« back to All Saints'

spring 2010

A Connector Of People

by Leighton Stradtman

Richard Hall

He’s the one who makes sure that a heavenly host of angels is on our Angel Tree and that the gifts make it to the right child. The day before the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper fundraiser, he’s scouring the ads for the best deal on bacon. Prior to each Habitat for Humanity workday, he sees that someone has covered lunches for the workers. He has a unique way of helping parishioners find a place to serve “the other.” He’s our own longtime parishioner, Richard Hall.

Since 2005, Richard has served ably as All Saints’ Director of Christian Social Ministries. The purpose of this position is to serve God and the church by developing, coordinating and administering a comprehensive program of mission. In this role, Richard has acted as coordinator of staff members and lay people for All Saints’ many outreach ministries. His caring touch has reached from the homeless inside our courtyard to the helpless around the globe.

At the end of May, Richard will retire from this position. We are thankful for his service and for the opportunity to work with such a wonderful friend. As Geoffrey summed it up, “Richard stepped in to help on a part time and temporary basis five years ago, quickly making himself indispensable and becoming our full time Director of Christian Social Ministries. He has grasped the importance of ministries that are rooted in relationship. This has come through as much as anywhere in his wise hiring recommendations for our leadership in the Refugee Ministry, Threads, and Covenant Community, all of which have changed during his tenure. Richard is a consummate networker and connector of people and his most recent retirement, while a joy for him, will be a significant loss for our staff and for me personally.”

At the parish level, Richard has worked closely with the Threads team to help clothe thousands of children with dignity. He has taken a special interest in the Refugee Ministry, helping welcome and settle new friends from places such as Eritrea, Burma and Somalia. He has advised and helped guide the Covenant Community through management and policy changes. He has also overseen the Grants Committee, which makes gifts to local social service agencies. These are only a few examples.

A founding member of All Saints’ Global Missions Committee, Richard has served as Chair for the last several years. He has nurtured All Saints’ relationship with the Diocese of Western Tanganyika in Tanzania by supporting a local HIV/AIDS ministry, arranging visits from bishops and others, and paving the way for clergyman Emmanuel Bwatta to spend a season with us and ultimately to pursue his dream of a Masters of Arts in Theology from the University of the South School of Theology. Richard guided Emmanuel through the maze of interconnected requirements of the Office of Admission, summer English classes at Georgia Tech, and the complex visa process. According to Emmanuel, "Richard has played a significant role in my ministry back home as well as in my studies here in the U.S. To me, Richard is not just a friend, he is a FATHER.”

Richard has also devoted himself to building relationships in the Diocese of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. He has made many trips there and has developed, and shared with us, a growing network of friends. Several of these folks have visited our parish, including Bishops Celso and Filadelfo, missionary Stephen Taylor, and most recently Inamar de Sousa, the Dean of the Cathedral of St. Paul the Apostle in Rio. Richard has helped organize trips to Brazil in which All Saints’ members and members of the Diocese of Rio explored possibilities for mutual ministry, and he’s busy planning the next one. His groundwork made possible the J2A (Journey to Adulthood) program pilgrimage to Brazil, on which fourteen of our youth developed friendships with youth and many others in the Diocese of Rio.

While Richard has done much for All Saints’ and its ministries, he has supported the Diocese of Atlanta in many ways. For example, he has served for several years on the Advisory Board, and as Chair of the Human Resources Committee, of Emmaus House, a ministry of the Diocese that seeks to diminish poverty and its broader consequences through education, assistance and social action. He has been instrumental in finding friends and funds for Emmaus House and in helping the organization connect with Threads.

According to Bishop Alexander, “I first met Richard when he served on the nominating committee for the election of a bishop and I was among the candidates. I remember the organizational gifts he brought to that task and the love and care he showed toward all of those involved in that very stressful process. In the meantime, he has served unselfishly on a variety of diocesan boards and committees, and he is always at the ready to advise, support, motivate, cheer, and push to make things happen. His advocacy and care for our Sudanese congregation have been without equal. And more recently his interest and leadership in global mission has moved our diocesan commitments forward in measurable ways. Richard is in every way a servant leader whose contribution to the mission and ministry of the Diocese of Atlanta is immeasurable. Well done, Richard, God's good and faithful servant!”

Oh, there is more. Sewanee’s Vice-Chancellor Bob Ayers once encouraged Richard to become involved in The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK), the oldest Anglican mission agency in the world, founded in 1696. This organization helps enable Christians in their indigenous churches to grow in faith and knowledge. Some of the projects of the USA branch of SPCK have included translating the Education for Ministry program into Spanish, and shipping theological books, audio visual materials and equipment, and vestments to seminaries and clergy around the world. Richard is the current Chair SPCK/USA. He’s a machine!

Richard’s background and wide variety of professional experiences have enabled him to approach his All Saints’ job with skill and wisdom. He was graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Industrial and Labor Relations. After serving in the U.S. Army as an Intelligence Officer, he enjoyed a successful career with Manufacturers Bank in Detroit, whose chairman selected him to head the acclaimed Jobs for Veterans program. In addition to his professional life, he and his wife Barbara were busy raising three young children. He was the youngest person to serve as Senior Warden of Christ Church, Detroit, and he held this office two additional times.

The couple felt a call to move the family to Sewanee, Tennessee, where Richard became Personnel Director of The University of the South, a position similar to a city manager. After eight years on the mountain, the family moved to Atlanta where Richard became an officer with The Equitable. When the children were in college, he went back to school too and earned a masters degree in Non-Profit Administration from Georgia State. He then served as Director of Administration at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Buckhead during the early and mid 90’s.

Since that time, Richard has focused much of his energy on All Saints’ and its outreach ministries. When he retires from his position at All Saints’, Richard will have more time for fun in New York City with Barbara, who is Associate Provost for Special Projects at NYU. He will also see more of his immediate family in Atlanta: his sons Chris (and his wife, Julie) and Ben (and his wife, LeeAnn), and his daughter Gretchen (and her husband, Charles, and their children).

Richard is a gentleman with a seriousness of purpose, and yet the first to chuckle in a difficult situation. He is contemplative but will poke you if needed. He will apologize when he believes he’s wrong. He follows the rules, but he knows when love is needed more. He is a family man whose ties extend all over the world. His passion for the Gospel has no boundaries. He has blessed us all.

A well-known charge based on St. Paul’s letters captures Richard’s essence:

"Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast to that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the faint-hearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor all people; love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit."

Please to open a new message in your mail program.