Seminary president search chair long-time liberal activist The Layman Online Wednesday, November 3,1999 DECATUR, Ga. – The Rev. Joseph Harvard, who served as the chairman of Douglas W. Oldenburg's successful campaign for moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1998, has been named chairman of the search committee for Oldenburg's successor at Columbia Theological Seminary. Oldenburg will retire as president of the seminary in 2000. Harvard, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Durham, N.C., recently participated in organization of the first More Light Churches chapter in the New Hope Presbytery in North Carolina. A Columbia graduate who once studied under Karl Barth in Switzerland, Harvard has long been a champion of liberal causes in the denomination. Harvard is also a member of Columbia's board of trustees, which recently announced Oldenburg's retirement. The board granted Oldenburg a six-month sabbatical, beginning June 30, with official retirement set for Dec. 31, 2000. In a news release, the board praised Oldenburg for the seminary's financial gains, citing a budget increase from $3.9 million to $10.1 million and endowment growth from $27 million to $155 million. The board said a capital campaign raised $34 million dollars. No reference was made in the news release about one controversial activity at the seminary during Oldenburg's presidency. A student-led "National Coming Out Day" service was held in 1998 in the seminary's chapel. The sermon was by non-PCUSA student Karla Fleshman, who declared, "I didn't magically turn queer on my 21st birthday, I've always been gay." A seminary official said the service was not sanctioned by the seminary. Oldenburg's term as moderator of the PCUSA ended in June 1999. In an interview shortly before the 211th General Assembly, he reiterated his support for ordaining practicing homosexuals and theological diversity.

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