The Rev. Richard E. Young will become president and CEO of the Texas Presbyterian Foundation (TPF), effective Oct. 1. For the past six and a half years Young has served as regional representative for the Board of Pensions for the 19 presbyteries in the Synods of the Sun and the Rocky Mountains. He will succeed Liz Williams who has served as interim president since the retirement of Dan Klein at the end of 2010.
A graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Young received his M.Div. from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, an MBA from Dallas Baptist University, and a D.Min. from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Before beginning his work with the Board of Pensions, he served pastorates in the Synod of the Sun: Mexia, Grand Prairie and Conroe, Texas, and in Oklahoma City, Okla. He served as a member of the Board of Pensions and on its Investment Committee before going to work for the board.
The Texas Presbyterian Foundation is an agency of the Synod of the Sun with assets over $700 million. It serves as the primary investment entity for more than 200 congregations and an additional 85 agencies and institutions in the four-state region comprised of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The foundation’s offices are located in the Presbyterian Mission Center in Las Colinas, Texas.
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The Rev. Charles A. Hunter — a Dallas minister, college professor and civic leader who was committed to advancing race relations and promoting peace ― died June 12 at age 85.
Hunter ― father of the Rev. Rhashell Hunter, director of Racial Ethnic and Women’s Ministries/Presbyterian Women of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s General Assembly Mission Council ― was the first black elected moderator of Northeast Texas Presbytery and, in 1966, was one of the first blacks to run for the Dallas school board.
Hunter’s race relations work began after he arrived in Dallas in 1961 and in May 1968 he co-founded Amigos, an organization that promoted social outings between black and white couples. The Amigos’ events included picnics, movies, potluck dinners and sailing outings.
Born in Longview, Texas, Hunter and received his bachelor’s degree from Bishop College in Marshall, Texas and his Bachelor of Divinity degree from Howard University in Washington D.C. Later, he earned additional degrees in theology from Philadelphia Divinity School and in science from what is now the University of North Texas.
He pastored congregational churches in Alabama and Florida before moving to Dallas and joining the PC(USA). He served as pastor of Hope, St. Luke and Glendale Presbyterian churches and as parish associate at Oak Cliff Presbyterian Church. He also taught at Bishop College, Southern Methodist University, the University of Texas at Arlington, El Centro College, Richland College and the Dallas Police Academy. He retired from teaching in 1988.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Oak Cliff Presbyterian Church, where he had served as associate pastor. He will be buried in Laurel Land Memorial Park.
Hunter is survived by three daughters, Rhonda, Rhashell and Rosalyn; a son, Byron; two sisters, Delores Simms and Dorothy Griffin; a brother, Julian Hunter; and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held June 18 at Oak Cliff Presbyterian Church.
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The Rev. Arlene Gordon, recently retired executive presbyter for Tropical Florida Presbytery, was elected president of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus, which met as part of the Big Tent event last month in Indianapolis, IN. She succeeds the Rev. Gregory Bentley, pastor of Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa, AL, on the campus of Stillman College.
In her first letter to NBPC members as president, Gordon wrote: “There is much challenging work ahead … I believe this organization is more vital now than ever before as we continue to faithfully serve our beloved church. The work that was begun by faithful and concerned Black Presbyterians to call the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to accountability is still just as necessary in these current times. It is therefore incumbent upon each one of us to continue the important work that the National Black Presbyterian Caucus has done over the years to address the concerns and aspirations of Black Presbyterians and to keep our concerns and issues before the church at large.”
Prior to her work in Tropical Florida, Gordon ― a graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary who also earned a D.Min. at United Theological Seminary ― served as interim executive for Detroit Presbytery; on the General Assembly Council staff in Louisville; and as associate pastor of Sojourner Truth Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Calif..
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John Gordon (“Jack”) Baugh IV, who served the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in a variety of capacities, died July 28 in Irvine, Calif. He was 82.
Born in Germantown, Pa., Baugh was highly educated, earning degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering and advanced degrees in business management. He received many honors and awards during his long career at Hughes Aircraft. He was most proud to have designed the landing guidance portion of the Surveyor 1 Spacecraft that helped guide the soft landing of the satellite on the moon. The Surveyor 1 is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum in Washington D.C.
With his wife of 62 years, Barbara (“Bobbie”), Baugh traveled widely, camping in 48 states, most provinces in Canada and on cruises covering all seven continents.
In addition to his family, Baugh loved the PC(USA), and served it in many ways ― from his congregation ― Irvine Presbyterian Church ― to service on several national bodies, including the General Assembly Council and the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly.
Jack Baugh is survived by Bobbie Baugh; two sons, John Gordon Baugh V and Kevin Baugh and his wife Sheila; a daughter, Cheri Baugh Woods; two brothers, Raymond Baugh and his wife, Carol, and Robert Provette and his wife, Verdia; a sister, Lynda Provette; four grandchildren ― Chenoa Trout, John Gordon Baugh VI, Ariel Baugh, and Kira Baugh; and three great-grandchildren, Brayden, Brynja, and Aundy.
A memorial service was held Aug. 6 at Irvine Presbyterian Church.
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Compassion, Peace and Justice Ministries of the General Assembly Mission Council has announced two recent appointments.
The Rev. Carl Horton has joined the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program staff as strategic planning and program facilitator. He will lead a two-year process of strategic planning and program evaluation for the peacemaking program.
For the past seven years, Horton has specialized in transitional ministry in Mid-Kentucky Presbytery, serving as interim pastor at First Presbyterian Church, Shelbyville, Ky.; Springdale and Second Presbyterian Churches in Louisville; and most recently First Presbyterian Church, Frankfort, Ky.
Horton previously served as the GAMC’s coordinator for church leader support with the General Assembly Mission Council from 2000-2004. He chairs Mid-Kentucky Presbytery’s Committee on Preparation for Ministry and is on the executive committee of the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE).
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has hired Rick Turner of Greer, N.C., as associate for disaster hospitality support. He will work from his home. Since 2003, he has served as a volunteer in emergency response and preparedness. In 2005 he coordinated Gulf mission trips for John Knox Presbyterian Church in Greenville, S.C. and a year later became disaster response coordinator for Foothills Presbytery
During his tenure with Foothills Presbytery, Turner was instrumental in forming the South Carolina Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network (SCaPDAN), a team formed from representatives of the five presbyteries in South Carolina. He is currently a member of the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance National Response Team.
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The Rev. Charles E. Brewster, 72, who devoted the early years of his career to teaching and journalism before pursuing his first love, pastoral ministry, died July 8 in Dallas, Texas, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Following his graduation from Westminster (Pa.) College in 1960, Brewster served the PC(USA) as a short-term missionary in Tehran, Iran, where he taught history. A 1966 graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, Brewster was ordained the to the m by Palisades Presbytery in 1973.
He was managing editor of New World Outlook, the mission magazine of the United Methodist Church, from 1967-82, and he served as interim editor of ONE WORLD, a magazine of the World Council of Churches, in 1980. But, his heart and his calling were always in the local congregation. While on the staff of New World Outlook he was parish associate at Good Shepherd-Faith Presbyterian Church in New York and left the magazine to become pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Forest Hills, NY, where he served until his retirement in 2008.
A memorial service was held at First Presbyterian Church of Dallas on July 18.
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Kim Hayes, who for the past year and a half has served as senior director for marketing and communication at Montreat Conference Center, has been promoted to vice-president for marketing and communications.
“Kim Hayes has taken on some very challenging assignments in the past 18 months, as Montreat Conference Center introduces itself afresh to the Presbyterian Church and to its larger constituency, as a wondrous place for renewal and retreat,” said Montreat President Peter Peery. “No longer can Montreat assume people will just come because they have always done so,” he added. “In this present age, it becomes our responsibility to reach out and reintroduce congregations and individuals to Montreat as a place that nurtures faith and vision for a church called by God to bear witness to Jesus the Christ.”
In her expanded role, Hayes will remain responsible for all communications about the ministry and mission of Montreat Conference Center: lead a sales team committed to meeting attendance goals for Montreat’s various conferences and for congregational bookings for retreats and seminars; and mange the conference center’s retail shops.
“Kim has a two-way role for us here in Montreat,” Peery said. “She carries the message of our ministry out into the church and world and offers it there. Equally important, she presents to us what she hears out in the church and world so that Montreat Conference Center’s ministry may be better focused to be relevant to participants who make pilgrimage to this place set apart.”