The Henszey Lecture Series

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​Established by one of the founding families of the State College Presbyterian Church, the Henszey Lecture Series enables our congregation to bring renowned  church leaders, theologians, speakers, and teachers to the area. 

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We Hope to Reschedule our Henszey Lecture Speaker - Stay Tuned!

 "When the Levee Breaks:  The Church Responds to Crisis"

Our special Henszey speaker, the Reverend Dr. Donald Frampton, recently retired as the Pastor of the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church which is the church in which Dean Lindsey grew up in New Orleans, LA.  In 2005, the city was in ruins following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.  Most residents evacuated.  Church members were scattered across the country; many never returned.  With houses ruined, loved ones lost and the community deeply hurting, how could the church respond? 
 
Don Frampton will share a story of courageous and faith-filled action as his congregation rose to the challenges they faced.  Through their RHINO program (Rebuilding Hope in New Orleans,) the church has housed and fed to date over 7,000 volunteers who have come to the city to help with cleanup and rebuilding, including work on over 50 Habitat for Humanity homes.  In 2009, the church received the highest award for community service given by the Presbyterian Church (USA). 
 
In any community, there is always the possibility that disaster will strike.  Others have been through such hard times.  Rev. Frampton will tell us how his church not only survived but how it has thrived through its leadership in mission.

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About Rev. Donald Frampton
Don Frampton, a native of South Carolina and graduate of the University of South Carolina and Columbia Theological Seminary (D. Min), retired in 2019 after 24 years as Senior Pastor of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church in New Orleans.  In the fall he was named Pastor Emeritus by the Session. 

During his years at St. Charles, the church made missions a priority, earmarking an average of 15% of each year’s operations budget for benevolences.  Through Rebuilding Hope in New Orleans (RHINO), a program begun in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and which still continues, St. Charles Church housed and supervised over 7,000 volunteers and helped build some 50 Habitat for Humanity homes.  In 2009, the church received the PC(USA)’s highest award for community service. 

His involvement with the greater church included a term as Moderator of the Presbytery of South Louisiana as well as two terms on the Board of Trustees of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.  Locally Don served on the Ethics Review Board for the City of New Orleans and was an active member of several post-Katrina “roundtables” of community leaders as the city began to rebuild.  Colleen Harvin, Don’s wife, is a Nurse Administrator at St. Thomas Community Health Center, a neighborhood clinic in the Irish Channel of New Orleans which sees over 300 patients daily.  They have three adult children and three grandchildren.

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  Past Henszey Guests:

​1999 — Dr. Kenneth Bailey
2000 — Margaret Towne
2001 — Dr. Dale Allison
2005 — Major Charles Yost
2007 — Brother John of Taizé
2011 — Fr. Richard Rohr and John
                  Bell of the Iona Community
2012 — Composer and Organist Dr.
                  Charles Callahan and Poet
​                  and Activist Edwina Gateley
2013 — Shane Claiborne of The
                   Simple Way
2014 — Diana Butler Bass and Father
                  William Meninger
2015 — John Phillip Newell and
                  Father William Meninger
2016 — Father William Meninger
2018 — Julie Faith Parker

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