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Lancaster minister to speak at Messiah College during inauguration chapel

	The Rev. Dr. Nathan Baxter Click on image to download print-quality version

GRANTHAM, Pa. (Sept. 15, 2005) — The Rev. Dr. Nathan Baxter of St. James Episcopal Church, Lancaster, will give the inauguration chapel address at Messiah College on Oct. 13 at 9:30 a.m. in Brubaker Auditorium in the Eisenhower Campus Center on the college’s Grantham campus. The inauguration chapel is part of the inauguration celebrations for Messiah College’s eighth president, Kim S. Phipps, Ph.D. Because of limited space, this event is not open to the public, but access may be arranged for members of the media.

Baxter will speak on the inaugural theme “Created and Called for Community,” which President Phipps selected to honor Messiah’s commitment to building and nurturing community, and to highlight the significance of the college’s new core course of the same title – a course that serves as a critical introduction for all first-year students to the college’s unique heritage, mission and identity.

About the Rev. Dr. Nathan D. Baxter

In November 2003, Nathan D. Baxter, a third generation Pennsylvania clergyman, became rector of the historic St. James Episcopal Church, which is the largest parish in the diocese of Central Pennsylvania. As rector of St. James, Baxter returns to the diocese where he prepared for ordination at the Diocesan School of Christian Studies and was ordained priest in 1997.

Previously, Baxter was dean of the Washington National Cathedral for 12 years (1991-2003). As dean of the National Cathedral, he was the chief priest and executive officer of the world’s sixth largest cathedral and chief administrative officer and vice chair of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which included five institutions and four major auxiliaries. Before becoming dean of the cathedral, Baxter served as the administrative dean and associate professor of pastoral theology at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass.; seminary dean and associate professor of church and ministry at Lancaster Theological Seminary in Lancaster, Pa.; and chaplain and professor of religious studies at St. Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Va. He has served in parishes in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

He is a member of the American Society of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the Urban League, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the Cosmos Club of Washington, and a life member of the Union of Black Episcopalians and the NAACP. He is a decorated U. S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, having received the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and the Combat Medic’s Badge.

Baxter graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary in 1976 with honors and prizes in homiletics and theology and earned a Doctor of Ministry degree there in 1984. He has completed further studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif., the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Warren Deem Management Institute at the Columbia University Executive Center. He holds seven honorary doctorates and is an honorary alumnus of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. Lancaster Seminary has named the Nathan D. Baxter Lectureship in African American Studies in his honor and Washington National Cathedral has established the Nathan D. Baxter Endowed Fund for Preaching at the Cathedral. In 2002, he received the First Annual Mayoral Clergy Award in the District of Columbia. In addition to his many academic honors, he is a fellow of the College of Preachers and in 1998 was designated a Charles E. Merrill Fellow at Harvard Divinity School.

Baxter has led many national worship events including President George W. Bush’s first Presidential inaugural services and, at the request of President William J. Clinton, he delivered the White House Millennium Prayer, which was encapsulated for the next millennium. Most notably he led the internationally televised Presidential National Day of Prayer and Remembrance Service held at Washington National Cathedral following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. A noted preacher, he has been selected as preacher for the funerals of many prominent Americans including Thurgood Marshall, William Colby, William Fulbright, Clark Clifford, Pamela Harriman, Ron Brown and the American memorial service for Princess Diana.

Among his publications are “ Visions for the Millennium” and the award winning “ Challenge and Comfort: A Pastor’s Thoughts for a Troubled Nation.” He is currently contributing a chapter on prayer and politics in the book, “God and Country: Diverse Perspectives on Christianity and Patriotism.”

Baxter is married to Mary Ellen Walker Baxter of York, Pa. She is an educator with degrees from Hampton University and Harvard University. The Baxter’s have two adult children and one grandchild.

About Messiah College

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls more than 2,900 undergraduate students in 50 majors. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg. A satellite campus affiliated with Temple University is located in Philadelphia.

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ARTICLE DATE: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2005
ARTICLE NUMBER: MC-095-05