News Release
May 2004
(Bethlehem, Pa.)—Commencement ceremonies
marking the conclusion of the 197th academic year of Moravian Theological
Seminary will be
held on Saturday, May 15, 2004 in Central Moravian Church at 4:00 p.m.
Master degrees will be conferred upon seventeen students. Four students
completing special programs will receive the Certificate in Theological
Studies.
In recognition of her life’s work in education
and dedication to the Moravian Church, the honorary degree of Doctor
of Divinity will
be granted to Rev. Frederica M. Goliath, the first ordained woman in
the Moravian Church in South Africa.
Rev. Goliath began her career as a teacher of home
economics on the primary and secondary levels in Cape Town, South
Africa. Recognized
for her exemplary teaching, she went on to become a lecturer at two
teaching/training institutions. Active in the Moravian Church and committed
to the well-being of children, she was instrumental in establishing
a Young Women’s Christian Association in her local congregation
and chaired the Moravian Youth Council in South Africa where she coordinated
many camps for young people.
After retiring from teaching she answered the call to ministry and
entered seminary. Ordained a pastor of the South African Moravian Church
in 1988, she ministered to Moravian congregations in rural and urban
settings. She served in numerous capacities in the church, not only
as pastor, but on provincial and regional boards, and has represented
the Moravian Church internationally. She was elected as a member and
later served as vice-president of the South African Council of Churches.
Rev. Goliath’s stature in the church and as an educator was
confirmed as she was invited to represent the Moravian Church at the
inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994.
At present she is a member of the Advisory Board to the Moravian Theological
Seminary in Cape Town. The Seminary is pleased to recognize Rev. Goliath’s
Christian leadership, service, and global ministry with the honorary
degree of Doctor of Divinity.
In preparation for work in professional ministry, eleven students
will receive the Master of Divinity: Ian Edwards (Edmonton, Canada),
Patricia Honszer (Nazareth, Pa.), Wilma Israel (Asheville, N.C.), Philip
Lythcott (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Joseph Meranti (Clarks Summit, Pa.), Mary
Louise Plummer (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.), Jennifer Ratcliff (Kernersville,
N.C.), Alice Roth (Allentown, Pa.), Ramona Routh (Greensboro, N.C.),
Barbara Rutt (Whitehall, Pa.), and Cheryl Stoneback (Quakertown, Pa.).
Students receiving the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling will
be Richard Conant (Ivyland, Pa.), Wellesley Ferguson (Jamaica, West
Indies), Rebecca Richie (Weatherly, Pa.), and Marsha Vosburgh (Easton,
Pa.).
The degree of Master of Arts in Theological Studies will be conferred
upon Douglas Hill (Bloomfield, N.J.) and Anne Nourse (Easton, Pa.).
Four students, who will be receiving the Master of Divinity degree
from other institutions but have completed their special studies in
Moravian doctrine and history at Moravian Theological Seminary, will
be granted the Certificate in Theological Studies. These students are
Robert Key (Edmonton, Canada), Jane Wegner (Johnson Creek Wis.) and
Jonathan Boling and Margaret Leinbach from Winston-Salem, N.C.
Selected by her classmates, Cheryl Stoneback will be presenting the
Senior Address. The Commencement Address will be given by retiring
faculty member, Charles Hargis, who has taught in the Doctrinal Theology
Department of the Seminary since 1978.
A reception following the graduation ceremony will be held on the
green of Bahnson Center at 60 W. Locust Street, Bethlehem.
Moravian Theological Seminary is the seminary of the Moravian Church
in the United States. The seminary awards three degrees: Master of
Divinity, Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling, and Master of Arts
in Theological Studies. The institution also awards certificates in
theological studies. For more information, visit the Seminary on the
Web at: www.moravianseminary.edu.
