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Don Wendell Holter (24 March 1905 – 12 September 1999) was an American
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
of the
United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...
, elected in 1972. He was born in
Lincoln, Kansas Lincoln Center, more commonly known as Lincoln, is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,171. History Settler George Green founded the town of Lincol ...
, a son of Henry O. and Lenna Mater Holter.


Education

Don graduated from
Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. Th ...
in 1927 ( A.B.). He then attended
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
and Garrett Theological Seminary, earning his
Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...
from Garrett in 1930. Don went on to earn his Ph.D. in
Church History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...
at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1934. Bishop Holter received
honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
from Baker University,
Westmar College Westmar University was a private four-year liberal arts college in Le Mars, Iowa, United States. It permanently closed on November 21, 1997. Westmar University was founded in 1887 as the Northwestern Normal School and Business College by Jacob ...
,
Dakota Wesleyan University Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU) is a private Methodist university in Mitchell, South Dakota. It was founded in 1885 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The student body averages slightly fewer than 800 students. The campus of t ...
, and St. Paul School of Theology.


Ordained, missionary, and academic ministry

Don was
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
deacon by Bishop Ernest Lynn Waldorf and elder by Bishop Charles L. Mead, in the
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
Annual Conference of the M.E. Church. His first pastoral appointment was as assistant minister at the Euclid Avenue Church in Oak Park, Illinois beginning in 1931 while Don was still a seminarian. From 1935 until 1940, Dr. Holter was minister at the Central Methodist Church in
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
and
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
at Union Theological Seminary there. From 1940 until 1945 he was president of the seminary. In 1938 Dr. Holter served as chairman of the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
delegation to the International Mission Conference in
Madras, India Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian censu ...
, a delegation which included Dr.
Frank Laubach Frank Charles Laubach (September 2, 1884 – June 11, 1970), from Benton, Pennsylvania was a Congregational Christian missionary educated at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University, and a mystic known as "The Apostle to the Illi ...
. For three years the Holter family was interned by the Japanese during World War II. They returned to the U.S. in May, 1945. Dr. Holter spent the next year itinerating for the Methodist Missions Board. During 1946–49 he was the pastor of Hamline Methodist Church in
St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...
. In 1949 Dr. Holter joined the faculty of Garrett Theological Seminary as
Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of Church History and Missions. In 1958 he spent four months on a special study mission to Africa, including several days spent with Dr.
Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was a German and French polymath from Alsace. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. As a Lutheran minister, ...
at
Lambaréné Lambaréné is a town and the capital of Moyen-Ogooué in Gabon. It has a population of 38,775 as of 2013, and is located 75 kilometres south of the equator. Lambaréné is based in the Central African Rainforest at the river Ogooué. This riv ...
. On 1 January 1959 Dr. Holter became the founding president of
Saint Paul School of Theology Saint Paul School of Theology (SPST) is a United Methodist seminary in Leawood, Kansas, United States. In addition to the Kansas City area campus at Church of the Resurrection, Saint Paul School of Theology at Oklahoma City University has be ...
, a position he held until his election to the episcopacy. Dr. Holter was elected a delegate to U.M. General Conferences (1964–72), serving in 1968 and 1970 as the chairman of the Legislative Committee on Ministry. He also held positions of leadership in his Annual Conference as well as on General Church Agencies.


Episcopal ministry

Bishop Holter was elected by the South Central Jurisdictional Conference of the U.M. Church in 1972. He was assigned to the
Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
Episcopal Area, serving one quadrennium before retiring in 1976.


Selected writings

*''Fire on the Prairie: Methodism in the History of Kansas.'' *''Flames on the Plains: History of United Methodism in Nebraska.'' *''The Lure of Kansas: The Story of Evangelicals and United Brethren, 1853–1968.''


References

*The Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Churc


See also

*
List of bishops of the United Methodist Church This is a list of bishops of the United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations, in order of their election to the episcopacy, both living and dead. 1784–1807 ;Founders * Thomas Coke 1784 * Francis Asbury 1784 * Richard Whatcoat ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holter, Don Wendell Presidents of United Methodist seminaries 1905 births 1999 deaths Heads of universities and colleges in the United States University of Chicago alumni Harvard University alumni Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni American Methodist missionaries Methodist missionaries in the Philippines American United Methodist bishops Baker University alumni People from Lincoln Center, Kansas American expatriates in the Philippines