wfn.org | [ENS] Newsmakers: Kimsey named assisting bishop in Navajoland;

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Newsmakers: Kimsey named assisting bishop in Navajoland; Presler to join
faculty at General Seminary

Kimsey named assisting bishop in Navajoland

By Dick Snyder

[ENS] -- The Rt. Rev. Rustin R. Kimsey has been named assisting bishop,
or
interim bishop, for the Navajoland Area Mission.

The appointment, in the form of a covenant agreement, was announced at
the
June 10-12 convocation of the Episcopal Church in Navajoland, and was
ratified unanimously at the convocation. The covenant was also signed by
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, who has oversight over the area
mission.

Kimsey was not able to attend the convocation because of his leadership
in a
long-scheduled Celtic spirituality tour and workshop. The covenant was
read
to the convocation by Bishop Mark MacDonald of Alaska, who had served in
Navajoland as a priest.

Kimsey will fill the vacancy created by the death of Bishop Steven
Plummer,
who died in April after a long battle with cancer.

Kimsey retired in June 2000 as bishop of Eastern Oregon. He worked with
Plummer and the Navajo people at Fort Defiance, Arizona, in the fall of
2001. He served then as a volunteer clergy, and returned in 2003 during
Holy
Week.

"I appreciate the opportunity to join in the community of faith that the
Navajo people represent," said Kimsey. He said that he plans to help the
Navajo people share their faith with the larger church.

"If our understanding of Jesus Christ is continuously being strengthened
and
expanded by how unique cultures embrace Him, then we need to pay close
attention to the Navajo. What Christ brings to them and what they bring
to
Christ is as rich a weaving as one can imagine, and to stand in the
midst of
that integration is a rare privilege," Kimsey explained.

Navajoland Area Mission was created by General Convention in 1977 from
parts
of the Dioceses of Arizona, Utah and Rio Grande. Its boundaries coincide
with that of the Navajo Nation. The only area mission in the Episcopal
Church, it functions much the same as a diocese but with more oversight
from
the office of the Presiding Bishop and House of Bishops.

There are three regions within the Area Mission -- Arizona, New Mexico
and
Utah. Each of those currently has one full time clergy position. Worship
there blends traditional Navajo and Anglican traditions.

Kimsey said another goal that he has is developing additional Navajo
leadership in both ordained and lay positions within Navajoland. He is
an
advocate of the program of mutual ministry -- developing the ministry of
all
the baptized -- that Navajoland has adopted.

A sixth generation Oregonian, Kimsey was born in 1935 in Bend, Oregon.
He
graduated from the University of Oregon in 1957 and Episcopal
Theological
School in 1960.

He has been married to Gretchen Beck Rinehart Kimsey since 1961. They
have
two children, a foster son, and two grandchildren. He and his wife
served at
churches in Redmond, Baker City and The Dalles before he was elected the
fifth bishop of Eastern Oregon in 1980.

He served two terms on Executive Council and was the clerical
representative
for the Episcopal Church on the Anglican Consultative Council. He
chaired
the planning committee for the Church's first Partners in Mission
Consultation and the Church's Standing Commission for Ecumenical
Relations
from 1994-2000. He was also the first chair of Domestic Missionary
Partnership (formerly Coalition 14), an organization to which Navajoland
also belongs.

Since his retirement as diocesan bishop, he has been invited into
various
communities of faith to share issues of faith development, baptism and
ecclesiology, and to lead retreats on Celtic Christianity.

-- Dick Snyder, a deacon in the Diocese of Utah, is senior correspondent
for
Episcopal Life.

- - - - -

Presler to join faculty at General Seminary, announces departure as ETSS
dean

[ENS, Source: ETSS] - The Very Rev. Dr. Titus Presler, dean and
president of
the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest since 2002, has
announced that he will leave the seminary's leadership this summer.

In mid-August, Presler will become sub-dean and vice president for
academic
affairs at the General Theological Seminary in New York City, where he
will
also be professor of mission and world Christianity.

"I'm very excited about joining and strengthening General's ministry of
forming leaders for the church," Presler said, citing especially the
challenges of multicultural ministry in today's world. He and his wife,
the
Rev. Jane Butterfield, mission personnel officer for the Episcopal
Church,
are looking forward to making their home at the seminary in Manhattan.

"Titus brought a larger awareness of our place in the world and in the
Anglican Communion and enriched us with his enthusiasm and heart for
mission," said the Rt. Rev. Don Wimberly, Bishop of Texas and chair of
the
ETSS Board of Trustees. "We are deeply saddened by his leaving but know
that
he and Jane will continue to bless the church through their ministry
both at
General Seminary and through Jane's work in world mission."

Wimberly said the Board plans to have an interim dean in place by
September
1 and that a search process will be initiated for a new dean and
president
to be called for the 2006-07 academic year.

Presler said he will leave ETSS with regret. "I love this seminary, the
people who minister here, and the students for whom we exist," he said.
"We
have moved forward in significant ways over the past three years, and I
will
miss being a part of this seminary's future."

Since Presler came to ETSS in June 2002, a detailed strategic plan has
been
implemented that is strengthening the seminary's ethnic diversity,
leadership formation, Hispanic emphasis, global mission awareness,
continuing education, and ecumenical cooperation with the Lutheran
Seminary
Program in the Southwest. New classrooms and faculty offices were added,
and
a capital campaign is planned. The internal organization of the seminary
was
clarified in a new faculty handbook and bylaws. Three new professors and
two
interim lecturers have joined the fulltime faculty of 12, serving about
130
students in four degree programs.

"One of the developments I'm most pleased about," said Presler, "is our
consensus around a Conversation Covenant that will help the ETSS
community
talk with intentionality and care about difficult issues, whether in the
seminary or the wider church. This is especially important in a time of
polarization in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion."

Presler opened ETSS to the global church during his tenure in Austin.
Church
leaders from throughout the world visited the seminary campus for
presentations and informal discussions with community members. About 100
outgoing missionaries completed two-week orientations organized by
Butterfield on campus during the past three Januarys. Some seminarians
completed mission internships in Africa, Asia and Latin America during
January Term and summer months.

At General, Presler will oversee the academic program and work closely
with
faculty. In May, the General Trustees approved a reconfiguration that
enables the sub-dean to be called from outside the seminary and expands
the
position's scope. "One of the excitements of this position will be that
I
will oversee the programming of the Desmond Tutu Education Center, which
will include a Peace and Reconciliation Center and a Continuing
Education
Center," Presler said. He will teach in the area of mission and world
Christianity.

Presler came to ETSS from an 11-year rectorship in Cambridge,
Massachusetts,
where he helped transform a declining inner-city parish into a growing,
mission-focused community. He taught mission at General, Episcopal
Divinity
School, and Gaul Theological College in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Preslers
and
their four children were missionaries in Zimbabwe in the 1980s. Presler
holds the A.B. degree from Harvard, an M.Div. from General, a Th.D. in
missiology from Boston University, and the D.D. from General and
Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Illinois. He is the author of
two
books and numerous articles on mission and world Christianity.

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