William E. Crowl to be honored as Distinguished Alumnus
The Alumni/ae Council has selected William E. Crowl as the recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Alumnus Award. The Council cited his deep love for the church, especially for congregations, and his distinguished ministry throughout the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He has been a leader in shaping the future direction of the church and in mentoring and supporting young leaders.
While still a Disciples Divinity House Scholar, Bill Crowl became the founding pastor of First Christian Church of Downers Grove, Illinois. He earned his BD in 1969. He later served thriving congregations in Baltimore and Columbus, Ohio, before becoming the Regional Minister and President of the Central Rocky Mountain Region. More recently, he completed an extended interim ministry at Cherry Log (Georgia) Christian Church. He is currently the Intentional Interim Pastor at Christian Church of Arlington Heights, Illinois.
The Disciples Divinity House is among the many Disciples and ecumenical organizations that he has served. He was elected to the Board of Trustees in 1987, and was its president during DDH’s Centennial. From 2000-05 he was Associate Dean. He has been elected on three separate occasions to the Alumni/ae Council, and previously served as its president.
The Award will be presented at the DDH luncheon during the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) meeting in Orlando. The luncheon will be Monday, July 15, at the Orlando Convention Center. More information on the luncheon is available here.
William E. Crowl is the seventeenth recipient of the award, which was established in 1979. Previous recipients, in chronological order, are Arthur Azlein, Irvin Lunger, Barton Hunter, Robert Thomas, Marvin Smith, William Weaver, Frank Mabee, Dan Genung, John Bean, J. Robert Moffett, Samuel Pearson, Raymond Williams, M. Ray Schultz, Ian McCrae, Don Browning, and Bonnie Miller-McLemore.