Prominent figures in the Episcopal Church in the United States have been honoured at the annual convocation of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. The convocation also hosted a lecture by the first woman bishop in the Church of Canada.

The president of the Church Pension Fund, Alan Blanchard, received an honorary doctorate, as did the Revd Peter Gomes (Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard University), Lucy Collins Nazro (head of St Andrew's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas) and the Rt Revd Andrew Smith, Bishop of Connecticut.

The Rt Revd Victoria Matthews, Bishop of Edmonton, delivered the Cheney Lecture in Yale Divinity School's Marquand Chapel. The Bishop, who is a graduate of Berkeley Divinity School and a trustee of Yale University, reflected on the future of theological education in the light of challenges facing the church.

Bishop Victoria highlighted the long tradition of leadership formation at Yale (three of the candidates in the November 2000 presidential election studied at Yale), and pointed to Yale's continuing commitment to theological education, as witnessed in the current $41.8 million renovations of the Sterling Divinity Quadrangle.

When the renovations are completed, Berkeley Divinity School will move into new worship, administration and program spaces within the Quadrangle sharing updated teaching and library facilities with the Yale University Divinity School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. The renovations include a restored central chapel. Funding for Berkeley's space has come from numerous sources in the Episcopal Church, including the Diocese of Connecticut, St Thomas' Church New York City, and an anonymous $400,000 donation.