Frederick Houk Borsch (September 13, 1935 – April 11, 2017) was the Episcopal bishop of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

from 1988 to 2002, then served as interim dean of the

Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School, founded in 1854, is a seminary of The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Berkeley is one of the three "Partners on the Quad," ...

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and chair of Anglican studies at the

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), also known as the ''Philadelphia Seminary,'' was one of eight theological seminaries associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in North ...

Biography

Remembered particularly for the development of Spanish-speaking congregations, the founding of the Episcopal Urban Intern Program (Episcopal Service Corps), his leadership in environmental stewardship, the building of the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, and advocacy for poverty-wage workers and the

living wage A living wage is defined as the minimum income necessary for a worker to meet their basic needs. This is not the same as a subsistence wage, which refers to a biological minimum, or a solidarity wage, which refers to a minimum wage tracking labor ...

while bishop in Los Angeles, he also served for twelve years as the chair of the House of Bishops' Theology Committee and as a member of the design and steering teams for the 1988 and 1998

Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place at Lambeth in 1867. As the Anglican Communion is an international association ...

s, chairing the section "Called to be a Faithful Church in a Plural World" in 1998. Working with the Standing Commission on Human Affairs, he helped the General Convention of 1994 to include in the church's canons sexual orientation in the non-discriminatory clauses for ordination. When George L. Carey, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, visited a store-front ministry for undocumented refugees in 1996 in the impoverished MacArthur Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, Borsch made sure that the Archbishop knew that the priest who founded the ministry,

Philip Lance Philip Lance (born 1959) is an American psychoanalyst and former community organizer who began his career as an Episcopalian priest. He was one of the first persons ordained by the Episcopal Church whose homosexuality was openly acknowledged by ...

, was gay. Educated at

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

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and the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...

, his Ph.D. degree is from the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

in England. In addition to teaching posts in England, at

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (SWTS) was a seminary of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, located in Evanston, Illinois. It ceased operations as a residential seminary granting the Master of Divinity degree in May 201 ...

and the General Theological Seminary, he was a dean, president, and professor of New Testament at the

Church Divinity School of the Pacific Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It one of nine seminaries U.S. Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the Far West, ...

. He was dean of the chapel with rank of professor of religion at Princeton University (1981–1988; again interim in 2007) where he taught in the program in the History, Archaeology and Religions of the Ancient World. Since 2013, Borsch has been listed on the advisory council of the

National Center for Science Education The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a not-for-profit membership organization in the United States whose stated mission is to educate the press and the public on the scientific and educational aspects of controversies surrounding t ...

. Borsch died on April 11, 2017, due to complications from

myelodysplastic syndrome A myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is one of a group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature, and as a result, do not develop into healthy blood cells. Early on, no symptoms typically are seen. Later, symptoms may ...

. He was 81.

Published works

Contributor of essays, articles and poetry to a number of journal and newspapers, he has been a conference leader and given university and seminary lectures at institutions in this country and abroad. In 1985, for thirteen weeks, he was the preacher for the Protestant Hour. Among his more than twenty books are *; *''Parade: Poems of Dark and Light Alike'' (2010) *''Our First Atom Bomb: An All-American Story'' (2009) *''Introducing the Lessons of the Church Year'' (1978: new and 3rd ed. 2009) *''Day by Day; Loving God More Dearly'' (2009) * *''The Magic Word'' (2001) * *''Christian Discipleship and Sexuality'' (1993) *''The Bible's Authority in Today's Church'' (ed. 1993) *''Many Things in Parables'' (1988) *''Jesus: the Human Life of God'' (1987) *''Anglicanism and The Bible'', "The Anglican Studies Series" (ed. 1984) *''Power and Weakness''* (1983) *''Coming Together in the Spirit'' (1980) *''God's Parable'' (1975) * *''The Son of Man in Myth and History'' (1967)

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Borsch, Frederick 1935 births 2017 deaths Deaths from myelodysplastic syndrome 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Los Angeles People from Oak Park, Illinois