Wayne K. Clymer
Encyclopedia
Wayne Kenton Clymer is a retired American
Bishop
of the United Methodist Church
, elected in 1972. He also distinguished himself as a Pastor
in the Evangelical United Brethren Church
(E.U.B.); as a Preacher
and Lecturer
; as a Professor
, Dean
and President
of an E.U.B./U.M.
Seminary
; as a Delegate
to United Nations
and Ecumenical church bodies; and as an author
.
, the son of the Rev. George A. and Grace Sallie Hulvey Clymer. His father was a member of the Ohio
Annual Conference
of the Evangelical Church
, having served several churches in that State.
degree from Asbury College
(1939), and the M.A.
, degree in Philosophy
from Columbia University
. Union Theological Seminary
, New York City
conferred upon him the Bachelor of Divinity
degree, and he earned his Ph.D.
from New York University
. He pursued post-doctoral studies at the New York School for Social Research, the William Alanson White School of Psychiatry
, and Columbia University. Clinical Pastoral Education
was taken at the Massachusetts General Hospital
, and at St. Luke's Hospital in New York City.
, becoming a member of the Atlantic Conference of the Evangelical Church. Rev. Clymer served pastorates in Ozone Park, New York and Forest Hills, New York.
In 1946 Dr. Clymer was appointed Professor
of Pastoral Care
at the Evangelical Theological Seminary
, Naperville, Illinois
. In 1957 he was appointed Dean
of the Seminary. In 1967 he became President
. During a sabbatical year (1966-67), Dean Clymer served as a consultant on ministerial training to the United Church of Christ
in the Philippines
. He also taught at St. Andrew's Theological Seminary in Manila
and Trinity College in Singapore
. During his tenure in theological education, Dr. Clymer served as President of the Association of Seminary Professors, the Chicago
Theological Faculties Union, and the Mid-America Theological Center.
Episcopal Area, where he served two quadrennia. In 1980 he was assigned to the Iowa
Area, where he served one quadrennium. As a Bishop he served as the President of The United Methodist Committee on Relief, 1976-84. He was a member of the U.S.
delegation to the United Nations
Conference on Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland in 1970. Upon his retirement in 1984, Bishop Clymer served as Liaison for the Council of Bishops to the theological seminaries.
Lectures at the Congress on Evangelism (1976); the Berger Lectures at the University of Dubuque
(1985); the Washburn
Lectures (1985); and the George Buttrick
Lectures, Bayview, Michigan (1990). He was Preacher on the NBC
radio series, "Art of Living" (1962); and Preacher on "The Protestant Hour" (1970). Four times he was a delegate to the Oxford
Conference on Methodist Theological Studies, and represented his denomination at the Fourth World Conference on Faith and Order. Honorary degree
s have been conferred upon him by Westmar College, Hamline University
, Iowa Wesleyan College
, Rust College
, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
, elected in 1972. He also distinguished himself as a Pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
in the Evangelical United Brethren Church
Evangelical United Brethren Church
The Evangelical United Brethren Church was an American Protestant church which was formed in 1946 by the merger of the Evangelical Church with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ...
(E.U.B.); as a Preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
and Lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
; as a Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
and President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of an E.U.B./U.M.
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
Seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
; as a Delegate
Delegate
A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization at a meeting or conference between organizations of the same level A delegate is a person who speaks or acts on behalf of an organization (e.g., a government, a charity, an NGO, or a trade union) at a meeting or conference...
to United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and Ecumenical church bodies; and as an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Birth and Family
Wayne was born in Napoleon, OhioNapoleon, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,318 people, 3,813 households, and 2,470 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,668.1 people per square mile . There were 4,066 housing units at an average density of 727.9 per square mile...
, the son of the Rev. George A. and Grace Sallie Hulvey Clymer. His father was a member of the Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Annual Conference
Annual Conference
An Annual Conference in the United Methodist Church is a regional body that governs much of the life of the "Connectional Church." Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge . Each conference is a geographical division...
of the Evangelical Church
Evangelical Association
The Evangelical Church or Evangelical Association, also known as the Albright Brethren, is a "body of American Christians chiefly of German descent", Arminian in doctrine and theology; in its form of church government, Methodist Episcopal....
, having served several churches in that State.
Education
Wayne earned his A.B.Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Asbury College
Asbury College
Asbury University, formerly Asbury College, is a Christian liberal arts institution located in Wilmore, Kentucky. Although it is a nondenominational school, the college's foundation stems from a Wesleyan-Holiness tradition. The school offers 50 majors across 17 departments. Primarily a four-year...
(1939), and the M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
, degree in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
conferred upon him the Bachelor of Divinity
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
degree, and he earned his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. He pursued post-doctoral studies at the New York School for Social Research, the William Alanson White School of Psychiatry
William Alanson White Institute
The William Alanson White Institute, founded in 1946, is an institution for training psychoanalysts and psychotherapists. It is located in New York City, USA, on the Upper West Side, in the Clara Thompson building....
, and Columbia University. Clinical Pastoral Education
Clinical pastoral education
Clinical pastoral education is education to teach pastoral care to clergy and others. CPE is the primary way of training hospital and hospice chaplains in the United States...
was taken at the Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
, and at St. Luke's Hospital in New York City.
Ordained ministry
Wayne was ordained Deacon and Elder by Bishop John S. StammJohn S. Stamm
John Samuel Stamm was an American bishop of the Evangelical Church, elected in 1926.Stamm was born on a Sunday morning , 23 March 1878, a son of Hanz and Mary Stamm...
, becoming a member of the Atlantic Conference of the Evangelical Church. Rev. Clymer served pastorates in Ozone Park, New York and Forest Hills, New York.
In 1946 Dr. Clymer was appointed Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Pastoral Care
Pastoral Care
Liber Regulae Pastoralis or Regula Pastoralis is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Gregory I around the year 590, shortly after his papal inauguration...
at the Evangelical Theological Seminary
Evangelical Theological Seminary
Evangelical Theological Seminary is a graduate school and interdenominational seminary located in Myerstown, Pennsylvania.- History :The Evangelical Congregational Church traces its roots to the conversion of Jacob Albright, a Pennsylvania German farmer, in a Methodist class meeting...
, Naperville, Illinois
Naperville, Illinois
Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...
. In 1957 he was appointed Dean
Dean (religion)
A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of the Seminary. In 1967 he became President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
. During a sabbatical year (1966-67), Dean Clymer served as a consultant on ministerial training to the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He also taught at St. Andrew's Theological Seminary in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and Trinity College in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. During his tenure in theological education, Dr. Clymer served as President of the Association of Seminary Professors, the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Theological Faculties Union, and the Mid-America Theological Center.
Episcopal ministry
Dr. Clymer was elected to the Episcopacy in 1972 by the North Central Jurisdictional Conference of the U.M. Church. He was assigned to the MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
Episcopal Area, where he served two quadrennia. In 1980 he was assigned to the Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
Area, where he served one quadrennium. As a Bishop he served as the President of The United Methodist Committee on Relief, 1976-84. He was a member of the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
delegation to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Conference on Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland in 1970. Upon his retirement in 1984, Bishop Clymer served as Liaison for the Council of Bishops to the theological seminaries.
Honors
Bishop Clymer gave the DenmanHarry Denman
Harry Denman was a noted Methodism lay leader and evangelist within the United Methodist Church who emphasized the life taught by Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount. Denman strongly challenged modern materialism and prejudice, by exemplifying and teaching a simple life, and by personally relating to...
Lectures at the Congress on Evangelism (1976); the Berger Lectures at the University of Dubuque
University of Dubuque
The University of Dubuque is a Presbyterian university located in Dubuque, Iowa, with a general attendance of approximately 1,600 students. The school offers both undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It is one of three four-year post-secondary institutions in the City of Dubuque, and is...
(1985); the Washburn
Washburn
Washburn is an uncommon surname of English origins.The WashburnW166pro In Blue is considered the rarest colour!!...
Lectures (1985); and the George Buttrick
George Arthur Buttrick
-Biography:George Arthur Buttrick was born in Seaham Harbour, England on March 23, 1892. He attended the Victoria University of Manchester and moved to the United States. He served as a pastor in Quincy, Illinois, Rutland, Vermont, Buffalo, New York, and New York City. He gave a lecture series at...
Lectures, Bayview, Michigan (1990). He was Preacher on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio series, "Art of Living" (1962); and Preacher on "The Protestant Hour" (1970). Four times he was a delegate to the Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
Conference on Methodist Theological Studies, and represented his denomination at the Fourth World Conference on Faith and Order. Honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
s have been conferred upon him by Westmar College, Hamline University
Hamline University
-Red Wing location :Hamline was named in honor of Leonidas Lent Hamline, a bishop of the Methodist Church whose interest in the frontier led him to donate $25,000 toward the building of an institution of higher learning in what was then the territory of Minnesota. Today, a statue of Bishop Hamline...
, Iowa Wesleyan College
Iowa Wesleyan College
Iowa Wesleyan College is a private four-year liberal arts college of the United Methodist Church located Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.Iowa Wesleyan is recognized as a pioneer in higher education in America. Founded in 1842, it ranks as the oldest coeducational college located west of the Mississippi River...
, Rust College
Rust College
Rust College is a historically black liberal arts college located in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Located approximately 35 miles southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, it is the second-oldest private college in the state...
, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary is a graduate school of theology of the United Methodist Church located in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1853, Garrett-Evangelical is on the campus of Northwestern University and continues many associations with the university...
.
Selected writings
- Affirmation, Nashville, Tidings, 1971.
- Membership Means Discipleship, Nashville, Discipleship Resources, 1976.
- numerous articles