Nathan D. Baxter
Encyclopedia
The Rt. Rev. Nathan Dwight Baxter, AHC
, is the 10th bishop
of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and the 1,010 in succession in the Episcopal Church. He was elected as bishop coadjutor on July 22, 2006, and consecrated on October 22, 2006. Bishop Baxter's good friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave the sermon.
Directly before being elected Baxter spent two and a half years serving as the rector
of St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
. A third generation clergyman, he was dean of Washington National Cathedral
from 1991 to 2003 and served as Chief Administrative Officer of the Protestant Episcopal Church Foundation. Before becoming dean of the of Cathedral, Baxter served as the administrative dean and associate professor of Pastoral Theology and Episcopal Divinity School
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, seminary dean and associate professor of Church and Ministry at Lancaster Theological Seminary
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
, and chaplain and professor of Religious Studies at St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia. Baxter has also served at other parishes in Pa and Va.
Baxter, a Harrisburg native, he is the oldest of three sons (Rev Charles Wayne Baxter and Larry Baxter) to the Late Elder Belgium N. Baxter and Augusta Baxter.
He is married to Mary Ellen Baxter (Walker), an educator with degrees from Hampton University and Harvard University. They have two children David and Timika Baxter, and two foster children, John Harmon and Thadbrean Dowling. They also have 9 grandchildren: Joshua Harmon, Jerena Harmon, and Justin Harmon (John); Shaquan Dowling, Zaire Dowling, Malachi Dowling, and Zion Dowling (Thadbrean); and Tyler Tyson and Geoff Trotter (Timika).
He graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary
in 1976 with honors and prizes in homiletics and Christology and earned a Doctor of Ministry there in 1985. Baxter has also completed programs at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California
, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Warren Deem Management Institute at the Columbia University Executive Center. Baxter has received numerous other honors from colleges, universities and seminaries including being named an honorary alumnus at the Episcopal Divinity School
1991, and receiving eight honorary doctorates [Dickinson College, Messiah College, Colgate University, St. Paul's College, York College, Eliszabethtown College, Ohio Dominican University, Lincoln University]and the Presidential Medal from Millersville University.
Baxter is an associate of the Order of the Holy Cross
, chaplain of the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Other Memberships include Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the Cosmos Club of Washington, and a life member of the Union of Black Episcopalians and the NAACP. He is also a decorated U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War
, having received the Vietnam Cross of Gallenty with Palm and the Combat Medical Badge
.
He was selected to deliver the prayer for the nation at the White House Millennium Celebration
, which was televised internationally. He was acknowledge by Mrs. Nancy Reagan for his leadership in planning the Funeral of President Ronald Reagan.
Order of the Holy Cross
The Order of the Holy Cross is an international Anglican monastic Order that follows the Rule of St. Benedict.-History:The Order was founded in 1884 by the Rev. James Otis Sargent Huntington, an Episcopal priest, in New York City. The Order moved to Maryland briefly before settling in West Park,...
, is the 10th bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and the 1,010 in succession in the Episcopal Church. He was elected as bishop coadjutor on July 22, 2006, and consecrated on October 22, 2006. Bishop Baxter's good friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu gave the sermon.
Directly before being elected Baxter spent two and a half years serving as the rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
. A third generation clergyman, he was dean of Washington National Cathedral
Washington National Cathedral
The Washington National Cathedral, officially named the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, is a cathedral of the Episcopal Church located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Of neogothic design, it is the sixth-largest cathedral in the world, the second-largest in...
from 1991 to 2003 and served as Chief Administrative Officer of the Protestant Episcopal Church Foundation. Before becoming dean of the of Cathedral, Baxter served as the administrative dean and associate professor of Pastoral Theology and Episcopal Divinity School
Episcopal Divinity School
The Episcopal Divinity School is a seminary of the Episcopal Church based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Known throughout the Anglican Communion for prophetic teaching and action on issues of civil rights and social justice, its faculty and students have been directly involved in many of the social...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, seminary dean and associate professor of Church and Ministry at Lancaster Theological Seminary
Lancaster Theological Seminary
Lancaster Theological Seminary, a seminary of the United Church of Christ in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1825 by members of the German Reformed Church in the United States to provide theological education for prospective clergy and other church leaders...
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
, and chaplain and professor of Religious Studies at St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia. Baxter has also served at other parishes in Pa and Va.
Baxter, a Harrisburg native, he is the oldest of three sons (Rev Charles Wayne Baxter and Larry Baxter) to the Late Elder Belgium N. Baxter and Augusta Baxter.
He is married to Mary Ellen Baxter (Walker), an educator with degrees from Hampton University and Harvard University. They have two children David and Timika Baxter, and two foster children, John Harmon and Thadbrean Dowling. They also have 9 grandchildren: Joshua Harmon, Jerena Harmon, and Justin Harmon (John); Shaquan Dowling, Zaire Dowling, Malachi Dowling, and Zion Dowling (Thadbrean); and Tyler Tyson and Geoff Trotter (Timika).
He graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary
Lancaster Theological Seminary
Lancaster Theological Seminary, a seminary of the United Church of Christ in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was founded in 1825 by members of the German Reformed Church in the United States to provide theological education for prospective clergy and other church leaders...
in 1976 with honors and prizes in homiletics and Christology and earned a Doctor of Ministry there in 1985. Baxter has also completed programs at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the Warren Deem Management Institute at the Columbia University Executive Center. Baxter has received numerous other honors from colleges, universities and seminaries including being named an honorary alumnus at the Episcopal Divinity School
Episcopal Divinity School
The Episcopal Divinity School is a seminary of the Episcopal Church based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Known throughout the Anglican Communion for prophetic teaching and action on issues of civil rights and social justice, its faculty and students have been directly involved in many of the social...
1991, and receiving eight honorary doctorates [Dickinson College, Messiah College, Colgate University, St. Paul's College, York College, Eliszabethtown College, Ohio Dominican University, Lincoln University]and the Presidential Medal from Millersville University.
Baxter is an associate of the Order of the Holy Cross
Order of the Holy Cross
The Order of the Holy Cross is an international Anglican monastic Order that follows the Rule of St. Benedict.-History:The Order was founded in 1884 by the Rev. James Otis Sargent Huntington, an Episcopal priest, in New York City. The Order moved to Maryland briefly before settling in West Park,...
, chaplain of the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Other Memberships include Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, the Cosmos Club of Washington, and a life member of the Union of Black Episcopalians and the NAACP. He is also a decorated U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, having received the Vietnam Cross of Gallenty with Palm and the Combat Medical Badge
Combat Medical Badge
The Combat Medical Badge is an award of the United States Army which was first created in January 1945. The badge is awarded to any member of the Army Medical Department, at the rank of Colonel or below, who are assigned or attached to a medical unit which provides medical support to a ground...
.
He was selected to deliver the prayer for the nation at the White House Millennium Celebration
White House Millennium Council
The White House Millennium Council was an American organization established by Executive Order 13072 in 1998 by President Bill Clinton to commemorate the millennium...
, which was televised internationally. He was acknowledge by Mrs. Nancy Reagan for his leadership in planning the Funeral of President Ronald Reagan.