The Rev. Edwin Tuller, former General Secretary of American Baptist Churches USA and respected civil rights advocate, has passed away. Here is the press release from ABC-USA:
VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/26/09)—Rev. Dr. Edwin Tuller, a strong advocate for human and civil rights, passed away August 25 in Pittsburgh, PA. Tuller served as the general secretary for ABCUSA from 1959 to 1970.
Tuller was born in Hartford, CT, in 1913, the second son of an active Baptist family.
He was a Phi Beta Kappa magna cum laude graduate of Brown University in Providence, RI, where he was the editor of the university yearbook, member of the governing board, and won six athletic letters in soccer and lacrosse.
He graduated from Colgate Rochester Divinity School in Rochester, NY, in 1938, and did graduate work at La Faculte Libre de Theologie Protestante in Paris, France, in 1938 and 1939.
In 1958, Brown University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree, and in 1959 he was conferred an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Franklin College in Franklin, IN.
Tuller served as the Assistant Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC, from 1939 to 1944.
He was the director of Christian Education and assistant executive secretary of the Connecticut Baptist Convention from 1944 to 1950, when he became executive secretary of the Connecticut State Council of Churches, a position in which he served until 1955.
In 1955, Tuller returned to denominational work as executive secretary of the Massachusetts Baptist Convention, where he helped revitalize the church extension (church planting) program. In 1957, he became associate general secretary of ABCUSA, in which capacity he directed the Convention’s fund-raising program.
Tuller served as the second general secretary for ABCUSA, the top leadership position in the denomination, from 1959 to 1970. During his tenure, he steered a steady ship as both the denomination and the entire country went through a period of unprecedented turmoil and transition.
Tuller presided over the completion of the American Baptist Mission Center headquarters in Valley Forge, PA, and the dedication and initial occupancy of the building in conjunction with the annual Convention in Philadelphia in 1962.
Tuller positioned the American Baptist Convention in the leadership of the movement for civil rights in this country, often participating in public advocacy efforts, and sat behind Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., at his famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.
Said current general secretary A. Roy Medley, “Dr. Ed Tuller was that rare mixture of both the prophetic and pastoral leader. He became general secretary during the racially charged civil rights struggle. Through his prophetic leadership, American Baptists threw their support behind Dr. King and his fledgling movement. Yet, Dr Tuller was pastoral in his approach to those American Baptists who questioned such an active stance in “politics,” patiently answering their concerns and helping them embrace the struggle for equality as a biblical response to injustice. Dr. Tuller will long be remembered for his leadership that paved the way for American Baptists to be the most racially diverse denomination today.”
Albert Paul Brinson, former associate general secretary for World Mission Support, was a childhood friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and served as co-pastor with him, under senior pastor Martin Luther King, Sr., at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. Brinson also worked with Tuller in denominational work, and reflects fondly on his spirit and ministry; “Ed Tuller was one of my American Baptist idols and mentors. He was a true model for ministry, committed to all the things the American Baptist family stands for…freedom, equality, and justice. He was a friend and a great soldier for Jesus Christ. He will be missed indeed.”
Tuller often ventured outside the Valley Forge compound to meet with American Baptist constituents and to dialogue with them about the witness of the denomination.
In response to the organization of the American Baptist Black Caucus in 1968, Tuller helped open the doors for greater participation by people of color in ABCUSA, which today has become the most racially diverse Protestant denomination in America.
Tuller also worked with the Commission on Denominational Structure (SCODS) authorized by the Convention in Boston in 1968, whose report and recommendations were adopted by the Convention in Denver in 1972. SCODS laid the framework for the ABCUSA denominational structure and governance from 1973 to present day.
During much of his time of service to the denomination, Tuller made his home on a farm in Flemington, NJ, with his wife, Rose Catherine, and their four children; Edwin H., Jr., Joan Elizabeth (Jensen), James Gordon, and Katherine (“Kitty”) Crawford (Abbott).
After leaving the position of General Secretary, Tuller and Rose were appointed as Special Service Workers of the Board of International Ministries, with Ed serving as Pastor of the American Church in Paris, France—the oldest non-governmental American institution established on foreign soil—until his retirement from active ministry.
For the past several years, Tuller has lived in the Pittsburgh area, where he has continued to be an active American Baptist as a member of the First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh.
James Oldham, ABCOPAD interim area minister for Pittsburgh and Southwest, reports that the Pittsburgh Baptist Association organized a special 95th Birthday Celebration to honor Tuller last December, attended by many local clergy, two of Tuller’s adult children, and Dr. Medley.
“When I reflect on Dr. Tuller’s lifetime of Christian service,” Oldham stated, “I am gratified and humbled that he seemed equally comfortable and effective whether serving Christ in the highest leadership office in our denomination or as faithful and supportive member of a local American Baptist church. His example is one we can all take to heart. I trust his forthright and positive witness will continue to influence our denomination as we build upon the strong foundation that he so thoughtfully and joyously helped lay for all of us.”
A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church of Pittsburgh on Saturday, August 29, at 10:00 a.m.
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