ZEPP, Ira G(ilbert), Jr. 1929-

PERSONAL: Born November 15, 1929, in Madonna, MD; son of Ira Gilbert and Nellie Kathryn (Foard) Zepp; married Mary Dodd, June 21, 1952; children: Alan, Karen, Paul, Jody. Education: Western Maryland College, B.A., 1952; Drew University, B.D. (magna cum laude), 1956; attended University of Edinburgh, 1956-57, University of Göttingen, 1957, Harvard University, 1957-58, Institute in Indian Civilization, India, 1967, and Center for Intercultural Documentation, Cuernavaca, Mexico, 1971; St. Mary's Seminary and University, Ph.D., 1971.

ADDRESSES: Home—576 Marshall Dr., Westminster, MD 21157. Office—Department of Religion, Western Maryland College, Westminster, MD 21157.

CAREER: Ordained United Methodist minister, 1956; pastor of Methodist churches in Green Village, NJ, and Medford, MA, 1955-60, and Jarrettsville, MD, 1960-63; Western Maryland College, Westminster, dean of chapel and assistant professor, 1963-74, associate professor, 1974-80, professor of religion, beginning 1980. Wesley Theological Seminary, visiting lecturer, beginning 1968. Baltimore Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, member of board of ministry, beginning 1968, commission on higher education, beginning 1973, and commission on the role and status of women, beginning 1974; St. Mary's Seminary and University, member of administrative advisory board of Ecumenical Institute, 1972. Cohost of Good Vibrations, WTOP-TV, 1972. Koinonia Foundation, trustee.

MEMBER: International Bonhöffer Society, National Association of College and University Chaplains, American Academy of Religion, Carl Michalson Society.

AWARDS, HONORS: Fulbright-Hays fellowship in Hinduism, 1967; distinguished teacher award, Western Maryland College, 1973.

WRITINGS:

(Translator, with others) Friederich Gogarten, TheReality of Faith, 1959.

(With Kenneth L. Smith) Search for the Beloved Community: The Thinking of Martin Luther King, Jr., Judson Press (Valley Forge, PA), 1974.

(Editor, with Melvin D. Palmer) Drum Major for aDream: Poetic Tributes to Martin Luther King, Jr., Writer's Workshop (Calcutta, India), 1976.

(Editor) Rabindranath Tagore: American Interpretations, Writer's Workshop (Calcutta, India), 1981.

The New Religious Image of Urban America: TheShopping Mall As Ceremonial Center, Christian Classics (Westminster, MD), 1986, revised edition, University Press of Colorado (Boulder, CO), 1997.

The Social Vision of Martin Luther King, Jr., Carlson Publishing (Brooklyn, NY), 1989.

A Muslim Primer: Beginner's Guide to Islam, Wakefield Editions (Westminster, MD), 1992.

Contributor of articles to periodicals, including Pulpit, Christian Century, and Christian Advocate.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times Book Review, August 10, 1987.

New York Review, July 17, 2003, review of The NewReligious Image of Urban America: The Shopping Mall As Ceremonial Center, pp. 41-43.*