Missing Alums
Alumni/ae Events
GTS Alumni/ae Elections 2012
After a record online vote, your new representatives have been ratified by the
Alumni/ae Executive Committee. Their terms took effect January 1, 2013.
Alumni/ae Executive Committee – 3 year terms
Rector, Trinity Old Swedes, Wilmington, DE
I was in the graduating class of 1995. I was raised up out of the Diocese of Washington where I returned after graduation, was ordained and served for 12 years. During that time I married the Reverend Richard Downing (class of 1969). Currently, I am happily serving as the rector of Trinity Old Swedes parish in Wilmington DE. My reason for wishing to serve is that I am dedicated to the seminary and its mission. We have essential work to do for the present and future of the Episcopal Church. I wish to contribute to that work.
Rector, St. John's, Bangor, ME
After graduating from GTS in 1997 I served at Christ Church, Georgetown (Washington) as an Assistant to the Rector, first as a deacon for seven years, then as a priest, and briefly as the Priest in Charge. In 2007 I was called to be rector of St. John's, Bangor (Maine), where I moved with my husband Eric and our two young children, Sonia and Cuthbert. I treasure the training I received at GTS, and I am particularly grateful for my professors, fellow students, and the intellectual work that formed me there. I marvel at the lasting impact of our residential experience and our chapel worship life upon my character and ministry. I loved GTS then and was proud to serve as a student representative to the Board of Trustees. Offering regular support to the Annual Fund has been important to me through the years. I am excited by the challenges facing our Church and I am thrilled at the possibility to now serve the Church, the Seminary, and our fellow graduates through the Alumni/ae Executive Committee.
Ms. Rachele Grieco '07 – First term
I graduated from GTS in 2007 with an MA degree in Christian Spirituality. After residing on the close for two years, I have continued to make my home in New York. I currently serve as a volunteer leader at St. James' as chair of our Adult Education Committee, facilitator of a weekly bible study and newcomer groups, as well as a member of our healing prayer ministry. I deeply value the formation I received at General and am honored to serve my lay peers in the church. I look forward to playing a role in ensuring the seminary's future as it evolves and responds in faithfulness to the church and to the wider world.
Alumni/ae Executive Committee – 2 year term
Rector, Saint Benedict's Church and School, Smyrna, Georgia
After graduating from GTS I served in the Diocese of Atlanta as associate rector of St. Peter's, Rome and St. Anne's, Atlanta before serving as rector of Incarnation in Highlands, NC. I am currently the first rector of Saint Benedict's Church and School in Smyrna, Georgia. I have also spent several years working with the non-profit, Kids4Peace International, which is an interfaith educational program working with children in Palestine, Israel and the U.S. (www.k4p.org). Through all these experiences I have raised money for building campaigns, feasibility studies, operational budgets, and dealt with interesting financial structures. I look forward to using these experiences to benefit General's efforts in continuing to develop alumni support for our future.
Board of Trustees - 3 year terms
Ms. Constance L. White – Third term
On the Board, I have been energized by all GTS has accomplished and plans to accomplish, particularly in the years of President Lowrey's leadership. Over the summer, this energy caused me to accept an appointment to the Search Committee for the new president of GTS. Earlier in 2012, I served on the ad hoc committee of the Board to develop the new "A 21st Century Vision for Theological Education and Formation" and, in 2009, I co-chaired, with the Director of Admissions, the Education and Formation Commission's Subcommittee on Admissions, Recruitment, and Diversity. This Subcommittee completed a plan delineating dozens of actions to achieve a solid future for GTS in the area of admissions. These assignments build upon my fifteen years on the Committee on the Priesthood for the Diocese of New Jersey (eleven years as co-chair) and my former work as Director of Scholarship and Recognition Programs at Educational Testing Service (ETS) and Director of Financial Aid at Yale University.
Assoc. Rector, St. John's Church and Chaplain, St. John's Episcopal Parish Day School, Tampa, FL
I entered The General Theological Seminary in 2004 after the conclusion of an international business career spanning thirty-plus years. While at General, I was elected to the Academic Affairs Committee and elected Chief Sacristan. Since graduating in 2007, I have been at St. John's Church in Tampa, Florida, currently serving there as Associate Rector and Chaplain to St. John's Episcopal Parish Day School. I also serve as the Chaplain at Canterbury Tower, a retirement residence and skilled nursing facility. I have played an active role in The Plan to Choose Life as a member of the team that developed a marketing plan for the Board of Trustees and by assisting with an analysis of the seminary's endowment funds. I am currently the Assistant Treasurer of the seminary and serve on the Finance and Operation Commission and on the endowment's Investment Committee. I am honored to continue my service to my seminary as a member of the Board of Trustees.
Go to the full list of Alumni/ae Executive Committee Members HERE.
Go to the full list of Board of Trustees Members HERE.
2013 Paddock Lectures
The Paddock Lectures, Nov. 6 and 7, 2013
Media, Meaning and Ministry in the Digital Reformation
The Paddock Lectures were founded in 1880 by General Seminary benefactor George A. Jarvis and named in honor of The Rt. Rev. Benjamin Henry Paddock, Class of 1852. The Lectures have become a prestigious and highly anticipated feature of GTS’ annual Alumni/ae Gathering.
This year's lecturer is Dr. Elizabeth Drescher, a scholar, researcher, and writer. She is a faculty member in religious studies and pastoral ministries at Santa Clara University. Her recent research and writing has focused on the spiritual and pastoral implications of the 
increasing integration of digital social media in everyday life. Elizabeth is the author of Tweet If You ♥ Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation (Morehouse, 2011) and, with Keith Anderson, Click 2 Save: The Digital Ministry Bible (Morehouse, 2012).
Dr. Drescher is a frequent contributor to the online magazine Religion Dispatches. Her work has been highlighted by the Atlantic Monthly, the Daily Beast, the Utne Reader, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Australian Radio National, the BBC, CNN, State of Belief Radio, and other national and international news outlets.
Dr. Drescher has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards for the study of spirituality in everyday life and teaching in religion and spirituality including, most recently, a journalism fellowship from the Templeton Foundation for the Social Science Research Council’s “New Directions in the Study of Prayer” initiative. Her research on the prayer practices of religious nones will find its way into her latest book project, Choosing Our Religion: The Spiritual Lives of America’s Nones (Oxford University Press).
Elizabeth is a scholar-in-residence in the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Réal. She lives with her family in Northern California’s Silicon Valley.
Learn more about Elizabeth’s research, writing and speaking at www.elizabethdrescher.com and follow her on Twitter @edrescherphd.
From Tweet If You ♥ Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation:
“The Church is at a critical juncture as it attempts to respond to dramatic cultural changes related to new mobile, digital social media. Some of those changes are wonderfully liberating, inviting creative involvement in the practice of faith and the nurturing of community by believers and seekers of all stripes around the globe. Others, such as the restructuring of concepts of privacy, self-presentation, and relationship that seem to undermine notions of interpersonal, communal, and spiritual intimacy that are at the heart of much Christian practice, feel more troubling. Threatening, even.”
Learn more at www.elizabethdrescher.com here.
The winner of the 2012 Distinguished Alumni Award is Br. Clark Berge (Class of 1984).
He is the Minister General of the Society of St. Francis, the largest life professed men’s religious order in the Anglican Communion. Brother Berge has lived with the order for the past 10 years in Mt. Sinai, Long Island, New York (www.s-s-f.org), but spends nearly 10 months of the year traveling among the provinces of the Society of St. Francis, chronicling his travels and ministry on the blog Itinerarium: The World is my Friary.
Due to the cancellation of the 2012 Alumni/ae Gathering in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, we were unable to celebrate Br. Clark's award, and he was unable to preach at the Memorial Eucharist in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd. These events have been rescheduled for the next Alumni/ae Gathering, November 6 and 7, 2013.
What does it mean to be an outstanding graduate of The General Theological Seminary? The Close represents many things to those of us who studied here at General. A home for some of us, or a home away from home where we went to be in communion with others striving toward the same goals. It is a place where the serenity and beauty of the grounds are enhanced by the families who live there and the community who makes it come alive. It is also a place where Leaders for the Episcopal Church are formed. The time spent at General has led to fruitful expressions of faith in all parts of the world.We are proud to stand as a community with all of our brothers and sisters in the General Community. Some efforts are so inspirational however, that we choose to recognize these people of faith with our Distinguished Alumni/ae Award. Past recipients have included exemplars of a broad range of ministry. We have had the privilege of holding up both extraordinarily original, path breaking ministries and extraordinarily faithful, though quiet ministries.
We rely on our alumni/ae to select an inspirational example for all of us to receive this honor.
If you would like to place someone's name in nomination, please contact
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for details.
The past recipients of the GTS Distinguished Alumni/ae Award are:
2011 The Rev. Dr. Minka Shura Sprague, M.A. ‘78, Th.D ‘85, St. James Episcopal Church, Jackson, Mississippi, scholar, author, preacher, lecturer, and workshop/retreat leader.
2010 The Rev. John L. Kater, ‘96 Professor Emeritus of Ministry Development, Church Divinity School of the Pacific
2009 The Very Rev. David duPlantier '93 Dean, Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans LA, Co-founder Jericho Road Housing Project
2008 The Rev. Dr. Marion J. Hatchett '66 and '72, Professor Emeritus, University of the South, School of Theology, Sewanee, Tenn.
2007 The Rev. Canon Elizabeth Geitz '93, Canon for Ministry, Diocese of New Jersey and author of several volumes, including Fireweed Evangelism and The Rev. J. Fletcher Lowe '59 Executive Director, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
2006 Dr. Henry Carse '94 Director, Kids-4-Peace, St. George’s College, Jerusalem
2005 The Rev. Bertram Bennett '75, Priest-in-Charge, St. David’s, Bronx, NY and Chair, South Bronx Churches
2004 The Revs. Richard Fabian '70 and Donald Schell '71, Co-founders and co-rectors, St. Gregory of Nyssa, San Francisco
Alumni/ae Gathering 2013
SAVE THE DATE!
ANNOUNCING THE ALUMNI/AE GATHERING:
Wednesday and Thursday, November 6 and 7, 2013
Re-connect with General Seminary, see old friends and make new ones!
Return to Chelsea Square to study and worship with your fellow alumni/ae.
Meet our new Dean and President,
The Very Rev. Kurt H. Dunkle (Class of '04)
This year's event will feature:
- The highly anticipated Paddock lectures by Elizabeth Drescher
- The celebration of Br. Clark Berge’s Distinguished Alumni/ae Award
- Special receptions for 50th and 25th Reunion Celebrants for both the 2012 and 2013 years (Classes of 1962, 1963, 1987, & 1988)
- Chapel Services
- Memorial Eucharist
And a wonderful banquet in the refectory the eve of November 7th
Details will be available and registration will open mid-Summer 2013. Please check back for the latest information as it develops.
To confirm you’re on our mailing list please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
2011 Paddock Lectures
October 25, 2011, 8:00 p.m.
October 26, 2011, 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
Lectures will be held in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd
This year's Paddock Lectures will be delivered by The Rev. Canon Paul Avis.
The Rev. Canon Paul Avis is a priest of the Church of England and a noted theologian, author, and ecumenist. He is General Secretary of the Church of England’s Council for Christian Unity. At the University of Exeter he is honorary Professor of Theology and Director of the Centre for the Study of the Christian Church. Dr. Avis is also a Chaplain to Her MajestyThe Queen, Canon Theologian of Exeter Cathedral and Convening Editor of the journal Ecclesiology.
Born in 1947, Dr. Avis studied at the University of London where he received his Ph.D. in 1976. He is a prolific writer of theological books and articles, especially related to the identity and ecclesiology of Anglicanism in historical and ecumenical perspective. In 2004 he founded the international journal Ecclesiology, of which he is Convening Editor. A theme of special interest throughout Dr. Avis’s publications is the identity of Anglicanism.
Come hear The Rev. Canon Paul Avis lecture on Three-dimensional Anglicanism in the following:
- The Claims of Catholicity
- The Legacy of the Reformation
- The Critical Imperative
Note: The Paddock Lectures are free of charge to GTS students & faculty.
Click to Register for Paddock Lectures ONLY