Evensong Memorial for Bishop Frederick H. Borsch on May 17
The Rt. Rev. Frederick H. Borsch, retired bishop of Los Angeles, who served as dean and president of CDSP from 1972-80, died on April 11 at his home in Philadelphia. He was 81 and had begun treatment for a blood cancer last fall.
On May 17 at 5:30 pm, during the spring board of trustees meeting, CDSP will hold a service of evensong to celebrate Bishop Borsch’s life. The Rt. Rev. Barry Beisner ’78, who studied at CDSP under Borsch’s leadership, will officiate, and Professor Emeritus Donn Morgan, who served on the faculty during Borsch’s tenure, will preach.
“I met Fred Borsch early in his career when he was dean of CDSP,” said Dean Richardson. “What stands out from then and the years that followed was his humble but firm and prophetic leadership, whether in the classroom, the chaplaincy at Princeton, or as bishop of Los Angeles. He lived a beautiful balance of the pastoral and prophetic ministries called out of him. Fred was also a scholar for the church, leaving us a great gift in the form of sermons and essays on the New Testament parables and other writings. CDSP remains indebted to his visionary leadership.”
The New York Times chronicled Borsch’s lifelong commitment to justice and equality. “When riots erupted in Los Angeles, fed by the acquittal of four police officers accused of beating a black taxi driver, Rodney King…Bishop Borsch wrote, ‘In biblical terms, if the society fails to care for the poor, for the widows, the orphans and the strangers in their midst, that society will come to tragedy.'”
