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Bishop Rice to Preach at Alumni Convocation on October 12

Church Divinity School of the Pacific will award honorary degrees to the Rev. Canon Michael Barlowe DMin ’06, Barbara Creed, and the Rev. Canon Britt Olson ’96 at its annual alumni convocation on October 12.

“We are delighted to welcome these distinguished Episcopal leaders to Holy Hill and to recognize their service to our seminary and the wider church,” said the Very Rev. W. Mark Richardson, president and dean. “Our community has been enriched by each of them, and I look forward to expressing our collective gratitude for their ministries.”

The degrees will be awarded at the convocation Eucharist in All Saints Chapel at 5:45 p.m. The Rt. Rev. David Rice, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, will preach, and Olson will preside. A reception will follow the service at 7 p.m. Guests are invited to register online.

Barlowe, currently executive officer of the Episcopal Church’s General Convention, served the Diocese of California from 2002-2012, first as missioner for congregational development and then as canon to the ordinary. During that time, he completed his Doctor of Ministry degree at CDSP. He has also served in the Dioceses of Iowa and New Jersey, and holds an MDiv from the General Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College.

Creed, chair of the Church Pension Fund board of trustees, has long been a leader in the Dioceses of California and El Camino Real, where she currently lives. She helped lead the fundraising effort that now endows CDSP’s St. Margaret’s Visiting Professorship of Women in Ministry, and also served on the boards of the Graduate Theological Union and Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco. She is of counsel at Trucker Huss, the largest employee benefits law firm on the West Coast, where she has practiced law for 25 years. She holds a J.D. from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.

Olson, who served as canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Northern California for seven years, is vicar of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Seattle, where she is helping to lead the congregation’s revitalization. She is a consultant to congregations through the Diocese of Olympia’s College for Congregational Development, and has also served as canon for evangelism and congregational development in the Diocese of El Camino Real and at parishes in Oregon and Nevada. In addition to an MDiv from CDSP, Olson holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon.

Church Divinity School of the Pacific, the only Episcopal seminary on the West Coast and a founding member of the Graduate Theological Union, educates students who can proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world in traditional and emerging ministries. Learn more about our residential and low-residence programs at www.cdsp.edu.