William V. Rauscher Jr., retired Episcopal rector, parapsychologist, author, and magician, has died at 91
“Clergy are custodians of Holy Mystery,” he said in his autobiography. “They must allow in this life a margin of mystery in their thinking.”
William V. Rauscher Jr., 91, of Woodbury, retired longtime Episcopal rector at Christ Church in Woodbury, honorary canon of Trinity Cathedral in Trenton, parapsychologist, author, stage magician, and mentor, died Wednesday, July 3, of age-associated ailments at his home.
For 36 years, from 1960 to 1996, the Rev. Rauscher ministered to hundreds of families and thousands of Episcopal parishioners at historic Christ Church on Delaware Street in downtown Woodbury. He was an energetic leader, and he helped renovate the church buildings and invigorate his congregation.
“He could make the most challenging theological concepts understandable,” said longtime friend Al Belmont. “He spoke with grace and knowledge and authority.” In his autobiography, From Childhood to Priesthood — A Brief Memoir and Reflections, Rev. Rauscher said his religious calling “was a life, not a job.”
In the big picture, Rev. Rauscher organized Woodbury’s first ecumenical panel discussions on important issues, served as president of a Woodbury clergy association, and was named honorary canon of Trinity Cathedral in 1971. He also played active leadership roles at conferences, retreats, and synods, on commissions and boards, and for foundations.
Closer to home, he established a vocational school of religion and an endowment fund at Christ Church, and the church dedicated a special stained-glass window to his life and ministry in 1998.
He publicly protested for racial equality in the 1960s and organized Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for decades. He ran fundraisers for people in need, conducted thousands of worship services, and assembled an eclectic roster of prominent guest speakers for a yearslong lecture series at the church and for a local youth group.
He was curious and interested in parapsychology, particularly how near-death experiences and telepathic communication may relate to life-after-death theories and Christian beliefs. So he hosted seminars on the intersections of religion and the paranormal, and was president and executive board member of the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship in the 1960s and ‘70s.
He met with European psychics on a grant from the Parapsychology Foundation in New York and lectured to psychic phenomenon societies around the world. The Inquirer wrote several stories about his religious and paranormal beliefs in the 1960s and ‘70s, and he called himself “a pioneer interpreter of the so-called psychic revolution for Christians” in his autobiography.
“When you think about it,” he told The Inquirer in 1970, “Christianity was actually founded on the beliefs of life after death, miracles, visions, voices from beyond. Those are all examples of psychic phenomena.”
Rev. Rauscher was also a popular magician, mentor, and chaplain of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He held popular stage shows that featured tricks from Harry Houdini and other famous magicians, and he was inducted into the Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame in 1994. American magician David Copperfield sent him best wishes on his 91st birthday last year.
Intellectual and expressive, Rev. Rauscher wrote dozens of articles and monographs, and 25 books, including 2019′s Edgar Mitchell — The Man with the Cosmic Mind, about religion, parapsychology, magic, and other topics. He graduated from Philadelphia Divinity School, now part of Episcopal Divinity School, in 1957 and served as rector at St. Steven’s Church in Florence, now Sts. Stephen and Barnabas Church, until 1960.
He felt a “gnawing for the ministry” as a young man, he said in his autobiography, and found in the Episcopal church “a natural approach to the religious life, where I could find a balance of personality and spirituality.”
William Vernon Rauscher Jr. was born Oct. 17, 1932, in Long Branch, N.J. He grew up in Highlands, N.J., and learned one of his first magic tricks from his uncle George.
He enjoyed the lights and action on New Jersey’s many seaside boardwalks as a teenager and earned a bachelor’s degree in education at Glassboro State College, now Rowan University, in 1954. He was modest and friendly, and he sent birthday cards to friends and invited his parents to live with him near the church.
He lectured around the world, and a longtime friend called him “a true raconteur with a mischievous sense of humor“ in an online tribute. Another friend said: “He made me feel like I mattered.”
He said in his autobiography: “I have learned that the Church is really the people, and people make things happen because of faith, commitment, and the urgency to get things done.”
Rev. Rauscher is survived by cousins and other relatives.
Services were held Wednesday.
Donations in his name may be made to the Endowment Fund of Christ Church, 62 Delaware St., Woodbury, N.J. 08096.