News Release
May 2006
Bethlehem, Pa., May 3, 2006—Commencement ceremonies concluding the
199th academic year of Moravian Theological Seminary will be held on Saturday, May 13,
2006 at 4 p.m. in Central Moravian Church. Master degrees will be conferred upon eighteen
student candidates. Two students will receive the Certificate of Theological Studies
for completion of a special studies program. The Reverend Louis A. Cortés, Jr.,
will be awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in recognition of individuals
who have made significant contributions in support of theological education, and/or who
have demonstrated effective Christian leadership, global ministry, or service.
Dr. Ervin J. Rokke, president of Moravian College and Moravian Theological
Seminary will preside over the ceremonies. The Reverend Otto Dreydoppel, Jr., assistant
professor of Church History and Director of Moravian Studies, will serve as Marshal.
The Commencement address titled “Leadership in the Lane of the Cross” will
be delivered by Dr. Ervin J. Rokke. Tracy S. Robinson (Bethlehem, Pa. was selected
by his classmates to present the Graduate Address.
Rokke will confer The Reverend Cortés with the Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree,
in recognition of what the enduring impact his advocacy as pastor, administrator, and
community developer for the Hispanic community in Philadelphia and nationwide has accomplished.
He is the president and CEO of Esperanza USA, the largest Hispanic faith-based community
development corporation in the country and in 1981 established the Hispanic Clergy of
Philadelphia, an ecumenical organization that focuses on pastoral fellowship, clergy
education, and community advocacy. he work of the organization led to the founding of
Nueva Esperanza, an economic development corporation serving low-income Latino families
in North Philadelphia that presently includes a charter school, a junior college, homebuilding,
mortgage counseling and employment training. In 2005 Cortés was featured as one
of Time Magazine’s “25 Most Influential Evangelicals” and spoke at
the National Prayer Service the morning after the 2005 Presidential Inauguration.
Cortés received his M.Div., from Union Theological Seminary,
New York, New York; an M.S. degree in Economic Development, from New Hampshire College,
Manchester, New Hampshire; and is a Ph.D. candidate in Economic Development at New
Hampshire College.
In preparation for work in professional ministry, ten students will receive the Master
of Divinity degree: Marsha Vosburgh Austin, Easton, Pa.; Fredericka W. Beauchard, Bethlehem,
Pa.; Lance Edmund Fox, Northfield, Minnesota.; Sayward Elizabeth Green, Lewistown, Maryland;
Elizabeth Anne Haines, Allentown, Pa.; Nicole R. Melara, Bethlehem, Pa; Tracy S. Robinson,
Bethlehem, Pa; Deborah Parker Schwartz, Fleetwood, Pa.; Michael David Smith, Jr., Whitehall,
Pa.; and Katie R. Van Der Linden, B.A., Allentown, Pa.
Candidates for the Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling are: Glenvil Gregory, St.
Thomas, Virgin Islands; Martha E. Griffis, Whitehall, Pa.; Lynn E. Hanninen, Bethlehem,
Pa.; Joyce Elizabeth Pencek, Allentown, Pa.; and Daniel Vosburgh, Bethlehem, Pa.
The degree of Master of Arts in Theological Studies will be awarded
to: Alfredo Jeronimo Joiner Peña, Managua, Nicaragua; and Linda S. Zawaski,
Hamburg, Pa.
A Certificate in Theological Studies will be presented to: Jonathan Edward Krause, Allentown,
Pa; and Timothy Gray Sapp, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
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
