Thank
you for visiting our web site. We encourage you to contact us if you would like more information or are interested in becoming
a part of our organization.
Contact:
You
may reach us at:
Dr. Virginia M. Kimball
4 Wayne Road
Westford, MA 01886
978-692-3862
[Insert "esbvm" in your subject line]
Mailing Address:
Ecumenical Society of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, 1116 Criton Street, Herndon, Virginia, 20170-3114
Or send us an e-mail!
Virginia M. Kimball
ESBVM-USA President
Dr. Virginia M. Kimball is an adjunct professor at Assumption College in Worcester, MA where
she teaches the Bible and Mariology. She earned an MA in Theology at Andover Newton Theological School, an STL and an
STD at the International Marian Institute in Dayton, Ohio. She is a Greek Orthodox Christian and belongs to the Transfiguration
of Our Blessed Saviour Church in Lowell, MA. She is past president of the Mariological Society, has published in Marian
Studies, and recently contributed a chapter on an ecumenical approach to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception
in the Roman Catholic/Orthodox dialogue in the recently published book, Mary for Time and Eternity, Gracewing,
Uk 2007. Dr. Kimball is also a member of the Mariological Society of America and the Orthodox Theological Society
of America.
Dr. Kimball was raised a Quaker in Baltimore, MD and became a Catholic as a Junior in HIgh School.
She married Dean Kimball, a Congregationalist, and he became a Catholic also one year after they married. They have nine children
and 15 grandchildren. Her path to Orthodoxy began in theological studies of Mary and especially in her research
of the Theotokos in ancient Eastern liturgical texts.
| Dr. Virginia M. Kimball |
|
|
| President |
Dr.
Frank Romance, ESBVM vice president, was born in Hamburg, NY, one of nine children. He attended the University of Notre Dame, receiving a BA in Political
Science (1954) and a MA in Soviet Studies (1956). He was commissioned an officer in the US Navy; married Ann Marie Pickert;
and in 1957 with his wife left for an overseas assignment at the Fleet Intelligence Center in Morocco. In August 1959, they returned to the US
with their little daughter Mary; started graduate studies at Georgetown
University; and there earned a Ph.D. degree in Comparative Government/International
Relations. He joined the faculty of John Carroll
University in Cleveland, Ohio
in 1962, and served as a member of its Institute of Soviet and East European Studies. In 1965, he returned to Washington,
DC where he joined the Defense Intelligence Agency; served as an analyst of Soviet and
China military capabilities; and retired
in 1991 as senior civilian analyst of DIA's Global Analysis Division.
Dr. Romance learned
of the ESBVM from a priest associated with the Washington Theological Union who was a friend of the Society’s past President,
Bill Ryon. It was through Bill that he became a member. Dr. Romance states: “My love for Our Lady comes naturally --
as I've sometimes remarked, devotion to Mary is as natural as the air I breathe. This devotion was nurtured in our ‘domestic
church,’ the family, where my earthly mother had a close, trusting, and loving relationship with her heavenly Mother.
For example, the rosary was a prayer staple in our home, especially during WW II when my four brothers were in service. My
own devotion to Mary was strengthened during my five years on campus at Notre Dame
University. Even further has this loving relationship been fostered by
my membership in the ESBVM. The obvious deep affection its members have for this most beautiful creature who
gave flesh to the eternal Word of God continues to be an inspiration for me.”
Frank and his wife have
four children, and seven grandchildren and have lived in McLean, VA since 1965 where they have been members of Saint
Luke Catholic Church. He has been a member of the parish choir, school board, pastoral council; chairman of the Pro-Life Committee;
and an officer in the parish Knights of Columbus Council.
| Dr. Frank Romance |
|
| ESBVM Vice President |
Contact for suggestions from Members, or for information about the Society and how to join.
Officers of the Society
Dr. Virginia M. Kimball
President
(Greek Orthodox)
Dr. Frank Romance
Vice President
(Roman Catholic)
Rev. Dr. Judith M. Gentle
Recording Secretary
Co-ordinator First International ESBVM Congress
(Anglo-Catholic)
Bruce Lawrence
Membership Secretary
(Eastern Orthodox)
Corresponding Secretary
William Johnston
(Episcopal)
Sandra Geersten
Newsletter Editor
(Lutheran)
Girgis Girgis
Treasurer
(Coptic)
BOARD MEMBERS
Rev. Donald Charles Lacy (Methodist)
Rev. Jennifer Juliano (UCC)
Susan Crowley (Roman Catholic)
Dr. Frances Fowler-Collins (Roman Catholic)
COUNSELLORS
Rev. Donald Dawes (Presbyterian)
Mary Ann DeTrana (Eastern Orthodox)
Rev. John Dillon (Roman Catholic)
Pat Kirby
Rev. Al Wagaman (Lutheran)
Br. John Samaha (Roman Catholic)
Bill Ryon (Anglo-Catholic)
[Two members at large to be appointed ....]
| Girgis Girgis |
|
| Treasurer |
| Rev. Dr. Judith Marie Gentle |
|
| Secretary |
| Sandra Geertsen |
|
| Newsletter Editor |
| Susan Crowley |
|
| Board Member |
| Rev. Jennifer Juliano, UCC Minister, Walton, NY |
|
|
| Board member |
|
