Fenhagen Elected Dean at General Seminary
Episcopal News Service. June 1, 1978 [78156]
NEW YORK, N. Y. -- At its meeting May 23, the Board of Trustees of the General Theological Seminary here named the Rev. James C. Fenhagen tenth dean of this, the oldest Seminary of the Episcopal Church. His appointment is to be effective at the start of the 1978-79 academic year. He has been since 1973 director of the Church and Ministry Program at the Hartford Seminary Foundation, Hartford, Conn.
A graduate of the University of the South (B.A. 1951), and the Virginia Theological Seminary (M. Div. 1954), he was ordained to the priesthood in 1955 and served parishes in Maryland, South Carolina and Washington, D.C. From 1963-1967, he was director of education for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and has four times been a deputy to General Convention from that diocese. Fr. Fenhagen received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1978.
Throughout his ministry, Fr. Fenhagen has been active in areas related to the developmental and educational aspects of the parish church. He is an accredited member of The Association for Creative Change in Religious Systems, and was a co-founder of the Mid-Atlantic Training Committee, an ecumenical educational and training institute.
In addition, he has had continuous interest in the world mission of the Christian Church, helping in 1967 to establish Companions in World Mission, an organization in the Diocese of Washington aimed at developing greater parish support for the concerns of global Christianity.
Fr. Fenhagen's responsibilities at the Hartford Seminary Foundation involve continuing education for the clergy and laity, and consultation with local churches. In addition to his administrative responsibilities, he teaches a course in Spiritual Formation. Previously, he has served on the summer faculty of Georgetown University and Union Theological Seminary in New York.
He is the author of Mutual Ministry: New Vitality for the Local Church, Seabury Press, 1977; and co-author of Prescriptions for Parishes, Seabury Press, 1972, Study Guides to Loren Mead's book, New Hope for Congregations, Seabury Press, 1973, Elisa DesPortes' book, Congregations in Change, Seabury Press, 1974, and Norman Pittenger's, Unbounded Love, Seabury Press, 1976. His most recent book, More Than Wanderers: Spiritual Disciplines for Christian Ministry, was published in the Spring of 1978 by Seabury Press.
He is married to the former Eulalie McFall of Baltimore. The Fenhagens have three grown children, Leila, Jim and John. The Fenhagens will take up residence in Chelsea Square this summer.