GA08119

Assembly remembers Ben Lacy Rose

by Duane Sweep

SAN JOSE, June 26, 2008 — The 218th General Assembly paused before lunch Thursday to remember the Rev. Ben Lacy Rose, moderator of the 111th General Assembly (1971) of the Presbyterian Church in the United States. Rose died in Richmond, Va., Nov. 13, 2006.

The Rev. Vernon Broyles read a tribute to Rose written by Rose’s longtime friend, the Rev. George Conn, who remembered the former Army chaplain, pastor and seminary professor as “a man of fierce pride in his country and deep compassion for the soldiers he served.”

In the 1950s, Rose preached a sermon declaring his “unwavering support for an open church that welcomed all people and stood for racial justice.” The sermon was printed and sent to every church in the denomination.