Episcopal Press and News
Obituaries
Episcopal News Service. December 8, 2000 [2000-226]
The Rev. Charles Henry Long died November 19. Long's global ministry covered nearly 50 years, and he is believed to have been the first westerner to be ordained in China.
Born in 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Long graduated from the William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, in 1940, going on to Yale University, where he graduated in 1943. He attended Virginia Theological Seminary, was ordained to the diaconate in July 1945, and graduated cum laude in January 1946. In February of that year, he married Nancy Marie Ingham, after which he began service as a missionary to China (Shanghai and Nanjing) and was ordained to the priesthood at the Anglican cathedral in Beijing in February 1947. Long served until 1949, leaving voluntarily when the presence of foreigners became problematic for the Chinese church following the Revolution.
After leaving China, Long was acting chaplain at the University of Pennsylvania, then personnel secretary for the Overseas Department of the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church. He was then called by the Yale-China Association to serve as its mission's executive secretary with the New Asia College in Hong Kong, serving concurrently in the Diocese of Hong Kong for the Episcopal Church.
Long was appointed associate secretary of the World Student Christian Federation in Geneva, Switzerland in 1958 with a specific call to organize a world conference on "The Life and Mission of the Church." The conference, a pivotal meeting for many young Christians from the emerging nations of Asia and Africa, took place in Strasbourg, France in 1960. He served until 1973 as rector of Saint Peter's Episcopal Church, Glenside, Pennsylvania, and then was called as the executive secretary of the World Council of Churches in New York. In 1978 he was asked to be the director and editor of Forward Movement Publications, where he served until retirement in 1995.
During his active ministry, Long also served as a deputy to General Convention in 1949 and from 1964-1973. He was a member of the Joint Commission on Renewal from 1968-1970; chairman of the House of Deputies Committee on Theological Education, 1967-1973; vice chairman of the General Board of Examining Chaplains, 1970-1976; visiting lecturer, Missions and Ecumenism, Philadelphia Divinity School, 1961-1973; vice president, Greater Philadelphia Council of Churches, 1963-1966; dean, Montgomery Deanery, 1967-1970; Council for the Development of Ministry, 1970-1982; Standing Committee, 1973-1978; Board of Theological Education, 1976-1982; Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, 1979-1994; and assistant editor, Anglican Theological Review, 1980-1996. He earned a Master of Sacred Theology (STM) at Philadelphia Lutheran Seminary in 1976.
Long is survived by his wife of 54 years, Nancy; children Christine, Charles, Robert, and Jeremy; and nine grandchildren. A memorial service was held at the Church of the Ascension and Holy Trinity in Wyoming, Ohio on December 2.
George West Barrett, former bishop of Rochester, New York, whose 1975 "irregular" ordination of women to the priesthood caused him to be temporarily barred from ministry in the Episcopal Church but helped spur its General Convention to formal action a year later, died Sunday, December 3 in Santa Barbara, California, after deciding to end kidney dialysis.
Born in Iowa City, Iowa, on May 10, 1908, to Mary and Edward Cecil Barrett, he grew up in Pasadena, California, where he was a parishioner at All Saints' Church. Barrett received a bachelor's degree from UCLA in 1930 and a bachelor's of divinity and master of arts degree in 1933 from the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He held a doctor of divinity degree conferred in 1952 by Occidental College in Los Angeles; two doctor of sacred theology degrees conferred in 1963 by the General Theological Seminary and Hobart College, and an honorary doctor of humane letters degree presented in 1963 by Alfred University.
Ordained to the priesthood in Los Angeles in 1934, Barrett was rector of churches in Upland and Monrovia, California, before beginning his 1947-1952 tenure as rector of St. James' Church in Los Angeles. Barrett represented the Diocese of Los Angeles as a clergy deputy to General Conventions in 1949, 1958 and 1961. From 1942 to 1947, while rector of St. Luke's Church in Monrovia, Barrett was rural dean of the Los Angeles diocese's Pasadena Convocation. While rector of Upland's St. Mark's Church from 1936 to 1942, Barrett was also chaplain at the Claremont Colleges from 1940 to 1942.
Following three years as Professor of Pastoral Theology at the General Theological Seminary in New York, he served as rector of Christ Church in Bronxville, New York from 1955 to 1963.
Barrett was consecrated bishop of the Diocese of Rochester, New York, on May 11, 1963. While there, he took an active part in developing an inter-church project to fund the organization of the African-American community after the Rochester riots of 1964.
He worked closely with Eastman Kodak to assist in its efforts for civil rights and racial equity. During those years Barrett was also a trustee of Hobart College in New York.
Barrett "irregularly" ordained three women to the Episcopal priesthood in 1975 because he believed that the church was not moving toward formal recognition of the validity of women in the priesthood after the first "irregular" ordination in 1974 of 11 women in Philadelphia. That brought about Barrett's own temporary barring from episcopal ministry, but was instrumental in spurring the church to formal action at the 1976 General Convention, which recognized the ordination of women. He had earlier served in 1965-1966 as chair of the House of Bishops Committee to Study the Place of Women in Church Ministries.
Barrett also served as interim pastor of Cincinnati's Church of the Redeemer in 1977-1978.
In recent years, Barrett was an active bishop-in-residence at Trinity Church, where he also served as priest-in-charge in 1986. For most of those years he was concurrently bishop-in-residence at St. Alban's Church in Los Angeles. A companion of the Order of Holy Cross, Barrett preached and celebrated the Eucharist regularly at the order's Mount Calvary Retreat House in Santa Barbara. There he shared insights from his various writings, including his well-known articles "Eight Key Words for Lent" and "Demands on Ministry Today." He also co-authored the book "Dialogue on Destiny."
Barrett's article "What the Church Needs Is Leadership: Recollections of the Bishops of Los Angeles" is published in "As We Remember," a collection of essays edited by Barrett's friend, Ruth Nicastro of Los Angeles, and published in 1995 by the Diocese of Los Angeles on its centennial.
Barrett knew and worked with all of the diocesan, suffragan and assisting bishops of Los Angeles dating from Bishop Joseph Horsfall Johnson, who became the diocese's first bishop in 1896.
He walked in procession at the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 29, 2000, for the ordination of Bishop Coadjutor J. Jon Bruno, and served as a co-consecrator during that liturgy.
Barrett's far-reaching ministry included advocacy for abortion rights and a long tenure on the board of directors of Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, which he served as executive director from 1972 to 1977. He was saluted Nov. 1 at a celebration in Santa Barbara hosted by La Casa de Maria, a popular interfaith retreat and conference center. La Casa de Maria named the central building of its campus for Barrett in commemoration of his 20 years of active participation on La Casa's board of directors.
Gathered for its 105th annual meeting, the Los Angeles diocesan convention on Dec. 2 sent a formal resolution commending Barrett and recognizing his leadership and faithful service to the church. Barrett, who served the diocese from 1947 to 1950 as Secretary of Convention, received the resolution prior to his death the next day at his Santa Barbara residence.
"George was a wise bishop and human being," the Rt. Rev. Frederick H. Borsch, bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles, said in a statement following Barrett's death. "I understand wisdom to be a careful blend of intelligence and compassion. That was George, and a friend and counselor he brought that perspective to people and issues, not infrequently with his wonderful wry smile and sense of humor added. His thoughtfulness and friendship were great gifts to many people."
In late November, Barrett wrote to friends, including parishioners in Santa Barbara, announcing in a letter that he had decided to take himself off dialysis and to face the inevitable death that came just after 12 noon on Sunday with his wife, children and other family members at his side.
Barrett is survived by his second wife, Bettina Tvede Barrett, and by two children: a daughter and son-in-law, Myra Barrett and Harry Brull of Minnesota; and a son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Sharon Barrett of Montana; and by seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The bishop was preceded in death by a daughter, Margaret Walls.
The Rt. Rev. Frederick H. Borsch, bishop of Los Angeles, will preside at a requiem Eucharist scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, at Trinity Church, Santa Barbara. The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made to Casa de Maria, Planned Parenthood, Mount Calvary Retreat House, or to the charity of one's choice.