By Rev. John T. Ford, CSC

Rev. George H. Tavard, A.A.
26 February 1922-13 August 2007

Father George H. Tavard, a priest of the Augustinians of the Assumption, died suddenly on 13 August 2007 in a Paris airport; he had been visiting relatives and friends in France and was returning to Boston, where he resided.

Tavard was born in Nancy, France, and studied at the Grand Seminaire de Nancy and the Catholic Faculties of Lyon, where he received a doctorate in theology. Ordained in 1947, he taught theology at Capenor House in Surrey, England, before coming to the United States, where he taught at Assumption College (Worcester, Massachusetts), Mount Mercy College (now Carlow University, Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania State University and the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, from which he retired in 1990 as Professor Emeritus. In addition, he served as visiting professor at a number of institutions, including The Catholic University of America and Princeton Theological Seminary.

During the Second Vatican Council (1862-65), Tavard was a peritus (expert) as well as a consultant to the Pontifical Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity. After the Council, he worked extensively in the field of ecumenism, as a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Conversations, the Anglican-Roman Catholic Conversations in the United States and the Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue in the United States. Last year he published his reflections on his decades-long ecumenical activity in Vatican II and the Ecumenical Way (Marquette University Press, 2006).

Tavard was the author of dozens of books both in French and in English, including The Catholic Approach to Protestantism, Holy Writ or Holy Church, Paul Tillich and the Christian Message, The Church Tomorrow, Woman in Christian Tradition and Juana Inés de la Cruz and the Theology of Beauty. The Washington Theological Consortium presented its Ecumenism Award to Tavard, along with Rev. Joseph Fitzmyer, SJ and Dr. John H. Reumann, for their outstanding theological contribution to the Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue, which led to the milestone 1999 Lutheran-Roman Catholic “Joint Declaration on Justification.”

Friends:

I promised I would post on the Blog my 10 points for new students so that they would be available to all who could not attend my [scintillating] campus talks!

Crossin’s Ten Points
For New Students in the Consortium

May they all be one.
Father, may they be one in us,
As you are in me and I am in you,
So that the world may believe it was you who sent me.
[John 17:21]

1. The Consortium website [www.washtheocon.org] has up-to-date information on events, course listings for the next semester, newsletter items, and links to all school Web Sites and libraries. Scrolling through the Consortium Blog [http://crossininthemorning.blogspot.com] will give more of a flavor of week-to-week life in the Consortium.

2. Consortium students can enroll in courses in the other member institutions while paying the tuition to her/his home institution. The Registrar of your institution must receive your cross registration form. [Please consult your school’s cross registration guidelines. While you cannot register online for Consortium courses—you must go through your Registrar—you can find the course listing and procedures on the Consortium website.]

3. Students can use the member libraries. To use the library of another institution a student will need a form [easily provided] from his/her own library and a valid I.D.

4. Ecumenical and interreligious knowledge and sensitivity are becoming increasingly important for ministry--in preparing interdenominational couples for marriage, in providing spiritual guidance to those not of our own tradition, and in responding to agreements forged by the Christian traditions.

5. While some are saying: All Christians are the same--The Consortium Schools are saying that the traditions are profoundly different. We are saying that for the ecumenical future, you will need more than superficial theological knowledge. We are saying that, to be truly ecumenical, we need to understand our traditions so well, so deeply, that the commonalities will become clear and new insights will emerge.

6. The Consortium member schools often require each master’s degree student to take a course in another Christian tradition. The Deans of the schools prefer that these courses be taken at the campus of another school to attain a fuller experience of the other tradition. Students often take several courses in the Consortium. In our 1996 survey, a random sample of graduates of Consortium schools said that—in light of their ministerial experience--they wish they had taken more courses in the Consortium. Recent conversations with graduates confirm this finding


7. The Consortium sponsors several annual events. These are free and open to all students. Details are available on the Consortium Website.

In the Fall Semester we have:

• The Annual Consortium Student Orientation sponsored by the Student Board at Catholic University on Thursday, September 6th at 4:30 PM in Caldwell Chapel. A Prayer Service is followed by dinner at a neighboring religious community for visiting students.
  
• An International Student Event in early November,
  
• A Student Essay Contest on an ecumenical theme. [The winning papers are published and there is a cash award for the winners.]

And in the Spring:

• A Prayer Service and Reception marking the Week of Prayer for Christian February 4, 2008 at the John Leland [Baptist] Center at 4:00 PM. The Consortium Ecumenism Awards will be given to Dr. Joan Brown Campbell [UCC/Baptist] former Director of the National Council of Churches and to Brother Jeffrey Gros, former Associate Director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
  

8. Each school has two representatives on the Consortium Student Board. These representatives can inform you about upcoming events and can give you insights about courses offered on their campuses. The Consortium office is always available to provide information to you [202-832-2675].

9. This coming January 8 to 11 Christian Churches’ Together, the new, ‘big-tent’ national ecumenical group, will meet here in Washington, One day of their meeting will be devoted to social justice advocacy for the poor. Students will be welcome to attend this day. [The Consortium website will offer more information on this opportunity as it becomes available.]

10. Let me ask you to pray for the ecumenical work of the Consortium that we may continue to be open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Rev. John W. Crossin, OSFS, Ph.D.
Executive Director
www.washtheocon.org

Friends:

I was sorry to hear the other day of the death in the Paris airport of Father George Tavard. I understand that he was returning to the United States after a family visit in France.

I first met George at a meeting of the North American Academy of Ecumenists. He was long-time ecumenists, having begun his work in the '50s. He worked at Vatican II as an expert--and would sometimes recount his experiences of the Council. His most recent book of essays recalls some of his early experiences.

George was easy to talk to--and both spoke and listened attentively.

The Consortium honored Father Tavard [and his friends John Reumann and Joseph Fitzmyer] in 2006 for his work on the Catholic-Lutheran Dialogue in the United States. This dialogue helped to lay some of the groundwork for the Joint Declaration on Justification approved by the Lutheran World Federation and the Vatican in 1999.

I am happy that we were able to honor George a year and a half ago.

May he rest in Peace.

John

Friends:

My first new student orientation for the fall semester--at
Virginia Theological Seminary--took place yesterday. The students
were attentive and enthusiastic.

For the first time I heard the humorous
presentation by Drs. Cook and Lewis of the joys [and perils] of the study
of Greek or Hebrew that the students were to begin today.

Dr. Amy Dyer gave her usual lucid presentation
on academic matters that everyone needs to know.

I was happy to meet Dr. Ian Markham, the new Dean and
President of VTS. He brings great energy to his new position.

For me, summer is now over--and there are many opportunities
to see old friends and meet new ones.

Peace,
John

Summertime...

Our blog has been quiet for a few months as we have been closing down the last academic year and preparing for the new--and taking vacations. My vacation was wonderful; and now I'm alone in the office this week while Marguerite and Fr. Crossin are out, but this relaxing state of affairs will not last long. The first autumn orientation is next Monday at the Virginia Theological Seminary, where Fr. Crossin will be giving his first talk to the seminary's Class of 2011.

Coming up at the Consortium this fall you can expect to see many of our usual activities, such as the New Student Orientation on September 6th and the Faculties' Convocation on September 24th, but there will be much that is new as well. Our updated website is nearly ready to upload and should be ready by the beginning of classes. Our new Certificate Program in Muslim-Christian Studies will begin, joining our recently-launched Certificate in Ecumenism. The Shalem Institute will host the Consortium's Spirituality Day October 20th. At the direction of the Council of Academic Deans, our observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be considerably expanded. And I'll be sending reminder notices to the schools as these events approach, with the hope that many will take advantage of these unique opportunities for ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.

So enjoy the last few days of summer, preferably in air-conditioned comfort, and please remember to keep us in your prayers as we make the final plans for our coming year together.