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Distinguished Alums - Service and Merit Awards

In 2003, the Alumni/ae Association initiated the Service and Merit Awards to honor the outstanding work of Seabury alums. The Service award is given for exemplary service to the seminary. The Merit award is given for service to the larger Episcopal Church.

Recipients for the awards for 2003 were Richard Winters, Seabury Trustee, for the Service Award and Wendell Gibbs, Bishop of the diocese of Michigan, for the Merit Award.

Richard Winters
Service Award 2003

Richard Winters, a 1993 M. Div. graduate, was cited for his unflinching dedication to the mission and work of Seabury through his personal support and in successfully making the case for support in his own and in other parishes. His active involvement as a member of the Board of Trustees, chair of its Development Committee and as a member of Trustee Campaign Steering Committee were recognized as special examples of his leadership and support. During his tenure as chair of the Trustee Development Committee, annual giving to Seabury has more than doubled, new programs like Seabury Evenings have been initiated, alumni/ae programs have been completely revitalized and a new "branding" for the seminary has been completed.

Winters is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Duke University where he also graduated from the law school. He practiced law in Chicago before attending Seabury. Since graduation, he has served parishes in Glenview Illinois and Saginaw, Michigan before becoming rector at St. Paul's, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Wendell Gibbs
Merit Award 2003

A 1987 graduate of Seabury, Wendell Gibbs has served as curate at Emmanuel Church, an urban parish in Rockford, Illinois, as associate rector at Grace Church in Utica, New York, as rector at Four Point Parish (four small rural churches) in Waterville, New York and as rector of St. Andrew's Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. In all these positions, Gibbs was a vigorous leader, innovator and active participant in community organizations and outreach programs.

Active in both dioceses in which he served, Gibbs has been a member of the Commission on Congregational Life, Liturgical Commission, Christian Education Commission and Diocesan Council.

On the national church level, Bishop Gibbs has been a deputy to the General Convention, a member and mentor of Black Leaders and Diocesan Executives, the Organization of Black Episcopal Seminarians and Commission on Black Ministries. He has also been involved with the Model Parish Project in the Office of Children's Ministries. Gibbs was elected Bishop of Michigan in 2000 and received an honorary degree from Seabury that year.

John L. Dreibelbis
Service Award 2004

The life and work of John Dreibelbis can best be described as a journey of service. After graduating from Seabury in 1959, he served parishes in such diverse communities as Evanston, Chicago's South Side and in South Dakota. Even while completing his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, where he also served as the University's Director of Management Development Seminars, he continued his commitment of service to his seminary alma mater and to people and parishes in the Chicago community.

When John Dreibelbis joined the faculty of Seabury, he brought a unique combination of talents as priest, teacher, scholar, researcher, author and counselor to a new position of service.

As professor of Christian Ministries, he brought his creative skills to the "Plunge Program" in which seminary students immerse themselves in the work of parishes across the country, all carefully selected by John. Always a popular teacher, he is often asked to preach at ordinations of Seabury graduates. In both these roles, he is able to bring the life and work of Seabury and its students to the attention of clergy across the country. John's management experience and understanding of volunteer leadership have made him a valued counselor to staff and advisor to the Board of Trustees and its standing committees. Several key individuals have been members of the Board of Trustees because of John's original recommendation.

John Dreibelbis brought further recognition to Seabury when he successfully gained funding for his research project, "Toward a Higher Quality of Christian Ministry." That project, funded by the Lilly Endowment, is the most comprehensive research ever conducted on this topic in the Episcopal Church. As research results are published in major theological publications, and in a book due out next year, Seabury's image as a center of innovative learning will again be highlighted. Beyond its initial recognition, research results will be studied by seminaries across the nation as they prepare clergy and other leaders for churches.

Darrel Proffitt
Merit Award 2004

Darrell Proffitt lives in the city of Lawrence in the state of Kansas, places that are famous for high velocity wind storms and amazing basketball teams. When Darrel became rector of St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Lawrence in 1999, he must have brought a bit of a cyclone and certainly a fast break to that congregation. That church has never been the same since!

Since his arrival, attendance has more than doubled, reaching up to 1400 on religious holidays. When St. Margaret's was reported as the second fastest growing congregation in the Episcopal Church, Darrel was pleased, but not surprised. The vigor and enthusiasm of St. Margaret's parishioners simply reflect their rector's practical and very successful approach to congregational development.

Darrel Proffitt believes church traditions are fine, but that the church should not be handcuffed by theme-because it is more important for the church to be relevant. The competition is not a church down the street; it is the Sunday paper, children's soccer games, golf and work schedules. Offering flexible worship times makes the church relevant to people's needs, and enables it to grow. Darrel would claim he is simply meeting people where they are. While only 30 percent of those who attend his services are Episcopalians, they continue to come, they bring others and they support the church financially.

Being flexible was especially relevant when the Kansas Jayhawks were playing in a championship game that was in conflict with the Easter Vigil at St. Margaret's. Darrel could not change the time of the game, but he could move the Easter Vigil up so basketball fans would not miss either. After the Vigil, they watched the game on the church's PowerPoint screen.

As a leader and a role model for the Episcopal Church, Darrel has led the way in demonstrating what our church can become if it is willing to focus not on "growing Episcopalians, but on growing followers of Jesus Christ."

Darrel Proffitt is a graduate of Kansas University. He earned his Master of Divinity at Seabury in 1991 and served in parishes in Kenilworth and Sterling, Illinois, before accepting the call to St. Margaret's. While in Illinois, he enrolled in Seabury Institute's Advanced Studies in Congregational Development and received his Doctor of Ministry degree from the Seminary in 1999.