We were honored to bestow the Distinguished Alumni Award on the Rev. Paul R. Abernathy ’77 in recognition of his nearly five decades of ordained ministry serving parishes in Missouri, Illinois, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C.

He has also contributed to the formation of preachers as an adjunct faculty member of the College of Preachers at the Washington National Cathedral, and has been a dedicated mentor to those discerning a call to ordained ministry, offering wisdom, encouragement, and pastoral care through his work with the diocesan Commission on Ministry.

The author of For the Living of These Days, he is widely respected for his faithful proclamation of the Gospel and his ability to connect scripture to the lived realities of his congregations.

Since returning to ministry in retirement, he has continued to serve congregations in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, and bear witness to the transforming grace of God through his pastoral leadership, authenticity, and commitment to the life of the Church.

He is pictured here with AEC President the Rev. Canon Les Ann Tolzmann ’01.

The Distinguished Alumni Award was established by the Alumni Executive Committee of General Theological Seminary in 2004 to lift up both extraordinarily original, path breaking ministries and extraordinarily faithful, though quiet ministries.

Call for Submissions

If you would like to nominate an alumnus or alumna for the Distinguished Alumni Award please complete the form at the bottom of this webpage: https://www.gts.edu/distinguished-alumni-award or email alumni@gts.edu.