22 August 2001

[College of Preachers at Washington National Cathedral] The Governing Board of the College of Preachers, located on the grounds of Washington National Cathedral, has approved the Rev. James Corner Fenhagen II of Georgetown, South Carolina as the new Warden [Chief Executive] of the College. Summoned by the Governing Board from retirement, Fenhagen has agreed to serve as Warden of the College on a year-by-year basis. A nationally esteemed church leader and theological educator, Fenhagen is probably best known for his fourteen-year tenure (1978-1992) as Dean and President of the General Theological Seminary in New York City, where, in addition to administrative responsibilities, he taught in areas related to Christian spirituality and the practice of ministry. He is a Fellow and past faculty member of the College of Preachers.

Pending approval of the Governing Board's decision by the Rt. Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon, Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C. pro tempore, and the Trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, Fenhagen will begin his tenure as Warden on October 1, 2001.

The Chair of the College's Governing Board, James Rowland Lowe, Jr., stated how pleased he was that Fenhagen has accepted this call. "Jim Fenhagen is a man of many talents, and holds great stature within the religious community. Happily, we have persuaded him to come out of retirement to lead the College through a critical time in its history."

James Fenhagen was ordained in 1954 and served both rural and urban Episcopal congregations in Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia before becoming Director of Christian Education for the Diocese of Washington, D.C. and later Director of the Church and Ministry Program at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut. Following his tenure as the Dean of General Theological Seminary, he became Director of the Cornerstone Project of the Episcopal Church Foundation. He holds honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Virginia Theological Seminary, the University of the South, and Washington and Lee University. His publications include More Than Wanderers, Mutual Ministry, Ministry and Solitude, Invitation to Holiness, and Ministry for a New Time.

Fenhagen is married to the former Eulalie Swinton McFall, and the Fenhagens are the parents of three children. During an earlier period when the Fenhagen family lived Washington, D.C. (1963-1978), one of the Fenhagens' sons graduated from St. Albans School and a daughter graduated from National Cathedral School.

Fenhagen succeeds the Rev. Canon Erica B. Wood, who has been the College's Warden for the past ten years. Canon Wood, a recognized leader in the life of the College and Cathedral Close, plans to leave Washington in early September to become a Visiting Scholar at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The College of Preachers, a center for the continuing theological education of religious leaders, is located next to Washington National Cathedral at 3510 Woodley Road N.W. Its web site is www.collegeofpreachers.org.