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The ecumenical and interreligious family is richly diverse and populated with sisters and brothers whose lives were models of faith, fortitude and courage. Some made powerful impacts on the world stage while others lived out God's call in humbler settings. All of them, when they are gone, leave an enormous void. In this page we pause to remember some of them with gratitude and love.

NCC News contact: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2228 (office), 646-853-4212 (cell)

Mary Duckert, d. October 25, 2009

Mary J. Duckert, an author, children’s worker and Christian educator who touched the lives of countless Presbyterians during a decades-long career, died Oct. 25 in Portland, Ore., after suffering a stroke a month earlier. A Cottage Grove, Wisc., native and graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Duckert felt a call to Christian education ministry in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) while on a youth mission trip. She graduated from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago and served churches in Hammond, Ind., Libertyville, Ill. and Cleveland Heights, Ohio, as Christian educator and children’s ministry leader. At the national level, she served as secretary for elementary resources for Church Educational Services of the Board of Christian Education of the former United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and as a Publication Department field representative for Westminster Press in the southwest and northwest United States. Duckert wrote and edited an array of curriculum resources and Christian education books. She was the author of the best-selling Help! I’m a Sunday School Teacher, which was in print for 25 years. In 1995, Duckert received the “Educator of the Year” award from the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE), the highest Christian education honor bestowed by the PC(USA).

Virginia West Davidson, d. October 19, 2009

Virginia West Davidson, a diminutive and feisty mother of four who became a towering figure in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) for her tireless advocacy of full inclusion of gay, lesbian bisexual and transgendered members in the life of the church, died Oct. 19 at her home in Rochester, N.Y. She was 93. A native of Rochester — she and her two sisters were known as “the three West women” — Davidson was an active part of Downtown United Presbyterian Church her entire life. After graduating from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, she returned to Rochester to work for Kodak. During World War II she traveled to London to help the International Red Cross set up recuperation centers for tired and wounded soldiers. In 1976, Davidson was asked by General Assembly Moderator Thelma Adair to chair the denomination’s “Task Force on Homosexuality and the Church.” That work led her to enroll in Colgate Rochester Divinity School at the age of 62. She said she “had become weary over those two years of people waving their gold embossed swords on their red Bibles in her face.” Though her studies were interrupted by the serious illness of her husband, Davidson eventually completed her Th.M degree. Her dissertation was entitled “Ministry as a Partnership Affair.” Davidson rose to further national prominence in the PC(USA) in the 1990s after Downtown Church’s call to “self-affirming, practicing” lesbian the Rev. Jane Spahr to serve as co-pastor was invalidated by the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission. Davidson chaired the pastor nominating committee that called Spahr, and she responded to its rejection by leading the congregation’s effort to invited Spahr to serve in an uninstalled capacity as “evangelist” and by helping found “That All May Freely Serve” — a national organization devoted to opening doors for gay, lesbian, bixexual and transgendered Presbyterians to serve in any and all leadership capacities, including ordained office.

Margaret Flory, d. October 1, 2009

Margaret Flory, a visionary Presbyterian leader who created a number of seminal programs that connected Christians around the world with each other, died Oct. 1 in Asheville, N.C. She was 95. During her 36 years on the national staff of the former United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., Flory created such programs as Junior Year Abroad for college students; Frontier Interns, which sent Presbyterian mission workers to unreached corners of the globe; a similar ecumenical program, Frontiers in Mission, which still operates out of Geneva, Switzerland; the Overseas Scholarship Program, which brought overseas teachers and pastors to the U.S. for study; and Bi-National Servants, a program for people who have lived in two cultures and want to share that experience in a third culture. “Margaret Flory is one of the most outstanding leaders of the ecumenical movement of the 20th Century,” Rubem Alves, Brazilian theologian and poet, wrote on the occasion of her 90th birthday in 2004, “because her eyes had the power to see trees when they were only seeds.”

Idella Aydlett Harrelson, d. September 11, 2009

Idella Aydlett Harrelson, a nurse and wife of Bible scholar and New and Revised Standard Version translator Walter Harrelson for 66 years, died September 11, 2009 in Winston-Salem, NC. Idella was born in Elizabeth City, N.C. on November 27, 1921, the youngest daughter of the late Nathaniel Taylor Aydlett and Lydia Duncan Aydlett. She was educated in the public schools of Elizabeth City and at Mars Hill College. Her nursing degree was earned in later life at the University of Tennessee, Nashville. She served as a volunteer nurse in the French Hospital in Bethlehem during her family's stay at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute nearby. She spent much of her time and energies making a home for her family in the many locations in which they settled, including San Diego, Chapel Hill, New York City, Basel Switzerland, Boston, Chicago, Nashville, Rome, Jerusalem, Southport, NC, and Winston-Salem. She loved birds and flowers, home decorating, traveling, cooking, and good literature. She is survived by her husband; her children, Marianne Harrelson McIver, David Aydlett Harrelson, Robert Joseph Harrelson; six grandchildren, Heather and Heidi McIver, Ansel and Clea Harrelson, and Jessie and Tommy Harrelson, and by two great-grandchildren, Annika and Celie McIver Lowe.

Lewis S. Mudge, d. September 11, 2009

The Rev. Dr. Lewis S. Mudge, a scholar and theologian whose breadth of interests and expertise enriched virtually every corner of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the global ecumenical movement, died September 11 in his sleep at his home in Berkeley, Calif. He would have turned 80 on Oct. 22. “Lew Mudge’s passing marks a sad but significant milestone in the quest for church unity,” said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches. “In much of the past century, no one could be engaged in the church or the ecumenical movement without encountering his intellectual and theological leadership. Multitudes knew Lew through his dozen books and thousands of articles and papers, but the luckiest among us knew him through his personal warmth and pastoral concern for all he met.” Mudge joined the faculty of San Francisco Theological Seminary in 1987 as vice-president for academic affairs, dean of the faculty and professor of theology. A year later he began teaching at the Graduate Theological Union in nearby Berkeley, and served both institutions until 2000, when he retired from SFTS as professor emeritus. He continued to teach at the GTU until his death. Mudge edited or authored 12 books, including of One Church: Catholic and Reformed (1963), The Crumbling Walls (1970), The Sense of a People (1992), The Church as Moral Community (1998), Rethinking the Beloved Community (2001), and The Gift of Responsibility (2008). He also produced countless reports and scholarly articles for too many publications to count. No writer in recent memory was so prolific.

Richard Fogel, d. September 9, 2009

Richard Fogel, a Presbyterian communicator and crusader for press freedom as well as a mentor to dozens of young journalists as co-founder of a Bay Area news service, died Wednesday in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Mr. Fogel, 86, co-founded Bay City News Service in the late 1970s and continued working there until he retired three years ago. He was known for his dedication to accuracy, objectivity and the public's right to government information, colleagues said. "Working with him was like being in a constant college class," said Aimee Lewis Strain, a managing editor at Bay City for six years. "It was lovely to have the opportunity, after a long news day, to sit with him and discuss stories and critique and learn and better our minds." Known as Dick, Mr. Fogel was born in Santa Monica and served in the Army during World War II, where, after being stationed in Rome, he launched his journalism career as a correspondent and sports editor for the Stars and Stripes' Mediterranean edition. After the war, Mr. Fogel resumed his education at Stanford, working nights at the Stanford Daily and reporting for the San Francisco News. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism and worked for a time at United Press International. For 30 years, beginning in 1948, Mr. Fogel worked at the Oakland Tribune, starting as a copy editor and ultimately serving as executive editor.

Mary Batchelor Seel, d. September 9, 2009

Mary Batchelor Seel, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) medical missionary in Korea for 37 years, died on her 84th birthday, Sept. 28, in Birmingham, Ala. Born in Whitmire, S.C., and raised in Orlando, Fla., “Mimi” Seel was the daughter of one-time Stillman College President Alex R. Batchelor, from whom she inherited a special heart for young people. She graduated from PC(USA)-related Maryville (Tenn.) College before marrying Dr. David Seel in 1949. After completing his surgical residency training in New Orleans, David and Mimi embarked to Korea, where they served at Presbyterian Medical Center. Innovative and imaginative, Mimi Seel created the region’s first histopathology lab, developed the hospital’s first cancer registry, and helped to design and rehabilitate many of the mission’s facilities. A lover of music, she taught herself to play the flute, and mastered the percussion instrument known as the “bones.” She performed the bones at churches, schools and most recently at the 2009 National Bones Festival in Louisville. After retiring, the Seels moved to Montreat, N.C., then Louisville and finally, Birmingham. Mimi Seel is survived by her son David John Seel, Jr. and wife, Kathryn, of Cohasset, Mass.; Jennifer Seel Cromartie and husband, Michael, of Arlington, Va.; Christine Seel Ritchie and husband, Tim, of Birmingham, Ala.

Edwin H. Tuller, Sr., d. August 25, 2009

The Rev. Dr. Edwin H. Tuller, Sr., 95, who presided over American Baptist Churches during the turbulent sixties and was a unyielding advocate for human rights and peace, died in Pittsburgh. "Ed Tuller was one of a vanguard of church leaders who made it clear that support for the Civil Rights Movement was a Christian duty," said the Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches. "He openly supported his fellow Baptist, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and he was prominently visible at the 'I Have a Dream' march on Washington in 1963 and other Civil Rights demonstrations. His strong Christian faith gave him unquestioned moral credentials to stand for freedom, justice and equality and he set an example for the generation of church leaders that followed him." Tuller's successor as General Secretary, the Rev. Dr., Robert C. Campbell, died July 27. Tuller served as general secretary from 1959 to 1970. He presided over the completion in 1962 of the American Baptist Mission Center headquarters in Valley Forge, Pa. The famously circular building has been referred to ever since as the "holy doughnut," but there are also those who called it "Tuller's Cruller."

Robert E. Grimm, d. August 17, 2009

The Rev. Robert E. Grimm, a United Church of Christ pastor and one-time director of the Buffalo, N.Y., Area Council of Churches, died in his Buffalo home at 87. The Chicago native was a graduate of Denison University and served as an officer in the Navy. Following seminary at Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, Mr. Grimm was ordained in 1949 in the Congregational Church, now known as the United Church of Christ. He began his ministry at a community church in Pickstown, S. D., before embarking on a life’s work in ecumenism and interfaith relations. “My dad was always a person who wanted to bring people together,” said his daughter, Leslie Archer. His work was based on the belief that “the church needed to be more inclusive and tolerant of other belief systems,” she added. Mr. Grimm was executive secretary for the South Dakota Council of Churches from 1951 to 1957, and from 1957 to 1976 he served in executive posts at councils of churches in Erie, Pa., and Syracuse. He took over in 1976 as head of the Buffalo Area Council of Churches, an ecumenical organization that later merged with Buffalo Area Metropolitan Ministries to form the Network of Religious Communities. Passionate about peace and justice, Mr. Grimm participated in downtown prayer vigils for victims of the .22-caliber killer and was involved in other efforts to alleviate racial tensions in Buffalo following the shootings targeting African American men. (Jay Tokasz, The Buffalo News)

William J. Schmidt, d. August 10, 2009

The Rev. Dr. William J. Schmidt, church historian and biographer of ecumenical pioneers Samuel McCrea Cavert and Henry Smith Leiper, died Monday night after a long illness. "Bill was a devoted supporter of the World Council of Churches and often accompanied his wife Jean to our New York office, where she was chief financial officer and later served as a loyal volunteer," said the Rev. Deborah DeWinter, Program Director for the United States, World Council of Churches. "Bill's knowledge of ecumenical history, his gracious kindness and his sense of humor made him an invaluable resource for us." Bill and Jean Schmidt also staffed WCC exhibits and represented the WCC at the national meetings of many member communions, DeWinter said. Schmidt is survived by Jean, with whom he celebrated 60 years of marriage in June. The Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, said Schmidt's reputation as a scholar was widely known. "His clearly written and thoroughly researched biographies of Cavert and Leiper are major milestones in our understanding of ecumenism and how it evolved nationally and internationally," Kinnamon said.

Marlene Kay Laughlin, d. August 3, 2009

The Rev. Marlene Kay Laughlin was a chapel minister at The Wayfarers Chapel from 1997 to 2004. She came to the chapel from pastoral assignments in Watertown, Brookline, and Bridgewater, Mass.

She was ordained in 1986 from the Swedenborg School of Religion in Newton, Mass., and held a M.S. degree in biology from Ball State University in Indiana. Emanuel Swedenborg teaches that the reality of our faith is displayed by the way we treat others and in the manner and usefulness in which we conduct our lives.

Rev. Marlene was a living example of Swedenborg's teaching. During her years at Wayfarers Chapel its congregation grew by word of mouth. Her sermons were uplifting -- clear, revealing, sober yet humorous. She made everyone feel welcome and very special.

Robert C. Campbell, d. July 27, 2009

The Rev. Dr. Robert C. Campbell, 85, the longest serving general secretary in American Baptist history, died July 27. Campbell served as American Baptist general secretary from 1972 to 1987. His entire acceptance speech at the ABC's Denver convention in May 1972 was, “Thank you, I think.” He served during a critical time in American Baptist history. His first task upon entering office was to implement a major reorganization of the denomination’s structure, a difficult but necessary challenge that was crucial so the denomination could, in his words, “get on with our most important task: the mission of Jesus Christ.” During the years that Campbell served, American Baptist mission efforts made great strides, including ventures like the “Alive in Mission” capital funds campaign, and “Grow by Caring,” an initiative that had the goal of planting 500 new churches. From 1987 to 1989, Campbell served as president of his alma mater, Eastern Baptist (now Palmer) Theological Seminary, until retiring to Santa Barbara, California. There he continued to minister as the interim pastor of several churches including the First Baptist Church of Pasadena. “Honorable, compassionate, and effective—those were qualities of Bob Campbell’s life,” said A. Roy Medley, current American Baptist general secretary.

Evelyn Bonner, d. July 4, 2009

Evelyn Bonner, whose many years of commitment to minority education took her to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) racial ethnic schools from Mississippi to Alaska and earned her a Woman of Faith Award from the denomination, died July 4 in Marshall, Tex. She was 69 and had been battling cancer. Bonner — a graduate of Presbyterian mission schools, Mary Holmes College in West Point, MS, and Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC — made a life teaching and serving the Presbyterian church at the local, presbytery and national levels. She was an advocate for justice throughout her years of service, including participating in the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. She received the PC(USA)’s Women of Faith Award in 2006. Trained as a librarian, Bonner worked in that capacity for 33 years and then offered her services to three PC(USA) racial ethnic schools pretty much as a volunteer — Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Ark.; Mary Holmes College; and Barber-Scotia College in Concord, N.C.. At the time of her death, she was doing yet another librarian stint as director of the library at Wiley College in Marshall, Tex.. Bonner was constantly involved in community activities.

Joseph H. Bragg, Jr., d. June 20, 2009

Few Americans have contributed as much to the cause of effective Christian Education as the Rev. Dr. Joseph H. Bragg, Jr. A gentle but passionate man, Joe’s ministry has touched the lives of literally millions of individuals round the globe. For Joe, it all began in Tampa, Florida, when, as a layman, he became very active in the life of First Christian church. In 1957 he entered Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis and while there assisted in several academic departments and was student body president. In addition to his theological studies, he served Northwood Christian Church part time and became deeply involved in programs for youth, young adults and families. “Ever since then,” he once said, “my goal in life has been to help create a mature faith and a sense of mission in people through trusting relationships in a congregational context.” Anyone familiar with the life and work of Joe Bragg would agree that he more than succeeded in reaching this goal. It would require far more space than is available here to enumerate his remarkable achievements throughout the years. However, in Dr. Bragg’s eyes there is still much that simply must be accomplished. This conviction is based on the evidence that genuine spiritual renewal, individually or congregationally, simply cannot occur apart from a program of dynamic Christian education. It is for this reason that the National Council of Churches chose to recognize Dr. Bragg by creating a special endowment campaign in his honor. Those in particular who knew, loved and appreciated Joe and his life-long ministry are being asked to come forward at this time and help continue his life’s work by supporting the Joseph H. Bragg, Jr. Fund for Christian Education.

Bruno Kroker, d. June 11, 2009

Bruno Kroker, 94, who fled his native Germany during the Third Reich and worked as a journalist in China before becoming a communicator for the National Council of Churches USA, the World Council of Churches and the United Presbyterian Church, died early June 11 at Meadowlands Hospital Center, Secaucus, N.J. "His life was one of the great novels that never got written," said his friend, Fred Myers, who also worked on the National Council of Churches news staff in the 1970s. In the 1970s he was a familiar figure to journalists who covered the ecumenical movement in the U.S. He moved to the U.S. from Shanghai in 1950 and became an American citizen in 1955. For a decade after coming to America, he worked with CROP, the food appeal related to Church World Service. The decade following saw him as an information officer with the National Council of Churches." Bruno played a key role in press coverage for the NCC Commission on Religion and Race and its part in training rights students who went south to places like Philadelphia, Miss." Myers recalled. "He was also deeply involved in planning and covering the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." (Full story)

William Ross Forbes, d. June 30, 2009

The Rev. William Ross Forbes, who served the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in a variety of capacities for 37 years — including leadership at every PC(USA) General Assembly during that time — was 62. Forbes, a native of Jersey City, N.J., was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer three and a half years ago and his gallant battle with the disease was an inspiration to all who knew him. In a joint statement, Board of Pensions President Rob Maggs and General Assembly Stated Clerk Gradye Parsons said Forbes’ battle with cancer was “yet one more example of his approach to his life and to his spirited faith and ministry.” For five years up until his death, Forbes was vice-president for church relations and corporate secretary for the PC(USA) Board of Pensions. Previously, he served pastorates at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton, NJ; First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta; St. Philip Presbyterian Church in Houston and Westfield (NJ) Presbyterian Church. In addition to the Board of Pensions, Forbes’ service at the national level of the church included stints as associate manager for interpretation for children and youth for the former United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and as associate for youth ministry for the former Presbyterian Church in the United States.

Arnold Tiemeyer, d. May 31, 2009

Arnold Tiemeyer, 72, a pastor and social service agency executive, died May 31. Pastor Tiemeyer, father of Pastor Ann Tiemeyer, director of Women's Ministries for the National Council of Churches, recently retired from Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lansdale, Pa., and lived with his wife, Betsy, at Shannondell in Audubon, Pa. The common thread running through the mission of Arnold’s life was a commitment to making room for everyone at the table – both our community table and the Lord’s table. During his 45 years of ordained ministry, Arnold worked continuously to bridge community divisions over social and civil rights rooted in economic circumstance, race and ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Pastor Tiemeyer was most proud of his work to open Betak, the first AIDS hospice in Philadelphia during the early 1990s. At his installation as President of the Lutheran Home at Germanton (LHG) social service organization, Arnold said LHG’s mission was to “reach out to anyone in need”. A community member attending the event challenged him to bring this promise to the AIDS community. Arnold remained committed to the promise throughout the significant struggles to open and manage Betak for four years.

Richard M. Jones, d. May 8, 2009

The Rev. Dr. Richard M. Jones, a senior staff leader of American Baptist National Ministries, was a key participant in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, walking in the March on Washington in 1963. Jones wrote of that event: “We…gathered at the First Baptist Church of Washington, D.C., for a short prayer service and then joined thousands of others to walk toward the Lincoln Memorial for a time of music and the famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech by Dr. King. I was fortunate to be close to the platform and hear those words and feel the power of them.” Jones wrote of a 1963 meeting with Dr. King to plan strategies for taking stands against injustice: “There was a sense of emergency, fear and authenticity to the relationship of faith with action. Dr. King…had a sense of what might befall the movement as it took shape.” Jones' engagement in the Civil Rights Movement, he wrote, transformed his theological understanding and commitment along with his belief that personal salvation and action for social justice are intertwined. The Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley, general secretary for ABCUSA, said, “Working with Dick, there was no room for sloppy thinking or theology. He pressed us to think our best, to reach deep into our faith and how it challenged and had transformative power for our culture. His prophetic voice will be greatly missed.”

Herman E. Luben, d. April 15, 2009

The Rev. Herman E. Luben, 91, served the National Council of Churches as the executive director of the Commission on Worship and Evangelism and administrator of Common Worship and the Arts.

He also served the General Program Council of the Reformed Church in America as the secretary of new life and evangelism. Herm’s daughter, Jan Luben-Hoffman (pictured with her father), is also an RCA pastor.

Calling himself a citizen of the world, Herm was born on a farm in Coopersville, Michigan. He always kept a garden, and, later in life, kept bees. His practice of ministry took him to Alberta, Canada, where he distributed Bibles on horseback; Baldwin, N.Y. (Long Island); Roxbury, N.Y.; Utica, N.Y., where he started a church; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Lucerne, Switzerland; and Athens, Greece. He served the Reformed Church in America as an executive responsible for church growth and evangelism, and was instrumental in establishing the Fowler Camp and Retreat Center in Speculator, N.Y. A prayer cabin there was recently named in his honor - Vrede, Dutch for "peace." Herm was a gifted pastor and preacher, and over the years became a friend and mentor to many.

Kosuke Koyama, d. March 25, 2009

The Rev. Dr. Kosuke Koyama, 79, an international ecumenical leader who specialized in bridging gaps between Eastern and Western religions, died in Springfield, Mass. Koyama became a Christian in 1945, at age 15, as American bombs poured over his native Tokyo home. He was touched by the words of a local pastor who taught his congregation the importance of loving everybody, “even the Americans.” It was a value system Koyama would spend the rest of his life teaching others. Koyama, who attended Princeton Theological Seminary, travelled to Thailand to become a missionary with the United Church of Christ. By 1968, he had moved to Singapore to become dean of the South East Asia Graduate School of Theology and editor of The South East Asia Journal of Theology. A decade later, Koyama moved to Manhattan to lecture at Union Theological Seminary. He authored 13 books over the course of his career. Many served to explain Christianity to an Eastern audience. Koyama was responsible for much productive communication between Christian and Buddhist leaders. He retired in 1996. Koyama is survived by his wife, Lois; son, James; daughter, Elizabeth; and five grandchildren

Claude Black, Jr., d. March 13, 2009

The Rev. Claude William Black, Jr., 92, an American Baptist pastor and pivotal player in the civil rights movement died in San Antonio, Texas. For over half a century, Black served as pastor of Mount Zion First Baptist Church, the largest African-American church in San Antonio. Black had a long history of serving his city, working as a council member from 1973 to 1977 and becoming the city’s first black mayor pro-tem. Black was among the most significant religious leaders who fought for civil rights. He was an associate of Martin Luther King, Jr., A. Phillip Randolph and Thurgood Marshall. Black helped desegregate department stores, swimming pools and parks in San Antonio. President Johnson appointed Black as a delegate to the White House Conference on Civil Rights. Black also served his nation under the Clinton administration as a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging. A graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, he earned his master's degree in divinity from the Andover Newton Theological Seminary, near Boston, in 1943. The San Antonio native returned to his hometown where he lived the remainder of his days.

Robert E. A. Lee, d. February 27, 2009

Robert E. A. Lee, 87, film producer and Lutheran communicator, died at his home in Baldwin, N.Y. For over a half of a century, Lee dedicated his life to ecumenicism and equality. He served as the executive secretary of Lutheran Film Associates and also as executive director for communications of the Lutheran Council in the United States. He produced two highly controversial but extremely well-received films, A Time for Burning and Martin Luther. The first was a documentary demonstrating race relations in the 1960s. Though the film was rejected by three major television networks, it was finally broadcast in October 1966. The critical success led to its later theatrical release and subsequent Oscar nomination for best documentary. In 2005, A Time for Burning was added to the National Film Registry, a prestigious list of films that are preserved for their cultural impact. Martin Luther, a film chronicling the life of the great reformer, received two Oscar nominations. Lee produced several other successful films throughout his lifetime. His wife, Elaine, died in 2000. Lee is survived by their six children, Peg Harris, Barbara Greenfeldt, Sigrid Lee, Richard Lee, Sylvia Lee-Thompson and Paul Lee; two sisters, Juliet Seim and Naomi Hysell; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Leon Howell, d. February 26, 2009

Leon Howell, an author and essayist who was the last editor of the influential liberal-tilting journal Christianity and Crisis, has died. He was 73.Howell died Feb. 26 at his home in Silver Spring, Md. He had suffered for years from a viral spinal infection that was never fully diagnosed. Christianity and Crisis, founded in 1941 by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, reached its peak in the late 1960s, when it was a leading critic of the Vietnam War. Howell began contributing to the publication during that time and was its editor from 1985 until it folded in 1993. He told the New York Times that it was the high cost of postage and health insurance more than any theological dispute that prompted the publication's closing. In retirement, Howell helped organize an annual weeklong seminar at the Ghost Ranch conference center in New Mexico called "Discerning the Signs of the Times," named after an anthology of Niebuhr's sermons. Howell's books included "Freedom City: The Substance of Things Hoped For" (1969), about the struggle for black tenant farmers in Mississippi to start their own community, and "Asia, Oil Politics and the Energy Crisis" (1974), written with Michael Morrow.

Millard Fuller, d. February 3, 2009

Millard Fuller, 74, founder of Habitat for Humanity and a pioneer of modern volunteerism, died near Americus, Ga. Fuller was 29 when he decided to give up his successful business and millionaire lifestyle to devote himself to fulfilling the lives of the needy. He, and his wife, Linda, used Christian principles and a notion Fuller described as “sweat equality” to build a network of devoted volunteers who together have built over 300,000 homes worldwide. Fuller first began the project in 1968, building 114 houses. By 1973, he had officially established Habitat for Humanity International as an organization that would provide homes for low income people. The homes are built using donated material and funds, and using volunteer labor. The homes are then sold without profit. Since its founding, the organization has created chapters in 14 countries. Fuller’s humanitarianism earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996. Three years later, Christianity Today called him “God’s contractor.” He is survived by his wife, Linda; brother, Doyle; son, Christopher; daughters, Kim Isakson, and Faith Umstattd; and nine grandchildren.

Richard John Neuhaus, d. January 8, 2009

The Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, 72, a theologian whose ideas transcended the political spectrum, died in Manhattan. The Ontario-born idealogue came to the United States as a young man and initially served as a Lutheran minister with liberal Democrat values. At the age of 54, he was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. With this sweeping theological change came an equally drastic change of political views. The man who protested the Vietnam War and helped lead the civil rights movement became a neoconservative -- and a frequent critic of ecumenical organizations like the NCC and World Council of Churches. In later years, Father Neuhaus was an advisor to former President George W. Bush. Father Neuhaus wrote over 30 books, the best-known, The Naked Public Square, argued that American government should be based on Christian values. His survivors include his sisters, Mildred Schwich and Johanna Speckhard; and his brothers, Clemens, George, Joseph, and Thomas.

The Rev. Dr. Robert J. Marshall, d. December 22, 2008

The Rev. Robert J. Marshall, who helped pave the way for the union of three Lutheran denominations into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, died in Allentown, Pa., at 90. Described by ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson as "one of those giants among Lutheran leaders who served in the 20th century," Dr. Marshall became president of the Lutheran Church in America following the sudden death of his predecessor, the Rev. Dr. Franklin Clark Fry, in 1968 and served in the post for a decade. Dr. Marshall was a devoted ecumenist who led his denomination in close cooperation with member communions of the National Council of Churches and facilitated unity discussions among his own church and two other smaller churches, the American Lutheran Church and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches. The resulting union in 1988 created a church with 10,500 congregations and 4.8 million members.

Cardinal Avery Dulles, d. December 12, 2008

Cardinal Avery Dulles became a Roman Catholic following a period of deep soul searching while a student at Harvard in 1941. He joined the Society of Jesus after his discharge from the Navy in 1946, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1956.As the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University in New York, and as a visiting professor at more than a dozen colleges and seminaries around the world, Dulles had a profound impact on the education and spiritual development of thousands of students -- including Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos, the NCC's Senior Program Director for Faith & Order and Interfaith Relations, who earned his Ph.D. degree under Cardinal Dulles's tutelage at Fordham in 2003. "Cardinal Dulles was first and foremost a great teacher of the faith," Kireopoulos said Monday, expressing his sadness at his professor's passing. "He imparted to me and his other students his wisdom, but what I learned most of all from him was the importance of precision when articulating theological positions. Words were never to be wasted or used superficially when discussing Christian belief." More.

Ella Pearson Mitchell, d. November 19, 2008

Rev. Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell, a distinguished religious educator, renowned preacher, and celebrated author, was 91. A longtime member of American Baptist Churches USA, Dr. Mitchell served as president of the Board of Educational Ministries for several years. Ella Pearson Mitchell was one half of an acclaimed ministry duo that included her husband of 64 years, Dr. Henry H. Mitchell. She was a pioneer in African-American preaching and religious education, and her reputation as a promoter and encourager of women in ministry, especially in the area of homiletics, earned her the title, “dean of African-American women preachers.” Dr. Mitchell compiled and edited six books featuring women preachers. Dr. Mitchell broke down many barriers, achieving a number of “firsts” for women in ministry. She was the first female dean of Sisters Chapel, Spelman College, Atlanta, GA, and the first woman to preach at Hampton Ministerial Conference, Hampton, VA. She earned a doctor of ministry degree from Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, Calif.

Jane Parker Huber, d. November 17, 2008

Jane Parker Huber, 82, renowned Presbyterian hymn writer and tireless advocate for women in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), died Nov. 15 in Hanover, Ind. She was probably best known for the scores of hymns she wrote to familiar tunes. Her “Women of Faith” citation states: “Jane Parker Huber's creative renderings of "fresh words to familiar tunes" have inspired Christians to sing hymns with expansive, gender-inclusive language and rethink all of the images used for God and people.” Born to missionary parents in China, Jane descends from a long line of Presbyterian leaders. She has served as interim program coordinator for Presbyterian Women, as well as on the PC(USA)’s Council on Women and the Church, Joint Committee on Women, Social Justice and Peacemaking Ministry Unit, and the General Assembly Council. She has been recognized as a “Valiant Woman” by Church Women United and in 2002 received the PC(USA)’s “Woman of Faith Award.” For many years, she was recognized as a respected sage through her regular column, “Ask Jane,” in HORIZONS, the magazine for Presbyterian Women.