John Hines Day 2009
Oct 01, 2009
Presiding Bishop John Hines
Hines marker unveiled
Gathered Southwest community
Members of the Hines Family
Austin historian Cynthia Beeman
Professor-emeritus Charles Cook '74 reflects
John Hines presents 1978 Blandy Lectures
Bishop Hines gave 1994 Commencement sermon
Check several links below the following text for more about Presiding Bishop John Hines
Seminary of the Southwest celebrated the legacy of its founder during its annual John Hines Day on campus October 1. Bishop John Hines, the twenty-second presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, founded the seminary in 1952 when he was bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Texas.
The day's events included the unveiling of an Official Texas Historical Marker (from the Texas Historical Commission) honoring Bishop Hines, a sermon on his dynamic ministry by the Rev. Kathleen Russell, Southwest professor, and personal reflections of the seminary's founder by the Rev. Charles James Cook, professor-emeritus of pastoral theology and a 1974 seminary graduate. The celebration took place two days before the ninety-ninth anniversary of John Hines' birth.
Two of John and Helen Hines' children - Nancy Smith Hines and the Rev. Chris Hines - attended the celebration with Chris' son Caleb Davishines and his family. Cynthia Beeman, an Austin historian who spearheaded the creation of the Hines historical plaque, were among the seminary's guests.
"We do him an injustice if we think that his prophetic voice was all about the words," preached Russell, assistant professor of contextual theology for mission. "It was all about the action too, the action that he was able to take because he had the gifts of courage and vision, and also because he had another gift that is essential to leadership - clarity about his vocation and his identity. For him there could be no separation between words and deeds. This is who I am and so this is what I must do," she said.
During his talk that concluded Hines Day, Cook recalled what Bishop Hines preached at his church on the campus of the University of North Carolina in 1977. "He, of course, delivered a magnificent sermon, but it was the closing challenge of his message that remains with me to this day: ‘Why would those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ and strive to walk in his footsteps, think for a minute that what happened to him will not happen to us?' That statement should haunt all of us - especially those who lead in Christ's name," Cook said.
Hines was elected presiding bishop in 1964 after 23 years of ministry. Hines led the three-million-member church through a ten-year era of social activism while the United States was being reshaped by the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War. He insisted on the equality of all people, developed a church program to aid inner-city people and, with church shares and thousands of proxies in hand, urged General Motors to divest itself of holdings in South Africa during a stockholders' meeting in 1971 - well before the movement for divestiture became widespread.
Cook noted what was foundational to Hines' ministry during his Hines Day reflection. Hines returned to Seminary of the Southwest in 1986 to preach during the twentieth anniversary of the seminary's Christ Chapel. During that sermon Hines proclaimed - "The church needs persons who are willing to stand up to the principalities and powers when necessary. The engagement of Christ and culture does not always mean that Christ can be overwhelmed by cultural desires and expectations."
After his tenure as presiding bishop, Hines retired to the mountains of western North Carolina with Helen in 1974. They later moved to Austin where she preceded him in death. Bishop Hines presented his final public sermon during Southwest's 1994 commencement and died three years later.
In his biography, John E. Hines, Granite on Fire, the Rev. Kenneth Kesselus, a 1972 Seminary of the Southwest graduate, aptly described Hines: "He stood fast in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets who could not be intimidated or compromised when convinced they understood God's will."
John Hines Links
YouTube ten-minute 1981 Interview with Bishop John Hines
Rev. Kathleen Russell's Hines Day 2009 Sermon
Rev. Charles James Cook's Hines Day 2009 Reflections on John Hines
Travis County Historical Commission John Hines Plaque Text
