James Crumley, LCA bishop, dies
J
ames R. Crumley Jr., who as leader of the former Lutheran Church in America (LCA) saw himself as a “pastor with a larger par-
ish,” died April 7. He was 90 years old. Troughout his ministry Crumley always
saw his role as a pastor. “Te highest privilege and the greatest responsibility any person can have is the care of souls,” he told reporters aſter his election as LCA president. “To hear him tell the story of his life, the Rev. Dr.
James R. Crumley Jr.
tion, the Central Com- mittee of the World Council of Churches, and the Governing Board of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. He was also
James R. Crumley was convinced that God always was full of gracious surprises,” said ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth A. Eaton. “One surprise unfolded into another for him. Each one prepared the way for new responsi- bilities. As he said upon his election in 1974 as secretary of the [LCA], ‘I believe that when God calls us, God also gives us the resources to fulfill our responsibilities.’ ” Born March 30, 1925, in Bluff City, Tenn., Crumley
earned degrees from Roanoke College, Salem, Va., and Lutheran Teological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C. Prior to his election as LCA secretary, Crumley served congregations in Tennessee and Georgia. He was elected LCA president in 1978 and as bishop in 1980. (See page 45.) Known for his commitment to ecumenical relation-
ships and church unity, Crumley was a member of the Executive Committee of the Lutheran World Federa-
Lutheran chair of the International Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission. As a member of the Commission for a New Lutheran
Church, Crumley helped unite the LCA, American Lutheran Church and Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, which formed the ELCA in 1987. His tenure as bishop involved a great deal of travel,
including several trips to the Soviet Union, Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia and visits to many churches in Africa and Asia. He visited all seven historic patriarch- ates of the Orthodox Churches and the Vatican, includ- ing four private audiences with Pope John Paul II. “His understanding and vision of the church was not
Crumley (left) traveled frequently as bishop of the Lutheran Church in America. Here he and David Preus, bishop of the former American Lutheran Church, look over the Berlin Wall in 1983. They were part of a U.S. delegation that met in West Berlin with their counterparts of the Evangelical Church of Germany to discuss the church’s role in halting the nuclear arms race and making world peace.
confined only to the Lutheran context,” Eaton said. “In a historic development, he exchanged letters with Pope John Paul II in 1985. Te letters affirmed the greater mutual understanding that already had emerged from U.S. Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue. At the same time, the letters urged deeper commitment to further ecumenical endeavors. “As the years passed and the
honors accumulated, Dr. Crum- ley remained that same gracious gentleman who had been raised in the mountains of Tennessee but was called by the church to ministry throughout this nation and the world.” Crumley was married to
Annette Bodie Crumley and they had three children: Frances Holman, James Crumley III and Jeanne Lindemann (deceased).
This article is based on
information from the ELCA News Service, his obituary and biographical data.
RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
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