Rev. Hale

Rev. Dr. Joe R. Hale, age 81, died on November 14 at Silver Bluff Village, near Canton, N.C., where he lived with his wife, Mary Richey Hale. A worship service celebrating his life will be held on Thursday, November 17th, 2:00 p.m., at First United Methodist Church in Waynesville, N.C. Rev. Sanford L. Giles, Jr. and Bishop Ivan M. Abrahams, General Secretary of the World Methodist Council, will officiate. Joe was a native of Camden, Arkansas, the son of the late Alfred Clay Hale and Bess Akin Hale. His father was a school teacher and a consultant for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. When his father served one full year in Thailand, accompanied by Joe, the experience abroad made an indelible impact upon him, initiating his fascination with global Christianity. Young Joe was good at academics; but, at age 9, he demonstrated interest and acumen for performing magic tricks, doing 30-40 intriguing shows per year in the Camden area. At age 13, Joe met a noted magician Harry Blackstone and even assisted him in a performance. In high school Joe began a life-long love for playing musical instruments, beginning with trumpet performances. As an adult, he learned harp and played for personal entertainment. At the age of 16, Joe was inspired by the preaching of Billy Graham, whereby the faith of his childhood was deepened with evangelical fervor. Later in life, he and Graham became personal friends and were mutually supportive in their evangelical endeavors. Joe's early passion for proclaiming the Gospel was born, and he started preaching in small Methodist churches and camp meetings in south Arkansas. Joe combined his intriguing gifts in magic with his enthusiasm for preaching as he took his magic show to thousands of fellow youth at the beach upon spring breaks during his student years at Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky. Upon graduation from Asbury in 1957, Joe matriculated at Perkins School of Theology, the seminary at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Upon his graduation from seminary in 1960, Joe was recognized for his innate skills and intense passion for evangelism and was, consequently, appointed by his bishop to serve on the staff of the General Board of Evangelism, working under the guidance of the legendary Harry Denman. Through the encouragement of his colleague and friend on the Board's staff, Ed Beck (an All-American basketball player on the University of Kentucky's National Championship team), Joe met Mary Richey of Paris, Texas. After a brief courtship, they were married in 1964. Mary was the Director of Christian Education at First Methodist Church in Odessa, Texas, and the two became partners in dynamic ministries of proclamation and teaching for the ensuing four decades. In 1968, Joe was elevated to the position of Director of Ecumenical Evangelism for the Board of Evangelism, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. He led the planning for a World Conference on Evangelism in Jerusalem held in 1974, attended by over 2, 500 persons from around the world. Joe interacted with many Palestinian Christians, resulting in his life-long sensitivity to the plight of those that suffered injustices and oppression in their native land. Joe's careful planning of this global conference did not go unnoticed. Thus, at the gathering of the World Methodist Council in 1976, meeting in Dublin, Ireland, Joe R. Hale was elevated to the position of General Secretary of the Council and held that position until his retirement in September of 2001. When the World Methodist Council gathered for its Conference in Brighton, England, journalist Ron Patterson wrote this tribute upon Joe's retirement, "To most of those assembled, Joe Hale has personified the World Methodist Council. During my own 30 years of church journalism, I have not known a more committed, faithful, and generous spirit. Joe is someone who is always building platforms for others, with generosity and a genuine sense of humility." Joe Hale's warmth of personality and ability to bring a solidarity of purpose to 36 million members of the World Methodist Council with a constituency of over 70 million people with residents in 130 countries, uniting in one spirit these many cultures, was indeed remarkable! Joe seemed to embrace these many delegates as a brother or sister. He sought to know personally as many as possible within the Wesleyan family of churches. Dr. Hale presided with distinction over five great conferences of the World Methodist Council, held in the following locations: Honolulu, Hawaii (1981); Singapore (1986); Nairobi, Kenya 1991); Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1996); and Brighton, England (2001). Joe will especially be remembered for his courageous advocacy for the powerless and dispossessed. When he received the World Methodist Peace Award, the citation stated, "You have shown courage as you led Methodist people in seeking to end the apartheid system in South Africa, and in empowering the Methodist Movement to seek reconciliation amidst disunity in Fiji. You have been consistent, forthright, and passionate in giving a voice to the hope of peace and equality of Palestinians in the Middle East. Through your voice and vision others see 'more clearly' the need for justice to ensure a lasting peace in the land which is called Holy." Previous recipients had included Anwar Sadat of Egypt; Elias Chacour of Israel/Palestine; Kofi Annan, General Secretary of the United Nations; and Nelson Mandela, President of a liberated South Africa. As General Secretary of the Council, Joe worked ardently in preserving the distinguished heritage of the Methodist movement. The World Methodist Museum at Lake Junaluska received and preserved priceless treasures during his tenure. When Dr. Hale learned about the deplorable state of "the Mother Church of Methodism" in London, he launched a global campaign to "Save Wesley's Chapel." This historic building had already been condemned and closed with plans for demolishment. Joe, consequently, led the global effort to raise one million dollars donated from Wesleyan denomination to be matched by equal funds from British Methodists. When Joe attended the re-opening of the Chapel in 1978, he was joined by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. Ten years later Dr. Hale played a key role in planning the commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of John Wesley's heart-warming experience at Aldersgate. This significant occasion of worship at St. Paul's Cathedral in London was attended by the royal family and televised in many portions of the world. In 1982, Dr. Hale attended a distinguished gathering of Secretaries of Christian World Communions, including ecclesiastical leaders of Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Baptists, Anglicans and other global bodies. At that gathering of General Secretaries, Joe Hale was elected Chair and served in that capacity for the next five years. Joe R. Hale is the recipient of three honorary academic degrees: Doctor of Humane Letters from Florida Southern University (1994), Doctor of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary (1978), and his alma mata, Asbury College (2005). In 2002 Perkins School of Theology gave tribute to their favorite son by presenting Joe with the Distinguished Service Alumnus Award. The Foundation for Evangelism named Joe the Distinguished Evangelist of the United Methodist Church for 2001. Joe is survived by his wife Mary of Silver Bluff Village and their son, Jeffrey, a graduate of the University of North Carolina, living in Raleigh, N.C. He will be remembered by thousands around the world for his embodiment of the Christian spirit. A man of genuine humility, he constantly affirmed others and sought no recognition for himself. He was an unselfish servant to others whose life constantly pointed to the primacy of Christ. His greatest happiness was always to be in the presence of his beloved Mary who held his hand in good times and bad and was at his side when he breathed his final breath. Rev. Charles Whittle, Executive Director of the National Association of United Methodist Evangelists, succinctly spoke for Joe's most intimate friends from around the globe when he said, "Where ever his appointment, Dr. Hale has always been first and foremost an evangelist—a bearer of the Good News of Jesus Christ." Memorial gifts may be designated for First United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 838 Waynesville, NC 28786 or the World Methodist Museum, P.O. Box 518, Lake Junaluska, NC 28745.

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