Waldo Penner (1919 - 2006) was a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

missionary who served in India from 1946 through 1981 as a team member of the

Canadian Baptist Ministries Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) or ''Ministères Baptistes Canadiens'' is a federation of four regional Baptist denominations in Canada. The federation is a member of the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarter is in Mississauga, Ontario. Hist ...

. Penner was born in

Secunderabad Secunderabad, also spelled as Sikandarabad (, ), is a twin cities, twin city of Hyderabad and one of the six zones of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Telangana. It ...

in India where his parents were missionaries of the

American Baptist Mission International Ministries is an international Baptist Christian missionary society. It is a constituent board affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. The headquarters is in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, United States. History The so ...

Studies

For collegiate studies, Penner studied at the McMaster University,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

for the graduate degrees of B.A. and B.D. Penner also studied for a postgraduate course leading to M.Th. at the Berkeley Baptist Divinity School (renamed as the

American Baptist Seminary of the West The Berkeley School of Theology (BST) is a Baptist theological institute in Berkeley, California. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It is part of the Graduate Theological Union, a consortium of theological schools and cente ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

Ecclesiastical ministry

After Penner's ordination in 1945, he volunteered for missionary service in India and stayed on in the country for more than 35 years.

Ecumenical initiatives

In 1958 when

A. B. Masilamani Acharya A. B. Masilamani or Abel Boanerges MasilamaniK. Ranjit Kumar, ''Bhakti as one of the leading factor for transformation in the lyrics of Acharya A. B. Masilamani in the Telugu Christian Hymnal'', Master's College Theological Journal, Volu ...

stepped down as Principal of the

Baptist Theological Seminary Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Kakinada Kakinada (List of renamed places in India, formerly called Kakinandiwada, Coringa, and Cocanada; ) is the List of cities in Andhra Pradesh by population, sixth largest city of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra P ...

, the Seminary Council appointed Waldo Penner to take on the Principalship of the Seminary. It was during this period that

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

conversations were building up for the formation of a unified Seminary in the state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

(

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

included). Penner, together with his companion,

were in the forefront''Indian Church History Review'', Volume 13, Church History Association of India, 1979, pp.79, 80.

/ref> of the

conversations leading to the formation of the

Andhra Christian Theological College Andhra Christian Theological College (ACTC) is a seminary in Telangana which was founded in 1964. It is affiliated with India's first university, the Senate of Serampore College (University) (a university under section 2(f) of the University G ...

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

in 1964 together with the Anglicans,

Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

, Lutherans, the Methodists and the Wesleyans. On the formation of the

seminary in 1964 in

, Penner relocated from

and joined the faculty of the newly formed

seminary and taught Systematic theology till 1971-1972 when the college shifted in its entirety to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. Meanwhile, the Seminary Council appointed Victor Hahn in place of Waldo Penner at the

. As for his companion,

, he had already moved to the Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary, and like Penner was ministering in an

setting.

Development initiatives

When the

1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone The 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone was a devastating tropical cyclone that hit Andhra Pradesh in November 1977, killing at least 10,000 people.The storm in Orissa. Economist, 00130613, 11/6/1999, Vol. 353, Issue 8144 The worst affected areas were i ...

struck the coast of

Krishna district Krishna district is district in the coastal Andhra Region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is the coastal district of Andhra Pradesh. Machilipatnam is the most populated city in the di ...

along the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

, thousands of lives were lost. As part of the relief and rebuilding efforts, the

also lent its hand and its work was supervisedJarold Knox Zeman, ''Baptists in Canada: search for identity amidst diversity'', Acadia Divinity College, G.R. Welch, 1980, p.188.

/ref> by Waldo Penner.

Honours

In 1982, the McMaster University,

conferred upon Penner the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penner, Waldo 20th-century Canadian Baptist ministers Baptist writers 1919 births 2006 deaths McMaster University alumni Christian clergy from Andhra Pradesh Indian Christian theologians Indian Baptists Canadian Baptist Ministries missionaries in India Academic staff of the Senate of Serampore College (University) Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars pastors Founders of academic institutions Canadian Baptist Ministries