Revision 360653932 of "Maynard Pittendreigh" on enwiki

{{notability|date=November 2007}}

'''The Rev. Dr. W. Maynard Pittendreigh''' is an [[astronomer]], writer and an ordained minister in the [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]].  As a minister, he has been a pioneer and leader in a movement toward multi-cultural/racial congregations, and in developing early Internet-based ministries.

William Maynard Pittendreigh, Jr., was born in [[Greenwood, South Carolina]], February 6, [[1954]], son of Bill and Earline Pittendreigh.  He suffered a severe speech handicap as a child, but was able to overcome the disability through surgery and several years of therapy.  <ref> CCES Highlights, Winter/Spring, 2005 </ref>

Pittendreigh attended [[Christ Church Episcopal School, Greenville, South Carolina]], and received his BA degree at [[Erskine College]] in [[Due West, South Carolina]]. He earned his [[Master of Divinity]] degree from [[Erskine Theological Seminary]] and his doctorate from [[Columbia Theological Seminary]]. He also attended [[Union Theological Seminary & Presbyterian School of Christian Education|Union Theological Seminary]] in [[Richmond, Virginia]], where he earned a Certification as a [[Church Business Administrator]].  

Prior to entering the ministry, Pittendreigh worked as a [[photojournalist]], restaurant manager and as a [[teacher]]/[[Mental Health Counselor|counselor]] in a state [[prison]].  As a child he worked as a [[fashion model]] for [[J.C. Penney]]. As an ordained minister, he has worked as a [[police chaplain]] in [[Abbeville, South Carolina]], as the Associate Executive Presbyter of [[Trinity Presbytery]], as a religious [[technical advisor]] for several films, and as a member of the credentialed press for various religious publications including being the editor of the [[Church Ad-Ministrator]] Magazine.  He appeared in the 2008 Karl Bardosh film, "Out of Balance" and appeared in the credits under the name Peter Dray Maynard.<ref>http://web.mac.com/karlbard/iWeb/OUT%20OF%20BALANCE%20MOVIE/Credits.html</ref>  He is currently the Senior Pastor of a church in [[Miami, Florida]].<ref>Clergy Journal - Church Management Magazine, June, 1994</ref>


==Astronomy==
Pittendreigh has been a life-long active amateur astronomer and wrote several articles about astronomy in the [[United States]]<ref> Sky and Telescope, February, 1994; Astronomy Magazine December, 2007</ref> and the [[United Kingdom]]. His work, "[[Pittendreigh's Law of Planetary Motion]]" was published in [[Sky and Telescope]] magazine in February 1994. During the early years of the [[Hubble Space Telescope]], Pittendreigh was on an international team of [[amateur astronomers]] allowed to work with [[NASA]] in using the space telescope in a study of [[asteroids]]. The name of their study was "[[Transition Comets -- UV Search for OH Emissions in Asteroids]]."  He has also done extensive work in the area of [[Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies|Arp peculiar galaxies]].

==Published works==
Pittendreigh wrote several books, including: 
*A History of Erskine Theological Seminary (1976)
*A Presbyterian People - The History of the Warrenton Presbyterian Church (1986)
*An Observer's Atlas to the Moon 
*A People of Faith - A History of New Bethel Presbyterian Church (1995)
*The Presbyterian Church Welcomes You (2003) ISBN 1-4107-1901-4


Pittendreigh also wrote a humor column in the [[Clergy Journal]] for several years. He was editor of the [[Church Ad-Ministrator]] magazine from 1994-1998.


==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.pittendreigh.com/ www.pittendreigh.com]
* [http://goodshepherdsermons.blogspot.com/ Sermons by Pittendreigh]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittendreigh, Maynard}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American Presbyterians]]
[[Category:Presbyterian ministers]]
[[Category:American astronomers]]