Chicago priest to become dean of St. George's College, Jerusalem
Episcopal News Service. July 1, 2011 [070111-01]
ENS staff
The Rev. Graham Smith, rector of St. David's Episcopal Church in Glenview, Illinois, for the past 19 years, has been appointed to serve as the next dean of St. George's College in Jerusalem.
Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani, who has known Smith since the mid-1980s when they studied together at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, said that "God has indeed delivered to us the right man at this time for this ministry."
Smith, who will begin his new ministry in September 2011, succeeds the Rev. Stephen Need, who served as dean for nearly six years.
Smith has been ordained an Episcopal priest for more than 37 years and also has served parishes in Lyndhurst and Lakewood, Ohio. "Fr. Smith's extensive experience in church development, outreach and hospitality in the parishes he has served will find good use in his new post as dean of St. George's College," according to a press release from the diocese.
Smith is married to Sherry and they have a son, a daughter and three grandchildren.
St. George's College is a center for adult continuing education for members of the Anglican Communion and other denominations. The college is located on the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. George the Martyr, a few minutes walk from the Old City of Jerusalem, and offers study pilgrimages throughout the year.
The college is one of more than 30 institutions of education and health care which are sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem throughout Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
"St. George's College offers a unique ministry of study, prayer, reflection and hospitality to anyone wishing to immerse themselves in the land of the Bible and the very places where Jesus ministered, walked to his crucifixion and rose from the dead," Smith told ENS. "I look forward to serving as a pastor to pilgrims from all across the world [and] to becoming part of the college's unique tradition."