[Sewanee] A Convocation for the Conferring of Degrees will be held in All Saints’ Chapel at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 10, to recognize the 42 students who have completed their studies at The School of Theology. The preacher for this year’s commencement service is Bishop Wright from the Diocese of Atlanta. A luncheon in McClurg Hall honoring the class of 2013 seminary graduates, their guests, families, faculty, and staff will follow the service. The convocation will be streamed live for those unable to attend.

Honorary degrees will be presented to the Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, the Rt. Rev. Douglas Hahn, and the Rt. Rev. Robert Christopher Wright at the May 10 School of Theology commencement.

The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer

The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer was ordained the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Central Florida on March 24, 2012.  Before being called to Central Florida, Brewer served as rector at Calvary-St. George’s Church, a 500-member, multicultural and multiracial parish with landmarked historic buildings in downtown Manhattan.  Before moving to New York, he was rector of Church of the Good Samaritan, Paoli, Pennsylvania, for 11 years.

Bishop Brewer was assistant professor of pastoral theology at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, from 1992–1996.  For 16 years previously, he had served parishes in Winter Park, Florida, including The Episcopal Church of the New Covenant, a diocesan church plant.  He was ordained a deacon at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lynchburg, Virginia, and ordained a priest at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Winter Park, Florida.  He has published articles in The Anglican Digest, with articles appearing regularly from 1985–2007.  Other publications include Bible Reading Fellowship: Journey Through the Word Series and The Coming of the Lord, Second Corinthians.

Bishop Brewer earned his B.A. from Lynchburg College, Virginia, where he received the Hugh M. Burleigh Award for Outstanding Ministerial Student in 1973.  He received his M.Div. from The Virginia Theological Seminary in 1976.  He is in the process of completing his doctorate at Fuller Theological Seminary and Trinity School for Ministry.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas Hahn

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas Hahn was ordained the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Lexington on Dec. 15, 2012.  A native of Georgia, Bishop Hahn received his B.A. from the University of Georgia in 1974.  He has, however, had a long-standing relationship with the people of Kentucky.  Many generations of his family were Kentucky teachers and farmers.  He went to graduate school in Louisville, where he received his M.Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1977.

He began his ministry in 1978 in the Baptist Church as a hospital chaplain of the New Orleans Baptist Hospital.  During his time in The Episcopal Church, Bishop Hahn has served several parishes within the Diocese of Atlanta from 1990 to the present.  As rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Columbus, Georgia, Bishop Hahn led a progressive, inviting parish, widely recognized in the city and diocese for beautiful worship, creative children’s programming, and ministries among and alongside diverse racial, religious, and cultural groups.  In 2003, Bishop Hahn’s ministry as convocational dean included oversight of five towns, seven parishes, and 12 priests.

Bishop Hahn earned a diploma in Anglican Studies from the General Theological Seminary in 1996.  He received his D.Min. in pastoral leadership from the University of the South’s School of Theology in 2010.  His thesis is titled, “Infusion: Youth Engaging Issues of Faith and Society.”

The Rt. Rev. Robert Christopher Wright

The Rt. Rev. Robert Christopher Wright was ordained the 10th bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta on Oct. 13, 2012, the first African American to become an Episcopal bishop in Georgia. Bishop Wright was born in a Roman Catholic orphanage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  After five years with the U.S. Navy, he received a degree in history and political science from Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1991.  After graduating, he worked as a child advocate for two D.C. mayors and for the Children’s Defense Fund.  He later earned a certificate in biblical studies at Ridley Hall, Cambridge University in England in 1997, and a M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1998.

He was ordained a priest in 1999 in the Diocese of Washington.  Before moving to Atlanta, he was canon pastor and vicar of the congregation of St. Saviour at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and chaplain of the Cathedral School in New York City.  At the time of his election as bishop, he was rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta, where he had served for a 10-year period that saw St. Paul’s grow to be the largest predominantly African American congregation in the Episcopal Church.

During the past decade, Wright has served the Atlanta community and the diocese as a member of Leadership Atlanta, the boards of Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School and St. Laurence School, and as dean of the Mid-Atlanta Convocation, chair of the Commission on Ministry, and youth dean at Camp Mikell.