News & Events

TWO SIGNIFICANT DONATIONS TO THE SEMINARY LIBRARY

In the past few weeks, the Seminary Library has received the largest donation of materials since the early 1980s, when the Willson Family generously donated the remains of the libraries of the four Willsons who had served as professors at the Seminary. The donation this fall came from Rev. William Voorhis, a 1980 graduate of the Seminary, a retired Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) pastor, and a brother-in-law of Dr. R. C. Sproul. Beyond the volumes added to the Library from Rev. Voorhis’s donation, students and other patrons have been enjoying perusing the sale shelves in the Library to purchase many of Rev. Voorhis’s books, with the proceeds providing financial support to the Seminary Library beyond the budget.

Shortly after the twenty-five boxes of books arrived from Rev. Voorhis, thirty-four boxes came from the collection of Prof. Fernand Fisel, late professor of French at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a lay theologian. Prof. Fisel was a French Jew who survived the Holocaust (his father died in the gas chambers at Auschwitz) and emigrated to the USA, where he became a citizen in 1956. Prof. Fisel collected widely in theology, with a special interest in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, the denomination of his wife, who predeceased him. An estimated seventy-five additional boxes of Prof. Fisel’s books are awaiting transport to the Seminary, as well as six large bags of archival materials. When received, this donation will be, it is believed, the largest in the history of the Seminary.

We are grateful to Bruce Keeler, a neighbor of Dr. Fisel and a friend of the Seminary, for arranging with the Fisel family to have almost the entirety of his library donated to the Library.In addition, Mr. Keeler is helping and delivering the books to the Seminary. We thank him for his foresight and sacrificial help.

If you have any questions about our library please feel free to email Tom Reid at treid@rpts.edu.

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