News

Passages

Deaths, promotions, and other items from the religion world.

DiedHarold Henniger, 80, a Baptist expert in the growth of Sunday schools, on October 25 after a long bout with a heart condition. Elmer Towns, dean of the school of religion at Liberty University, credited Henniger with being “extremely influential in [Towns’s] research and writing of The Ten Largest Sunday Schools.” Towns added, “The book changed the face of church evangelism.” Henniger became pastor of Canton (Ohio) Baptist Temple, at one time the fifth-largest church in America, in 1947.

DiedC. E. (“Ted”) Andrew, former executive director of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, on November 11 after battling a severe staph infection.

NamedPhyllis B. Anderson, as president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California, effective February 1. She becomes the first woman to lead a Lutheran seminary in the United States. The seminary is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

ResigningKathleen McChesney, as director of the Catholic Church’s Office of Child and Youth Protection. McChesney, the former No. 3 official at the FBI, was hired in 2002 and promised a two-year commitment. Her office oversaw a massive study of the clergy sexual-abuse scandal that revealed more than 4,300 clerics have been accused of abusing 10,667 minors since 1950. She also oversaw the implementation of new “zero tolerance” reforms that remove priests after a single incident of abuse, as well as an independent-minded National Review Board of prominent lay Catholics that monitors the bishops’ progress. RNS

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

The Repository of Canton, Ohio, has an obituary of Harold Henniger.

The news service of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America has an article about Phyllis B. Anderson’s position as president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.

News elsewhere about Kathleen McChesney’s resignation from Office for Child and Youth Protection includes:

Head of child safety office to step down | The former FBI agent who established the child protection office created by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops said Monday she will step down in February after more than two years on the job. (Associated Press, Nov. 15, 2004)

Head of bishops’ child protection office plans to resign in February | Kathleen McChesney, who set up the U.S. bishops’ office to help dioceses implement child sex abuse prevention policies, plans to resign Feb. 25 after publication of the 2004 diocesan compliance audits. (Catholic News Service, Nov. 17, 2004)

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The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

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