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Ohio rector, business school grad to join new seminary federation

Conrad SelnickNOVEMBER 12, 2013, Chicago—Bexley Seabury President Roger A. Ferlo announced today that the Rev. T. Conrad Selnick will become the federation’s vice president for advancement and church relations in January 2014. Selnick is currently rector of St. Christopher’s by the River Episcopal Church in Gates Mills, Ohio in the Diocese of Ohio.

“We are building a center for Episcopal learning and discipleship at the crossroads of the country, and I am delighted that Conrad will join us,” said Ferlo. “His experience as a rector, a consultant and a leader in the wider church is the perfect fit for our mission.”

As vice president, Selnick will support Ferlo in soliciting major gifts to support the seminary’s mission. He will also lead the federation’s alumni relations efforts, direct the annual fund and initiate and expand a planned giving program. “Bexley Hall and Seabury Western faced hard realities and made some faithful, courageous choices,” said Selnick. “The Federation’s board is venturing, eyes wide open, into theological education in the 21st century. Instead of repairing leaking roofs, they are taking the creative route, a blue-sky journey. I find that exciting, and I am looking forward to being a part of it.”

Selnick, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins, a master of divinity from Episcopal Divinity School and a master’s degree in organizational development and analysis from the Weatherhead School of Business at Case Western Reserve University, was ordained in the Diocese of Southern Ohio and has served since 1990 in the Diocese of Ohio. He has been rector of two parishes and served in congregational ministry in several other roles. A licensed chemical dependency counselor, Selnick has worked as a clinical therapist and as an organizational consultant in secular settings.

“I am grateful to Conrad for his many years of faithful service to the church in Ohio, and I am glad that he has agreed to continue that service at Bexley Seabury,” said the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth Jr., bishop of Ohio and a Bexley Seabury trustee. “The Federation forms leaders to proclaim God’s mission in the 21st century, and I know that Conrad will contribute faithfully and well to that work.”

Selnick will be based at Seabury Western, located in the headquarters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Chicago, and also spend significant time at the Bexley campus in Columbus, where he began his ministry more than 25 years ago. He is married to the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton, who is the presiding bishop of the ELCA. They are the parents of two adult children:  Rebeckah, who is married to Michael Ray, and Susannah.

As an Episcopal center for learning and discipleship at the crossroads of the nation, the Bexley Hall Seabury Western Seminary Federation forms lay and clergy leaders to proclaim God’s mission in the world, creating new networks of Christian formation, entrepreneurial leadership and bold inquiry in the service of the Gospel. Learn more at bexleyseabury.edu.

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