St. Augustine's University News October 23, 2013 First woman ordained in St. Aug's Chapel Before a congregation of nearly 200 people, Nita Charlene Johnson Byrd was ordained as a priest at Saint Augustine's Historic Chapel. The Right Reverend Michael Bruce Curry, the 11th bishop of North Carolina, served as the ordaining bishop for the ordination ceremony. The Rt. Rev. Anne Hodges-Copple, bishop suffragan of North Carolina, was the celebrant and the Rev. Sally Harbold gave the sermon. Curry said Byrd is the first priest to be ordained in the Chapel in more than 80 years and the first woman chaplain to serve at the university. "This has been a long time coming," he said. When asked how she felt after the ordination ceremony, Byrd said "I have a vocation to serve God through serving God's people. All who are part of Christ's church are called to service. I pray that we will live in imitation of Christ's loving example to the world." Throughout its history, St. Aug's has maintained a close relationship with the Episcopal Church whose mission is "to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ." More than one-third of all black priests in the Episcopal Church are graduates of the university, including three black bishops. St. Augustine's University was founded in 1867 under the name of Saint Augustine's Normal School and Collegiate Institute through the joint efforts of the Freedmen's Commission of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and a group of clergy and laymen of the Diocese of North Carolina. "It is a pleasure and honor to be a part of this monumental occasion," St. Aug's President Dianne Boardley Suber said. Byrd received her bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from NC State and her Master of Divinity degree from Duke University's Divinity School. A native of Raleigh, Byrd grew up attending Martin Street Baptist Church. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.