Ross McGowan Wright
513 Chapman Street 804-798-5095 (home)
Ashland, VA 23005 804-822-6813 (cell)
wrightross@goodshepherdrichmond.org 804-233-2287 (office)
Personal
Married to Lynda Wornom Wright since 1985
Three sons:
Ross, Elliott, and Owen
Home:
Ashland since 2005
Originally from Columbia, SC; graduated from Dresher High School and attended the North Carolina School of the Arts
Hobbies:
music (play trombone in the Richmond Pops), running, birding, cycling, hiking the Appalachian Trail
Rector
- Church of the Good Shepherd, Richmond, VA - 2007 – present
Chaplain
– Good Shepherd Episcopal School – 2008 – present
Adjunct Professor
- Religious Studies Department, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA – 2006-present
I. Education
PhD Systematic Theology, University of St Andrews, Scotland – 2007
Dissertation: Karl Barth’s Academic Lectures on Ephesians, Gottingen, (1921-1922): An Original Translation, Annotation, and Analysis.
Supervised by Professors Alan Torrance, University of St Andrews and John Webster, University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
ThM Systematic Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary - 2003
Anglican Studies, General Theological Seminary, New York, NY
MDiv Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, Ambridge, PA - 1981
Divinity, Trinity College, Bristol, England
BA English Literature, Davidson College - 1976
Junior year abroad, The University of Montpellier, France 1975
II. Ministry
Ordination
Diaconate - Trinity Cathedral, Diocese of Upper South Carolina - 2001
Priesthood - Grace Church in New York, Diocese of New York - 2002
Canonical Residence – Diocese of Southern Virginia - 1985-present
Rector – Church of the Good Shepherd, Richmond, VA - 2007-present
Family-size, ethnically diverse congregation in the City of Richmond with strong Christian education for adults, youth and children
Supply Priest – St Andrews Scottish Episcopal Church, St. Andrews - 2004-2005
Rector - Church of the Good Shepherd, Norfolk, VA – 1987-2002
Program-size congregation with 11 staff; sponsored six candidates for ordination; developed outreach ministries to Bolivia and Burkina-Faso; introduced parish weekends and preaching missions with guest speakers, including John Stott, Fleming Rutledge, and Paul Zahl
Head of diocesan Evangelism Commission – 1991-1992
Assistant Rector - Grace Church, New York, NY
Oversaw small group ministry, including recruiting and training of leaders; organized parish weekends (twice a year) at Camp Incarnation, Ivoryton, CT; served as primary clergy visitor to the elderly and introduced Friends in Service Here, a ministry to the elderly and home-bound
Chair, Lower Manhattan Inter-Parish Council – 1982-1983
Chaplain, Grace Church School – 1981-1983
Youth Worker – The Church of the Good Samaritan, Paoli, PA - 1976-1978
Developed ministries to high school and middle school youth, including training of adult team, in this program-size parish on Philadelphia’s Main Line; introduced fellowship for college students and young adults; led a two-week youth delegation with the Oglala Sioux at Pine Ridge Reservation (South Dakota)
FOCUS (Fellowship of Christians in Universities and Schools)
Philadelphia 1976-1978
Pittsburgh 1979-1981
Created student-led fellowships in private schools on the Main Line; created summer Intern Program for the FOCUS Study Center, Martha’s Vineyard; introduced FOCUS to Pittsburg area and served as area director.
III. Teaching and Academic Contributions
Adjunct Professor – Religious Studies Department, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, VA – 2006-present
The History of the Christian Church: From Pentecost to the Dawn of the Reformation
The History of the Christian Church: From the Reformation to the Present
The Life and Letters of Paul
Modern Theologies and Theologians
Adjunct Professor – Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, Ambridge, PA – 2005-2007
Foundations in Systematic Theology (online)
Teaching Assistant - University of St Andrews, Scotland – 2004-2005
Introduction to Theology: History and Issues
Karl Barth Tagung, Leuenberg, Switzerland - 2004
Karl Barth Translators’ Seminar – Princeton Theological Seminary – 2011-present
IV. Publications
“Alpha Week: An Experiment in Community and Evangelism,” The Piedmont Churchman, 1974
“Parachurch Youth Ministries,” Mission and Ministry, 1982
Review article, Word and Church: Essays in Christian Dogmatics by John Webster. The Princeton Seminary Bulletin, 2003
Review article, Karl Barth’s Theology of Interpretation by Donald Wood. International Journal of Systematic Theology, July, 2009
“Some Reflections on Translating and Analyzing Karl Barth’s Ephesians Lectures,” Letter from the Karl Barth-Archives, 2009
“The Problem with Flattery”, The Living Church, 2008
Translation, “Ist Barth überholt?” [GT: Karl Barth, Gepräche 1963, TVZ 2005], forthcoming.
V. Honors
Fellow-in-Residence - School of Theology, University of the South Sewanee, TN – 2009
Scholar of Promise – Episcopal Church Foundation, New York, NY – 2005
Grant Recipient - Russell Trust Grant for Academic Research - 2004
University of St Andrews, Scotland
Research at the Karl Barth Archives, Basel, Switzerland
VI. Presentations and Research Interests
“Cranmer’s Book of Homilies and the Reformation of Preaching in the Church of England” - Princeton Theological Seminary, 2003
“Exegesis as Listening: Karl Barth’s Academic Lectures on Ephesians” - Theological Research Methods Seminar, University of St Andrews, Scotland, 2004
“Free Speech: the Definition of Preaching in Karl Barth’s Homiletical Lectures” - Princeton Theological Seminary, 2003
“Inter-textual Links in Barth’s ‘Judas Exegesis’, CD II/2” - Scripture and Theology Seminar, University of St Andrews, Scotland, 2003
“Jerome’s Gallican and Hebrew Psalters: Background and Analysis of Selected Psalms” - Scripture and Theology Seminar, University of St Andrews, Scotland, 2004
“The Gospel in Two Little Words: Barth’s Exegesis of Eph. 1:3” - Biblical Studies Seminar, University of St Andrews, Scotland, 2005
“The Significance of Barth’s Expository Courses in Scripture, 1921-1938” - Scottish Barth Colloquium, St. Andrews, Scotland, 2004
VII. Languages
Greek: Advanced Greek Readings, Regent College, Vancouver; BC - 1996
Hebrew: Advanced Hebrew Readings, Princeton Theological Seminary - 2003
Latin: Oxford Latin Course, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA - 1991
German: Mittelstuffe, University of Munich, Germany - 2004