harlem. "This unfinished cathedral...shall be the prophetic symbol that our society is still as...incomplete as the building itself," Donegan said. He was also a strong advocate of pluralism, and deplored efforts to inject "a religiously grounded ethic" into the public schools. A native of Derbyshire, England, Donegan was educated at Bard College, Oxford University, and the Episcopal Theological Seminary in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was ordained a priest in 1927 and served as rector of Christ Church in Baltimore and St. James Church in New York City before his election in 1947 as suffragan bishop of New York.
The Very Rev. Gary Kriss, dean of the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany, New York, has been appointed dean and president of Nashotah House, the 150-year-old Episcopal seminary located in Nashotah, Wisconsin. Kriss will assume his duties on January 1, 1992. In announcing the appointment, Bishop William Stevens of Fond du Lac said, "Dean Kriss is a man of proven gifts who will bring fresh and energetic leadership to Nashotah House." A Baltimore native, Kriss is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Yale Divinity School. He has been dean of the Cathedral of All Saints since 1984.
The Rev. Mark Harris has been appointed partnership officer for East Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East in the Partnerships Unit at the Episcopal Church Center in New York. He most recently served as both interim partnership officer and coordinator of overseas personnel. Harris began his tenure at the Church Center in 1982 as coordinator for ministry in higher education. A graduate of Tulane University and the Episcopal Theological Seminary, Harris has also served as a consultant, lecturer, and missionary.
The Rev. E. Nathaniel Porter is the new partnership officer for Africa in the Partnerships Unit at the Episcopal Church Center, New York. He previously was the coordinator for ministry in higher education in the Education, Evangelism, and Ministry Development Unit. Porter earned a doctor of ministry degree at Howard University Divinity School, and has extensive experience as a member of community-based organizations and committees.
Dorothy Gist has been appointed director of mission personnel at the Episcopal Church Center in New York. Her position combines the posts of coordinator of overseas personnel and associate for Volunteers for Mission. Gist joined the Church Center staff in 1982 as associate for Volunteers for Mission and overseas service. She previously directed the recruitment effort for the volunteer missionary agency of the Presbyterian Church USA.
David Beers of Washington, DC, has been appointed chancellor and chief legal advisor to Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning, succeeding the Hon. Hugh Jones, a retired judge from Syracuse, New York, who just completed his service on the Executive Council. Beers has served as chancellor for the Diocese of Washington and served on the church's Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons. He is senior warden of his parish, St. Patrick's, and a member of the Washington National Cathedral chapter, as well as a trustee of Virginia Theological Seminary. As a member of the Executive Council, Beers has chaired the social responsibility in investments committee. In his letter of resignation to the presiding bishop, Judge Jones expressed what a "privilege, pleasure, and real joy it has been" to serve as chancellor. "I shall always treasure the happy recollections of our times and labors together in a period of some little turbulence in the affairs of our church," Jones wrote.