[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PACIFIC SCHOOL OF RELIGION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 22, 2016

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 150th anniversary of 
the Pacific School of Religion.
  Founded in 1866, the Pacific School of Religion (formerly known as 
the Pacific Theological Seminary) was established to serve as ``an 
institution of the people'' and ``a child of the churches'' by 
preparing spiritually-rooted leaders through rigorous scholarship, 
practical training, and immersive footwork. Firmly cemented in the 
history of social justice in the United States, the school served as a 
building block for ongoing service including pastoral ministry, non-
profit and civic leadership, and public policy.
  In 1901, the school moved to its first Berkeley location near the 
University of California, Berkeley campus. By 1916, because of the 
school's new nondenominational status and the faculty's growing 
interest in the importance of the world's religions to the Christian 
faith, the name was changed to its current name: Pacific School of 
Religion.
  During World War II, former President Arthur C. McGiffert and his 
colleague John C. Bennett voiced concerns of community members against 
Japanese internment camps, including the imprisonment of several 
seminarians. After the war, President McGiffert went on to remedy war-
torn communities in both Europe and Asia through the establishment of 
the Post-War Rehabilitation School at PSR which trained students to 
minister to these communities.
  Similarly, the school provided necessary leadership for other 
intuitions with similar goals to promote education and dialog in 
underrepresented communities. The school later formed the Graduate 
Theological Union, a daring experiment in ecumenical cooperation 
between Protestant and Catholic institutions. This development aimed to 
bridge Protestant and Catholic Studies and bring forth new fields of 
study in religion, such as LGBTQ and Gender Studies.
  Over the years, the Pacific School of Religion has gathered some of 
our nation's leading voices of social change and theological writers, 
including Georgia Harkness who later became the first tenured woman 
professor at the school in the 1950s. Today, graduates are well 
recognized in their respective fields and are a leading force in 
promoting social justice and compassion based-practices around the 
world. Their leadership and commitment to theology and religious 
studies have been critical starting points to cultivating positive 
change throughout our nation.
  On behalf of California's 13th Congressional District, I extend my 
sincerest congratulations to the Pacific School of Religion on this 
important milestone. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to its 
success over the years. I wish the faculty, students, and 
administration continued success in the years to come.

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