c. 2007 Religion News Service
Gordon College Triples Endowment With $60 Million Gift
BOSTON (RNS) An evangelical college on Boston’s North Shore is about to become nearly three times richer, thanks to a $60 million gift from a California couple whose two grandchildren attend the school.
The gift to Gordon College from real estate developer Dale Fowler and his wife, Sarah Ann Fowler, catapults Gordon’s endowment from $33 million to $93 million. In honor of the gift, administrators on Wednesday (Aug. 29) unveiled a sign naming the Wenham, Mass. campus, “The Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Campus.”
“Our great desire is for Christ to be pre-eminent in our management of wealth,” Dale Fowler told a school-wide audience at a chapel service marking the first day of school (Wednesday, Aug. 29). “Hopefully many others, led by God’s Spirit, will see in Gordon College an opportunity to make a difference.”
Even before pledging their endowment gift, the Fowlers had become active donors to Gordon. Their financial commitments paved the way for such projects as new bleachers for athletic events, campus landscaping projects and a soon-to-be-established post for an admissions recruiter in Southern California. Now the unrestricted endowment gift opens a range of opportunities for the school’s approximately 1,800 undergraduate and graduate students.
“The Fowlers’ gift is often the most difficult money for colleges and nonprofits to raise as most gifts go towards a specific project,” said Dan Tymann, the school’s executive vice president for advancement, communication and technology. “Their generosity will not only secure the financial future of the College, but will also allow Gordon to invest in more student scholarships, enhance faculty salaries, support new and ongoing programs and assist with capital projects.”
_ G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Response period allowed in Ocean Grove bias case
TRENTON, N.J. (RNS) A controversy over whether a Methodist group must allow same-sex couples to hold civil unions at its seaside pavilion in Ocean Grove, N.J., will take a little longer to resolve.
At a hearing here Tuesday (Aug. 28), U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano gave each side about a month to respond to a flurry of court papers filed this week.
“It’s an important issue and there is a lot to go through,” said Pisano.
Earlier this month, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association filed a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent the state Division on Civil Rights from enforcing anti-discrimination laws against the religious organization. The state began its investigation after two same-sex couples filed complaints this summer claiming the association was breaking the law by refusing to allow them to use the pavilion.
State officials have argued that the case should not be an issue for the federal courts since its proceedings are still pending. The association claims it should be exempt from the law as a religious group.
The judge’s decision came after both sides filed significant papers in the case. The association asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the state’s investigation; the state filed papers asking that the case be thrown out.
The association owns all the land in the Ocean Grove section of Neptune Township. It originally was founded as a seaside religious retreat.
_ Kate Coscarelli
Lesbian Priest Among Candidates for Episcopal Bishop of Chicago
(RNS) An high-profile lesbian priest from Cleveland is one of five candidates nominated to be the next Episcopal bishop of Chicago.
The Very Rev. Tracey Lind, dean of Cleveland’s Trinity Cathedral since 2000, is one of three women and the only openly gay candidate recommended by a search committee, the Chicago Diocese announced Tuesday (Aug. 28).
In June 2006, Lind said she took herself out of the running to become bishop of the Diocese of Newark, N.J., saying she felt called to remain in Cleveland. She said then that her decision had nothing to do with her sexuality although the issue of gay bishops has engulfed the worldwide Anglican Communion in controversy.
Lind cannot give interviews at this point in the electoral process, a spokeswoman for her said. But Lind released a statement saying she has been praying about her decision since she was approached last winter.
“I believe that accepting this nomination is what God is asking of me, and I will strive to respond to that call faithfully and with grace,” she said. “The remaining process is one of discernment for the people of the Diocese of Chicago.”
Lind’s nomination is likely to raise concerns among conservative Episcopalians already angry over the 2003 election of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire. The national church has promised to “exercise restraint” when considering gay bishops, but has not agreed to ban them outright.
The other nominees are the Rev. Jane Gould, rector of St. Stephen’s Memorial Episcopal Church in Lynn, Mass.; the Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, rector of St. Thomas Church in Medina, Wash.; the Rev. Margaret R. Rose, director of women’s ministries for the Episcopal Church; and the Rev. Timothy Safford, rector of Christ Church in Philadelphia.
Additional candidates may be nominated by petition during the next two weeks. The election is scheduled for Nov. 10.
_ David Briggs
Quote of the Day: Dublin-based airline Ryanair
(RNS) “Ryanair already performs miracles that even the pope’s boss can’t rival, by delivering pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela for the heavenly price of 10 euros.”
_ Dublin-based airline Ryanair, touting its package for Christian pilgrims after the Vatican launched its own charter airline to ferry pilgrims to sacred sites around the world. Ryanair’s statement was quoted by The New York Times. (Aug. 28)
KRE/CM END RNS
