From Tennessee-

According to research from the university, the men who founded Sewanee: The University of the South for the Episcopal Church in 1857 did so to maintain slave-holding society.

Practically every church in the South that was erected before the Civil War has symbols of the Confederacy or complicated histories with race, said the Rev. Claire Brown, associate rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. During the war, many churches supported the Confederacy and believed God was on their side.

In Brown's own church — the congregation of which was established in 1852 — there still hang portraits of Episcopal bishops who were slave owners, she said.

"Race as a social category was created to justify that exploitation and it was within the same breath that people were saying that it was God-ordained that some groups of people would be inferior to others," she said. "And it got twisted pretty much immediately to be unto the glory of God."

More here-

https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2020/jun/21/chattanoogpastors-grapple-history-church-raci/525838/

James Turrell Named Dean Of The School Of Theology

From Tennessee-

Vice-Chancellor John McCardell announced the appointment of the Rev. Canon James F. Turrell, Ph.D., as dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South. Turrell is the current Norma and Olan Mills professor of divinity, professor of liturgy, associate dean for academic affairs and sub-dean of the Chapel of the Apostles. He will assume his new duties on July 1.

“I am delighted that Jim Turrell has accepted this appointment,” said Vice-Chancellor McCardell. “Not only is he well acquainted with the School of Theology and its mission, but he is also a respected scholar and participant in the life of the wider Church. I know that the Sewanee family will join me in welcoming Jim to his new duties with great enthusiasm.”
  
More here-

https://www.chattanoogan.com/2020/5/7/408746/James-Turrell-Named-Dean-Of-The-School.aspx

Convocation speaker Bishop Roaf speaks on race and reconciliation in the 21st Century

From Sewanee-

On January 17, the University honored six individuals with honorary degrees and 89 newly-gowned students at winter Convocation. Honorary degrees were given to  Dr. Ramona Doyle (C’81), a Rhodes Scholar, practicing physician and professor of medicine; the Rev. Daniel R. Heischman, executive director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools; the Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman, Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina; Lee M. Thomas (C’67), former chairman and CEO of Rayonier and former EPA administrator; and the Rev. Francis Walter III (T’57), a long-time advocate for social justice. The Rt. Rev. Phoebe Roaf, who received an honorary doctor of divinity degree, gave the Convocation address.

Bishop Roaf attributes her drive to become a priest to her mother’s time in the church: “She was someone I could look up to… there were no female priests of color to be role models for me,” Roaf said.

More here-

https://thesewaneepurple.org/2020/01/27/convocation-speaker-bishop-roaf-speaks-on-race-and-reconciliation-in-the-21st-century/

Bishop Robert Skirving elected 25th Chancellor of the University

From Sewanee-

On Friday, October 12, the Board of Trustees elected the Rt. Rev. Robert Skirving (H’15) as the 25th Chancellor of the University.

Skirving serves as the Bishop of the Diocese of East Carolina, which covers the eastern third of North Carolina, where he has been bishop since 2014. Prior to that, he was the Rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Midland, Michigan. Ordained to the priesthood in 1986, he served a number of parishes in Ontario before being called to St. John’s in 2005. Skirving is also originally from Ontario, making him the first Canadian Chancellor of the University.

In the wider church, Skirving has been a Deputy to General Convention and a member of the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church. 

More here-

https://thesewaneepurple.org/2018/10/13/bishop-robert-skirving-elected-25th-chancellor-of-the-university/

Three Bishops nominated for this week’s Chancellor election

From Sewanee-

As the Board of Trustees meets on October 11 and 12, perhaps no decision will be more relevant than the election of the next Chancellor of the University. The Chancellor is required to be the Bishop Diocesan of one of Sewanee’s owning dioceses and will serve for the next six years. 

The Chancellor acts as the Chair of the Board of Trustees and leads various ceremonial functions at the University, including Convocations, Baccalaureates, and Commencements. Bishop Samuel Johnson Howard (H’04) of Florida has served in this role since 2012 and his term is almost up, although he will lead the Founders’ Day Convocation after the election of his successor. The next Chancellor will be installed in January.

The Trustees Committee on Nominations and Credentials, chaired by trustee Pete Stringer of Tennessee, has nominated three bishops to stand for election: Rob Skirving (H’15) of East Carolina, Dabney Smith (H’08) of Southwest Florida, and Morris Thompson (H’11) of Louisiana. All three have been members of the Board of Regents for at least a year.

More here-

https://thesewaneepurple.org/2018/10/11/three-bishops-nominated-for-this-weeks-chancellor-election/

From Prison to Princeton to Priest

From Sewanee-

This is the story of the incredible journey the Rev. Ricardo Sheppard, T’16, has taken. At nine years of age, he immigrated from Trinidad and Tobago with his Baptist minister parents to the inner-city of Brooklyn, New York. At 17, Sheppard enlisted in the Marines. “I joined to get away from the church,” he recalls. For two decades he has run, marched, and paced to get away from the call to ordained ministry. Just like how gum sticks to a shoe, no matter what he did “the call” stuck.

Serving as an infantry man in the Marines gave Sheppard a ticket to travel the world. Even in the military, however, the call to minister to others kept coming. “Marines kept coming to me with their problems and I would help them out. I just could not get away from it.” Pastoring people is not a choice for Sheppard, as he is most comfortable and the happiest when helping and serving others.  

Honorably discharged, Sheppard returned home to Brooklyn married, with children, and within a year was incarcerated for what he calls “robbing drug dealers.” “It sounded good, we were trying to clean up the neighborhood and get the drugs out.” But Sheppard admits that illegal drugs became a lucrative business and some of his choices led him to incarceration for 12 years, three months, and 26 days.

More here-

http://theology.sewanee.edu/seminary/media/features/main-feature/from-prison-to-princeton-to-priest.html

Sewanee revokes Charlie Rose’s honorary degree after months of pressure to take action

From ENS-

 Sewanee: The University of the South has revoked Charlie Rose’s honorary degree after facing increasing pressure from all sides to act in response to the sexual harassment scandal that derailed the broadcast journalist’s career last fall.

The final decision was made by the Sewanee Board of Regents in a March 20 meeting, the university said in a statement released March 21. The statement noted this was the first time Sewanee had revoked a honorary degree, and the action required the creation of a new procedure for reconsidering such degrees.

“In the new four-step process, a written request for the revocation of an honorary degree was submitted to the vice-chancellor, who shared it with and received approval from the Joint Regent-Senate Committee on Honorary Degrees, the University Senate, and the Board of Regents, in that order,” the university said.

The Board of Regents initially had resisted requests to revoke the degree in February, but a month later it has reversed itself, joining the honorary degree committee and the University Senate in voting with at least two-thirds majorities to take action against Rose.

More here-

https://www.episcopalchurch.org/library/article/sewanee-revokes-charlie-roses-honorary-degree-after-months-pressure-take-action

Sewanee administrators, faculty urge regents to rescind Charlie Rose’s honorary degree

From ENS-

Top administrators and faculty members at Sewanee: The University of the South are recommending that the university rescind journalist Charlie Rose’s honorary degree in the aftermath of a sexual harassment scandal, and they are pushing for new procedures to guide reconsideration of such degrees after they have been awarded.

The University Senate – which includes the vice-chancellor, provost, chaplain, deans and all full professors – voted unanimously Feb. 26 to approve an advisory motion asking Sewanee’s Board of Regents to revoke Rose’s honorary degree. The regents had decided earlier this month to let Rose keep the degree.

No official statement was immediately available from the Board of Regents. A university spokeswoman said the regents may be called together at any time by the chair to consider the Senate’s motion.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/02/27/sewanee-administrators-faculty-urge-regents-to-rescind-charlie-roses-honorary-degree/

Sewanee School of Theology Faculty Respond

From Episcopal Cafe-

The faculty of the School of Theology of the University of the South responds to the actions of the Board of Regents that decline to revoke the honorary degree for Charlie Rose. In declining the Board cited sin and forgiveness. The theology faculty asks them to look more deeply into these tenets fo the faith.

Dear Officers of the Board of Regents,

We believe that the recent action of the university Regents declining the petition torevoke the honorary degree conferred upon Charlie Rose in 2016 was taken with the be stinterests of the university in mind. We also know that under constraints of time and without opportunity for wider consultation, all of us can make decisions that with further reflection we may wish to revise. And so we, tenured members of the faculty of the School of Theology, want to contribute to this conversation by writing a public letter explaining why we are troubled by some of the theological assertions contained in your letter to the student trustees.

Because your letter invokes the concept of forgiveness, we wish to situate the matter of
the revocation or retention of Mr. Rose’s honorary degree within the larger, theologically grounded tradition of pastoral response to sin and forgiveness. In church tradition, forgiveness is offered after repentance and contrition. Typically, that means making appropriate restitution to those whom the individual has wronged, and the grace of forgiveness is singularly theirs to offer. 

More here-

https://www.episcopalcafe.com/sewanee-school-of-theology-faculty-respond/

Trump and EQB: an open letter

From Sewanee-

Behold how good and how pleasant it is when brothers (and sisters) dwell together in unity. I don’t have to remind you that phrase comes directly from Psalm 133:1 of the Holy Bible. You know that. I don’t have to tell you that “Ecce quam bonum” is the motto of the University of the South. You already know that, too. Therefore, this open letter will be confined to The Sewanee Purple and its readers. This will not be published any place else. It is a very personal matter, and I promise to treat it accordingly.

I love Sewanee. I truly do. It is a beautiful place filled with wonderful people. That’s not just some clever catchphrase I say to impress folks in my travels. That’s actually how I feel about the University of the South. And that last statement is why I, a current seminarian at the Sewanee School of Theology, have been disappointed nearly to the point of speechlessness at some of the behaviors I have seen and heard about over the past couple of weeks or so.

The 2016 presidential campaign was a long, bitterly-contested, emotional, insult-filled, vision-challenged, political deathmatch between Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton and billionaire businessman Donald J. Trump. While both candidates had many supporters in the Sewanee community, Trump won the General Election on November 8th. And that, friends, is when the so-called Trump effect began on our mountain.

More here-

https://thesewaneepurple.org/2016/12/12/trump-and-eqb-an-open-letter/

$1 Million Gift To University Of The South Supports School Of Theology’s Vision

From Chattanooga-

The University of the South announced a $1 million gift from the Episcopal Foundation of Texas. Though the gift is being made to the university as a whole, a significant portion has been designated for the School of Theology.

“We are blessed by our long partnership with Sewanee and we have the distinct pleasure to have many Sewanee graduates among both our lay leaders and our clergy," said the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.  "We are grateful to be able to make this gift and pray it will help to support the continued health and vitality of the University of the South and of the School of Theology.” 

More here-

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/6/9/302068/1-Million-Gift-To-University-Of-The.aspx

University Of The South Unveils Giant Statue Of Female Private Part In Library [PHOTOS]

From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department Tennessee Division-

Officials at Sewanee: The University of the South excitedly unveiled a massive golden clitoris statue on Wednesday afternoon. There was a reception.

The giant golden clitoris will reside in the main library at the Episcopal Church-affiliated liberal arts school in Tennessee for two weeks.

The sculpture is part of a project called “CLITERACY” by feminist artist Sophia Wallace.

Sewanee’s Women’s Center has publicized the big unveiling on social media with hashtags including #SolidGoldClit and #yeaSEWANEEScliterate, Campus Reform notes.

More here-

http://dailycaller.com/2015/02/26/university-unveils-giant-statue-of-female-private-part-in-library-photos/

Sewanee reverses same-sex ceremony ruling

From Tennessee-

Caught between the Episcopal Church's official policy and the protests of alumni, faculty and students, Sewanee: The University of the South has struck a compromise that could set a precedent for religious universities' approach to same-sex ceremonies across the country.

A same-sex couple will be allowed a ceremony that proclaims lifelong commitment this fall in All Saints' Chapel, the nearly cathedral-sized church on Sewanee's campus — despite the fact they are already married.

The university originally turned down the request of Kathryn Kendrick and Eva Walton, who were wed May 31 in Washington, D.C., because the couple would be married before the covenant ceremony was to take place.

More here-

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2014/06/10/sewanee-reverses-sex-ceremony-ruling/10283905/

Son falls from cliff, Houston couple sues Episcopal Diocese, Sewanee for $1M

From Houston-

A Houston couple is suing the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and Sewanee: The University of the South for $1 million on behalf of their son, who they say was injured in a fall while a Sewanee student.

John B. Berry Sr. and his wife, Patricia P. Berry, initially filed the suit June 7 in Harris County's 215th State District Court. The suit moved to federal court on July 10.

According to the original petition, John B. Berry Jr., who is referred to in court documents as Bradley, fell from a cliff on Aug. 27 when he was enrolled at the university in Sewanee, Tenn.

Although court documents do not specify that Berry was on or near the campus, the petition states that the school had taken no action to warn against standing near the cliff edge where he fell.

Over the years, others have fallen from the same spot, the suit states.

"On each occasion, the defendants were able to see firsthand the tragedy of their choice to continue to do nothing," the petition states. "On each occasion, they would welcome another incoming class of students with no effective warning that there was a danger that had taken lives before."

More here-

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Son-falls-from-cliff-Houston-couple-sues-4671089.php

Retired Episcopal Bishop Henry Parsley will lead retreats in Sewanee

From Alabama-

Retired Episcopal Bishop Henry N. Parsley, who stepped down as head of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama at the end of 2011, will serve as the first bishop-in-residence at St. Mary's Sewanee retreat center.

Parsley will serve a three-year term, with his first week in residence March 1-8. He will offer a Lenten Quiet Day on March 1.

Parsley will be in residence one week every quarter, leading quiet retreat days and scheduling appointments for spiritual direction. He will lead pre-ordination retreats for transitional deacons and develop opportunities to nurture parish priests.

Parsley currently serves as chancellor of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.

The St. Mary's Sewanee retreat center, celebrating its 25th year, hosts more than 5,000 guests each year, about three miles from the University of the South.

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/02/retired_episcopal_bishop_henry.html

Sewanee-Westcott Partnership

From The Living Church-

The School of Theology, the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn., has entered into a partnership with Westcott House, Cambridge, U.K. These two historic seminaries, both established in the 1800s, have created a student exchange program for seminarians to experience prayer, study, and community life abroad in their middler year. The program takes place during the advent semester in Sewanee and the fall term in Cambridge.

The Rev. Dr. Benjamin King, assistant professor of Church history, and the Rev. Dr. James Turrell, associate dean for academic affairs, both of The School of Theology, felt that an integral part of a seminary education is the ability to experience Anglicanism in its many traditions. Looking to the Church’s English heritage, and with the benefit of an existing academic relationship, Westcott House was a great place to start.

Westcott House is dedicated to “pastorally and liturgically growing in compassion, creativity, and imagination to live the Gospel in every place to which God calls us.” The School of Theology shares in this formational process developing “leaders who are learned, skilled, informed by the Word of God, and committed to the mission of the church, in the Anglican tradition of forming disciples through a common life of prayer, learning, and service.” The two schools share a sense of mission to prepare clergy for service in the parish and beyond. That formed the basis for a conversation that quickly became a course of action.

The first exchange began in the summer of 2012 to allow time for the students to settle in before matriculation of the Advent/Michaelmas term. The School of Theology welcomed Lewis Connolly of Westcott House to Tennessee Avenue in Sewanee. In exchange, Alice Hodgkins, T’14, has ventured across the pond to Jesus Lane in Cambridge.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/sewanee-westcott-partnership

Jury finds Sewanee negligent in campus rape suit

From Houston

A federal jury decided Friday that Sewanee: The University of The South was negligent in handling a campus rape accusation but refused to award millions of dollars in damages to a former student.

The jury of seven women and two men awarded $50,000 in compensatory damages. However, the jurors found the former student — the plaintiff in the lawsuit — also partly responsible for the outcome of a rape complaint against him in 2008, and they decided the university owes the plaintiff just $26,500.

The plaintiff's attorney in closing arguments had suggested damages of more than $5 million.

The suit stemmed from a finding by the private, Episcopal-affiliated university that the then-freshman student was responsible for a rape. The university investigated, held a hearing and made the decision in response to a female student's complaint that the plaintiff, identified in court only as "John Doe," raped her in his dorm room after she had been drinking alcohol and was unable to consent to sex. Her statement in the rape complaint said she was prescribed mood-altering medications.

More here-

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Jury-finds-Sewanee-negligent-in-campus-rape-suit-2152250.php

Ex-Sewanee student says harmed by rape finding

From Houston-

A former student at Sewanee: The University of the South testified Thursday that university leaders damaged his future when they wrongly decided that he raped a female student in his dorm room.

Identified in court only as John Doe, the former student at the private, Episcopal campus in southeastern Tennessee was never criminally charged. A university disciplinary panel in 2008 decided that he raped a female student who later told them she has prescriptions for mood-altering medications, had been drinking alcohol and was incapacitated when assaulted.

At the request of the former student's attorneys, U.S. District Judge Sandy Mattice is allowing him to conceal his identity as he asks a jury to force the university to pay him at least $1 million in damages. His testimony resumes Friday.

The former student contends the female student consented to having sex with him in his dorm room.

More here-

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Ex-Sewanee-student-says-harmed-by-rape-finding-2141670.php

Southern Ohio Bishop Breidenthal to deliver DuBose Lectures

From ELO-

Bishop Thomas E. Breidenthal of Southern Ohio has been invited to deliver the prestigious DuBose Lectures at the School of Theology at Sewanee: The University of the South, an Episcopal seminary in Tennessee.

The DuBose Lectures are held annually as part of an alumni gathering for continuing education at Sewanee, with people from all over the country coming to hear and discuss the content of the lectures. This year's gathering is Oct. 28-29.

Breidenthal will deliver three lectures, guided by the theme, "A Better Word: Witness and Communion for the Mission of God." The first lecture, "The Blood of Abel: Atonement and the Neighbor," will explore Christ's death.

"I think there are a lot of people who don't understand why it is that Christ had to die for us ... they're troubled by the language and not really sure what the cross is about," said Breidenthal. "I thought it was very important for me to do some thinking about that, especially as these were some of the concerns I raised about the consent process in Northern Michigan." Last year, Breidenthal did not give his consent to the consecration of the Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester as bishop of Northern Michigan because of concerns about Thew Forrester's theological positions on issues such as atonement.

The second lecture, "Outside the Camp: The Church as Body Politic," looks at how authority is understood and exercised in the midst of common ministry.

"I don't talk about common ministry specifically," said the bishop, "but I talk about the church trying to follow Jesus to a place at the cross. I explore the relationship between authority and servanthood."

More here-

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81831_125115_ENG_HTM.htm

Student's Sewanee suit to get U.S. trial

From Chattanooga-

A September trial is set in a case alleging mistreatment of a freshman who says he had to leave Sewanee: The University of the South with no recourse for defending himself against a rape allegation.

The trial, in U.S. District Court in Winchester, Tenn., could reveal the identities of the student and his parents. The court so far has granted anonymity to protect them from what they say was a false rape allegation that never led to criminal charges.

At issue is whether Sewanee, an Episcopal school, followed its own as well as federal protocols for resolving allegations of sexual misconduct among students.

Colleges and universities that receive federal funding, such as Sewanee, must at least follow the federal protocol, which includes giving "due process to both parties involved" and investigating complaints thoroughly.

But the 45-page lawsuit filed in June 2009 by "John Doe" and his parents claims the school never did that. The lawsuit claims the school "recklessly" pieced together an incompetent investigation that disregarded Mr. Doe's rights and ignored the female accuser's "serious chemical and psychological issues."

Mr. Doe and his parents are seeking a $1 million judgment for, among other things, "injury to reputation." They also want Sewanee to pay $2 million in punitive damages.

Mr. Doe's attorney, Charles B. Wayne, of Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the case.

The university has answered the allegations by denying any negligence in its handling of Mr. Doe's case, court records show. A Sewanee spokesman said that the school does not comment on pending litigation.

More here-

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/may/22/students-sewanee-suit-to-get-us-trial/