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In Memory of Chancellor Louis B. King

Bishop Louis B. King passed into the spiritual world early Monday. He served as the Executive Bishop of the General Church and Chancellor of the Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn College's parent organization) from 1976 until 1991. His energy, inspiration, personal warmth and thought from New Church doctrine touched many and can be seen as a huge gift of love for all members of the Academy, Bryn Athyn College, and the New Church worldwide.

Bishop King served as a pastor in New Church societies in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Glenview, Ill. before moving to Bryn Athyn in 1973 to serve the Academy of the New Church and Bryn Athyn College.

After one year as Assistant Bishop for the General Church and one year as Executive Vice President for the Academy, in 1975 Bishop King became Chancellor of the Academy, a position he held for fifteen years.

In Bishop King's final appearance as Chancellor on the stage at Commencement, he closed his commencement address with the same kind of inspiration that he conveyed throughout his life:

"Let me suggest a formula or a recipe for happiness. Never let another day go be without thinking about the Lord - how much He loves you and longs for your usefulness and eternal welfare. Imagine what He has invested in you and what confidence He has in you. And what does He want in return? Your happiness! You can receive this happiness by looking inwardly to the Lord and then outwardly to each other.

"Try to appreciate what is good and true in others from the Lord, finding happiness in the support of their useful­ness, in those positive qualities. On the eve of His crucifixion He washed His disciples' feet. How symbolic was this act of how completely we depend on Him and how much we owe to each other. He said, 'If I your Lord and Mas­ter have washed your feet, you ought also to wash each others' feet. I have given you an example, do this and you will be happy.' May the Lord bless you...and may you find true happiness."

In lieu of flowers, Bishop King's family has requested that contributions in memory of Bishop King be sent to benefit the joint Academy and General Church Capital Campaign.

The Bryn Athyn College community is filled with deep gratitude to Bishop King for his unending effort to lead others to find this true happiness.