Seminary president to preach at historic Garden State ABC church

Rev. Dr. Dale Irvin

New York Theological Seminary President Dr. Dale T. Irvin will be preaching at the Stelton Baptist Church, in Edison, New Jersey, on Sunday, September 5th, at the 11 a.m. service.

Dr. Irvin is the eleventh president of New York Seminary. As well as being the seminary's president, Dr. Irvin is also the seminary's professor of world Christianity. Dr. Irvin earned his Master of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. from the Union Theological Seminary.

Stelton Baptist Church

Dr. Irvin is also a well-known author, who has written, among other works: Volume 1, Earliest Christianity to 1453; Christian Histories, Christian Traditioning: Rendering Accounts; and The Agitated Mind of God: The Theology of Kosuke Koyama.

"I think this is a rare opportunity for our congregation to get a chance to hear Dr. Irvin, who is truly one of the important voices in theology today," said Min. Jim Purcell, chairman of Stelton's Board of Deacons.

Min. Purcell said there is a wonderful synergy to Dr. Irvin's appearance at Stelton. He said, "So much of Dr. Irvin's work is forward-looking in Christianity. Yet, he is both a preacher and an academic who carefully examines our shared history as followers of Christ."

Min. Purcell explained that, in North America, Stelton Baptist Church holds a special place in Christian history by being the second-oldest church in New Jersey and the tenth-oldest in the United States. Stelton Baptist, founded in 1689, was an early member of the Philadelphia Association, which constituted the very beginning of the American Baptist Churches denomination, during the 19th century.

In addition, outgoing Stelton Baptist Church Pastor Kathleen Tice, who retires from the congregation on Aug. 31st, was a student at New York Theological Seminary during Dr. Irvin's tenure, and remains a close friend.

"I've heard so much about Dr. Irvin, I'm truly excited to hear him speak," said Charles Holt, a long-time member of Stelton and a deacon who sits on the Facilities and Finance Committee as well as the Deacon's Board.