Holtzen, Sherwood recognized

Dr. David Sherwood and the Rev. Dr. Tom Holtzen on Alumni Day 2022.

The alumni of Nashotah House recognized the seminary’s two longest-serving faculty members during its 2022 Alumni Day.

The Rev. Dr. Thomas Holtzen, Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology, and Dr. David Sherwood, Director of the Frances Donaldson Library, were honored for their many years of service, academic contributions, and pastoral leadership. Current and former students have benefited from Holtzen and Sherwood’s commitment to nurturing the intellectual, professional, and personal growth of their advisees.

The Rev. Dr. Thomas Holtzen
Holtzen, who has served as Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Nashotah House since 2004, has a passion for teaching classical theology as practical learning for life and ministry. His professional interests include Christian doctrine, especially the Trinity, the incarnation, soteriology, grace, justification, sacramental theology, Anglican theology, and the theologies of Saints Augustine and John Henry Newman. He teaches elective courses on such topics as Augustine, Newman’s Lectures on Justification, and the theology of Richard Hooker. He has published many academic articles, given numerous papers at academic conferences, and written a number of pieces for popular publications. Holtzen is currently writing a book on Newman and justification with Oxford University Press.

Holtzen holds a PhD in Systematic Theology from Marquette University, an MA in Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a BA in Theology from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He also did further training in preparation for Holy Orders at Nashotah House.

Since his ordination in 2003, Holtzen has served as an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Milwaukee. He is priest-in-charge at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Ashippun, Wisconsin, which is one of the area churches founded as an early mission by Nashotah House nearly 180 years ago. Some of Holtzen’s personal interests include ultralight backpacking, farming, fishing, camping, woodworking, and poetry.

“Fr. Holtzen has had a tremendous effect on me over the past three years. Every class I have had with him has been a lesson in self-confidence and humility,” said the Rev. Dante Anglin, a 2022 graduate of Nashotah House. “When I was feeling like I wasn’t doing my best, Fr. Holtzen would always be there to remind me – to remind all of us – that God has called us here. Whatever we are going through, it is for God’s honor and glory. And, on the other hand, whenever I thought I had learned everything on a subject, I was always brought down to earth when I would ask arrogant questions. A good teacher has the ability to know when to lift you up and when to humble you. Fr. Holtzen has done just that. To be a priest is to be a teacher. If there is any teacher I wish to emulate in all aspects of my pastoral life, Fr. Holtzen is that teacher.”

Dr. David Sherwood
Sherwood has served as Director of the Frances Donaldson Library at Nashotah House since 2004. He graduated with a Master’s in Theological Studies from Nashotah House in 2005 and later received his Doctor of Ministry from the House in 2012. Sherwood also holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Texas at Austin, an MA in English from Baylor University, and a BA in Psychology, also from Baylor.

Sherwood began his career in librarianship at Baylor in 1986. After receiving a library degree from UT-Austin, he held various roles at Creighton University’s Library in Omaha, Nebraska. In 1996, he was the first librarian to be selected as a Fellow of Creighton University’s Academic Development and Technology Center. In 2000, he was named the Nebraska Library Association’s Mentor of the Year. He has also served on various American Library Association committees, in particular with the Library Instruction Round Table.

Under Sherwood’s leadership, operations of the Frances Donaldson Library at Nashotah House have undergone considerable changes, including the implementation of a state-of-the-art automated library system, the consolidation of the library’s collections from two classification systems into one, and the addition of many electronic resources and services.

In addition to his library work, Sherwood serves as Associate Professor of Ascetical Theology, teaching courses in both the residential and hybrid-distance programs. His research interests include the spiritual writings of the 12th-century English Cistercians, the 14th-century English mystics, and the Caroline Divines. He also maintains an active ministry of spiritual direction with seminarians. An avocational musician, he has served several local congregations over the years as an organist.

“If Nashotah had a gatekeeper, it would be Dr. Sherwood,” said the Rev. Micah Hogan, a 2022 graduate of Nashotah House. “Dr. Sherwood and his classes stand at Nashotah’s entry and exit, figuratively and literally, as a sign of a life so vastly different from the one peddled by our fast-paced society. In a place and ministry that can tempt to vanity and workaholism, Dr. Sherwood continually calls his students to remember their humanity and to value the person over the project. I know that Dr. Sherwood’s example has helped me become a humbler and more human person and, I hope one day, a better priest.”