ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 4, 1997 TAG: 9701070046
SECTION: RELIGION PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Yale to scale down divinity school
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale University announced a $30 million project that will effectively scale down the size of the institution's Divinity School.
The project calls for the demolition of a dining facility, a common room and some classrooms and for the reconstruction of major portions of the dilapidated structure. Classrooms and offices will be moved into the front of the quadrangle structure.
The move will reduce the size of the 300,000-square-foot school, constructed in the early 1930s, by about half. Demolishing the entire quadrangle structure on Prospect Hill and moving students and faculty downtown, closer to the main campus, had been an option.
``Careful study has demonstrated that we can best fulfill the mission of the Divinity School and continue to build upon its strengths with an adaptive reuse of the present facilities,'' Yale President Richard C. Levin said in making the recent announcement.
The decision by the Yale Corporation's trustees came one year after the university said it would maintain the school's traditional mission of training students for ordination but would reduce the number of students and faculty.
- Associated Press
Church rededicated after bombing
OKLAHOMA CITY - St. Joseph Old Cathedral reopened recently with a rededication Mass more than a year and a half after it was heavily damaged in the federal building bombing.
More than 450 people gathered for the Mass at the Catholic church across the street from where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building once stood. The church was one of three heavily damaged in the April 19, 1995, explosion.
The Most Rev. Eusebius J. Beltran, archbishop of the Oklahoma diocese, officiated at the service that included a moment of silence for the 168 people who died in the bombing.
``May their souls rest in peace,'' Beltran said.
The archbishop called the rededication ``a positive step in the healing of the wounds of the bombing'' and expressed sympathy to families of those who died, along with the 500 injured and their families.
``I want to assure you of our continuing prayers and support,'' the archbishop said.
- Associated Press
Retreat center interim director
Barbara Ostrowski, a Roman Catholic lay woman and retired Radford University faculty member, has been named interim director of Phoebe Needles Retreat Center in Franklin County. The center is owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia. The Rev. Chris Payden-Travers, who directed the center for eight years, will be installed Jan. 18 at 10:30 a.m. as rector of Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Lynchburg.
Sexual misconduct information available
Within a year, committees in United Methodist churches that help decide on pastoral changes will have access to more information on those who may have a sexual misconduct record. According to United Methodist News Service, the General Council on Finance and Administration decided at a December meeting that such information, which formerly was available only to bishops and district superintendents, should be shared at appointment time. Guidelines warn that access to file information must protect the right of privacy for pastors and other church employees and for those providing the information.
The guidelines also include a requirement that goes into effect at once that any entrant into ordained ministry must provide certification that he or she has had no written accusations or convictions for felony, misdemeanor or incident of sexual misconduct or sign a disclosure statement of such actions.
The news release said the rules are needed because parish leaders increasingly fear lawsuits resulting from lack of background on clergy being appointed.
Planning for disabled is seminar subject
A free seminar to help families of disabled persons plan for future care is scheduled Jan. 14 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Starling Avenue Baptist Church, 932 Starling Ave. in Martinsville. It will be led by the Rev. Dr. Timothy K. Norman of Richmond and Ann McGee Green of Vinton. The program, for which registration is required by Jan. 9, is sponsored by the Henry County Baptist Association, First United Methodist Church and the Interdenominational Ministry with Mentally Handicapped Persons and Their Families. Norman, a former Baptist pastor, church planner and fund-raiser, is president of the Virginia Baptist Foundation. Green is an estate-planning lawyer. To register, call 632-7692.
'Creative Witness for 21st Century'
"Becoming a Creative Witness for the 21st Century" will be the theme of a state evangelism conference Jan. 19-20 at Cave Spring Baptist Church, 4843 Brambleton Ave. S.W. Sessions will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday and at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. the following day. Though sponsored by the Virginia Southern Baptists, the conference is open free to any interested in Christian growth strategies.
$50,200 raised to combat hunger
Several events supported by Franklin County churches in 1996 raised a record $50,200 to help combat world hunger and malnutrition. Coordinated by Antioch Church of the Brethren near Callaway, they include an August auction, a bicycle ride, a hike and other projects.
Visual Liturgy Workshop Feb. 1
The new Trinity Ecumenical Church building that is nearing completion in Moneta will be the focus of a Feb. 1 Visual Liturgy Workshop for those interested in the relationship of worship to architecture. It will be led by Vickie DeVilbiss, artist, and the Rev. Ray E. Blanset, church architectural consultant, of Annapolis, Md. Hours are from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 297-2628 for more information. The new church is scheduled to be occupied by March 30 with dedication Sept. 21.
'Changing Atmosphere of Church Law'
"The Changing Atmosphere of Church Law" will be the theme of a presentation by Alexander Boone, a staff member at the Center for Employment Law in Roanoke, on Monday at 10:30 a.m. at Second Presbyterian Church, 214 Mountain Ave. S.W. Kinney is dean of the School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond. Call 774-2706 for more information.
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