Remembering the Rev. David C. Hancock

The Rev. David C. Hancock, a longtime leader in Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) efforts to minister with people suffering alcohol and drug addictions, died Aug. 1, 2007, in a Minneapolis nursing home. He was 93. In 1960 David was instrumental in bringing issues of addiction and recovery to the attention of the Presbyterian Church, with a challenge for church involvement. For many years, he staffed the phone line for the National Presbyterian Substance Abuse Informational number. He was secretary of the United Presbyterian Alcohol Information & Action Network (PAN), the forerunner of PNAODA, now PAA.

“He was really ahead of his time,” said the Rev. Gordon Grimm, a retired Lutheran pastor and former staffer at Hazelden, a treatment center near Center City, MN. “Rather than seeing everything about alcohol as negative, he would [teach] that it is a part of life, that people need to set boundaries, and if they can’t, they need help,” said Grimm in a Presbyterian News Service story. 

Many years ago, the Presbyterian Network on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (PNAODA) instituted the David C. Hancock Award, still presented at Presbyterian General Assemblies, for exemplary work by a professional in the field of addictions prevention, intervention and recovery.

Trish Merrill, the director of the Rush Center of the Johnson Institute, which fosters a congregational team approach to addressing substance abuse, Faith Partners, dedicated the training materials to David: Reverend David C. Hancock, Presbyterian Pastor, a true leader and historian of the faith community’s response to substance abuse.

We, in David’s PHEWA family, have deep gratitude for the gifts that he brought to our ministry. Along with a keen intellect and expertise in his field, there was a profound kindness and gentleness that he extended to each and everyone that he encountered. David was truly a pastor and a gift to us all.