Citation

2016 Hal Brook Perry Distinguished Alumni Award Susan G. McCann Alumna, priest of the church,

2016 Durstan R McDonald Teaching Award Virginia Garrard-Burnett Historian, author, professor, researcher. Through your research,

The 2016 Charles J. Cook Award in Servant Leadership Jill Oettinger Activist, community leader, visionary,

Sixty-three years a devoted priest, respected preacher and teacher, carrier of the Gospel to the

The 2015 Durstan R McDonald Teaching Award Sarah Peet Innovative Christian educator, insightful child psychologist,

The 2015 Hal Brook Perry Distinguished Alumni Award Charles James Cook Priest, educator, mentor, consultant,

2015 Trustees’ Award

Seminary trustee, diocesan strategist and church planting manager, construction overseer, visionary planner extraordinaire, devoted Episcopalian and friend to Seminary of the Southwest. As a member of the board of trustees, you have given faithful and indefatigable service to this institution for 17 years. Throwing yourself into whatever you do, you have served board governance, strategic planning and dean search committees, and you were appointed executive chair of the board six years ago.

Bishop, prophetic preacher, prayerful, reflective leader “who is a lot of fun to work with.” As the ninth bishop and first woman to lead the Diocese of Washington, you have been a strong voice on social justice issues such as gun violence, immigration, marriage equality and racial justice. You have combined those concerns with your passion for congregational vitality—not only church growth, but also strengthening parishes for ministry in their neighborhoods and empowering them for lively and engaging worship.

Priest of the church, bridge builder, author, educator, trusted advisor. Your ministry has taken you to seats of power and to places hard to locate on a map.

Educated at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Chicago Institute of Advanced Theological Studies you served churches in Michigan and Illinois, assisted the bishop in the Diocese of Western Michigan and led St. George’s College, Jerusalem as its dean for 12 years.

Southwest alumnus, bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi, dad to Katie and Betsy, spouse to our alumna, Kyle Dice Seage. You came to Southwest from sunny California, fell in love with a classmate from Mississippi, and following your graduation moved to her diocese, where you and Kyle have served since your ordination to the priesthood.

2014 Hal Brook Perry Award
Steven Lynn Thomason

Episcopal priest, family physician, hospice doctor, husband and father. You have given quiet, skillful and diligent service on behalf of the church’s mission and on behalf of your patients.

The 2014 Durstan R McDonald Teaching Award
Steven Tomlinson

Master teacher, careful listener, monologist, writer, thoughtful preacher, award winning economics lecturer. Whether you are teaching the “Life of Meaning” course at the Acton School of Business or leading a class on stewardship at St. James Episcopal Church, you combine authenticity with genuine concern for your students.

The 2014 Charles J. Cook Award in Servant Leadership
Irit Umani

Humanitarian, peace activist, spiritual guide, educator, advocate for the marginalized, and friend to the homeless. You have dedicated your life to caring for the voiceless, those in danger, and those in need of hope.

John Sealy Jockusch

Líder cristiano firme, fiel, visionario y generoso. El servir y dar caracterizan todos los aspectos de su vida. A medida que su rector de San David , San Antonio dice: " Ya sea en un papel de liderazgo o en uno de apoyo detrás de las escenarios, John es un pilar para el clero y los laicos por igual. "

Alejandro Sixto Montes Mendoza

Evangelista, discípulo, abogado, sacerdote de la iglesia. Su viaje para cumplir su vocación le ha llevado a muchas millas de su casa hasta Houston, Texas donde usted ha ministrado durante veintinueve años.

Justo Luis González

Historiador preeminente, autor prolífico, mentor generoso, líder servidor. Tanto sus contribuciones a la educación teológica como el ánimo y apoyo a los académicos y la iglesia hispana no pueden ser exagerados. Su vida y su obra enriquecen profundamente a los estudiantes, educadores y laicos/as en los seminarios y en las congregaciones de todo el mundo.

The 2013 Durstan R McDonald Teaching Award

Heather Catto Kohout

Alumna, native of San Antonio, published poet, dedicated rower, freelance theology teacher.  You teach a message of gratitude, ethical living, curiosity, devotion and a healthy dose of skepticism in your life, your work and with your beloved children Lizzie, Tito and Thea.

2013 Hal Brook Perry Award

Mary C. Earle

Episcopal priest, writer, poet, spiritual director and retreat leader. Through word and example, you have blessed, comforted and strengthened countless people with the grace God makes available to everyone in any circumstance.

The 2014 Charles J. Cook Award in Servant Leadership

Judith A. Rhedin

Activist, artist, actress, attorney, and advocate for the underserved children of Austin.  Your dedication to service spans the life cycle of those in the Austin community. 

Chemical engineer, priest, bishop, author, visionary leader: You have brought your passion for the spread of the gospel to your ministries, and you have had a major influence on energizing the mission of the church.

Earning a chemical engineering degree from Rice University, you began your career with Union Carbide, now known as Dow Chemical, where you installed the first computer on a company production unit–not surprising for a man known as an excellent administrator and a forward thinking leader.

Musician, teacher, tour organizer and guide, trustee, campaign co-chair. Your many gifts gracefully shared with the church worldwide have been an inspiration and blessing to all who have been touched by your ministries.

You have shared your musical expertise through teaching and performance as harpist and pianist with the Beaumont Symphony and Civic Opera, through participation with church choirs, and through service on the board of Young Audiences, a national organization that supports and promotes the arts for young people.

Proud fifth generation Texan, Episcopalian, best selling author, research professor. You have dedicated the last decade to studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness and shame, and your stories emanating from your research have struck a cord in the hearts and minds of millions of people.

Earning your Bachelor of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin, you went on to earn an MSW and PhD at the University of Houston where you are research professor in the Graduate College of Social Work.

The 2012 Durstan R McDonald Teaching Award

Mary Shelton Simpson Vescovo

Scholar, teacher, leader in the diocese and the wider church, your life defines and models the vocation of lay theologian. Known for your superb mind and wide reading, you distinguished yourself in the master’s degree program at Perkins School of Theology. Seminary of the Southwest was delighted to welcome you as a Visiting Fellow in 1992 for a project on Julian of Norwich.

David Earle Bailey

Humble listener, comforter, mentor, companion, respecter of all persons. You are servant leader for people whose experience of life and of church is not necessarily shared by the majority.

James “Jay” Beattie Magness

Southwest alumnus, pastor, retired U.S. Navy captain, chaplain, and bishop suffragan for Federal Ministries. You support, encourage, teach, and lead others who are caring for prisoners, soldiers and their families, and the sick and wounded.

2012 Hal Brook Perry Award

Ernest W. McAfee, Jr.

Trusted pastor, visionary, creative and tireless priest of the church. You have answered the call to serve and lead the people of God doing whatever was needed in the parishes you have served following retirement from “active ministry.”

The 2012 Charles J. Cook Award in Servant Leadership

Helen Appelberg

Priest, joyful caregiver, visionary, tireless pastor, you have embodied the qualities of a servant leader.

2012 Trustee Award

Darin N. Digby

Seminary trustee, attorney and certified public accountant, author and lecturer, devoted Episcopalian, rock and roll and country band guitarist, and friend. As a member of the board of trustees, you have given faithful service to Seminary of the Southwest for 14 years. With your outstanding expertise and your own brand of dry humor you have led the board’s committees of finance and property for most of your tenure.

Martha J. Horne

Priest, President and Dean, Colleague, and Mentor, your leadership routinely reflects fundamental Christian virtues. Modest luminary and humble hero, you have exercised steady, faithful leadership in theological education during challenging times to build up the church and strengthen the witness of the Gospel.

Stanley Hauerwas

Texan, Canon, Teacher, Theologian, Bricklayer, Mentor, and Friend.  You have said that you sought to live a life that would make no sense if God did not exist. We honor you today because we believe that God has, in fact, made your life intelligible.

 Russell E. Schulz

Musician, composer, teacher, professor, tireless organist, intrepid choirmaster, mentor, advisor,and friend.  You have given your life’s work to the service of the Church, her worship and her musical heritage and you give to others your own joy and knowledge of the repertoire.

The 2011 Charles J. Cook Award in Servant Leadership

Jennifer Long

Catholic Worker, executive director of Casa Marianella, friend to thousands who have received shelter, food, clothing, new life, and friendship through the ministry of Casa Marianella.

The 2011 Durstan R McDonald Teaching Award

Corinne Ware

Faithful teacher, insightful author, friend and guide to students, visionary administrator.

You served faithfully and with distinction as a member of the faculty of your alma mater, Seminary of the Southwest for thirteen years.

The 2011 Hal Brook Perry Award

Paul Benson Wehner

Priest, pastor, servant leader, comforter in word and deed. You were called in 2003 to lead Grace Church, Galveston, Texas not long after your graduation from this seminary. For five years, you led and cared for the congregation and its many ministries. Then, in 2008, a storm of great proportions dramatically intensified your leadership among the people you had been serving and the Galveston community.

The 2011 Hal Brook Perry Award

Kyle Dice Seage

Parish priest, diocesan leader, stewardship advisor, inveterate fundraiser. You have a passion for God’s work that has not waned since you first felt a call to ordained ministry as a youngster at Camp McDowell in Alabama, your mother diocese. After graduation from University of the South, you became Alumni Director at Millsaps College before heading to Seminary of the Southwest as a postulant from the diocese of Mississippi.

May 11, 2010

James Scott Mayer

Native son of Texas, Seminary of the Southwest alumnus, Bishop of Northwest Texas, you lead as a true friend and lover of the people you serve.

Born in Dallas, educated at Texas Tech University, your work in sales was enjoyable, but a call to ordained ministry grew and persisted. That call was blessed by the Church of the Incarnation and the Diocese of Dallas, and you came to Austin for your seminary training and formation.

John Claggett Danforth

Episcopal priest, former three-term senator from Missouri, and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, you have dedicated yourself to reconciliation and peacemaking.

Born in St. Louis, graduated from Princeton University and then Yale University Law School and Yale Divinity School on the same day, you were ordained priest in the Episcopal Church and began your law practice and ministry in New York City before moving back to your home state of Missouri where you began a career in politics

James Scott Mayer

Native son of Texas, Seminary of the Southwest alumnus, Bishop of Northwest Texas, you lead as a true friend and lover of the people you serve.

Born in Dallas, educated at Texas Tech University, your work in sales was enjoyable, but a call to ordained ministry grew and persisted. That call was blessed by the Church of the Incarnation and the Diocese of Dallas, and you came to Austin for your seminary training and formation.

The 2010 Charles J. Cook Award in Servant Leadership

 Zane Wilemon

Founder and Executive Director of Comfort the Children International, Seminary of the Southwest alumnus, priest in the Diocese of Kansas, you lead by empowering those you work with to reach their full potential.

The 2010 Hal Brook Perry Award

John Harry Gunkel

Physician, pilgrim, faithful Christian. You are a missionary who takes the Great Commandment to heart as a call on your life.

You dedicated your life to the healing arts as a neonatal pediatrician, medical school teacher, and pharmaceutical researcher. After years of that ministry, you returned to San Antonio for what could rightfully be called an active retirement. 

The 2010 Hal Brook Perry Award

Esteban Saucedo-Nava

Minister for fifty-three years to congregations in Texas, Mexico and New Mexico, you have served God and the people of God as priest, pastor, counselor, and evangelist.

The 2010 Durstan R McDonald Teaching Award

Raymond Pickett