2005 John Park Lee Award

The Rev. William (Bill) H. Thomas

In 1969, PHEWA established this award to recognize the recipient for outstanding work in the field of health and welfare. The award carries the name John Park Lee, who guided the National Presbyterian Health and Welfare Association (now PHEWA) through its early development and sensitized the church to its opportunities for mission in areas of health and welfare. The Rev. William H. Thomas was the 2005 honoree.

Whether it was Stamford, Connecticut, the Appalachians of Eastern Kentucky or the steel-making strip along the Monongahela River outside of Pitts­burgh, Bill pastored and organized, never separating the church from the community, faith from action.

Bebb Wheeler Stone, PHEWA board member, told the following to those gathered to honor Bill:

“When Bill retired from Pittsburgh Presbytery, he was asked to submit a brief autobiography for the presbytery papers. Bill’s bio is a one-page list of one-line statements, such as:

• Born in Brentwood PA and a son of Concord Presbyterian Church;
• Attended Western Theological Seminary, BD; New York Theological Seminary, STM, Urban Studies;
• Co-anchored a radio show with local Catholic priest.

You’ll notice that all of those are sentence fragments because there is no subject, no pronoun, indeed very little (in Greek) “ego” — “I.”  On this entire page that Bill submitted to describe his life, there are but five places where he used the personal pronoun. These five sentences — to a text critic such as myself — are revealing.  They are:

• I have been pastor in small churches in PA, CT, KY and the Mon Valley.
• I directed an economic disaster ecumenical ministry in eastern Kentucky.
• For General Assembly I served on the Housing Committee (Lazarus Paper) and am currently serving a second term with PHEWA.
• I was educated by the black community as I served with W. Main Street Community Center.
• I was a firefighter for 10 years in CT.

There are Bill’s deepest values expressed.  He has not chosen as the world chooses, has he …  His modesty always understates his competence.  He is one of the most competent people I know.”

David Cockcroft, former PHEWA board president, said of Bill: “He is a homespun theologian with a practical sense of the Christian faith. It is very appropriate that Bill receive this award … he is truly a minister for justice; he is truly a gentle pastor; and he is truly a reconciler.”

And one more story … this one about Bill’s crew cut (yes, the hair) …

A Pittsburgh Presbytery colleague gave the etiology of Bill’s crew cut upon his retirement:

During Bill’s second year at Grove City College, Bill and his father had a conversation about Bill’s transportation needs. Bill wanted a car. Bill’s dad, inwardly granting the advantages of such a purchase for both of them, nevertheless wanted to put this off as long as possible. So he decided this was a negotiating moment:

“Bill, there are three things I’d like to see happen before you get a car, as signs of your maturity and capacity to manage a car.”

“Really?” answered Bill. “And what would those be?”

“First of all, I’d like to see your grades improve. You know you really can do better than you’ve been doing. Second, I’d like you to spend some time every day reading the Bible. And finally, Bill, that long hair has to go.”

The semester passed and Bill came home on break. In his hands he held his grades. “Hey, Dad! May we talk about the car again? Look at this! All B’s!” And his father had to admit that while all B’s wasn’t quite what he had in mind, they surely were an improvement.

“So — how’s the Bible reading going?”

“Pretty well! I’ve been reading it every day; not whole chapters maybe, but at least a few verses.”

“That’s great!” said his father. “Now, what about that haircut?”

“Well, ya’know Dad, with all that Bible reading I’ve been doing, I’ve learned a lot, and now I know that all of those disciples of Jesus had long hair!”

“Yup,” said Bill’s Dad, “and they walked everywhere they went.”

And ever since that day, Bill has had a crew cut and a car!

The very last one-liner on Bill’s autobiography that Bebb referred to above was, “Been blessed.”

The John Park Lee Award goes to William H. Thomas who is a blessing to all those with whom he has served over a lifetime of ministry.