David Standish Ball

The Right Reverend David Standish Ball (born June 11, 1926) was the seventh Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany in the United States from 1984 to 1998.

Childhood, education and calling

David Standish Ball was born in June 1926 in Albany, New York, and attended The Milne School, a preparatory school in Albany. Ball served in the United States Navy during World War II. He graduated from Colgate University in 1950. [Wikipedia article on Colgate_University, section about alumni in religion.]

He answered the call to holy orders in the Episcopal Church. He attended The General Theological Seminary in New York City during the 1950s.

He was ordained a deacon and priest in Albany, and served as a curate at Bethesda Church in Saratoga Springs, in upstate New York. He was elected Canon in 1956, serving until 1961 as Canon Ball. [George E. DeMille, "Pioneer Cathedral: A Brief History of the Cathedral of All Saints, Albany", pp. 160, 181-183 (1961).] He was then elected Dean of the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany in 1960, and served over two decades, through 1984. As an urban parish in a downtown neighborhood, that entailed what was called "slum work".

Bishop of Albany

In 1984, Ball was elected Bishop coadjutor of Albany. He was consecrated under apostolic succession by Presiding Bishop John Maury Allin, [See List of Presiding Bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America] bishop David E. Richards, formerly suffragan of Albany and then bishop of the Anglican diocese of Central America, and the incumbent sixth bishop Wilbur Emory Hogg. [ [http://www.sanjoaquin.anglican.org/aso/successionb.html San Joaquin Apostolic Succession datapgb ] ] Upon bishop Hogg's retirement, Ball was installed in the cathedra in the choir at the Cathedral of All Saints, as the 7th Bishop of Albany.

David S. Ball served from 1984 to 1998 as the seventh Diocesan bishop of Albany. [ [http://albanyepiscopaldiocese.org/about/history.html History of the Albany Episcopal Diocese] ]

Ball opposed female ordination in the 1970s, but later changed his position, serving with and ordaining female priests and deacons since at least 1989. [Mary S. Donovan, "Women as Priests and Bishops," UALR History Seminar, November 7, 1989; Revised February 13, 1992; July 20, 1992, found at [http://maxweber.hunter.cuny.edu/eres/docs/eres/HIST112_DONOVAN/wopriest1.doc Women as Priests and Bishops] . Accessed March 30, 2008.]

He took part in several consecrations of other bishops, including that of his successors. [ [http://www.churchpublishing.org/general_convention/pdf_gc_2000_journal/cpi_journal_hendersonville.pdf Journal of the General Convention of ECUSA] . Accessed April 14, 2008.] [ [http://www.albanyepiscopaldiocese.org/news/episcopalian/061107.html Albany Episcopal Diosecse web site page on Bishop Love] . Accessed April 14, 2008.] He was considered a conservative on issues such as apostolic succession. [Robert David Redmile, The Apostolic Succession and the Catholic Episcopate in the Christian Church of Canada, p. 68, found at [http://books.google.com/books?id=LsaRNfK49vsC&pg=PA68&lpg=PA68&dq=David+Standish+Ball&source=web&ots=D1-VwODvpT&sig=SX1CKPBUDn5EdZFD9i7rcoitTVU&hl=en Google Books] . Accessed April 14, 2008.]

In retirement

Upon his retirement, Ball was succeeded by then-bishop Daniel W. Herzog. Ball became active in the Alpha Christian movement [Alpha web page: [http://www.alphausa.org/localoffices/news.asp?iLocationID=1 Alpha USA] ] and many other local charities. [See, for example: Historic Albany Foundation newsletter, p. 3: [http://www.historic-albany.org/spring-02-final.pdf] ] The Bishop Ball Golf Tournament, an annual fundraiser for the Cathedral, is named in his honor. [ [http://cathedralofallsaints.org/events.html Cathedral calendar] retrieved June 7, 2007.] The Doane Stuart School, on whose board he sat until mid-2008, has named a trustee award for him. ["Social Scene", "Albany Times Union", May 18, 2007, at p. E3. [http://www.timesunion.com/life/index.asp fee required] ] ["DC Counsel Receives Distinguished Trustee Award" May 18, 2006, David Standish Ball [http://www.whitecase.com/news/awards/Detail.aspx?news=1118 White, Case web site] . Accessed April 14, 2008.]

Ball continues to serve as Bishop-in Residence at the Cathedral of All Saints. [ [http://www.cathedralofallsaints.org/clergy.html Cathedral of All Saints clergy web page] ] In recent years, he has gained a reputation on such issues as ecumenism [ [http://www.evangelist.org/archive/htm3/1114cove.htm Roman Catholic diocese of Albany web site] ] [ [http://www.doanestuart.org/eventpage.asp Doane Stuart School a private school] ] and alternate oversight in the Anglican Community. [ "Women as Priests and Bishops" by Mary S. Donovan, UALR History Seminar, November 7, 1989, Revised February 13, 1992; July 20, 1992 [http://maxweber.hunter.cuny.edu/eres/docs/eres/HIST112_DONOVAN/wopriest1.doc unpublished article by a CUNY professor] Accessed April 22, 2008] [ [http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?storyID=569570&newsdate=3/30/2007&BCCode=MBTA Times Union 30 March 2007] ] [http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=576521 "Times Union" 30 March 2007] ]

In March 2007, Bena joined the Convocation of Anglicans in North America.fact|date=April 2008 Ball expressed concern at Bena's leave to the Anglican Convocation, [ [http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?storyID=569570&newsdate=3/30/2007&BCCode=MBTA Times Union 30 March 2007 2nd article] ] as well as to Herzog's return to the Roman Catholic Church, also in March 2007. [ [http://stoneofwitness.blogspot.com/2007/03/former-bishop-opts-for-rome.html Stone of Witness web site] . Accessed April 14, 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://www.cathedralofallsaints.org Cathedral of All Saints web site]
* [http://www.albanyepiscopaldiocese.org Episcopal Diocese of Albany official web site]

ee also

* List of Bishop Succession in the Episcopal Church