General Seminary Begins 150th Year
Diocesan Press Service. February 3, 1967 [51-4]
The portraits on the refectory's paneled walls, the present student body and faculty, a new dean - each, in its own way, symbolized the past, present and future of the General Theological Seminary, New York City, as it began the celebration of its 150th anniversary with a convocation, Jan. 11.
The two addresses made during the afternoon convocation stressed that these elements must continue to be interrelated if the Seminary is to remain strong.
In the first address, the Hon. John V. Lindsay, Mayor of the City of New York, called upon his fellow Episcopalians to become involved in the problems of our society.
While recognizing the increasing participation on the part of both Christian and Jewish communities in the search for solutions to these problems, he deplored the silence of the "good" and sought their help. He challenged churchmen to "take their religion out into the world, into the ghettoes where human misery is conceived and into the government halls where redemption of that condition is attempted."
The Rt. Rev. Richard S. M. Emrich, Bishop of Michigan, followed Mayor Lindsay and addressed himself to the future of the General Theological Seminary. He told participants that one could prepare for the future only with a thorough grounding in tradition. He recognized the need for change, but said that such change must be organic, building on the past. In this process there will be much tension, he admitted, but called upon all to use such tension gladly and creatively.
These thoughts were echoed that night in an address given by the Very Rev. Samuel J. Wylie, dean of the Seminary, at a dinner for guests and alumni. He challenged the seminary to prepare for the future, stating that "it is the duty of the people who have the safest footing to take the longest leaps. "
The seminary also recognized the ministry of laymen, bestowing an honorary degree upon Clifford P. Morehouse, president of the General Convention's House of Deputies. This was the first such degree given to a layman in the seminary's history. Citations were also awarded to four laymen: Mayor Lindsay; Mrs. Mary Parkman Peabody, wife of the Rt. Rev. Malcolm Endicott Peabody, retired bishop of Central New York; Jackson A. Dykman, authority on canon law; and Thurgood Marshall, United States Solicitor General.
Other events scheduled throughout the sesquicentennial year are a Service of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, May 23, and an academic convocation in November that will honor worldwide church leaders.