Bishop Dena A. Harrison to be honored at Matriculation

Bishop Dena A. Harrison, Southwest alumna and chair of the board and bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Texas will be honored at the seminary’s Matriculation service on August 30, 2015 with the announcement and launch of the Bishop Dena A. Harrison Fellows Program.

Episcopal Health Foundation of Houston, Texas, made a significant gift to Seminary of the Southwest to establish the Harrison Fellows Program, an innovative partnership that supports the training of graduates of the seminary’s counseling program to meet the mental health needs of disadvantaged counties in East Texas.

This is one of the first grants of the Episcopal Health Foundation, recently established following the transfer by the Diocese of Texas of St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System to Catholic Health Initiatives.

The annual Matriculation service welcomes and celebrates the new students entering Seminary of the Southwest for their leadership formation for lay and ordained ministry. Dean and President Cynthia Briggs Kittredge will preside and Diocesan Bishop C. Andrew Doyle will preach at the service of Evensong.

Academic Dean Scott Bader-Saye will install new full time faculty Dr. Gena Minnix and Dr. Stephanie Ramirez. Minnix and Ramirez will teach counselor education for the seminary’s master’s in counseling degree.

The Cook Award in Servant Leadership, named for Faculty Emeritus Charles J. Cook, is presented at Matriculation and will be awarded this year to Susan Rushing, chief executive officer of Burke, the mental health facility in East Texas where the first interns in the Harrison Fellows Program are working.

The service of Evensong begins at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 30, in Christ Chapel on the seminary campus. A celebratory dinner and program led by Bishop C. Andrew Doyle of the Diocese of Texas follows at 6:30 p.m. in the Weeks Center.

If you are able to join us, RSVP by August 15, to Luisa Montgomery at 512.439.0391 or reply online here.