Priests Associate

Frances Widmann

Richard W. Pfaff and William Morley

St. Paul didn't know the half of it. In I Corinthians, Chapter 12, he rations out gifts of the Spirit merely one to a customer: "In each of us, the Spirit is manifested in one particular way, for some useful purpose." As single-minded as he was, St. Paul seems not to have grasped that one person can have more than one gift. Like many of us, he tends to think in neat categories of activity; but the Spirit distributes more generously.

The Chapel of the Cross is fortunate in having not only our priests and deacons with well-defined pastoral and liturgical roles, but also a squad of what could, perhaps, be considered pinch-hitters. You will have noticed in our list of clergy and staff the category "Priests Associate," a group subject to frequent changes. These are non-stipendiary priests whose lives have brought them to our parish for one or another reason, who volunteer their priestly talents for use as needed. At the moment there are two, the Rev. Dr. Richard Pfaff and the Rev. Dr. William Morley. Along with their clergy activities, both Dick and Bill pursue full-time professions, whereas many previous Priests Associate were in Chapel Hill primarily for educational opportunities or retirement.

Most of us have never known the parish without Dick Pfaff, who arrived at Chapel Hill as an assistant professor of History at UNC in 1967 and at the Chapel of the Cross in 1968 and has graced both institutions ever since. There has never been a question of primary or secondary interest; Dick's academic and theological careers have been seamlessly united since his days as a Rhodes Scholar at Magdalen College, Oxford. Brought up as a Lutheran, Dick became an Episcopalian as a Harvard undergraduate. His Oxford studies led to degrees both in medieval history and in theology, followed by a year at General Seminary in New York and ordination.

Dick's imperturbable and calmly inquiring mind-set helped steer a course through the pervasive social and ideological uproar of the late 60s and early 70s. He was responsible for the services at various times in the interval before Peter Lee was called as Rector, and was Interim Priest-in-Charge during the year-long search that led to the selection of Stephen Elkin-Williams. At UNC, Dick's courses center around the history of medieval England and the medieval church, topics you might consider dry-as-dust if you hadn't heard the witty and penetrating manner in which he weaves these elements into his Sunday sermons. As well as preaching occasionally, he brings a fine baritone to the sung services. Dick maintains trans-Atlantic ties with frequent returns for study in England, where his combined achievements in faith and scholarship were recognized in the award, in 1995, of a Doctor of Divinity degree from Oxford.

Dick and his wife Margie have one son, David, who grew up in our parish, followed his father into the priesthood, and now serves a church in Milwaukee. David and his wife Emily have provided Dick and Margie with three grandchildren, the youngest born this past July.

The Rev. Dr. William H. Morley will mark two years of formal affiliation in December, but his ties to Chapel of the Cross go back a bit farther. His daughter, Lauren, was active in the Episcopal Campus Ministry as an undergraduate at UNC, so Bill knew good things about the parish even before professional and personal commitments brought him to live in the area.Bill's two professions are not as disparate as might initially appear. He is President of ExCL Group, which provides executive coaching and leadership development for organizations; in this context he has graduate degrees and is a management consultant and leadership planner.As a priest, he was ordained after seminary at Nashotah House in Wisconsin and has special interests in pastoral counseling and familial dysfunction. True leadership, he feels, is grounded in values, and since spirituality has an impact on every aspect of work, he finds that his ministry occurs not just on Sundays, but every day. His work days involve helping management personnel to develop individual and team talents, improve organizational relations and learn from clear-sighted scrutiny of their actions and attitudes. These are skills that readily transfer to pastoral concerns, and Bill has been a valuable resource in long-range parish planning and work with our campus ministry.

Unlike Dick, whose scholarly and priestly careers were intimately entwined from the beginning, Bill came to the combination of management and priestly functions rather late. Having graduated with a political science degree from the University of Kansas, he spent some years as a banker in Chicago before entering seminary and being ordained in the Diocese of Chicago. Thereafter, he spent 12 years in the full-time priesthood, first in a mission church and later in a large parish in Des Moines, Iowa. After graduate training in pastoral counseling and in business, he worked in corporate human relations for several years and then embarked on the kinds of consulting and coaching that he now does.

Bill was a cradle Episcopalian, growing up in suburban Chicago and serving as acolyte in his home parish of Kenilworth; so performing liturgical duties comes naturally. Parishioners most often see Bill assisting at Sunday services, as scheduling demands require, but he also provides advice and planning assistance to the rector and parish committees, as well as to the diocese as needed.

Bill has lived in Durham for two years, and was in Greensboro before that. His wife, Arlene Diosegy, is an attorney. Bill has a son who is a banker, a daughter who is a social worker, and a stepdaughter who is a student at the University of Arizona.

The role of Priest Associate has no canonical definition or job description. The key concepts are flexibility, generosity of time and talent, and cooperation with the rector and other clergy and staff. Our current roster of two is well below previous historic highs of four or five, but the two we have give us no reason to worry about clergy shortfall. The parish is truly grateful to these two multi-talented priests who have chosen this voluntary form of pastoral service.