On October 20, 2016, at Evensong, The General Theological Seminary held its annual observance offering Prayer for the Commemoration of our Benefactors. The event brought together members of Seminary community–students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, and friends–in thoughtful remembrance.
The annual Commemoration of Benefactors has been observed at General Seminary since the Eve of All Saints 1890. It is a time when we remember with gratitude those who have given generously to the Seminary and who have cared that it be worthy of its mission.
During the service, the Very Rev. Kurt H. Dunkle, Dean and President, read aloud from the pulpit the names of our founders, Bishops Theodore Dehon, John Henry Hobart, and William White, and devoted laymen Clement Clarke Moore, Jacob Sherred, and John Pintard. General Seminary also praises God for all those who have built and maintained this Seminary, particularly Dean Eugene Augustus Hoffman and his family, who designed, funded, and oversaw the construction of what we know now as the Close.
The observance is also an opportunity to remember all who gave of their means and life and love to assure that the Seminary doors continue to be open to everyone in our own time.