Mom of ‘Judging Amy’ star explains journey of faith

BANGOR – Judge Frederica S. Brenneman was not baptized until she was 34 years old, but her Christian faith and her church community helped guide the former Connecticut juvenile court judge in the difficult decisions during her 37-year career.

“My church became my refuge,” she said Monday in the keynote address at the 100th Convocation of Bangor Theological Seminary. “It was the only place I consistently found people who were striving for peace, justice and love.”

Brenneman, who lives in Westport, Conn., and attends Westport Congregational Church, graduated in 1953 from Harvard Law School as part of the school’s first class of women. Considered a national expert on juvenile justice, she speaks often to groups of lawyers and social workers, but rarely at seminaries.

The judge joked Monday about how her own limited “stardom” is intertwined with her daughter’s successful television series, “Judging Amy.”

As a mother, Judge Brenneman expressed disappointment when just half of the 250 or so conference-goers said they had seen the show that her daughter Amy Brenneman produces and stars in.

She told her audience that earlier in the day that Bangor Mayor Frank Farrington had given her several reasons why he had never seen the hit show.

“Those of you who have these excuses should get out on the street and find a 9-year-old boy who can overcome your technical difficulties so that you can see it,” she said, to laughter from the audience.

Convocation attendees Monday expressed disappointment that the Rev. James H. Cone, a theology professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York, would be unable to attend because of the weekend blizzard. Considered to be the father of black liberation theology, he was unable to reschedule a flight out of New York in time to attend the event.

Seminary professors have been enlisted to fill in for Cones, but will be discussing different topics.

The Rev. Virginia “Ginger” Snapp-Cunningham, a 2000 graduate of the seminary, returned Monday to Bangor for convocation. The pastor of the Mexico United Church of Christ, known locally as the “Green Church,” said that the three-day conference rejuvenated her after the demanding Christmas season

“It puts a little bit of life back into me,” she said during a break between lectures. “And I like being a part of the worship experience.”

Her husband, John Snapp-Cunningham, said this was the first year he’s been able to attend the entire convocation.

“I love the whole experience,” he said. “I love hearing the sermons and lectures and watching the different preaching styles.”

Seminary President William Imes said after Brenneman’s speech that this year’s convocation was focused around the theme of where the Christian church is headed.

“We’re lifting up the classical liberal positions of the church,” he said Monday. “We’re not saying we’re done, but on a national political level, we’re not on a progressive path at the moment.”

Convocation will continue through Wednesday at the Hammond Street Congregational Church.

For information, visit the seminary Web site at www.bts.edu.