Notes about people

by Jerry L. Van Marter

      Michael R. Walker, a Ph.D. candidate and teaching fellow at Princeton Theological Seminary, has been named executive director of Presbyterians for Renewal (PFR). He begins his new work Jan. 3, succeeding the Rev. Joe Rightmyer, who retired earlier this year.

      Walker, who received his B.A. in religion from Hampden-Sydney (VA) College and his M.Div. from Princeton, has focused his doctoral studies on the history of doctrine, particularly Reformation studies. He also serves as associate for seminary ministry at Anchor Presbyterian Church in Wrightstown, PA.

      “Our denomination is wrestling with its own identity,” Walker said upon his appointment Dec. 1, “yet PFR is well positioned to expand its partnership with our denomination, offering a distinctively evangelical vision with wide appeal.”

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      The Rev. George F. Pope has been elected executive director of the Medical Benevolence Foundation (MBF). He assumes his new position Jan. 1. Pope has served as an MBF trustee since 1999 and as treasurer the last two years. 

      Formerly pastor of Community Presbyterian Church in San Marino, CA, Pope has also served congregations in Michigan and Illinois. He graduated from Alma (MI) College and Princeton Theological Seminary and holds a D.Min. from San Francisco Theological Seminary.

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      When she needed a contemporary role model in the field of religion to write about in her new book on American heroines, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) chose Marj Carpenter, former director of the Presbyterian News Service and former General Assembly moderator.

      American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped Our Country also includes profiles of  historical figures such as Amelia Earhardt, athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias, artist Mary Cassatt, and Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, who laid the groundwork for Catholic parochial schools in the United States. Contemporary role models include Sally Ride, Condoleezza Rice, Madeline Albright, Barbara Walters, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Nadia Comaneci, Elizabeth Dole and Beverly Sills.

      Carpenter and several other of the book’s subjects were honored during a luncheon in New York on Nov. 8, sponsored by HarperCollins, the book’s publisher.

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      The Rev. G. Lee Hinson‑Hasty has been named coordinator for theological education and seminary relations in the Congregational Ministries Division in Louisvlle.

      Hinson-Hasty, who is currently director of church relations at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC, will be responsible for advocating for and developing support for the mission of theological education in partnership with the Committee on Theological Education, the 10 seminaries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and the PC(USA)’s governing bodies.

      A graduate of Wake Forest University and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Hinson‑Hasty is currently a doctoral candidate at McCormick Theological Seminary. He begins his new work at the Presbyterian Center in Louisville on Jan.17.

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      Bellewood Presbyterian Homes for Children, based in Louisville, was recently named one of nine national recipients for a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund  a mentoring program for homeless youth in Louisville called Project THRIVE. The project offices will be located at Bardstown Road Presbyterian Church.