THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY RECORD school district and other infrastructure projects. The LCB’s operating costs are the cause of the retail markup which drives Pennsylvanians to other states to buy their wine and spirits. Over the last 10 years, the LCB’s revenue has grown at a rate of 3.5% while expenses have grown at a rate of 5.5%. A privatized system would recapture these lost sales and improve profitability while reducing price and create private-sector jobs.
Marcellus Shale and private liquor sales are real alternatives to AVI. These alternatives can provide a source of funding to Philadelphia’s School District and infrastructure improvements while protecting Philadelphians from higher taxes. In these tough economic times, we need our leaders to provide us with real alternatives to our economic problems.
Lutheran Seminary Anoints A New Dean The Rev. Dr. J. Jayakiran Sebastian assumes the post of Dean of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia Jul. 1. He succeeds the Rev. Dr. J. Paul Rajashekar, who has held the post for 12 years and will now focus his energies on a variety of interests, including returning more fully to the classroom as the Luther D. Reed Professor of Systematic Theology. Dr. Sebastian, 53, a resident of Philadelphia’s East Mt. Airy neighborhood on the seminary campus, has served on the faculty since 2007. Called “Kiran” by colleagues and friends, he is the H. George Anderson Professor of Mission and Cultures, directs the seminary’s Multicultural Mission Resource Center, and for the past three years held the position of Seminary Chaplain. He earned his Doctor of Theology in 1997 from the University of Hamburg, Germany (Magna Cum Laude). In 1991 he earned his Master of Theology from the Federated Faculty for Research in Religion and Culture, Kottayam, India, where he received the all-India prize for having the highest grade in all branches of study for the degree. He was awarded his Bachelor of Divinity in 1984 from the United Theological College in Bangalore, India, where he was likewise honored for receiving the highest grades during his studies. He holds a 10 |
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Bachelor of Science from Bangalore University (1980). He went on to teach from 1988 to 2007 at the United Theological College. Dr. Sebastian’s teaching background reflects his wide-ranging scholarly interests and love of books fostered by his family — especially his grandmother, whom he terms his foremost mentor, and his parents and uncles, many of whom were pastors and scholars. Dr. Sebastian became an ordained pastor of the Church of South India in 1985. The Church of South India was formed in 1947 by a union of Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational traditions in what has been good-humoredly called “the greatest coming together of traditions to form a church since the Pentecost!” Being part of such a church has made him feel “very comfortable” at LTSP, which he says is firmly rooted in its Lutheran tradition but which has also welcomed students from the range of traditions he has known in India, as well as students from many other backgrounds. Dr. Sebastian says he is thrilled at his new opportunity as Dean at a seminary with a wide range of interests that reflect his own, including foci on public and global theology and strong Lutheran