Honorary Degree Recipients

February 13, 2008

The Right Reverend David M. Reed

Class of 1983

Bishop Suffragan, Diocese of West Texas

Citation
Exemplary servant leader, new member of our seminary’s Board of Trustees and iconic South Texas Valley Boy, you epitomize a People Person.

Born in Brownsville, you spent many summers at the diocesan Camp Capers – first as a camper and then as a staffer. Our preacher today first met you at the camp three decades ago and now you share episcopate duties. Eschewing all of Texas to the north of San Antonio, you ventured up the Interstate only twice – four years at the University of Texas and three here at the seminary. You feel most at home on your beloved Padre Island walking its beaches in your trademark Chuck Taylor tennis shoes.

Following graduation from the Seminary of the Southwest in 1983, you began and concluded your priestly ministry at St. Alban’s Church in Harlingen. After serving at St. Alban’s four years, you then spent the next seven at St. Francis, Victoria, before returning to St. Alban’s in 1994. You fostered fellowship in the church and school of St. Alban’s by simply being who you are – an incredibly humble, servant-oriented person.

Known for offering great guidance, you once told the sixth-grade basketball team they could not play a scheduled game since it would take place during the school’s Christmas Pageant. “Jesus is more important than basketball,” you told the team. St. Alban’s folks had mixed feelings when you were elected Suffragan Bishop in 2006 – all were sad to see their cherished friend go but they now share you with the rest of the Diocese of West Texas. You hand wrote scores of farewell notes to parishioners before leaving – a lost art in our email world. You came dressed in a powder blue polyester jacket to the parish’s going away disco party – “Boogie with the Bishop.”

In admiration of your strong and affirming pastoral style, the Seminary of the Southwest is delighted to award you the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa.

Biography
David Reed was born in Brownsville, Texas, March 9, 1957, to William Wesley Reed, Jr. and the late Olive Helen Polley Reed. The third of six children, he was baptized and confirmed at Church of the Advent, Brownsville. He attended elementary school at the Episcopal Day School and graduated from Homer Hanna High School in 1975.

He earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1978, and taught school for two years before going to seminary.

He graduated from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin in 1983 with a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Stanley Hauser in Church of the Advent, Brownsville, on June 12, 1983. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Scott Field Bailey in St. Alban’s Church, Harlingen, on January 13, 1984.

David married Patricia Ann (Patti) Kopec on June 18, 1988, and they have two children, Kaitlin Marie and Jon William.

David served as assistant rector at St. Alban’s Church, Harlingen, from 1983 to 1987. He was called to be rector of St. Francis Church, Victoria, in 1987, serving there through 1994. He returned to St. Alban’s near the end of 1994, serving as rector until his election as Bishop Suffragan.

He was elected Bishop Suffragan for the Diocese of West Texas in a special council at TMI – The Episcopal School of Texas in San Antonio, on March 25, 2006, and was consecrated in St. Luke’s Church, San Antonio, on August 26, 2006. He is the fourteenth bishop to serve in West Texas (the fifth Suffragan) and 1005 in the American Succession.

The Right Reverend S. Todd Ousley

Class of 1991

Bishop, Diocese of Eastern Michigan

Citation
Keenly attentive to the needs of lay people and clergy, former seminary trustee and driver of a hybrid SUV, you are firmly planted in the 21st Century.

Following graduation from the Seminary of the Southwest in 1991, you were one of our few graduates fortunate enough to remain in Austin. After two years at the Church of the Good Shepherd in West Austin, you moved on to other churches in the Diocese of Texas – Holy Comforter, Angleton, and then St. Francis in Temple – as Rector and Headmaster.

A native Texan with degrees from Baylor and Texas A&M, you were called to the Diocese of Eastern Michigan – one of the Episcopal Church’s newest dioceses – in 2001, the same year you earned a Doctor of Ministry degree in Congregational Development. As Diocesan Missioner for Congregational Development and Clergy Deployment for five years, lay people and priests were impressed with your collaborative style of leadership and commitment to inclusiveness in ministry and common life. Your Southern way of conversation – gentle and polite while being direct – took root in Michigan soil.

Committed to bringing liturgy to the people, you once confirmed an acolyte in a hospice center where his grandfather – a life-long member of his church and decades-old deacon – was dying. A theologian who understands the importance of small congregations, you are committed to growing your diocese in very difficult economic times.

It’s not unusual for you to answer a phone call to the diocesan center and your penchant for collecting tacky Christian toys – birthed here in Austin at Toy Joy continues up north – a foot-tall, fuzzy red Jesus Bank rests by your office desk.

Your service to the wider church includes being a vocational faculty member for CREDO, a lay and clergy wellness initiative, and member of the Episcopal task force for diocesan transitions and bishop elections.

In recognition of all you have accomplished, we are pleased to award you the Doctor of Divinity degree, honoris causa.

Biography
On September 9, 2006 Todd became Bishop Coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan headquartered in Saginaw, Michigan and assumed the office of Bishop Diocesan on January 1, 2007. When elected, he was serving as Missioner for Congregational Development and Clergy Deployment for the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan.

Prior to joining the diocesan staff in the Diocese of Eastern Michigan, he served in the Diocese of Texas as Rector and Headmaster of St. Francis Church & School in Temple, Texas, Rector and Headmaster of Holy Comforter Parish & School in Angleton, Texas, and Assistant to the Rector at Church of the Good Shepherd in Austin, Texas.

Todd is a native Texan and a graduate of Baylor University with a degree in Business, a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Masters degree in Educational Psychology, and a graduate of the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest with a Master of Divinity. His Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Development from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois focused on transitions, culminating in a doctoral thesis entitled Tough Trust: Transitioning Congregations From Pastoral Size to Program Size By Balancing Results, Integrity, and Concern.

Service to the Church includes two terms as Trustee for the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest; Vocational Faculty for CREDO, a lay and clergy wellness initiative; and member of The Episcopal Transitions Project, a task force charged with revision of the process for diocesan transitions and bishop elections.

Todd and his spouse, Ann Schumann-Ousley, former Director of Development at ETSS, are the parents of three boys --- Ian (15), Dae (13 ½), and Josh (10 ½). A springer spaniel mix named Angie completes the chaos of their busy home! Todd and Ann enjoy downhill skiing, kayaking, watching their sons at wrestling tournaments, and humorous rounds of golf as a fivesome.

The Right Reverend Dena A. Harrison

Class of 1987

Bishop Suffragan, Diocese of Texas

Citation
Spiritually-rooted gifted preacher, forthright adviser and seminary trustee, you possess remarkable gifts from making the complex simple to creating your own bullion cubes.

Native Texan and University of Texas graduate, you came to the Seminary of the Southwest from the world of financial management. Your multi-faceted ministry in the Diocese of Texas began right here at All Saints’ Church following seminary graduation in 1987. Five years later you were called to St. James’ Church down Route 71 in LaGrange. During your years there the town grew from a sleepy county seat – its growth became official, you said, when a Wal-Mart opened – but Frank’s Place Café remains the heart of LaGrange. You then returned to East Texas – the region of your birth – to lead St. James the Apostle in Conroe for two years.

Recognizing your pastoral and administrative gifts, Claude Payne then Bishop of Texas called you to the diocesan center in Houston to be Canon to the Ordinary. Three years in that post led to an equal number of years as Archdeacon and Canon for Ministry until your election as Bishop Suffragan. We welcomed you back when you moved into the Diocesan Center on campus to oversee the western region of Texas. Your new bishop’s office rests in the former wing of seminary faculty offices.

Your extensive service to the Diocese of Texas – executive board, standing committee and numerous trustee service – now extends to the wider Church.

Known for your ability to get to the heart of a complex matter with intuitive and sharp focus, you were appointed to a select committee by our Presiding Bishop to draft the official New Orleans Statement response to the Anglican Primates Communique at the House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans last year. “That’ll Preach.” Indeed!

Welcome back to All Saints’ Church, Bishop Dena. We take great pleasure in awarding you the degree of Doctor of Divinity degree, honoris causa.

Biography
Born in Lufkin and reared in Orange, Bishop Harrison attended The University of Texas at Austin where she received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.  She married Larry Harrison in 1967 and raised a son and a daughter while living in Houston and Austin. They now have four grandchildren: two in San Antonio, and two in Dallas.

After receiving her Master of Divinity degree from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in 1987, Bishop Harrison served as assistant rector at All Saints’ Church, Austin, and as rector of St. James’ Church, La Grange, and St. James the Apostle Church, Conroe. She served as Canon to the Ordinary from 2000-2003 and has served as Archdeacon and Canon for Ministry since 2003.

She has served the diocese as a deputy to General Convention and as a member of the Division of Christian Education, the Executive Board, the Standing Committee, and the Mission Funding Committee. In addition, she has served as a trustee of The Bishop Quin Foundation and St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities and is currently serving as a trustee of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital System and the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, where she chairs the Search Committee for the Dean and President position.

The Right Reverend Gregory H. Rickel, D. Min.

Class of 1996

Bishop, Diocese of Olympia

Citation
Uniquely grounded in both spirituality and administration skills, you now energize the people of Seattle as you did in Conway, Arkansas, and most recently, Austin.

With characteristic high energy, you were both sacristan and bookstore manager during seminary years. After graduation in 1996, you returned to Arkansas and began a five year ministry at St. Peter’s in Conway. With a knack for blending the foundations of the Church with an openness to the Spirit moving in non-traditional ways, you reached out in an emotionally engaging way to parishioners, as well as those standing on the periphery of the Church and looking in.

You returned to Austin in 2001 to St. James’ Church in East Austin – your field education site in your senior year. Both the multi-racial parish and you grew in the next six years. Acknowledging that you were raised in a Southern society that did not value all God’s children all the time, you championed racial reconciliation throughout our city and the country. A large container of assorted nuts in your office with a parishioner-lettered sign – St. James’ Mixed Nuts – celebrated the parish’s diversity.

Much like your mentors Bill Adams and the late Will Spong, you lifted St. James’ parishioners with a keen ability to observe, listen and be present. Your vision and considerable administrative skills led to the construction of a new home for the church, school and fellowship hall. An expert on stewardship who teaches an online course for that other seminary west of the Mississippi River, you began every Begathon fund drive at St. James by publishing in the parish newsletter your salary and how much you and spouse Marti donated to many causes.

The Diocese of Olympia brought you into the Larger Conversation by electing you its Bishop last year. In recognition of your many talents and your ongoing service on our Board of Trustees, we confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa.

Biography
The Rt. Rev. Gregory H. Rickel comes to the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia from Austin, Texas, where he served as rector of St. James’ Episcopal Church, “an inclusive, multicultural community,” from 2001-2007. Rickel has a passion for youth and young adults, and believes the Episcopal Church must make itself appealing and relevant to that demographic as it has in the past. Bridging this gap will be a major focus of his episcopate along with congregational development, stewardship of resources and improving communication and interconnectedness throughout the diocese, both inside and outside the church.

“I strongly believe the Diocese of Olympia can serve as a model for the rest of the church as we navigate this unique part of the country where church affiliation is at its lowest,” Rickel said. He asserts the Episcopal Church in Western Washington should  claim its minority status as an asset that offers a home for those in sear h of a unique faith expression, adding," Christianity may well have been at its best when it was not in the majority.” Rickel intends to be bishop for 12-15 years, leaving the diocese in a state of solid health.

Rickel is a trained presenter for the Climate Project was the Episcopal representative to the Earth Charter discussions in Geneva, Switzerland in the late 1990s and has been an outspoken advocate of environmental issues for years. A consultant for the Stewardship Office of the Episcopal Church Center in New York since 1997, Rickel has worked with Episcopal groups and other denominations in Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Michigan, Oregon and Kentucky on such topics as initiating comprehensive stewardship programs, working better as a team, diversity, communications and evangelism. While in Austin , Rickel chaired both the Board of Trustees of St. James’ Episcopal School and the Seton Clinical Pastoral Education Advisory Committee, and was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Quin Foundation Board and the People’s Clinic . He currently serves on the Board of Trustees at the Seminary of the Southwest. He is a past member of the Episcopal Church’s Budgetary Funding Task Force and is active in the work of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center .

Rickel received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1984. He received his Master of Health Services Administration in 1987 and his Master of Arts in Interpersonal and Organizational Communication in 1993, both from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock . In 1996 he received his Master of Divinity from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texa , and in 2001 he received the Doctor of Ministry from the University of the South School of Theology in Sewanee, Tenn.

Rickel and his wife, Marti, have been married for 23 years and are the proud parents of Austin Morris, 11.